| Club: | Northampton Town |
| Season: | 1980–81 |
| Manager: | Bill Dodgin Jr. |
| Chairman: | Neville Ronson |
| Stadium: | County Ground |
| League: | Division Four |
| League Result: | 10th |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | First round |
| Cup2: | League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | First round |
| League Topscorer: | Steve Phillips (19) |
| Season Topscorer: | Steve Phillips (22) |
| Highest Attendance: | 5,542 vs Peterborough United |
| Lowest Attendance: | 1,380 vs Hereford United |
| Average Attendance: | 2,305 |
| Prevseason: | 1979–80 |
| Nextseason: | 1981–82 |
The 1980–81 season was Northampton Town's 84th season in their history and the fourth successive season in the Fourth Division. Alongside competing in Division Four, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup.
| Name | Position | Nat. | Place of Birth | Date of Birth (Age) | Apps | Goals | Previous club | Date signed | Fee | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | |||||||||||
| Andy Poole | GK | Chesterfield | May 5, 1981 | 157 | 0 | Mansfield Town | July 1978 | ||||
| Defenders | |||||||||||
| Dennis Byatt | CB | Hillingdon | May 5, 1981 | 53 | 3 | Peterborough United | June 1979 | ||||
| Wakeley Gage | CB | Northampton | May 5, 1981 | 104 | 6 | Desborough Town | October 1979 | £8,000[2] | |||
| Phil Sandercock | LB | Plymouth | May 5, 1981 | 73 | 3 | Huddersfield Town | September 1979 | ||||
| Paul Saunders | U | Watford | May 5, 1981 | 99 | 3 | Watford | July 1978 | ||||
| Des Waldock | CB | Northampton | May 5, 1981 | 57 | 4 | Apprentice | November 1979 | ||||
| Ricky Walker | RB | Northampton | May 5, 1981 | 61 | 0 | Coventry City | August 1978 | ||||
| Midfielders | |||||||||||
| Dave Carlton | U | Stepney | May 5, 1981 | 194 | 8 | Brentford | September 1980 | ||||
| Peter Cooke | CM | Northampton | May 5, 1981 | 5 | 1 | Apprentice | July 1980 | ||||
| Peter Denyer | W | Chiddingfold | May 5, 1981 | 126 | 27 | Portsmouth | July 1979 | P/E | |||
| Mark Heeley | W | Peterborough | May 5, 1981 | 78 | 6 | Arsenal | March 1980 | £33,000 | |||
| Gary Leonard | CM | Northampton | May 5, 1981 | 2 | 0 | Apprentice | March 1980 | ||||
| Maurice Muir | W | London | May 5, 1981 | 2 | 0 | Apprentice | April 1980 | N/A | |||
| Adam Sandy | U | Peterborough | May 5, 1981 | 106 | 6 | Wolverton Town | February 1980 | ||||
| Gary Saxby | U | Clipstone | May 5, 1981 | 75 | 9 | Mansfield Town | August 1980 | Free transfer | |||
| Keith Williams | CM | Dudley | May 5, 1981 | 142 | 7 | Aston Villa | February 1977 | ||||
| Forwards | |||||||||||
| Keith Bowen | FW | Northampton (ENG) | May 5, 1981 | 71 | 25 | Apprentice | August 1976 | ||||
| Kevin Farmer | FW | Ramsgate | May 5, 1981 | 81 | 12 | Leicester City | August 1979 | ||||
| Steve Phillips | FW | Edmonton | May 5, 1981 | 103 | 31 | Brentford | August 1980 | £40,000[3] | |||
See main article: 1980–81 FA Cup.
See main article: 1980–81 Football League Cup.
| Player | Division Four | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starts | Sub | Goals | Starts | Sub | Goals | Starts | Sub | Goals | Starts | Sub | Goals | ||||||||
| GK | Andy Poole | 46 | – | – | 1 | – | – | 2 | – | – | 49 | – | – | ||||||
| DF | Dennis Byatt | 14 | – | – | – | 1 | – | 2 | – | – | 16 | 1 | – | ||||||
| DF | Wakeley Gage | 29 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | 31 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| DF | Phil Sandercock | 31 | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | 2 | – | – | 34 | – | 1 | ||||||
| DF | Paul Saunders | 25 | 3 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 25 | 3 | 2 | ||||||
| DF | Des Waldock | 22 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | 24 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| DF | Ricky Walker | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | 4 | – | – | ||||||
| MF | Dave Carlton | 39 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 39 | – | 1 | ||||||
| MF | Peter Cooke | 4 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| MF | Peter Denyer | 45 | – | 13 | 1 | – | – | 2 | – | 1 | 48 | – | 14 | ||||||
| MF | Mark Heeley | 33 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | 35 | 3 | 2 | ||||||
| MF | Gary Leonard | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | ||||||
| MF | Maurice Muir | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||
| MF | Adam Sandy | 32 | 4 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | 34 | 4 | 1 | ||||||
| MF | Gary Saxby | 28 | 6 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | 30 | 6 | 1 | ||||||
| MF | Keith Williams | 39 | – | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 40 | – | 2 | ||||||
| FW | Keith Bowen | 32 | – | 13 | 1 | – | – | 2 | – | – | 35 | – | 13 | ||||||
| FW | Kevin Farmer | 36 | 3 | 6 | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | 37 | 4 | 6 | ||||||
| FW | Steve Phillips | 45 | – | 19 | 1 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 2 | 48 | – | 22 | ||||||
| Players who left before end of season: | |||||||||||||||||||
| FW | Gary Sargent | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | 5 | – | – | ||||||
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