CHAIRMAN
PHIL WALLACE has shown glimpses of the mental and physical strength required to earn a place in Steve Evans’ squad. We turned down two offers from Premier League clubs for Harrison a couple of years ago, before he suffered an ACL injury that put him out for almost a year. It’s testament to his determination that he’s fought back and earned the respect of the senior pros when he’s joined them. He’s still got a way to go to persuade Steve to give him his debut, but looking at the confidence in his play, it wouldn’t surprise any of us if that happens. It’s also worth mentioning that Stevenage FC is now a completely different animal to seasons past. This squad has been put together to win. It’s full of experience and character and it’s that much more difficult for an Academy player to earn a shirt. That’s not a bad thing – it just means that only those lads that are fully developed will come through the system to play in the EFL. On the other hand, those lads with obvious Premier League potential, tend to move on to the Premier League early and we’ve done that with Ben Wilmot (Watford), Billy Heaps (Spurs), Leke Drake (Man City) and Elyh Harrison (Man United). That’s four players sold in the past four years for significant fees that have allowed us to reinvest in infrastructure and the playing squad. So, we’re in good shape across the Club, but there’s nothing like being top of the league – we’ve waited a long time so let’s enjoy it and cheer the lads on to stay there.
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G
ood afternoon and welcome to the players and officials of Northampton Town. Our performances and results so far this season have excited us all and, like most of our fans, I can’t wait for the next game. That we come into this as league leaders against local rivals Northampton Town two places below us in 3rd place, makes it all the more exciting. What’s really exciting is that we are seeing the return of our floating fans. Folks that haven’t been to our games for months or even years, are starting to return and that just adds to the excitement of it all. It will take a while, but if we keep serving up great entertainment and value for money – and 13 consecutive home wins is absolutely that – we’ll soon get used to regular crowds in the 4,000s and kick on from there. The magic figure for us, based on the budget we have in place right now, is 5,000+ gates. At that level we are completely self-funding and, when you compare that gate to our peers, it’s absolutely achievable. So, if you’re watching the game, spread the word to your friends and family. The bigger the crowd, the more noise and we know that The Lamex can be rocking with numbers like that. Looking at the playing squad, I believe the only injury going into the game is Elliott List and we hope to see him playing again next year. In order to give him the best possible chance of being available before the end of the season, we have arranged for him to have 9 x 1-hour treatments on a specialist machine that uses magnetic resonance therapy to aid recovery. It’s new and unproven but if it gets Elliott back playing a few weeks earlier then it’s worthwhile. Another point worthy of mention in the playing squad is the signing of Academy striker Harrison Smith on a three-year deal. Harrison has been training with the First Team for several weeks and
Enjoy the game.
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