Huddersfield Town A.F.C.
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| Full name | Huddersfield Town Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Terriers | ||
| Founded | 1908 | ||
| Ground | Galpharm Stadium Huddersfield | ||
| Capacity | 24,500 | ||
| Chairman | Dean Hoyle | ||
| Manager | Simon Grayson | ||
| League | The Championship | ||
| 2011–12 | League One, 4th (promoted via play-offs) | ||
| Website | http://www.htafc.com/page/Home | ||
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Huddersfield Town Football Club (/ˈhʌdərzfiːld ˈtaʊn/ or locally /ˈhʊdəsfiːlʔ ˈtaʊn/) is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in The Championship and their manager is Simon Grayson.
In 1926, they became the first English team to win three successive league titles – a feat which only three other clubs - namely Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United - have matched, and no team has bettered. They also won the FA Cup in 1922, and have been runners-up on 4 other occasions.
Nicknamed The Terriers, their mascot is Terry the Terrier. The club traditionally plays in a blue and white vertically striped shirt with white shorts. The club has developed a reputation as having a strong academy, and the present squad contains a number of academy products.
The side play its home games at the Galpharm Stadium, a ground shared with rugby league side Huddersfield Giants. The ground was originally named the Alfred McAlpine Stadium (after the construction company involved in its creation) as part of a 10-year sponsorship agreement. In 1994, this stadium replaced Leeds Road, which was Huddersfield's home since their founding in 1908.
Their chairman is local businessman Dean Hoyle, who took over from previous chairman Ken Davy on 3 June 2009.
History
In 1910, just three years after being founded, Huddersfield entered the Football League for the first time. In November 1919 a fund-raising campaign was needed to avoid a move to Leeds. Citizens of Huddersfield were asked to buy shares in the club for £1 each, and the club staved off the proposed merger. The team went on to reach the 1920 FA Cup Final and win promotion to Division One.
In 1926, they became the first English team to win three successive league titles – a feat that only three other clubs have been able to match. They also won the FA Cup in 1922 and have been runners-up on four other occasions.
After World War II, the club began a gradual decline, losing its First Division status in 1952. It returned to the top flight for the last time (so far) in 1970 but was relegated two seasons later and has since meandered through the lower three divisions.
In 1998, the club attracted the attention of local businessman Barry Rubery and, after protracted takeover talks, he took over the running of the club, promising significant investment as the club sought Premiership status. However, the club did not make it back to the top flight and fell two divisions before eventually slipping into administration. In the summer of 2003, the Terriers came out of administration under the new ownership of Ken Davy.
At the start of the 2004–05 season, the stadium was renamed the Galpharm Stadium, to reflect the sponsorship of this local healthcare company.[1]
On 2 February 2005, the name of the club was changed from Huddersfield Town Association Football Club to Huddersfield Town Football Club.
On 19 November 2011, following a 2–1 victory over Notts County, Huddersfield broke Nottingham Forest's long-standing 42-match unbeaten league record, the Terriers went 43 games unbeaten (which doesn't include the play-off run, when they lost 3–0 to Peterborough United. On 28 November 2011, Huddersfield lost their first in 44 games to Charlton Athletic, losing 2–0.
On 26 May 2012, following a penalty shoot-out in the 2012 Football League One play-off Final victory over Sheffield United, Huddersfield were promoted to the Championship. The shoot-out was the longest contested in the current League One play-offs format. Eleven rounds took place, the final score was 8 - 7 to Huddersfield.[2]
2008 centenary
The summer of 2008 saw the centenary of the formation of Huddersfield Town. A number of events took place to mark this occasion.
Season ticket offer
Chairman Ken Davy and newly appointed chairman-elect Dean Hoyle agreed to a special offer for season tickets for the 2008–09 football season. Adult tickets in the Antich Stand and Fantastic Media Stand were just £100 and tickets in the Direct Golf Stand were no higher than £175 for adults. Town sold 16,123 tickets during the offer, more than twice the amount sold during the previous season. It also beat the previous record of 14,170 set during the 1970–71 season, which was Town's first season back in the old First Division.
Centenary game
A match against Arsenal for the Herbert Chapman Trophy was played at the Galpharm Stadium on 6 August 2008. The game was televised by Arsenal TV. The match finished 2–1 to Arsenal. Huddersfield took the lead on 75 minutes through Ireland U-21 international James Berrett. Arsenal equalised on 79 minutes through Sanchez Watt, before scoring the winner on 87 minutes through Nacer Barazite. The match was watched by a crowd of 19,044, the highest attendance for a pre-season match at the Galpharm Stadium and the highest since Argentinian side Independiente played against Town at Leeds Road in 1954, where a crowd of 20,042 saw that match.[3]
Centenary kit
A special gold away kit was commissioned by Mitre. There was a special launch night at the Galpharm Stadium on 19 June 2008 for season ticket holders only. Players Matt Glennon, Malvin Kamara and Michael Collins made an appearance.
