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| Full name | Northampton Town Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | The Cobblers Shoe Army Teyn | |||
| Founded | 9 March 1897; 128 years ago (1897) | |||
| Ground | Sixfields Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 8,203 | |||
| Chairman | Kelvin Thomas | |||
| Manager | Kevin Nolan | |||
| League | EFL League One | |||
| 2024–25 | EFL League One, 19th of 24 | |||
| Website | www | |||
 Current season | ||||
Northampton Town Football Club is a professionalassociation football club based in the town ofNorthampton, England. The team competes inLeague One, the third level of theEnglish football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in theMidland League for two seasons, before joining theSouthern League in 1901. They were crowned Southern League champions in 1908–09, allowing them to contest the1909 FA Charity Shield. Admitted into theFootball League in 1920, they spent the next 38 years in theThird Division South. UnderDave Bowen, the club achieved three promotions from theFourth Division to theFirst Division within five years. However, Northampton only survived for one season in the top tier of English football after relegation in 1966. Northampton then experienced two further relegations in three years to return to the Fourth Division by 1969 – this set a record in English football of moving from the fourth tier to the first tier and back in only nine years. After six seasons of stability in the fourth tier, the club won promotion before returning to the Fourth Division after another relegation in 1977. Northampton won further promotions to the third tier in 1987 and1997.
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 ofLeague Two in 2005–06 after two unsuccessful play-off campaigns. Relegated at the end of their third season inLeague 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. They won promotion back to League One in 2023.
Northampton are nicknamed theCobblers, a reference to the town's historical shoe-making industry, and the team traditionally plays in claret and whitekits. The Cobblers played at theCounty Ground from 1897 until 1994, when they moved toSixfields Stadium, which has a capacity of 8,203. Northampton's predominant rivals have beenPeterborough United in theNene derby.
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 theMidland League, before joining theSouthern League in 1901–02. Led by player-managerHerbert Chapman the club were champions of the Southern League in 1908–09 and played againstNewcastle United in theCharity Shield match, losing 2–0 atThe Oval.[1]
In1919–20, the first season after the war, Town conceded a club record 103 goals. Nonetheless, the club was allowed to join theFootball League for the following season, inDivision Three (South).1922–23 saw the club become apublic company and 8,000 shares were released at £1. The season produced a record crowd of 18,123 againstPlymouth on Boxing Day and gate receipts for the first time exceeded £1,000.1923–24 started with the club raising £5,000 to build a stand with a players' tunnel underneath and also improved terracing in the Hotel End. The following season saw the formation of the supporters' club. In 1925 the club's first foreign transfer took place as William Shaw was signed from Barcelona. A new ground record was set for theF.A. Cup third-round replay with Sunderland, 21,148 turned up to see the Cobblers lose 3–0. However, disaster occurred at theCounty 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 entertainedAFC Bournemouth reserves. By August 1930, the stands were rebuilt.
In1932–33, the club created history when brothersFred andAlbert Dawes both scored in an 8–0 win overNewport County. The latter finished the season scoring 32 league goals and even scored four in a 4–0 win over theNetherlands national football team while the club was on tour. In1933–34, theF.A. Cup fifth round was reached for the first time courtesy of a fourth round win away toHuddersfield Town who, at the time were top of Division One. The Cobblers lost toPreston North End 4–0 atDeepdale, setting a new ground record of 40,180. In the three seasons prior to the breakout ofWorld War II, the Cobblers finished seventh, ninth and 17th respectively in Division Three (South). In the final match prior to the war, they travelled toDean Court and lost 10–0, the club's record league defeat. During the war the Cobblers had the record for the first transfer fee received during the hostilities whenBobby King was sold toWolverhampton Wanderers for a substantial four-figure fee.
Northampton were promoted three times in the five years 1960 to 1965. Starting the1960–61 season in theFourth Division, they reached theFirst Division in1965–66, 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 in1969–70. During their top-flight season they earned a double againstAston Villa and victories at home over clubs includingLeeds,Newcastle,West Ham, andBlackburn, the latter being the only team Northampton would finish above in the table.
Since their relegation from the Second Division in1966–67, Northampton have played every season in either the third or fourth tier of English football.
