Ahead of the new Sky Bet League One season, which will kick-off in August, we're taking a look at the seven new teams who will feature in the third tier of English football next season.
Up next in this feature is Northampton Town Football Club, who will be playing in the third tier of English football for the first time since 2018, following their promotion from Sky Bet League Two back in May on the final day of the season.
The Cobblers finished the 2022/23 season in third place after picking up 83 points from their 46 games. Manager Jon Brady joined the club back in 2021 on an interim basis but soon after got the job on a permanent basis, and the club were rewarded with two promotion battle seasons, with the latter being the one that got them over the line.
With Northampton now back in League One, will they hit the ground running following last season's success? We've taken a trip down memory lane to look back at the key moments in the club's history.
Northampton Town Football Club, nicknamed the Cobblers were founded on 9th March 1897, when a group of local school teachers got together with the well known local solicitor, AJ "Pat" Darnell in the Princess Royal Inn, Wellingborough Road, Northampton to form the town's first professional football club.
In 1962-63 the Cobblers were crowned champions of the Third Division scoring 109 goals in the process. Five players reached double figures that year, with top scorer Alec Ashworth scoring 25 league goals in just 30 matches. He was later then transferred to Preston North End in the close season for an estimated £20,000.
During the 1965-66 season, it was the only time the Cobblers have ever spent in the top flight of English football. A County Ground record of 24,523 supporters witnessed the penultimate home Division One fixture with Fulham, which was lost 4-2 and relegation followed shortly to Division Two, which prompted Manchester City Manager Joe Mercer to state "The miracle of 1966 was not England winning the World Cup, but Northampton reaching Division One". Barry Lines made history that year by becoming first player to play and score in all four divisions for the same club.
Current manager Jon Brady took over initially on a caretaker basis, before being appointed the permanent manager in the summer of 2021, as the Cobblers geared up for the 2021/22 League Two campaign.
Brady led the side to the Play-Offs in his first full season in charge, finishing it off with 80 points, just four points off the top of the table and only denied promotion by a 7-0 win for Bristol Rovers over Scunthorpe United on the final day of the season.
There was no denying the Cobblers of promotion in 2022/23, as Jon Brady's side overcame a huge injury crisis to win promotion to League One on the final day of the season, thanks to a 1-0 win away at Tranmere Rovers on the Bank Holiday Monday, which also saw that weekend the nation marked the coronation of King Charles III.
Fleetwood Town and Northampton Town have met each other before, with the last time being on Tuesday 26 January 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The match finished goalless at Highbury that evening, with Northampton winning the reverse fixture earlier in the season 1-0 thanks to former Town defender Cian Bolger bagging in the 47th minute.
The last time Fleetwood beat the Cobblers was back in March 2018. Kyle Dempsey opened the scoring in the 18th minute, with Bolger adding a second late in the match on the Fylde Coast.
Remember that triple save by Alex Cairns, well that happened on Saturday 12 August back in 2017 at Sixfields Stadium. The save was picked up by Manchester United's goalkeeper David De Gea on social media, with the save going viral on social media. Devante Cole scored the only goal in that game midway through the second half to give Uwe Rosler's side all three points.
When looking at the odds for Northampton Town this year, a number of betting sites have them at 50/1 to win Sky Bet League One, with odds of 15/2 for Brady's side to finish in the top six come May 2024.