Publications
'The Fans' Favourites'
The Fans' Favourites is a book by Alisdair Straughan published, late 2006, to commemorate the centenary. The book lists the 100 Huddersfield Town players voted by the fans as their favourite players.
Volumes I & II of History
As part of the centenary, two books about the club's history were released as 2 big volumes. Volume I was called "99 Years And Counting" (Stats and Stories). It was published on 3 November 2007. Illustrated, it contains full statistics for every Town match from 1908 to 2007. The authors were Alan Hodgson, Ian Thomas, Gwen Thomas and John Ward. Volume Two, "All That's Worth Knowing" (Facts & Photos), is a written account of the club's history. Its publication date was due to be toward of 2008, but it wasn't released until 13 April 2009.
Badge and colours
The club spent over five years debating over what colour the kit should be. It ranged from salmon pink to plain white or all-blue to white with blue yoke. Eventually in 1913, the club adopted the blue-and-white jersey that remains to this day.
The club badge is based on the coat of arms of Huddersfield. Town first used a badge on its shirts for the 1920 FA Cup Final based on the local Huddersfield Corporation coat of arms. It appeared again with a Yorkshire Rose for the 1922 FA Cup Final and again for the finals of 1928, 1930 and 1938. The club's main colours (blue and white) are evident throughout the badge both in the mantling and in the shield, in the form of stripes. Two Yorkshire White Roses and Castle Hill form part of the history of the club and the area.
Town stuck with the same principal design (blue and white stripes) until 1966, when Scottish manager Tom Johnston introduced all-blue shirts. The next badge did not feature until the 1966–67 season, when the simple "HTFC" adorned the Town's all-blue shirts.
When the club adopted the nickname "The Terriers" for the 1969–70 season, the blue and white stripes returned and with it a red terrier with the words "The Terriers", just in time for their promotion to the big time, the First Division. The terrier sits on top of the crest with a ball on a blanket of blue and white stripes. The Terriers was introduced to the badge shortly after "The Terriers" was adopted as the nickname and mascot of the club.
After relegation to the Fourth Division, Town returned to all-blue shirts with the return of Tom Johnston in 1975. This time they only lasted two seasons and the return of simply "HTFC" badge. This lasted from 1975–1977. Stripes returned from the 1977–78 season and has been the club's home kit ever since. The red Terrier returned to the shirt for the 1978–79 season. In 1980, Town adopted what remains their badge today based on the coat of arms of Huddersfield. This is both the club badge and playing shirt badge and is held in high esteem by Town fans.
In 2000, Town changed badge to a circular design, but that was never popular and following a change of board, returned to the heraldic-style badge. The badge was further redeveloped with a small but significant adaptation in February 2005. The club took the decision to remove "A.F.C." from the text leaving only the wording 'Huddersfield Town'. The current board said that this was in keeping with the time and to make merchandise easier to produce and to make slicker looking promotional material.
Popular chants
Smile A While was originally sung on the terrace in the 1920s when the original version was a popular song. At the time Huddersfield Town were one of the most successful football clubs in England.
There's a team that is dear to its followers
Their colours are bright blue and white,
They're a team of renown, the pride of the town,
And the game of football is their delight
All the while, upon the field of play,
Thousands loudly cheer them on their way.
Often you can hear them say, who can beat the Town today?
Then the bells will ring so merrily
Every goal, shall be a memory
So Town play up, and bring the cup
Back to Huddersfield
However, though "Smile A While" has been sung down the years, it is no longer the main chant/song as in the past.[4] In recent years "Those Were The Days My Friend" (to the tune of the song of the same name by Mary Hopkin) has been popular in times of success.[4]
The south section of the (nearest the away support) is known as the 'Singing Section'. This group of fans provide particularly vociferous support for the team. This section is sometimes 'all ticket' when the rest of the Britannia Rescue (Kilner Bank Stand) is not.
In the early days of the Galpharm Stadium there was a band occupying the top row of the Fantastic Media Stand (North Stand), the stand opposite the away stand, the Pink Link Stand (South Stand). They disbanded following a dispute with the club over the concessions they received in return for their services.
