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1973–74 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

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Huddersfield Town
1973–74 season
ChairmanEngland Stanley Kinder
New Zealand Garrick Graham
ManagerEngland Ian Greaves
Football League Third Division10th
FA CupSecond round
(knocked out by Chester)
Football League CupFirst round
(knocked out by York City)
Top goalscorerLeague: Alan Gowling (24)
All: Alan Gowling (25)
Highest home attendance11,514 vs Halifax Town (26 December 1973)
Lowest home attendance2,522 vs Wrexham (24 April 1974)
Biggest win5–0 vs Rochdale (23 February 1974)
Biggest defeat0–6 vs Oldham Athletic (20 April 1974)

Huddersfield Town's 1973–74 campaign was a season of new beginnings for Huddersfield Town as they experienced life in the 3rd Division for the first time. The season was not spectacular as Town finished in 10th place, behind fellow West Yorkshire club Halifax Town. At the end of the season, Ian Greaves resigned after 6 years as manager. The alarming slide down the Football League was temporarily halted, but the following season would see Town continue their perilous freefall to the basement of the Football League.

Squad at the start of the season

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
-- GK England ENG Terry Poole
-- GK England ENG Dick Taylor
-- DF England ENG Dennis Clarke
-- DF England ENG Paul Garner
-- DF England ENG Geoff Hutt
-- DF England ENG Dave Lyon
-- DF England ENG Brian Marshall
-- DF England ENG Grahame McGifford
-- DF England ENG John Saunders
-- MF England ENG Les Chapman
-- MF England ENG Terry Dolan
-- MF England ENG Bobby Hoy
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- MF Northern Ireland NIR Jimmy Nicholson
-- MF England ENG Graham Pugh
-- MF England ENG Paul Smith
-- MF England ENG Steve Smith
-- FW England ENG John Dungworth
-- FW Republic of Ireland IRL Mick Fairclough
-- FW England ENG Alan Gowling
-- FW England ENG Terry Gray
-- FW Wales WAL Dick Krzywicki
-- FW England ENG Jimmy Lawson
-- FW England ENG Dave Smith
-- FW England ENG Phil Summerill

Review

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Following Town's second relegation in 2 seasons, Town had reached a division not seen by any previous Town team in their history. Town would visit 13 grounds for the first time in league football, although 4 of them had hosted Town in cup matches before. Town's start to the season was pretty mediocre with Town drawing 6 of their opening 12 games, losing only 2 of them, but it was a far cry from 1st Division football they were playing just 2 seasons earlier. The previous season's top scorer, Alan Gowling, continued with his goalscoring form scoring 24 goals in the league campaign.

Town eventually finished the season in a disappointing 10th place with 47 points, 2 points behind local rivals Halifax Town. However, at the end of the season Ian Greaves resigned as manager of the side. He became Jimmy Armfield's assistant at Bolton Wanderers. The next season would see Town get even further down the league ladder, so even though Greaves had halted the slide, it was temporary, not permanent.

Squad at the end of the season

[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
-- GK England ENG Terry Poole
-- GK England ENG Dick Taylor
-- DF England ENG Paul Garner
-- DF England ENG Peter Hart
-- DF England ENG Geoff Hutt
-- DF England ENG Dave Lyon
-- DF England ENG Brian Marshall
-- DF England ENG Grahame McGifford
-- DF England ENG John Saunders
-- MF England ENG Les Chapman
-- MF England ENG Terry Dolan
-- MF England ENG Martin Fowler
-- MF England ENG Bobby Hoy
-- MF England ENG Bob Mountain
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- MF England ENG Graham Pugh
-- MF England ENG Paul Smith
-- MF England ENG Steve Smith
-- FW England ENG John Dungworth
-- FW Republic of Ireland IRL Mick Fairclough
-- FW England ENG Franny Firth
-- FW England ENG Alan Gowling
-- FW England ENG Terry Gray
-- FW Wales WAL Dick Krzywicki
-- FW England ENG Jimmy Lawson
-- FW England ENG Bob Newton
-- FW England ENG Dave Smith
-- FW England ENG Phil Summerill

