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West Ham United supporters with a keen interest in the Football League may have had half an eye on Northampton Town going into the 2025/26 campaign.
Former London Stadium assistant coach Kevin Nolan was appointed as the Cobblers boss midway through last season. Therefore, this was supposed to be his first full campaign in the Sixfields dugout.
In preparation, Nolan put his West Ham United connections to good use.
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After finishing 2024/25 as the Hammers’ top scorer at youth level, Kamarai Swyer joined Northampton Town on a permanent basis. Nolan then handed an opportunity to Michael Forbes; the Northern Ireland international who saw a previous loan spell, at Colchester United, cut short due to hamstring surgery.
Forbes has at least racked up 26 appearances for the Cobblers but, much to Northampton’s despair, another injury would keep the defender sidelined during a run of five straight defeats.
A run which confirmed their inevitable relegation from League One.
Northampton Town relegated after sacking ex-West Ham United coach Kevin Nolan
Nolan was sacked in March; his win rate just 31 per cent. Northampton were only three points adrift in the relegation zone at the time, despite winning just one of their previous 16 matches.
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Things somehow took a turn for the worse from then on. Under Colin Calderwood, the former Tottenham, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest centre-back, not even a single point has been gained.
A 2-1 loss at Gideon Kodua’s recently-crowned EFL Trophy champions Luton Town on Wednesday sealed Northampton’s fate.
The misfortune of Forbes’ latest absence, meanwhile, is summed up by the fact that their most recent League One victory – against Stevenage on February 2nd – saw the towering centre-back get his name on the scoresheet.
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Northampton won 27 per cent of their matches with Forbes in the team, compared to 16 per cent without. Their goals conceded per game average also worsens considerably, from 1.2 to 1.6.
Any slim hopes they had of survival, then, arguably went out the window once Forbes was rendered unavailable.
The campaign has not gone to plan for Swyer, either. Ten starts, no goals and one assist was not what Nolan had in mind when he said that West Ham had lost an attacker with ‘huge potential’.
Swyer, at least, should find game time easier to come by in League Two. As for Forbes, only time will tell what the future holds for him.
Or, indeed, Kevin Nolan.
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