Jamie Duncan looks at some of the players to play for both the Cobblers and Saturday's opponents, Grimsby Town.
JJ Hooper
JJ Hooper currently plays for Saturday’s opponents, but he has had two separate spells at Northampton Town. He first signed for the Cobblers in 2013 on a one-year deal after a successful trial with the club, he made just three appearances before going out on loan. He re-joined in 2016/17 on loan from Port Vale where he made 10 league appearances without scoring, he did however find the net in the 6-0 FA Cup win over Harrow. He has been at Grimsby since 2017.
Richard Hope
Centre back Richard Hope played for the Cobblers over 150 times and scored seven goals during a four-and-a-half-year period and was part of the side that clinched automatic promotion from Division Three in 2000. Hope joined the Mariners in 2008 where he stayed for just the solitary season before retiring. He made six appearances for Grimsby Town.
Alan Connell
Striker Alan Connell joined the Cobblers in January 2014 on a deal until the end of the season. He made 16 appearances for the Cobblers as they made a 'Great Escape', securing survival on the final day of the season. Connell played for Grimsby during two separate spells, he first signed in 2010 and stayed for the season, scoring 25 goals in 46 appearances. He later returned following his release from the Cobblers but stayed for just three weeks.
Akwasi Asante
Akwasi Asante is a Dutch striker who joined the Cobblers on loan from Birmingham City in January 2012, he was at the club for a month where he made four appearances, scoring once. He signed an 18-month deal at Grimsby in January 2017 where he made 9 appearances for the Mariners, scoring just the solitary goal before his release at the end of the 2017-18 season.
Paul Wilkinson
Paul Wilkinson was a striker who started his career at Grimsby Town, where he stayed for three years making 87 appearances and scoring 33 goals. It wasn’t until the end of his career when Wilkinson signed for the Cobblers, in 1998, staying for two years making 19 appearances, finding the net once before retiring. Wilkinson then returned to Northampton Town as assistant manager to Rob Page in 2017 before also assisting Russell Slade in a similar capacity at Grimsby Town.