Results

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Date Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F — A
Scorers Attendance Position
25 August 1973 Watford A 1–1 Hoy 6,246 12th
1 September 1973 Cambridge United H 2–1 Gowling, Hoy 5,559 8th
8 September 1973 Port Vale A 2–4 Dolan, Gowling 5,003 12th
11 September 1973 Chesterfield H 1–0 Fairclough 6,164 8th
15 September 1973 Aldershot H 1–0 Gowling 5,849 7th
17 September 1973 Walsall A 0–3 5,491 8th
22 September 1973 Wrexham A 0–0 6,665 9th
29 September 1973 Bournemouth H 1–1 Gowling (pen) 5,360 12th
6 October 1973 Rochdale A 1–1 Arnold (og) 3,220 12th
9 October 1973 Walsall H 2–2 S. Smith, Dolan 4,436 12th
13 October 1973 Plymouth Argyle H 2–1 S. Smith, Summerill 4,927 8th
19 October 1973 Tranmere Rovers A 1–1 Gowling (pen) 4,715 5th
24 October 1973 Chesterfield A 2–0 Dolan, Gowling 6,589 6th
27 October 1973 Bristol Rovers H 1–2 Dolan 9,532 9th
3 November 1973 Southend United A 2–5 Gowling (2) 7,255 10th
10 November 1973 Brighton & Hove Albion H 2–2 Dolan, Summerill 6,057 12th
13 November 1973 Shrewsbury Town H 1–0 Summerill 4,154 6th
17 November 1973 Hereford United A 1–0 Gowling 7,925 6th
1 December 1973 Southport A 0–0 2,109 6th
8 December 1973 Oldham Athletic H 2–1 Gowling (2) 8,074 5th
22 December 1973 Bournemouth A 0–1 9,141 7th
26 December 1973 Halifax Town H 4–0 Lawson, Dolan, Gowling (2) 11,514 6th
29 December 1973 Port Vale H 3–0 Lawson (2), Gowling 7,702 6th
1 January 1974 Cambridge United A 2–2 Chapman, Hoy 5,667 6th
12 January 1974 Aldershot A 0–1 5,029 6th
19 January 1974 Watford H 1–2 Gowling 6,301 6th
26 January 1974 Charlton Athletic A 1–2 Lawson 5,391 7th
29 January 1974 Blackburn Rovers H 1–0 Lawson 5,204 5th
2 February 1974 Grimsby Town A 1–2 Gowling 7,188 6th
16 February 1974 Plymouth Argyle A 1–1 Summerill 7,299 10th
23 February 1974 Rochdale H 5–0 Lawson (2), Gowling (2), Summerill 5,679 7th
2 March 1974 Halifax Town A 0–0 8,126 7th
8 March 1974 Bristol Rovers A 1–2 Gowling 13,543 7th
16 March 1974 Tranmere Rovers H 0–0 4,702 7th
20 March 1974 Grimsby Town H 1–0 Gray 4,473 7th
23 March 1974 Brighton & Hove Albion A 2–1 Gowling (2) 12,444 7th
27 March 1974 Blackburn Rovers A 0–1 6,671 7th
30 March 1974 Southend United H 0–1 4,453 7th
2 April 1974 Charlton Athletic H 2–0 Gowling (2) 3,142 7th
6 April 1974 Shrewsbury Town A 0–3 1,675 7th
12 April 1974 York City A 1–2 Dolan 10,189 8th
13 April 1974 Hereford United H 0–0 4,148 9th
16 April 1974 York City H 0–1 7,737 11th
20 April 1974 Oldham Athletic A 0–6 16,466 13th
24 April 1974 Wrexham H 2–1 Dolan, Summerill 2,522 13th
27 April 1974 Southport H 3–1 Summerill, Dolan, Gowling 3,320 9th
Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F — A
Scorers Attendance
24 November 1973 Round 1 Wigan Athletic H 2–0 Newton (2) 9,557
15 December 1973 Round 2 Chester A 2–3 Saunders, Gowling 3,296
Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F — A
Scorers Attendance
29 August 1973 Round 1 York City A 0–1 6,497

Appearances and goals

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Name Nation Position League Apps League Goals FA Cup Apps FA Cup Goals League Cup Apps League Cup Goals Total Apps Total Goals
Les Chapman  England MF 31 (2) 1 1 0 1 0 33 (2) 1
Dennis Clarke  England DF 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Terry Dolan  England MF 43 8 2 0 1 0 46 8
John Dungworth  England FW 1 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 1 (2) 0
Mick Fairclough  Republic of Ireland FW 3 1 0 0 0 0 3 1
Franny Firth  England FW 1 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 1 (1) 0
Martin Fowler  England MF 1 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 1 (1) 0
Paul Garner  England DF 43 0 2 0 1 0 46 0
Alan Gowling  England FW 45 24 2 1 1 0 48 25
Terry Gray  England FW 9 (4) 1 2 0 0 0 11 (4) 1
Peter Hart  England MF 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Bobby Hoy  England MF 26 (1) 3 2 0 1 0 29 (1) 3
Geoff Hutt  England DF 26 0 2 0 0 0 28 0
Dick Krzywicki  Wales MF 2 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 2 (1) 0
Jimmy Lawson  England MF 31 (1) 7 0 0 0 (1) 0 31 (2) 7
Dave Lyon  England DF 2 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 2 (1) 0
Brian Marshall  England DF 24 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 24 (2) 0
Grahame McGifford  England DF 16 0 0 0 1 0 17 0
Bob Mountain  England MF 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Bob Newton  England FW 4 0 1 2 0 0 5 2
Jimmy Nicholson  Northern Ireland MF 3 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 3 (1) 0
Terry Poole  England GK 41 0 2 0 1 0 44 0
Graham Pugh  England MF 28 0 2 0 0 0 30 0
John Saunders  England DF 43 0 2 1 1 0 46 1
Dave Smith  England MF 1 (1) 0 0 0 1 0 2 (1) 0
Paul Smith  England MF 1 0 0 (1) 0 0 0 1 (1) 0
Steve Smith  England MF 41 3 1 0 1 0 43 3
Phil Summerill  England FW 29 (1) 7 1 0 1 0 31 (1) 7
Dick Taylor  England GK 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0

References

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