Northampton Town virtual crowd gives fans 'one last game'

Cobblers' fans Harry (right) and his twin Niall with their older brother Miles at Wembley in 2013

As Northampton Town's players prepare to take on Cheltenham Town in the League Two play-off semi-finals later, they do so knowing that they will be playing at their Sixfields Stadium without the presence of the home fans.

However, the Shoe Army - as they are affectionately known - will be represented by about 930 cardboard cut-outs, from famous faces to devoted fans who have passed away.

The Cobblers in the Crowd scheme allowed fans to pay £25 for a seat in the stadium and many have taken advantage of the chance to allow loved ones who have passed away to go to one last game.

'The beauty of following a lower league club'

Northampton Town held a 19th minute round of applause for Harry Dunn last year

One of the most prominent faces in the crowd will be that of Harry Dunn.

The 19-year-old died in a crash in Northamptonshire in August and his family have been campaigning for justice ever since.

US national Anne Sacoolas is suspected of causing his death by dangerous driving, but fled the UK following the incident.

Harry was a massive Northampton Town fan but his father Tim, who started watching the side himself as a teenager in the mid to late 1980s, said their first visit to Sixfields was not a huge success.

"I took Harry and Niall, they were quite young, we were playing Oxford at home," he said. "By half-time they'd had enough."

Harry and Tim Dunn were regulars home and away when Northampton won the League Two title in 2015-16

Harry's love of the club quickly grew, though, and Tim would buy him a Northampton Town season ticket for his birthday every year.

He remembers plenty of "Saturday fun days" when the pair watched Northampton home and away, especially in the victorious league winning campaign of 2015-16.

• What to expect from the League Two play-offs

• Northampton give up play-off bonuses

• £500,000 deal 'close' in football stand row

After Harry was killed, Tim said he "didn't go for a few games," but when he returned the club embraced him, including with a 19th minute round of applause for his son at the Plymouth Argyle match last year.

"It's quite touching to know the club care about its fans," Tim said. "That's the beauty of following a lower league club."

'When dad lifted me in the air, I knew I loved football'

Graham Brothers died of cancer in 2018

Graham Brothers went to almost every Cobblers home game in the 1960s, including the one and only time the club reached the top flight in 1965-66.

Northampton were relegated after one season, but that did not stop Graham going to games with his dad.

When Graham took his son Danny to matches at the old County Ground, he followed the "family tradition".

At Wembley for the play-off final of the old Third Division in 1997, Danny experienced a special moment that "I attribute my love of football to".

John Frain's free-kick secured a 90th minute win and promotion, and Danny remembers "him lifting me off my seat and holding me in the air".

Sadly, Graham died from cancer in 2018 but Danny said the Cobblers in the Crowd scheme is "such a great tribute, just to give him one more match".

Famous faces

Big names like Shaquille O'Neal will take their place alongside Cobblers fans

The more well-known names depicted include American basketball star Shaquille O'Neal, whose cut-out has a Cobblers scarf draped around his neck.

The former Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat centre's love for Northampton goes back a few years and stems from his business association with Cobblers chairman Kelvin Thomas.

Walter Tull signed for Northampton Town from Tottenham Hotspur in 1911

Also featuring in the crowd is Northampton Town legend Walter Tull, who gave up his career as a footballer to fight in World War One and became recognised as the first black officer to lead white British soldiers into battle.

'I often wish dad could be here one more time'

Carl de Boer's dad Johannes (left) will be one of the faces in the crowd

Carl de Boer said his dad, Johannes, "was my hero, my best friend".

He remembers going to games as a child and his father propping him up behind the old steel fences found around grounds then.

"There was a little rail he'd sit me against, push me against the fence and stand behind me," he said.

Some fans have opted to have their pets in the crowd

The first big game they went to was an FA Cup third round encounter with then European Champions Aston Villa. Mark Walters' goal won the game for Villa but Carl "was hooked" by the atmosphere and the "emotions on people's faces".

Johannes died 20 years ago and Carl said when he travels to matches at Sixfields, "I quite often wish dad could be here one more time".

His son insisted on paying half of the £25 to have the picture of his grandfather at the play-off game. Carl said he was proud he "wanted his granddad there as much as I wanted my dad".

'Something positive to look forward to'

Derrick Tamplin was a Northampton Town regular, along with most of his family

Back in the 1960s, Derrick Tamplin was the literal driving force behind every Cobblers success - he was the man behind the wheel of the club coach.

Vicki Phipps and her family have arranged for Derrick to be joined in the crowd for the Cheltenham game by four generations of the family, her dad Nick Phipps, granddad John Phipps and nephew Harry Faulkner.

• Northampton give up play-off bonuses

• Can a new stadium ever feel like home?

• £500,000 deal 'close' in football stand row

Derrick, who died of cancer in 2010, never met Harry, and Vicki said it would be "nice for him to have a little bit of time" with him "because he would love Harry to bits".

She said her mum had just got the all clear from her own cancer battle, so the match is providing "something positive and something to look forward to" after everything the family - and the world as a whole - had gone through.

The English Football League returns for the first time since March on Thursday, when Colchester United host Exeter City and Cheltenham Town visit Northampton in the first legs of their play-off semi-final ties.