Northampton Town F.C.

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Northampton Town
Full nameNorthampton Town Football Club
Nickname(s)The Cobblers
Shoe Army
Founded9 March 1897; 127 years ago (1897)
GroundSixfields Stadium
Capacity7,798
ChairmanKelvin Thomas
ManagerJon Brady
LeagueEFL League One
2022–23EFL League Two, 3rd of 24 (promoted)
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England, that compete in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, following promotion from the 2022–23 EFL League Two.

Founded in 1897, the club competed in the

1997. Relegated in 1999, they won immediate promotion after securing an automatic promotion place the following season. However they were once more relegated after three seasons of struggle in the third tier, before securing promotion out of League Two in 2005–06 after two unsuccessful play-off campaigns. Relegated at the end of their third season in League One
, they won the League Two title in 2015–16, but only lasted two seasons in League One before again being relegated. In 2020, they gained promotion to League One, but were relegated to League Two once again after a single season in the third tier.

Northampton are nicknamed the Cobblers, a reference to the town's historical shoe-making industry, and the team traditionally plays in claret and white kits. The Cobblers played at the County Ground from 1897 until 1994, when they moved to Sixfields Stadium, which has a capacity of 7,798. Northampton's predominant rivals have been Peterborough United in the Nene derby.

History

Formation and early history

The club was founded on 6 March 1897 by a group of local school teachers who, together with a local solicitor A.J "Pat" Darnell at The Princess Royal Inn, Wellingborough Road, formed the town's first professional football club. Initially, their chosen name was Northampton Football Club, but after objections from the town's rugby club, the club was called Northampton Town Football Club. They joined the Northants League and spent two seasons there, winning the championship the second season. They then spent two seasons in the

Newcastle United in the Charity Shield match, losing 2–0 at The Oval.[1]

Inter-war period

County Ground during December 1929, when a fire destroyed three stands, with damage valued at around £5,000. Only one stand was saved although this was charred.[2] The source of the fire was thought to be in the away dressing room; the Cobblers had earlier entertained AFC Bournemouth
reserves. By August 1930, the stands were rebuilt.

In

Wolverhampton Wanderers
for a substantial four-figure fee.

Rise and fall

Northampton were promoted three times in the five years 1960 to 1965. Starting the 1960–61 season in the Fourth Division, they reached the First Division in 1965–66, their only season ever in the top division of English football. They were then relegated back to the Fourth Division over the next five years, playing in the bottom tier again in 1969–70. During their top-flight season they earned a double against Aston Villa and victories at home over clubs including Leeds, Newcastle, West Ham, and Blackburn, the latter being the only team Northampton would finish above in the table.

Since their relegation from the Second Division in 1966–67, Northampton have played every season in either the third or fourth tier of English football.

1970s and 80s

In 1970, they lost 8–2 to

Hartlepool United. In 1976–77, the club were relegated back to Division Four, the season started with ex-Manchester United assistant manager, Pat Crerand in charge, however he resigned in the new year. No new manager was appointed, instead a committee was formed consisting of the chairman, the coach and three senior players. Prior to the start of the 1979–80 season, George Reilly was sold to Cambridge United
for a then record of £165,000, he had been the club's top scorer for the previous two seasons.

New

Richard Hill, who was transferred in the summer to Watford for a club record fee of £265,000. The club adjusted to life in Division Three quickly and just missed out on a play-off place despite finishing sixth. Important players such as Trevor Morley and Eddie McGoldrick were sold and the team fell back down to Division Four in the 1989–90 season
.

Early 1990s

The 1990s began badly, with the club

Third Division at the first attempt. They were top of the table in February, but fell away and finished mid-table. Things then got even worse and the club went into administration in April 1992, with debts of around £1.6 million. Ten players were sacked and youth players were drafted in to make up the numbers; results did not improve. These events sparked the formation of the Northampton Town Supporters' trust, which has a share holding in the club and a representative on the board of directors.[4] This was the first such instance of a supporters' trust taking over a football club.[5]

The club needed to win the final game of the

Football League for the only time in the club's history. Relegation was only escaped due to the Conference champions, Kidderminster Harriers
, not meeting the necessary ground criteria. The club eventually began its move to Sixfields.

The Sixfields era

The club moved to new ground,

Kevin Wilson and coach Kevan Broadhurst took joint charge for the rest of the month. Wilson, the former Chelsea
player, was appointed manager at the start of November, going on to win two manager of the month awards.

The following season started promisingly, with players such as

Stuart Gray on 2 January 2007.[17] The Cobblers were relegated from league one on the final day of the 2008–09 season, after suffering a 3–0 defeat away at Leeds United
and other results went against them.