In 1970, they lost 8–2 toManchester United in theFA Cup fifth round. Six of the goals conceded were scored byGeorge Best, who received the match ball (signed by Northampton players) as a reward for his performance.[3] For the first time since becoming a league side the club had to apply for re-election in 1971, they finished the most favoured club with 49 votes. In the1974–75 season, future England InternationalPhil Neal was sold, after 200 games in all competitions for theCobblers,Liverpool bought Neal for a then club record of £65,000, whilst playing in the same side of another future England International,John Gregory. Finally during the1975–76 season, the club finished second in Division Four and were promoted behind championsLincoln City. They did this without losing a home game and having every regular player score during the season, including the goalkeeper,Alan Starling, who netted from a penalty in the penultimate home game againstHartlepool. In1976–77, the club were relegated back to Division Four. The season started with ex-Manchester United assistant manager,Paddy Crerand in charge; however, he resigned in the new year. No new manager was appointed and 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 toCambridge United for a then-club record of £165,000 (he had been the club's top scorer for the previous two seasons).
Newfloodlights were installed in time for the1980–81 season, but they failed during the first match againstSouthend United and the game had to be abandoned. The club struggled in the bottom half of the Fourth Division for the first half of the decade, but 16-year-oldAidy Mann became the club's youngest player in May 1984. In1984–85, the lowest ever league attendance was recorded at the County Ground where only 942 people turn up to watch theCobblers lose 2–0 at home toChester City; this was also Northampton's only ever league attendance below 1,000. In the same year, the club managed what seemed like a major coup when they appointed as managerTony Barton, who had won theEuropean Cup withAston Villa two years previously. Barton's only season in charge proved severely disappointing however, as the club were never outside the bottom two, and health problems forced Barton's resignation near the end of that season. Success was achieved under Barton's replacement,Graham Carr, who brought in several players from the non-league in addition to a number of quality league players to finish eighth in his first season in charge. The1986–87 season saw Northampton win the Fourth Division championship, gaining a club record total of 99 points and scoring 103 goals, 29 of them fromRichard Hill, who was transferred in the summer toWatford 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 asTrevor Morley andEddie McGoldrick were sold and the team fell back down to Division Four in the1989–90 season.
The 1990s began badly, with the clubrelegated to the Fourth Division at the end of the1989–90 season. The following season began well as the club looked on course to return to theThird 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 intoadministration 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 TownSupporters' trust, which has a shareholding in the club and a representative on theboard 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 the1992–93 season to avoid being relegated to theConference. Over 2,500 made the trip toShrewsbury Town and saw theCobblers win 3–2, despite being 2–0 down at half-time. The1993–94 season got worse for theCobblers as they finished bottom of theFootball League for the only time in the club's history. Relegation was only avoided due to the Conference champions,Kidderminster Harriers, not meeting the necessary ground criteria. The club eventually began its move to Sixfields.
The club moved to new ground,Sixfields Stadium, in October 1994. The change of ground did not change the club's fortunes and they finished 17th, withIan Atkins taking over as manager fromJohn Barnwell halfway through the1994–95 season.[6] After two more seasons, in the club's centenary season1996–97, Atkins lead theCobblers toWembley for the first time in 100 years, where they beatSwansea City 1–0 in theThird Division play-off final,John Frain scoring the winning goal from a twice-taken free kick deep intoinjury time.[7][8][9] The following season Northampton made theSecond Division play-off final, but lost 1–0 toGrimsby Town in front of a then-record 62,998 crowd, with the Northampton support greater than 40,000 fans also a then-record for the most supporters taken to Wembley by one team.[10] Northampton were not able to progress from the previous year's success because of long-term injuries to 16 of their players during the1998–99 season. The team was relegated toDivision Three, despite being unbeaten in the last nine games of the season. However, there were some promising results such as a 2–1 aggregate win overWest Ham United in theLeague Cup.[11] The1999–2000 season saw the club bounce back toDivision Two, finishing in the third automatic promotion spot. Ian Atkins left the club in October following a poor start to the season; his assistant,Kevin Wilson and coachKevan Broadhurst took joint charge for the rest of the month. FormerChelsea player Wilson 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 asMarco Gabbiadini andJamie Forrester pushing theCobblers towards a play-off place before the club eventually finished in 18th place due to a large number of injuries in the second half of the season. Kevin Wilson was sacked in November 2001 to make way for his assistant Kevan Broadhurst, who steered theCobblers from relegation to a remarkable survival with a game to spare after losing only one home game from mid-January. The next season was the worst since the early 1990s, both financially and on the pitch. Early on they were forced into a 'Save our Season' campaign to keep afloat until the end of the year. It was required after the collapse ofITV Digital and much-publicised takeover attempts byJohn Fashanu[12] andGiovanni Di Stefano[13] had failed and left the club with huge debts. They were taken over by a consortium run byAndrew Ellis, who sacked Broadhurst in January 2003, when Northampton were struggling at the foot of the division. He was briefly replaced by formerEngland playerTerry Fenwick who was sacked after a winless spell of seven games. This was, at the time, the eighth-shortest managerial reign in English football history.Martin Wilkinson, the new manager lasted little longer, being dismissed in October 2003 in favour of formerScotland andTottenham Hotspur defenderColin Calderwood.