Chairman Kelvin Thomas has provided an update for supporters covering matters both on and off the field. He talked about a range of subjects in an interview ranging from the season to date, the latest on the land deal with West Northamptonshire Council, the East Stand, season tickets and much more.
"It has been a very good season overall," he said. "It was obviously very disappointing on Tuesday and that hurt but we have to look at the bigger picture and it has been a very positive season for us so far. I think a lot of the disappointment on Tuesday came from the expectation that we ourselves have created. We didn't get a performance and we didn't get a result and that was really disappointing but we can be really proud of what the players, Jon and the staff have done over the first 36 games of the season. It has been a good season so far but there is still a lot of hard work ahead in the final ten games and we want to finish strongly.
"We are above the expectations of many people this season. Jon (Brady) has been saying he has used a lot of the pre-season predictions of how we will struggle as motivation this season. There is always a lot of chat about budgets but these players have proved themselves. I think we have added strategically and at the right times and we have proved ourselves to be competitive in League 1 which was always our aim."
Season tickets for the 2024/25 went on sale last week, and having recorded record sales last season, the club are hopeful of another strong season of sales following an encouraging start to the sales period.
"We have done our best to keep season ticket prices reasonable and I think that has been appreciated," said the Chairman. "We had some really strong numbers in terms of season tickets, we are seeing a really good uptake from young supporters, particularly in the 15-20 age group and this is probably the best fans of that age have ever seen at the club. To see our supporter numbers in that age group really growing is a huge tribute to the work the club does with young fans and we are seeing the impact of that starting to come through in terms of attendance numbers.
"Our average attendance this season is excellent. Football fans will always vote with their feet and that is the best sign that as a club we are on the right lines and that is very encouraging."
The Chairman also provided an update on the land deal with West Northamptonshire Council, and he confirmed that although an official announcement is pending, both the club and the Council have signed the relevant paperwork on the deal.
"The good news is the club and the Council have both signed the relevant paperwork for the land deal to complete," he said. "Things have gone off to Homes England and the Land Registry to complete their parts but we are done, the Council are done and it is now a case of Homes England and the Land Registry ratifying things before we can announce formally. It is done and when those last documents are signed we can announce officially that things are completed.
"This is very good news and it is not a case of saying work is then restarting as there is already a lot going on. The slightly revised plans are agreed, there are some new CGIs for the boxes and the concourse being prepared that we will look to share those in the coming weeks, we are looking at things like carpets, colours, kitchen designs etc so it is all very encouraging and this month should see quite a bit of movement.
"GRS have been very busy meeting people, suppliers, contractors etc and GRS are keen to use supporters as suppliers where their products and services can help. Things are really taking shape and really cranking up and we are very excited about that."
The Chairman closed by looking at a number of events happening at the club in the coming weeks.
"We are looking forward to seeing Northampton Town Women at Sixfields on Sunday," he said. "They are always good games and we hope there will be a good crowd. We are really proud of the progress the side is making and proud that they are back at Sixfields this week.
"The Legends Day will be a great event next week. Those games are always good fun, we will have a good turn out from the former players and it will raise some money for a fantastic cause and I am sure the fans will enjoy seeing their old favourites. It should be a really good event.
"The first Fan Advisory Board meeting takes place on Thursday evening and it is an important step. We are supporting what is Tom Cliffe's idea and it really is his ball to run with. It is a really good extension of what Tom does. It is important that Tom leads this and that is naturally evolves in to what it needs to be. It is about Tom talking to the different groups and we develop that two way communication with the FAB. I don't think it needs to be overly formal, it needs to be a voice, a communication tool and something that benefits both the fans and the club and I think it will; we are looking forward to see how it progresses."