They were founded in 1897 and took the nickname Cobblers after the town’s history of shoe-making. They joined the Football League in 1921 — in the Third Division, naturally. They stayed right there for 38 seasons, when after a brief drop into the Fourth Division (now called League Two), they shot up through the leagues starting with the 1960-61…

Their traditional rivals are Peterborough, from just up the road, and a more recent rivalry has developed with even more nearby — but much newer and virtually without character — MK Dons. It’s hardly surprising anyone gets too bothered about MK

Northampton Town Ladies play in the FA Women’s National League Division One Midlands at tier 4. Contact the club for fixture

They use the same reggae song that Chelsea come out to. It’s called “Liquidator,” and it seems pretty certain Chelsea started using it first, back in 1969. How it made its way to Northamptonshire is anyone’s guess. Instead of Chelsea, here the locals shout

The PTS Academy Stadium, which everybody just calls Sixfields for its neighborhood, is across the street from a TGI Friday’s and a cinema, and the stadium itself is set down in a low area, meaning you could in theory watch from a grassy hillside. It makes for a fairly impressive sight when first seen from the road. It holds just under 8,000…

GETTING THERE: It’s over two miles from the town center to Sixfields, so just take a taxi out there and get their number for the trip back, taxis being always hard to find after a game. The fare should be less than £10 each way. PUBS: There’s one at the ground called Carr’s, named for manager Graham Carr, the one who got them the 99 points. There…