Northampton Town F.C.
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Northampton Town Football Club is a football team based in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently in Football League One, and play at the Sixfields Stadium since moving from the County Ground in October 1994.
The club was formed in 1897 by a group of teachers and is nicknamed the Cobblers due to the town's shoemaking history. They usually play in claret and white, and their main local rivals are Peterborough United, a rivalry which has endured since the 1960s.
Northampton Town have spent one season of their existence in the top division of English football, in 1965-66 when they were relegated from the First Division after just one season. In 1970, they lost 8-2 to Manchester United in the F.A Cup third round. Six of the goals conceded were scored by George Best, who received the match ball (signed by Northampton players) as a reward for his performance.
The club finished bottom of the Football League's new Division Three in 1993-94, only avoiding relegation to the Conference because Kidderminster Harriers did not have a satisfactory stadium to join the Football League. Manager John Barnwell was sacked soon afterwards to make way for Ian Atkins, and the club began to move forward. In 1996-97 they won promotion to Division Two thanks to a playoff final victory over Swansea City, and almost made it two successive promotions the following season - but were beaten by Grimsby Town in the Division Two playoff final. The club went down a year later and Atkins resigned, but promotion was earned at the first attempt under new manager Kevin Wilson.
Kevin Wilson was sacked in November 2001 to make way for his assistant Kevan Broadhurst, who steered the Cobblers to Division Two survival. But Broadhurst was sacked in January 2003 with Northampton struggling at the foot of the division, and was briefly replaced by Terry Fenwick, who in turn left after just seven weeks to make way for Martin Wilkinson. Wilkinson lasted little longer, being dismissed in October 2003 in favour of former Scotland and Tottenham Hotspur defender Colin Calderwood.
Calderwood led Northampton to the play-offs in his first season, where they were knocked out in the semi-finals by Mansfield Town after a penalty shoot-out. In the 2004/05 season, Northampton finished 7th, again in the play-offs, where they were defeated by Southend United. Following this, the manager made substantial changes to the squad, and they enjoyed a successful 2005/06 league season. On April 29, the Cobblers clinched promotion to Football League One for 2006/07, with a 1-0 win at home to Chester City. On May 30, Northampton announced that Calderwood was leaving to join Nottingham Forest as their new manager, and was replaced by John Gorman on June 5.
Current squad
As of 12th July 2006
Player Records
- Most league goals in a season - 36 Cliff Holton (1961-62)
- Most league goals in total - 135 Jack English (1947-60)
- Most league appearances - 521 Tommy Fowler (1946-61)
- Most clean sheets in a season - 25 (Goalkeepers - Lee Harper and Mark Bunn) (2005-06)
Club Honours
- Third Division (South) Runners-Up (1927-28), (1949-50)
- Second Division Runners-Up (1964-65)
- Third Division Champions (1962-63)
- Fourth Division Runners-Up (1975-76)
- Fourth Division Champions (1986-87)
- Division Three Play-Off Winners (1996-97)
- League Two Runners-Up (2005-06)
See also
[link] The Hotel EndExternal links
- [Northampton Town F.C. official site].
- [The Hotel End, The Northampton Town FC fans messageboard].
- [Sixfields Boys: An unofficial Northampton Town FC message board].
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