Having taken until the penultimate game of last season to secure the Cobblers league status, many placed their faith in Johnson over the smmer to use his wealth of contacts and experience and make the necessary signings to ensure his side would challenge at the right end of the table this time around.
That status in the game was seen as one of the reasons for Johnson's appointment in the first place, this being a man who just a couple of seasons before was linked with a number of Premier League jobs after his work at Bristol City.
And signings duly came, in large numbers, Johnson having notched up a quarter of a century of incoming players with the weekend return of Jason Crowe to the club. In such circumstances mixed results were always likely but crucially, Town showed no signs of making progression towards being a settled, cohesive side.
The majority of the signings made have failed to impress (as Johnson himself admitted recently when making the likes of Jake Robinson available) and it would be hard to make a case that the quality of the squad at Sixfields is any better than at this time last year.
Meanwhile, early reports suggest that Macclesfield manager Gary Simpson is a strong contender to succeed Johnson.