Sponsors
Main club sponsors and kit suppliers
The main club sponsors also have the right to have their identity on the shirts.
| Season(s) | Kit supplier | Club Sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1975–1979 | Bukta | n/a |
| 1979–1982 | Barralan | n/a |
| 1982–1984 | Bukta | Central Mirfield |
| 1984–1986 | Daihatsu | |
| 1986–1987 | Eagle | Greenall's |
| 1987–1989 | Matchwinner | |
| 1989–1991 | Ravinder fatman and co. | |
| 1991–1993 | Gola | Gola |
| 1993–1994 | Super League | Pulse (Home) Vileda (Away) |
| 1994–1995 | Pulse (Home) Panasonic 3DO (Away) | |
| 1995–1997 | Panasonic | |
| 1997–1999 | Pony | |
| 1999–2001 | Mitre | |
| 2001–2002 | Bloggs | Prime Time Recruitment |
| 2002–2003 | VOI | |
| 2003–2005 | Admiral | |
| 2005–2007 | Yorkshire Building Society | |
| 2007–2009 | Mitre | CasinoRed |
| 2009–2010 | Yorkshire Air Ambulance (Home) Radian B (Away) | |
| 2010–2011 | Kirklees College (Home) Radian B (Away) | |
| 2011–2012 | Umbro |
Managers
Players
Current squad
Template:Huddersfield Town current squad
Academy
Under 18s Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Full and u-21 internationals
Only players who gained caps while at the club included. Players who gained U21 caps are italicised.
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Player of the Year (Hargreaves Memorial Trophy)
League history
- Division 2: 1910–11 – 1919–20
- Division 1: 1920–21 – 1951–52
- Division 2: 1952–53
- Division 1: 1953–54 – 1955–56
- Division 2: 1956–57 – 1969–70
- Division 1: 1970–71 – 1971–72
- Division 2: 1972–73
- Division 3: 1973–74 – 1974–75
- Division 4: 1975–76 – 1979–80
- Division 3: 1980–81 – 1982–83
- Division 2: 1983–84 – 1987–88
- Division 3: 1988–89 – 1991–92
- Division 2 (Third Tier): 1992–93 – 1994–95
- Division 1 (Second Tier): 1995–96 – 2000–01
- Division 2 (Third Tier): 2001–02 – 2002–03
- Division 3 (Fourth Tier): 2003–04
- League One (Third Tier): 2004–05 – 2011-12
- Championship (Second Tier): 2012-13
Honours
League
- Champions: 1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26
- Runners-up: 1926–27, 1927–28, 1933–34
- Third-place: 1922–23, 1935–36, 1953–54
- Promoted: 1982–83
- Play-offs Winners: 1995, 2012
- Play-offs Finalists: 2011
- Play-offs Semi-finalists: 1992, 2002, 2006, 2010
Cup
- Semi-finalists: 1968
- Winners: 1922
- Never played: 1924 (Newcastle United), 1925 (Sheffield United), 1926 (Bolton Wanderers).
- Runners-up: 1994
- Area finalists: 2002, 2011
- Winners: 1994–95
Personnel
Club officials
| Chairman | Dean Hoyle |
| Directors | Dean Hoyle Ann Hough Nigel Clibbens Sean Jarvis |
| Chief Executive | Nigel Clibbens |
| Operations Director | Ann Hough |
| Commercial Director | Sean Jarvis |
| Lifetime President | Ken Davy |
Updated to match played 1 July 2011
Source: Who's Who
Coaching and medical staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager | Simon Grayson |
| First Team Coaches | Glynn Snodin Ian Miller |
| Development Coach | Steve Eyre |
| Academy Manager | Mark Lillis |
| Academy Head of Recruitment | Steve Smith |
| Goalkeeper Coach | John Vaughan |
| First Team Fitness Coach | Dr Tom Little |
| Physiotherapist | Dave Buckby |
| Physiotherapist | Adam Hirst |
| Performance Analyst | Chris Markham |
| Kit Manager | Andrew Brook |
| U18 Coach | Chris Howarth |
| Assistant Academy Manager | Graham Yates |
| Academy U16's Coach | Tony Carss |
| Head of Athletic Development & Sports Science | Dan Hughes |
| Education & Welfare Officer | Karen Crosland |
| Academy Physio | Steve Redmond |
| Football in the Community Officer | Paul France |
Last updated: 24 May 2012
Source: Who's Who
References
- "Huddersfield Town – 75 years on – A History of Huddersfield Town" by George S. Binns
- "Huddersfield Town – A Complete Record 1910–1990" ISBN 0-907969-64-X
- "Huddersfield Town – Champions of England 1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26" by Jim Brown (published in 2003 by Desert Island Books)
Notes
- ^ "Galpharm Healthcare".
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huddersfield_Town_F.C.#History
- ^ "Game with Gunners for Centenary Showpiece", HTFC official site, 2 July 2007
- ^ a b "Huddersfield Town Songs and Chants", SoccerJokes.com
External links