[14] Calderwood led Northampton to the play-offs in his first season, where they were knocked out in the semi-finals byMansfield Town after a penalty shoot-out. In the2004–05 season, Northampton finished seventh, again in the play-offs, where they were defeated bySouthend United. Following this, the manager made substantial changes to the squad, bringing in experienced players such asIan Taylor andEoin Jess, and they enjoyed a successful2005–06 league season. On 29 April, theCobblers clinched promotion toFootball League One, with a 1–0 win at home toChester City. On 30 May 2006, Northampton announced that Calderwood was leaving to joinNottingham Forest as their new manager,[15] and he was replaced byJohn Gorman on 5 June. On 20 December, Gorman resigned due to "personal issues" with the side 18th in the table, withIan Sampson andJim Barron briefly taking care of first team affairs.[16] He was replaced by formerSouthampton bossStuart Gray on 2 January 2007.[17]The Cobblers were relegated from League One on the final day of the2008–09 season, after suffering a 3–0 defeat away atLeeds United and other results that went against them.
Northampton caused an upset in the third round of the2010–11 Football League Cup, knocking outLiverpool atAnfield. The game was drawn 2–2 after extra time, as theCobblers beat the team 69 places above them 4–2 onpenalties, the winning penalty being scored byAbdul Osman at the 'Kop End'.[18] Ian Sampson was sacked as manager on 2 March 2011 after a poor run of form saw theCobblers fail to win in eight games and sit in a disappointing 16th position in League Two. Sampson's last game in charge was a 2–3 defeat againstBurton 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 andGary Johnson was unveiled as the new manager on 4 March 2011.[20] However, things didn't go well under Johnson: the club slid further down the table in League Two and only just avoided relegation at the end of the2010–11 season. The beginning of the2011–12 season saw no improvement for theCobblers and Johnson left the club on 14 November 2011 by mutual consent.[21] In November 2011, Northampton appointed ex-Watford managerAidy Boothroyd as their new manager.[22] After drafting in players such asBen Harding,Luke Guttridge andClarke Carlisle, Boothroyd managed to keep Northampton in the league and over the summer set about transforming the club into a club with promotion ambitions. On 18 May 2013, Northampton reached theLeague Two play-off final, losing 3–0 toBradford City atWembley Stadium.[23]
After a poor start to the2013–14 League Two season, Northampton found themselves at the foot of the table, and as of 21 December, they had only won four games. Boothroyd was subsequently sacked.[24] From the start of the 2013–14 season, Northampton shared theirSixfields Stadium withCoventry City with the West Midlands club going through a protracted dispute with the owners of their previous home, theRicoh Arena inCoventry. On 27 January 2014, David Cardoza appointed formerOxford United managerChris Wilder as the new manager of the club on a three-and-a-half-year deal.[25]
In October 2015,HM Revenue and Customs issued the club with a winding-up petition over unpaid taxes.[26](SeeSixfields 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] The2015–16 season was successful and resulted in promotion toLeague 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 the2016–17 season, after a 5–0 defeat toBristol Rovers,Rob Page was sacked and replaced withJustin Edinburgh.[29] Northampton finished 16th, meaning that they would continue to play third-tier football. They made it to the third round of theEFL Cup, where they lost toManchester 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, replacingJustin Edinburgh who had been sacked after four losses from the start of theseason.[31] His first game was againstDoncaster 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 nine games without a win and was replaced byKeith Curle.[33] Curle had his contract extended in July 2020 for a further two years.[34]
On 29 June 2020, the club were promoted toLeague One after beatingExeter City 4–0 in theplay-off final, despite a delay in the season due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.[35] This was Northampton's fourth EFL play-off final and it ended in victory, 23 seasons after their only other Wembley win for promotion.[36] They made it to Wembley following a second leg comeback againstCheltenham Town, after the first leg atSixfields Stadium where they had trailed 2–0 and faced an uphill battle to progress to the play-off final. However, in the second leg, theCobblers 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 the2020–21 season.[38]
In the2021–22 season Northampton finished fourth, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion on the final day toBristol Rovers.[39] Although Northampton started the final day in the automatic positions and managed to win their away match toBarrow 3–1, Bristol Rovers managed to beatScunthorpe 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, theCobblers were subsequently defeated byMansfield Town 3–1 on aggregate.[40] In the following season, they defeatedTranmere Rovers on the final day of the season to seal automatic promotion to League One.[41]
Northampton's kit has been manufactured by Puma since 2023. Previous manufacturers have includedBukta (1975–82),Adidas (1982–83),Umbro (1983–86), Spall (1986–88), MG (1988–89), Scoreline (1989–91), Beaver Sports (1991–92), Ribero (1992–93), Swift (1993–94),Lotto (1995–97), Pro Star (1997–2000), Sport House (2000–03), Xara (2003–05), Salming (2005–06), Vandanel (2006–09),Errea (2009–16),Nike (2016–20),Hummel (2020–23) andPuma (2023–).