Northampton caused an upset in the third round of the

penalties, the winning penalty being scored by Abdul Osman at the 'Kop End'.[18] Ian Sampson was sacked as manager on 2 March 2011 after a poor run of form saw the Cobblers fail to win in eight games and sit in a disappointing 16th position in League 2. Sampson's last game in charge was a 2–3 defeat against Burton Albion, the manner of this defeat ultimately costing him his job. Sampson's sacking brought to an end a 17-year association with Northampton, and his commitment to the club has guaranteed his status as a legend in fans' hearts.[19]

David Cardoza moved quickly and

After a poor start to the

Ricoh Arena in Coventry. On 27 January 2014, David Cardoza appointed former Oxford United manager Chris Wilder as the new manager of the club on a three and half-year deal.[25]

In October 2015, HM Revenue and Customs issued the club with a winding-up petition over unpaid taxes.[26] (See Sixfields Stadium) In February 2016, Northampton Town broke their club record of eight successive wins by beating Wycombe Wanderers 1–0, extending the winning run to nine.[27] The 2015–16 season was successful and resulted in promotion to League One on 9 April.[28] A draw at Exeter combined with Oxford United's defeat at home to Luton Town meant that they clinched the League Two championship a week later on 16 April.

The Cobblers went on to play their first season in the third tier of English football since 2009. In the 2016–17 season, after a 5–0 defeat to Bristol Rovers, Rob Page was sacked and replaced with Justin Edinburgh.[29] Northampton finished 16th, meaning that they would continue to play third-tier football. They made it to the Third Round of the EFL Cup, where they lost to Manchester United.[30] On 26 June 2017 a 60% stake in Northampton Town was purchased by Chinese company 5uSport. The company indicated that they would invest in both the playing budget and stadium development. Although the investment was technically a takeover, Kelvin Thomas remained chairman and the two parties have acted in partnership since.

On 4 September 2017, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was appointed as manager on a three-year deal, replacing Justin Edinburgh who had been sacked after four losses from the start of the season.[31] His first game was against Doncaster Rovers five days later, a home tie which ended in a 1–0 victory for Northampton Town.[32] He was sacked on 2 April 2018 after Northampton Town went 9 games without a win and was replaced by Keith Curle.[33] He had his contract extended in July 2020 for a further two years.[34]

On 29 June 2020, the club were promoted to

Cheltenham Town, after the first leg at Sixfields Stadium they had trailed 2–0 and faced an uphill battle to progress to the play off final. However, in the second leg, Cobblers performed the turnaround by winning 3–0 away from home.[37] However, Northampton were relegated back to League Two in their first season after finishing 22nd in the 2020–21 season.[38]

In the 2021–22 season Northampton finished 4th, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion on the final day to Bristol Rovers.[39] Although Northampton started the final day in the automatic positions and managed to win their away match to Barrow 3–1, Bristol Rovers managed to beat Scunthorpe United 7–0. This meant Rovers would gain the final automatic promotion place based on goals scored across the season. In the play-off semi-finals, the Cobblers were subsequently defeated by Mansfield Town 3–1 on aggregate.[40]

On the last day of the 2022–23 season, they defeated

Tranmere Rovers to win automatic promotion to League One.[41]

Club crest and colours

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Northampton's kit has been manufactured by Puma since 2023. Previous manufacturers have included

Errea (2009–16), Nike (2016–20), Hummel (2020–23) and Puma
(2023–).

The club's shirts are sponsored by the University of Northampton, since 2013, and PTS Academy, since 2016. Previous sponsors have included

Gala Casinos (2012–13), and Opus Energy
(2015–18)

Stadiums

County Ground

County Ground
from 1897 to 1994

Northampton moved to the county ground in 1897,

Football League, a crowd of 942 for the 1984–85 match against Chester City. The last game to be played at the ground was a 1–0 defeat by Mansfield Town
on Tuesday, 12 October 1994.

Sixfields Stadium

Sixfields Stadium

The club moved to Sixfields Stadium in 1994.[43] It is a modern all-seater stadium with a capacity of 7,653 and award-winning disabled facilities. The stadium plan is simple with the west stand seating 4,000, opposite the smaller 1,000-capacity east stand known as the Alwyn Hargrave stand after the Ex-Borough Councillor who helped the stadium become reality. At either end are identical stands that are the same height as the east stand, the south stand usually for away supporters. (Against Chester City on 29 April 2006, the stand was split and supporters segregated to allow the maximum number of home supporters to witness the club's promotion to League One.) The north Stand is known as the Sheinman Opticians Stand, due to a naming rights partnership with local Opticians, Sheinman Opticians.

The stadium was renamed the PTS Academy Stadium in June 2018 after the club agreed a naming rights partnership with local training provider PTS Training Academy. [44] The name of the stadium reverted to Sixfields Stadium in July 2021, following the liquidation of PTS Training Academy.

