Big city lights don't bother me

Despite growing up nowhere near London, and having no affiliation with it whatsoever, I support Arsenal. I don’t have any family that support them. Why do I? Because they are the first team I watched on TV, and fell in love with them. But I grew up in Northampton. Which means, naturally, I hold a soft spot for them too. And since I’ve moved away, that spot has increased.

I’ve been to a number of Cobblers games, and if you don’t know them, they are one of those teams that will rarely do anything for a couple of years, then suddenly have a decent season, as was the case two years ago before last season’s flirtation with relegation (that rhymes). They are the Walsall of League Two, if you will. What a drab comparison that is.

Their recent moment in the spotlight was defeating Liverpool at Anfield in the League Cup on penalties in 2010. The respective managers that day: Roy Hodgson and Ian Sampson. One currently manages England, the other resigned from Corby Town. I’ll let you figure out which is which. David N’Gog played (and scored) that game, too. Remember him? It’s rare that Northampton get any glory, but when they do, they get it at Anfield. That Abdul Osman, he silenced the Kop.

Since then however, it has been League Two mediocrity. I remember back in about 2007, when they briefly climbed into League One and were playing the likes of Leeds United and Nottingham Forest. In fact, in 2007/08, they finished 9^th in League One, and Bournemouth got relegated to League Two. How times have changed.

I went to the Forest away game in 2007, when Northampton lost 1-0. It was my first away game, even though I was in the Forest end. I went to the play-off final in 2013, when the Cobblers were completely outplayed by Bradford and got destroyed, losing 3-0. That was only my second game that season.

The season after (ie last season), I didn’t go to a single Northampton match. I don’t know why. Really, I don’t. Last season was when I went to a really random selection of matches (Wigan vs Zulte Waregem in the Europa League, Manchester City vs Watford in the FA Cup, Scunthorpe vs York on the final day of the League Two season). It was a year that Northampton struggled, just avoiding relegation out of the Football League on the final day. Phew.

This year however things have changed. I’ve moved up north to Huddersfield to attend university. And I miss Northampton. It’s home. Don’t get me wrong, Huddersfield is great, and the team is in the Championship, something the Cobblers could only dream of at the minute. But it isn’t my local team. It never will be.

Other people on my course, and they’ve come from Scunthorpe, Rotherham, Derby, Peterborough. They all support their local sides. And when we go to our lecture on Monday, it’s always “good result for Northampton at the weekend” or “bad result for Northampton at the weekend,” and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love to talk about them. I’ve even managed to go to a game this season, going to Mansfield away on John Joe O’Toole Day. I haven’t been to a home game yet, but when I’m home over Easter, it is my number one priority. And I cannot wait.

Northampton Town I’m proud to be.