Swindon Town seek to make it four straight wins in League Two this weekend as they prepare for the visit of second-place Northampton Town in a 3pm kick off.
We look ahead to another important clash for Scott Lindsey’s side with a bit of background on Jon Brady’s in-form Cobblers.
The lowdown…
Currently sitting second in Sky Bet League Two, Northampton have enjoyed a fine start to the new season, and Jon Brady’s side appear to have suffered no hangover from last terms final day automatic promotion heart-break with Bristol Rovers pipping them at the very last.
Formed in 1897 by a group of local school teachers, Northampton won their first title in 1909 as they claimed the Southern League. Eleven years later they were admitted into the Football League where they’d play in the Third Division South for the next 38 years.
However the sixties brought a turbulent era for the club. Three promotions in five seasons earned them a brief spell in the First Division before they ended a decade back in the Fourth Division.
Since their relegation from the second tier in 1966-67, Northampton have played every single season in either the third or fourth levels of English football.
In 1976 they came second in the fourth division, winning promotion to the third tier. Along the way they went unbeaten at home and every regular starter who played in the side scored a goal, including their keeper!
The following season saw relegation back to the Fourth Division, but ten years later they reached the third once again, recording a club record 99-points.
In Northampton’s centenary season, they reached Wembley for the first time in a century as they beat Swansea in the Play-off Final.
After sliding between the third and fourth divisions once more, they made the headlines in 2010 as they conquered Liverpool 4-2 on penalties at Anfield in the Third Round of the League Cup.
Under the guidance of Chris Wilder, The Cobblers returned to League One for the first time since 2009.
More recently, they’ve been both promoted and relegated alongside Swindon. In 2019/20 they secured promotion via the play-offs only to be demoted back to League Two the following season.
The Stadium…
Sixfields is a 7,798-capacity all-seater stadium situated on the west side of Northampton.
It’s been home to The Cobblers following their move from the County Ground back in October 1994. It was also rented by Coventry City between July 2013 and August 2014.
The first game to be played at Sixfields was against Barnet in Division Three in October 1994.
The tie ended in a 1-1 draw, with striker Martin Aldridge scoring the first goal at the new ground.
The record attendance at the venue is 7,798 (full capacity), which was achieved back in September 2016 against Premier League giants Manchester United.
The last five previous meetings…
Scott Lindsey’s side boast the upper-hand if previous meetings are anything to go by, with three wins in their last five.
The pair met twice in League Two last term, with Town recording a comprehensive 5-2 victory over The Cobblers back in January.
Former striker Harry McKirdy hit four that day as Swindon came from 2-1 down at home to claim all three points.
There wasn’t much between the two sides in the earlier meeting last season in September 2021, with the tie finishing 1-1.
The clash before this saw the duo battle it out in League One, with Swindon winning 2-1 at home in February 2021 and losing by the same score line in the reverse in October 2020.
The last of the five most recent match-ups saw Town grab maximum points once again, back in League Two, with Jordan Lyden’s 77th minute conversion enough to win the tie at Sixfields.
Northampton this season…
Seven wins from their opening ten League Two games sees The Cobblers sit second in the standings behind leaders Leyton Orient.
An impressive goal count of 21 has played a big part in their early season success, with just the one league defeat, like Swindon, so far this term.
An opening day 3-2 win at home to Colchester set the standards early on, followed by a draw at Grimsby.
They didn’t let a home defeat to Wycombe phase them as they exited the Carabao Cup soon after, with two straight league wins at home to Hartlepool and on their travels at Crawley.
They’ve since gone on to win every league game throughout September, which makes this weekend’s clash at SN1 all the more intriguing.
The manager…
The Australian has been at the Sixfields helm since replacing Keith Curle as Caretaker Manager in February last year.
Initially, the 47-year-old enjoyed a lengthy playing career as a winger, with his first taste of professional football coming during a four year spell in Norway with Mjolnar.
Playing for Hayes, Brady featured 188 times before moving to Rushden and Diamonds.
Here he won the National League title in 2001, but after featuring 127 times for the club, he opted for a switch to Woking a year later.
Subsequent spells at Chester, Stevenage Borough and Cambridge United would follow before Brady hung up his boots in 2008.
His first opportunity in the dugout would come in 2009 as he was named manager of Brackley Town.
After more than six years and 306 games in charge, Brady stepped down and took on a youth coaching role at Northampton.
Five years later he found himself in temporary charge of the first-team, and has since taken the full reins, overseeing more than 70 games with an impressive win ratio just over 40.
Summer and deadline day recruitment…
Ten new players have been added to the ranks this season by Brady as he looks to go one better than a play-off place this term.
Among the names looking to push the club towards those automatic promotion spots are Ben Fox from Grimsby, Ryan Haynes from Newport and striker Danny Hylton, who has come in from Luton Town.
Goalkeeper Lee Burge left Sunderland for Sixfields, while a familiar face in Akin Odimayo penned a deal with the club in the summer after leaving The County Ground.
Bournemouth attacker, Sam Sherring has added steel to the frontline, with young Gillingham defender Harvey Lintott also coming in.
The Cobblers have also managed to tie up loan deals for three promising youngsters from higher league opposition.
Kieron Bowie has joined from Fulham along with Brighton’s Marc Leonard and Blackburn’s Tyler Magloire.
Just the three have opted for new challenges away from the club, with Paul Lewis moving to Tranmere Rovers, Liam Roberts leaving for Middlesbrough and Stockport snapping up Fraser Horsfall.