The club's shirts are sponsored by the University of Northampton, since 2013, and PTS Academy, since 2016. Previous sponsors have includedChronicle & Echo (1985–86 and 1994–95),TNT (1986–88), Costain Homes (1988–91), Van Aid (1991–92), Carpet Supacentre (1992–94),Lotto (1995–97), EBS Mobile Phones (1997–98),Nationwide (1998–2003), Jackson Grundy (2007–13), Red Hot Buffet (2011–12),Gala Casinos (2012–13), andOpus Energy (2015–18)
Northampton moved to the county ground in 1897,[42] sharing it withNorthamptonshire County Cricket Club from 1905. The main stand was situated alongside Abington Avenue and was a covered stand with seating to the rear andterracing to the front. The stand survived until 1985, but following theBradford City stadium fire, it was deemed unsafe and demolished, leaving only the terracing. This was then replaced by a small temporary stand nicknamed the 'Meccano Stand ' by fans. The other two stands were at the ends with the Spion Kop, which only reached the goalposts, usually used for away supporters and the Hotel End for the home supporters. In1965–66, the only time that Northampton Town were in the top flight of English football, the county ground saw its highest attendance 24,523 againstFulham on 23 April 1966. The ground also saw Northampton's lowest ever attendance in theFootball League, a crowd of 942 for the1984–85 match againstChester City. The last game to be played at the ground was a 1–0 defeat byMansfield Town on Tuesday, 12 October 1994.
The club moved to Sixfields Stadium in 1994.[43] It is a modernall-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-BoroughCouncillor who helped thestadium become reality. At either end are identical stands that are the same height as the east stand, the south stand usually for away supporters. (AgainstChester 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 toLeague 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.
Since July 2016, Northampton have trained atMoulton College in Moulton, Northampton. Before this, they trained at the former athletics track, located at the back of the East Stand at Sixfields Stadium.
Peterborough United
Main articleNene derby
The club's biggest traditional rivals arePeterborough United, a rivalry which has endured since the 1960s. Matches between the two clubs are known as theNene derby, after the river which links Northampton and Peterborough.
Other rivals
Other significant rivalries includeOxford United,Milton Keynes Dons,Coventry City,Cambridge United andRushden & Diamonds.[45]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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The following have been included in thePFA Team of the Year whilst playing for Northampton Town:
Paul Stratford[citation needed]Steve Phillips[47]Keith McPherson,Richard Hill,Trevor Morley[48]Ian Hendon[49]Ian Taylor,Josh Low[50]Adam Smith,
John-Joe O'Toole,Ricky Holmes[51]Charlie Goode,
Nicky Adams[52]Liam Roberts,Jon Guthrie,Fraser Horsfall[53]Sam Hoskins[54]The following were chosen by fans as the favourite club heroes in the BBC Sports Cult Heroes poll in 2006:[55]
Below is a list of all permanent managers of Northampton Town since its foundation in 1897.[57]
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.
Tommy Fowler holds the record for Northampton Town appearances, having played 552 first-team matches between 1946 and 1961.Centre half and former captainIan Sampson comes second, with 449 games. The record for agoalkeeper is held byPeter Gleasure, with 412 appearances.[58]
Jack English is the club's top goalscorer with 143 goals in competitive matches between 1947 and 1959, having surpassedTeddy Bowen's total of 120. Bowen's record had stood since September 1931, when he overtook the total of 110 goals set by strikerWilliam Lockett in 1930.[59]
The highest attendance at the County Ground of 24,523 was on 23 April 1966 in an important relegation battle in theFirst Division againstFulham. It is unlikely that this record will be broken unless redevelopment takes place at Sixfields. The record attendance at Sixfields is 7,947, for anEFL League One match againstBirmingham City on 15 March 2025.[60]
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