Training ground

Since July 2016, Northampton have trained at Moulton College in Moulton, Northampton. Before this, they trained at the former athletics track, located at the back of the East Stand at Sixfields Stadium.

Supporters and rivalries

The club's biggest traditional rivals are

Rushden & Diamonds.[45]

Honours

League

Cup

Notes
A. ^ On its formation for the 1992–93 season, the Premier League became the top tier of English football; the First, Second and Third Divisions then became the second, third and fourth tiers, respectively.

Club records

Northampton Town hold the record for the shortest time taken to be promoted from the bottom tier to the top tier and relegated back down to the bottom again, in the space of nine years.

Centre half and former captain Ian Sampson comes second, with 449 games. The record for a goalkeeper is held by Peter Gleasure, with 412 appearances.[46]

The highest attendance at the County Ground of 24,523 was on 23 April 1966 in an important relegation battle in the First Division against Fulham. It is unlikely that this record will be broken unless redevelopment takes place at Sixfields. The record attendance at Sixfields is 7,798, for an EFL Cup match against Manchester United on 21 September 2016.[48]

Players

Current squad

As of 23 January 2024[49]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Lee Burge
2 DF England ENG Tyler Magloire
3 DF England ENG Aaron McGowan (vice-captain)
4 MF England ENG Jack Sowerby
5 DF England ENG Jon Guthrie (captain)
6 DF England ENG Sam Sherring
7 MF England ENG Sam Hoskins
8 MF England ENG Ben Fox
9 FW Scotland SCO Louis Appéré
10 FW England ENG Danny Hylton
11 MF England ENG Mitch Pinnock
12 DF Cameroon CMR Manny Monthé
14 DF England ENG Ali Koiki
15 DF England ENG Jordan Willis
16 FW England ENG Tyreece Simpson (on loan from Huddersfield Town)
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF England ENG Shaun McWilliams
19 FW Scotland SCO Kieron Bowie (on loan from Fulham)
20 DF England ENG Harvey Lintott
21 MF Scotland SCO Marc Leonard (on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion)
22 DF England ENG Akin Odimayo
23 MF Republic of the Congo CGO Will Hondermarck
24 DF England ENG Ryan Haynes
25 DF England ENG Josh Tomlinson
26 DF Jamaica JAM Liam Moore
27 MF England ENG Peter Abimbola
28 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Tony Springett (on loan from Norwich City)
29 MF England ENG Dominic Gape
31 GK England ENG Louie Moulden (on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
33 DF England ENG Patrick Brough
36 GK England ENG James Dadge

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF England ENG Max Dyche (at Aldershot Town until 30 June 2024)

PFA Team of the Year

The following have been included in the PFA Team of the Year whilst playing for Northampton Town:

Cult heroes

The following were chosen by fans as the favourite club heroes in the BBC Sports Cult Heroes poll in 2006:[58]

  1. England Andy Woodman
  2. England John Frain
  3. Wales Dave Bowen

Club management

As of 29 June 2021[59]

Staff positions

  • Manager: Jon Brady
  • Head of academy / First Team Coach: Ian Sampson
  • First Team Coach / U21 Player Pathway Manager: Marc Richards
  • Head of Goalkeeping: James Alger
  • S & C Lead: Ashlee Adebayo
  • S & C Assistant: Joe Power
  • First Team Physio: Michael Bolger
  • First Team Analyst: Liam Jefferson
  • Head Strategic & Recruitment Analyst: Alex Latimer
  • Kit Manager: Adam Moreton

Board of directors and ownership

  • Executive chairman: Kelvin Thomas
  • President: Bob Church
  • Director: David Bower
  • Non-executive director: Mike Wailing

Managerial history

Below is a list of all permanent managers of Northampton Town since its foundation in 1897.

