Cobblers
offer obstacle
Northampton Town
v Darlington
League Two
Saturday 13th March 2010, 3pm
Inconsistency
is Northampton's main problem and their fans don't know what to expect
from week to week, with goals in short supply at home at least.
Still, Ian Sampson's side are neatly placed for a play-off push.
Man
to watch Ryan Gilligan Consistent in midfield for the Cobblers
Full match preview on the D@rlo
Uncovered website.
 
Sixfields is one of the earliest of
the new generation all-seater grounds, in the corner of a retail park
on the outskirts of Northampton.
Spacious away secion with 900 seats in the South Stand, seated behind
the goal.
Ticket prices for 2009/2010 are £18-19 for adults,
£13-15 OAPs, students and disabled and £6 under 16.
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Northampton
Town FC:
Sixfields Stadium, Upton Way, Northampton NN5 5QA
Tel: (01604) 757773
History: Formed in 1897, joined Southern League in 1901 and
Football League, 1920. George Best scores record six goals for Man
Utd in FA Cup, 1970; spared Conference relegation 1993/94 due to
Kidderminster not meeting ground criteria; moved to Sixfields from
County Ground, 1994.
Record Attendance: 24,523 v Fulham Div 1, 23 April 1966
Capacity: 7,653
Last season:
Honours: Div 4 champions 1986/87, Div 3 champions 1962/63
Record victory: 10-0 v Walsall, DIv 3S, 5 November 1927
Defeat: 0-11 v Southampton, SL, 28 Dec 1901
Nickname: The Cobblers.
Colours: Claret and white.
Manager: Ian Sampson
Chairman: David Cardoza
Players in Steve Guinan (Hereford), Craig Hinton (Bristol Rovers)
Players out Chris Doig (Central Coast Mariners, Aus)
Famous fans/players/connections: Des O'Connor (goalkeeper
once!), Kate Williams (Five Live, fan), Phil Neal (player),
Martin Smith, Marco Gabbiadini, Richard Hope (players for both clubs) Herbert Chapman (manager).
Click for Streetmap of ground |
Leave the M1 at Junction 16, onto the
A45 towards Northampton. Pass the Turnpike Beefeater for 3.5 miles, then
the ground is off the second roundabout - the first Sixfields turnoff, by
the UGC cinema.
There is stadium parking - turn right at the roundabout,
in the first Sixfields entrance - the South carpark is right of the stadium
down a short drive off a smaller roundabout. You're advised not to park
at the cinema, as they charge £10, and the Sainsbury store has attendants
on the look out for non-shoppers.
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Trains: The station is 1.5 miles away, a decent
but do-able hike. The ground is on the outskirts of town, a good 40 minutes walk from
the station, off the A4500.
Special buses run back after the match. You can also
catch service buses 1, 27, and 28 from the station to the ground. Walking:
Cross the station carpark, turn right towards the garage, over the bridge
and past the Thomas A Becket pub. Take the left fork after half a mile
into Weedon Road, past Northampton RFC on the left and over the roundabout.
Sixfields is on the left up the hill past the next roundabout.
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Bounds Taxis 01604 636666
K Cars 01604 605040
Sky Cars 01604 721900
Westbridge Motors 01604 754444
Darlington FC Supporters Club
Coach 10am, fare £22.
Contact: 01325 243911. Payment for each coach trip must be either
paid for in full before travel, or a 50% non-refundable deposit
paid in advance. Anyone wishing to travel on the coaches must join
before the day of travel.
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Suggested
trains (times updated):
Darlington: 08.59 (Derby, 10.51) 11.06 (Tamworth, 11.29) 11.46-arr Northampton 12.38. Rtn: 17.45-(Tamworth, 18.30) 18.37-(Derby, 19.05) 19.11-arr 21.14. Fares: Offpeak return £83.70
London Euston: 10.10-arr 11.09; rtn 17.50-arr 18.49. Fares
from: £22.90, off peak return
Birmingham New Street: 10.33-arr 11.34; rtn: 18.17-arr
19.16. Fares from: £12, off peak return.
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Northampton has a good range of hotels
to suit all prices. You can book via the Visitor Information Centre Booking
Line (01604) 838801 or 838800 for any other query. See also the Accommodation
pages on the local tourism site.
You'll also find here details of visitor attractions, marking the town's
historic links with shoe-making and various country seats and stately
homes in the surrounding areas. The TIC is found at the Museum and Art
Gallery in Guildhall Road.
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Town centre/real ale   Malt
Shovel Tavern, 121 Bridge Street, open 11-3pm, 5pm-11pm.
Terrific CAMRA recommended ale house, with at least nine guest ales and
continental beers, opposite the old Phipp's brewery (now Calsberg-Tetley).
It also does wines and a superb whisky selection. Also good pub
grub, although only at lunchtimes. About 15 minutes walk from the
station. Taxi costs about £5 to the ground. DAFTS recommended
- try also the pub's excellent website
for a thorough rundown of latest ales and specials. Click for
streetmap
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Near the stadium
Not worth drinking at the ground
as the two pubs are for home fans only. There's a pub-restaurant
on the Sixfields site, called The Sixfields which
has doormen who turn away visiting fans. Last time we went in there,
one of our number left to put his Darlo shirt on, left in the back
of the car and wasn't let back in, despite the fact the place was
almost empty! A modern and uninticing pub anyway.
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| Town centre other The Old Black Lion Black Lion Hill
Close to the station, this is a friendly pub that does decent ales, including Frog Island, and food. On the walk to the ground is the Thomas A Becket or The Rover, near the rugby ground.
King Billy, 2 Commercial Street
Large town centre pub, around the corner from the Malt Shovel, with
food and a CAMRA-listed range of ales. A popular rock music pub too. DAFTS recommended.
Click for streetmap
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To eat, there are chain places like TGI
Fridays, Macdonalds and Bella Pasta at the out-of-town
complex though. There are also a few suggestions of eating out in town
on the tourism
site. The ground itself has decent Pukka pies (£2), coffee and soft
drinks. |
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