WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
We catch up with Northampton’s 1986-87 Division Four champions
FORMER Northampton midfielder Richard Hill believes manager Graham Carr put together a side the basement division of the Football League will never see again.
Carr’s squad raced to the title with 99 points and scored 103 goals. The side was packed full of players who were plucked from Non-League and reserve team football.
Hill himself, who scored 29 times, was signed from NonLeague Nuneaton Borough and took many of the plaudits for the goals that put his career on the map.
But he is quick to point out that for many members of the squad, it was going to be the last chance they were going have to make a career in the game. And he says that Carr was given time to pull together a squad capable of winning the title and rewarded the directors’ faith in him.
“The team put together by Graham Carr was far better than anything in that league. From a career point of view, it was a fantastic season,” he said. “I have always said I was fortunate enough to have all of the praise put upon myself but it was absolutely the best team for a long, long time at that level.
“If you look at it, Eddie McGoldrick went on to play in the Premier League, and Trevor Morley and myself also played in the top flight.
“Keith McPherson went on and had a very good career at Reading. Graham Carr put together a team you will never see again at this level.
“He was given time at Northampton. The first season he had, we didn’t start the season particularly well but we finished the second half of the season brilliantly.
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“Then in the second season, he was allowed to have his own head, do the job and pick the players that he thought were right for the job.
“And that is similar to what he did at Nuneaton. He had been there a few years and the fruits of his work came to the fore.
“If you look at the team, Graham Reed and Russ Wilcox were at Frickley, Keith McPherson and Warren Donald were in the reserves at West Ham, and Irvin Gernon was let go by Ipswich.
“Eddie McGoldrick was signed from Nuneaton Borough, just like myself, and Trevor Morley and David Gilbert came from Boston so we were all given another chance by Graham.
“We all believed what Graham told us. If he said to run around a tree in a park four times because it would make you a better player, we went and did it.
“Every single one of us wanted to be successful but we were basically all on our last chances to fulfil a career in football.” 1. Glenville Donegal (Forward): Emigrated to Australia and set up a wood preservation business in Mona Vale in New South Wales. 2. Mark Bushell (Midfielder): Runs his own fencing company and is based in Duston. 3. Bob Coy (Defender): Won a promotion with Chester. Lives in Redditch and has worked in insurance for a flooring company and now Associated Telecom Solutions. 4. Mark Schiavi (Forward): Was an FA Youth Cup winner with West Ham. Lives in Lincolnshire, has coached at Boston Town, and works as a freelance computer software developer. 5. Richard Hill (Midfielder): Forced to retire through injury, has held several coaching and management jobs, and is Sunderland’s head of football operations. 6. Clive Walker (First-team coach): Lives in Gillingham, has managed and coached several Non-League clubs, and has worked in the USA during the summer. 7. Ian Benjamin (Forward): The Cobblers’ Player of the Year in 1987 was a postman, but is now a tool hire manager. Has managed in Non-League football. 8. Graham Reed (Full-back): Won promotion with Barnsley and became the foreman at powder coating and metal spraying company C & F Services in Brixworth. 9. Peter Gleasure (Goalkeeper): Kept 112 clean sheets for the Cobblers. The Player of the Year in 1988 is back living in his native Luton where he works as a driving instructor. 10. Russell Wilcox (Defender): Won Third Division promotions with Preston and Scunthorpe before going into management and is now Scunthorpe United’s under-23 manager. 11. Keith McPherson (Defender): The FA Youth Cup winner at West Ham has worked as a postman and has scouted for several clubs. 12. Denis Casey (Physio): The Cobblers’ long-serving physio is still living in Northampton and has now retired. 13. Paul Curtis (Defender): Served the Cobblers as assistant manager, ran the club academy and is now working as head of football development at Tresham College. 14. David Gilbert (Midfielder): Won two promotions with Grimsby Town and has worked for Grantham Town and Lincoln United where he has been assistant manager. 15. Trevor Morley (Forward): Twice won promotion with West Ham. Lives in Norway where he has scouted for Arsenal, runs a shelter and is a pundit for TV2. 16. Graham Carr (Manager): Father of comedian Alan. After managing a number of clubs, he went into scouting and is now back at Northampton Town as an associate director. 17. Phil Chard (Full-back): Won two promotions with Wolves, spent a year as player-manager of the Cobblers, lives in Wotton, and has worked as a transport manager for Parcelforce. 18. Warren Donald (Midfielder): Helped Colchester win promotion to the Football League, settled in the Northampton area and worked as driver for Omega. 19. Aidy Mann (Midfielder): Northampton’s youngest ever player has managed at Non-League level and worked in scaffolding supplies in Northampton. Not pictured Eddie McGoldrick (Midfielder): The ex-Palace and Arsenal player managed Corby and Bashley before returning to Northampton as youth team boss, then established the Thomas Becket Football Academy. Irvin Gernon (Defender): Went into financial services and was an independent financial advisor with Aspire Financial Management and now Irvin Gernon Ltd in Northampton. Charlie Henry (Full-back): Won a promotion with Swindon where he is based. He spent ten years at car company Rover but now works for his brother-in-law making stainless steel urinals.