References

Notes
  1. ^ Club History Northampton Town FC
  2. ^ "County Ground, Northampton – History". Old Football Grounds. Archived from the original on 25 November 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  3. ^ May, John (24 January 2004) Cobblers stroll down memory lane BBC Sport. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
  4. ^ The Origins of Northampton Town Supporters' Trust Archived 5 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine NTFC Trust. 2006-01-20. Retrieved 2009-12-29.
  5. ^ Conn, David (21 April 2010). "FC United homage to history as they prepare for future at Newton Heath". The Guardian. London.
  6. ^ Hodgson, Guy (30 September 1994) Northampton sack Barnwell The Independent. Retrieved 2009-12-28.
  7. ^ 1997 League Two play off final Archived 20 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine Soccerbase. Retrieved 2009-12-28.
  8. ^ Fox, Norman Northampton sing a joyous refrain The Independent. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
  9. ^ Curtis, Adrian (24 May 1997) Northampton Town v Swansea City Archived 9 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine Soccernet. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
  10. ^ 1998 League One play off final Soccerbase. Retrieved 2009-12-28.
  11. ^ Bernstein, Joe (22 September 1998) Hammer horror for Old Lady The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
  12. ^ Conn, David (28 December 2001) Northampton brought back to reality The Independent. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  13. ^ Conn, David (22 May 2002) Arkan's lawyer has ambitions to take over Northampton The Independent. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  14. ^ Calderwood joins Cobblers BBC Sport. 2003-10-09. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  15. ^ Calderwood named new Forest boss BBC Sport. 2006-05-30. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  16. ^ Gorman exits as Northampton boss BBC Sport. 2006-12-20. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  17. ^ Northampton name Gray as Manager BBC Sport. 2007-01-02. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  18. ^ "Reds crash out to League Two side". ESPN Soccernet. 22 September 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  19. ^ "Northampton Town sack manager Ian Sampson". BBC Sport. 2 March 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  20. ^ "Northampton appoint Gary Johnson as manager after Ian Sampson sacking". The Guardian. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  21. ^ "Gary Johnson leaves as Northampton Town boss". BBC Football. 14 November 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  22. ^ "Aidy Boothroyd named Northampton Town boss". BBC Sport. 30 November 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  23. ^ "Bradford City 3–0 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  24. ^ "Aidy Boothroyd: Northampton Town sack manager". BBC Sport. 21 December 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  25. ^ "Chris Wilder appointed new manager". ntfc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  26. ^ "Northampton Town issued with winding-up petition by HMRC". BBC Sport. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  27. ^ "Club records". ntfc.co.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  28. ^ Willsher, Gareth. "Northampton Town have been promoted to Sky Bet League 1". ntfc.co.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  29. ^ "JUSTIN EDINBURGH APPOINTED THE NEW NORTHAMPTON TOWN MANAGER". Northampton Town FC Official Site. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  30. ^ "Northampton Town 1–3 Manchester United". BBC Sport. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  31. ^ "Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink: Northampton Town appoint new manager to succeed Justin Edinburgh". BBC Sport. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  32. ^ "Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink gets Northampton tenure off to a winning start". ESPN FC. Press Association Sport. 9 September 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  33. ^ "Keith Curle: Northampton Town appoint former Carlisle United manager". BBC Sport. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  34. ^ "Keith Curle: Northampton Town manager signs new two-year contract". BBC Sport. 6 July 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  35. ^ Brent Pilnick (29 June 2020). "League Two play-off final: Exeter City 0–4 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  36. ^ Brent Pilnick (29 June 2020). "League Two play-off final: Exeter City 0–4 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  37. ^ Tom Garry (22 June 2020). "Cheltenham Town 0–3 Northampton Town (agg 2–3): Cobblers seal comeback win to reach Wembley". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  38. ^ "Northampton Town 0–3 Blackpool: Cobblers relegated back to League Two". BBC Sport. 1 May 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  39. ^ "Barrow 1–3 Northampton Town". BBC. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  40. ^ Scott, Ged (18 May 2022). "Northampton 0–1 Mansfield Town". BBC. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  41. ^ "Tranmere Rovers 0–1 Northampton Town". BBC. 8 May 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  42. ^ "County Ground, Northampton". Old Football Grounds. Archived from the original on 25 November 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2009.
  43. ^ Sixfields Stadium Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Football Ground Guide. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  44. ^ "COBBLERS AGREE STADIUM RIGHTS NAMING PARTNERSHIP". ntfc.co.uk.
  45. ^ Swan, Rob (27 August 2019). "The top five rivals of English football's top 92 clubs revealed". Givemesport. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  46. ^ Most appearances in a career. Archived 1 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine. ntfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
  47. ^ Most goals in a career. Archived 1 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine. ntfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
  48. ^ "Northampton Town 1–3 Manchester United". BBC Sport.
  49. ^ "Northampton Town F.C. Player Profiles". Northampton Town F.C. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  50. ^ Lynch. The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. p. 143.
  51. ^ Lynch. The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. p. 146.
  52. ^ "Keane claims award double". BBC News. 30 April 2000. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  53. ^ "Gerrard named player of the year". BBC Sport. 23 April 2006. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  54. ^ "Leicester and Tottenham dominate PFA Premier League team of the year". The Guardian. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  55. ^ Jamie Jackson (8 September 2020). "Kevin De Bruyne and Beth England win PFA player of the year awards". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  56. ^ "Mohamed Salah and Sam Kerr win PFA player of year awards". BBC Sport. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  57. ^ "Erling Haaland: Manchester City forward wins PFA men's Player of the Year award". BBC Sport. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  58. ^ Northampton's Cult Heroes BBC Sport. 2005-04-30. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
  59. ^ Who's who at Sixfields Archived 25 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine ntfc.co.uk. 2015-09-28. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
Bibliography

External links

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