Northampton Town

Northampton is fairly local to Oxford, just up the A43, which means that there should be a healthy number of away fans at both games. Despite their relative closeness, the two sides have never been considered rivals, probably due to not having played each other a great many times.

The Cobblers were formed in March 1897, initially as Northampton Football Club, adding the Town suffix shortly afterwards after the local rugger boys objected to the new outfit having the same name. They started competing in the Northants League, immediately employing professional players. In their second season they won the title and joined the Midland League, where they played for just two seasons before joining the Southern League. After finishing bottom on a couple of occasions, Northampton won the Southern League title in 1909.

After the First World War, in 1920, Northampton joined Division Three of the Football League, switching to the newly formed Division Three South the following season. When the Football League was re-organised in 1958, Northampton joined the Fourth Division, but they were promoted to the Third Division after finishing third in 1961. In 1963 Northampton were Division Three champions and two seasons later they finished just one point and one place behind Newcastle United to win promotion to the First Division.

The Cobblers' stay in the top flight lasted just one season, and they recorded successive relegations to end up back in the Third Division in 1967. The club's decline continued two seasons later, when the reached the Fourth Division again, and in 1972 and 1973 they had to apply for re-election. The club managed to turn things around and in 1976 they finished second to earn promotion back to the Third. One season later they were back in the Fourth, and in 1981 and 1985 re-election had to be applied for again.

Two seasons later, in 1987, Northampton were Fourth Division champions, with Richard Hill scoring 29 goals before his sale to Watford for a record fee of