Cobblers, Our Closest League Team

One rainy day over the summer we decided to try to see our local team's stadium - Sixfields with our neighbour Adam. The stadium is new, built in 1994 and sits in an out-of-town shopping and entertainment complex housing a cinema, bowling alley, a Pizza Hut and McDonalds. The stadium is situated below the main business park, and there is a lovey view of the ground from above. In fact, a cheap seat might be right in the parking lot looking down on the pitch (about 3/4 of it). They moved to this location after sharing the County Cricket Ground which has more character, but probably has access issues.

I have heard that Northampton is the only place that there are more rugby supporters than football for the local team - some say three to one. The Saints are the pride and joy of Northampton. The Cobblers are the ugly stepsister, though they do have some very loyal fans. While we have lived in Northamptonshire there was one time that I heard some exciting news from the Cobblers (named after our shoe-making heritage). In the third round of the 2010–11 League Cup, they knocked out Liverpool at Anfield. The game was a 2–2 draw after extra time, and the Cobblers beat the team 69 places above them in the league 4–2 on penalties. This caused quite a stir amongst locals, but I am most proud to have learned about Walter Tull, the second mixed heritage player to play in the top division. Tull was bought by Herbert Chapman's Northampton Town on 17 October 1911 for a "substantial fee" from Tottenham Hotspur. Tull made his debut four days later against Watford wearing the number 9 shirt, and made in all 111 first-team appearances and nine goals for the club.  When war broke out Tull enlisted in the army, in December 1914, the first Northampton Town player to do so. It was reported in the Glasgow Evening Times in 1940, in an article about Tull being the first black infantry officer in the British Army, that he had signed to play for Rangers once the war was over. But sadly Tull died in the war and his body was never recovered. There is a memorial to Tull in Northampton and a road behind the stadium named in his honour.

We first went into the shop, took our usual pictures and admired the different things for sale. We wandered around the back of the stadium and saw an athletics ground that Adam's brother trains. There were a few footballers walking past us, and though I hinted to the boys that the footballers might let us into the ground, they were too shy to ask and we missed this chance. So we wandered back around and into their reception area were we poked our head into an office and asked nicely if someone would let us look in. Again we were lucky, and soon were on our way onto the pitch, asking a few questions and snapping pictures furiously. After a few minutes we thanked them and headed up the hill to celebrate our visit at McDonalds with an ice cream.

It seems like a nice club with a bright future, and though they are usual struggling to stay in the league and fighting for a place in the heart of Northamptonians, they will carry on. 

Here are some photos from the day.