By Kate Willetts
•
July 31, 2026
Chris Millington’s Solihull Moors are set to bring their 2026/27 pre-season preparations to a close when they welcome Northampton Town, led by Manager Chris Hogg, to Damson Park on Saturday afternoon. The Moors come into this game having earned a very credible 1 – 1 draw in our most recent friendly against Burton Albion on Tuesday evening. As for The Cobblers, they recently faced fellow League Two outfit Cambridge United at the Cledara Abbey Stadium earlier on this week, where they came away with a goalless draw in the end. Northampton Town are a football club who have an extensive history, having been founded all the way back on 9th March 1897. They were formed when a group of school teachers from the local area, together with solicitor AJ ‘Pat’ Darnell, met at the Princess Royal Inn on Wellingborough Road. They were to be the first football club to be formed in the town. After the local rugby club objected to their original name, the new football club was to change its name to how it is known to this day – Northampton Town Football Club. They began life in the Northants League, where they spent two seasons during which they recorded their first transfer fee - £50 – which was received from Derby County for Frank ‘Hall’ Howard. They won the County Championship in what was their second ever season before then spending a further two years in the Midland League ahead of joining the Southern League in the 1901/02 season. During that campaign, they suffered an 11- 0 defeat to Southampton, which remains the club’s record defeat in a competitive match. Herbert Chapman, one of English Football’s first great managers, managed the Cobblers in the early twentieth century before departing for Leeds United at the start of the 1912/13 season, before going on to win league championships leading the likes of Huddersfield Town and Arsenal before his death in 1934. In the three years prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, Northampton would finish in 7th, 9th, and 17th place respectively in the Division Three (South). Fast forward to 1952/53, they managed to finish as high as third place in this same division, with them just two points off the title winners, who were Bristol Rovers, even after the club had scored an astonishing 109 goals over the course of the campaign. They spent a brief time in the Fourth Division before eventually going on to finally win the Third Division title in the 1962/63 season, scoring another 109 goals. Additionally, a total of five members of their squad were able to score double figures in terms of goals, with Alec Ashworth scoring the most with 25 in just 30 matches overall. He went on to leave the club for Preston North End for a fee of around £20,000. Their 1965/66 campaign stands out in the club’s history as the only season (so far) that the Cobblers have ever spent in the top flight in England. It of course saw them relegated that season, which was confirmed following a 4 – 2 defeat to Fulham in front of what was a 24,523 strong crowd at the County Ground. The club were relegated again, this time down to Division Three, the following season, which was the 1966/67 season. Their only double was against Aston Villa, who are the only club that the Cobblers have a 100% record against, though they have only ever met competitively twice, having not met since the 1960s. They were almost relegated again in the 1967/68 season, finishing in 18th place in the end. Fast forward to their 1969/70 season, they played nine games in the FA Cup that term, which was a run that ended in an 8 – 2 defeat at the hands of the famous Manchester United in the Fifth Round Proper, where George Best scored six goals, a double hat-trick. Graham Carr, who is of course the father of famous Comedian and Celebrity Traitors Winner Alan Carr, became Northampton Town boss for the final seven games of the 1984/85 season, winning six and drawing one, which gave him the permanent job. An 8th place finish was achieved in his first season in the fourth tier before then going on to win the Fourth Division title the following campaign in the 1986/87 season. They accumulated a record total of 99 points whilst scoring 103 goals as a team, with their top scorer being Richard Hill with a grand total of 29. Tuesday 12th October 1994 was the final ever game at the club’s former ground, The County Ground, being defeated narrowly 1 – 0 by Mansfield Town. Subsequently, their first game at their current stadium, Sixfields, was a 1 – 1 draw against Barnet on Saturday 15th October 1994. In 1997, Northampton were playing at Wembley for what was the first time in 100 years, with them beating Swansea City to win the play-off final in the English Capital. After promotion, they then lost at Wembley against Grimsby Town the season after that. They finally returned to Division Two in 2000. After the collapse of ITV Digital, the Cobblers had to launch an appeal so they could see out the remainder of the season. And after failed takeover attempts, including the reported one involving John Fashanu and Giovanni Di Stefano, a total of £230,000 was raised by the fans in order to save the club. A takeover then took place in what was a consortium led by Andrew Ellis, taking over as majority shareholder in December 2002. In the 2005/06 campaign, Northampton Town won promotion to League One automatically, which was confirmed following a 1 – 0 win over Chester at Sixfields in front of a jubilant crowd on 29th April 2006. The likes of Sean Dyche, Ian Taylor, Eoin Jess, and Scott McGleish were signed ahead of their latest stint in the third tier, with John Gorman taking over from Colin Calderwood ahead of the new campaign, after Calderwood had left for Nottingham Forest. They finished in the top half of League One in 2007/08, before being relegated back to League Two the following campaign. In September 2010, Northampton Town were able to beat Liverpool at Anfield in the Carling Cup, led by club legend Ian Sampson. He left in March 2011 after spending 17 years at the club as player, coach, and manager, with him also the second-highest appearance maker in the club’s history. He was replaced by Aidy Boothroyd. In the 2019/20 League Two play-offs, they beat Cheltenham Town and Exeter City, defeating the latter 4 – 0 to secure their emphatic return to League One football. They were in League Two again under Jon Brady in the 2021/22 season, entering the playoffs after being denied promotion following an astonishing 7 – 0 win for Bristol Rovers against Scunthorpe United on the final day of the season. Brady would leave the club in December 2024, before Kevin Nolan, the former Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle United, and West Ham United midfielder, took charge, steering his new side to safety. Then, in March/April 2025, the club opened the new LCS East Stand following the redevelopment. Last season (2025/26), Northampton Town were relegated back down to League Two, which was a campaign that included a dreadful run of 11 defeats in a row, with the aforementioned Nolan leaving the club in March 2026. They did, though, at least manage to reach the semi-finals of that season’s EFL Trophy, which was the club’s best ever run in this competition. The Cobblers will be hoping to secure their return to League One with promotion from League Two by the end of the upcoming 2026/27 campaign. In the opposition dugout – Chris Hogg Chris Hogg is the current Manager of Northampton Town Football Club, with the former defender having been appointed by the club back on Monday 18th May 2026. The Cobblers’ upcoming 2026/27 campaign will be his first in charge of the Cobblers. This is also Hogg’s first ever season as a First Team Manager. During his playing career that spanned twelve years between 2003 and 2015, playing for the likes of Ipswich Town (2003 - 2005), Boston United (Loan, 2003; Loan, 2003 - 2004), Hibernian (2005 - 2011), Inverness Caledonian Thistle (2011 - 2013), and finally non-league side Needham Market from 2014 to 2015. Key Player – Tom Eaves One of the key players for Chris Hogg’s Northampton Town side is undoubtedly striker Tom Eaves. He was their leading goalscorer in the league last season with 8, with him scoring the most for the club in all competitions with a total of 10 overall. Eaves began his playing career back in 2009 with Oldham Athletic, leaving in 2010. He has since represented the likes of Bolton Wanderers (2010 - 2016), Bristol Rovers (Loan, 2012 - 2013), Shrewsbury Town (Loan, 2013 & 2013 - 2014), Rotherham United (Loan, 2013 & 2022 - 2024), Yeovil Town (Loan, 2014 – 2015 & 2016 - 2017), Bury (Loan, 2015), Gillingham (2017 - 2019), Hull City (2019 - 2022), joining Northampton back on 12th July 2024 on what was an initial two year deal. Opposition Preview written by Adam Holt