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1995–96 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

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Huddersfield Town
1995-96 season
ChairmanEngland Geoffrey Headey
ManagerEngland Brian Horton
Division One8th
FA CupFifth round
(knocked out by Wimbledon)
League CupSecond round
(knocked out by Barnsley)
Top goalscorerLeague: Andy Booth (16)
All: Andy Booth (21)
Highest home attendance17,878 vs Derby County (26 December 1995)
Lowest home attendance5,094 vs Port Vale (15 August 1995)
Average home league attendance13,151
Biggest win3–0 vs Barnsley (12 September 1995)
4–1 vs West Bromwich Albion (16 December 1995)
3–0 vs Crystal Palace (24 February 1996)
Biggest defeat0–4 vs Barnsley (3 October 1995)

Huddersfield Town's 1995–96 campaign was Town's first season in the second tier since the 1987-88 season. They finished in 8th place, just 8 points and 2 places below the play-offs.

The closed season saw the departure of the hugely successful strike partnership of Andy Booth and Ronnie Jepson, whose goals had been vital to Huddersfield's success in the previous two seasons. Booth left for Premier League club Sheffield Wednesday in a club record £2.7 million deal while Jepson left to 2nd Division Bury on a free transfer. Horton invested the money in the prolific Bristol Rovers striker Marcus Stewart (for a club record £1.2 million), Barnsley's Andy Payton (£350,000) and Blackpool defender Andy Morrison (£500,000).

Squad at the start 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 Steve Francis
-- GK Wales WAL Tony Norman
-- DF Scotland SCO Tom Cowan
-- DF England ENG Jon Dyson
-- DF England ENG Kevin Gray
-- DF Wales WAL Steve Jenkins
-- DF Republic of Ireland IRL Robbie Ryan
-- DF Republic of Ireland IRL Pat Scully
-- DF England ENG Lee Sinnott
-- DF England ENG Simon Trevitt
-- MF England ENG Simon Baldry
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- MF England ENG Darren Bullock
-- MF England ENG Simon Collins
-- MF England ENG Gary Crosby
-- MF England ENG Paul Dalton
-- MF England ENG Lee Duxbury
-- MF England ENG Richard Logan
-- MF England ENG Paul Reid
-- FW England ENG Andy Booth
-- FW England ENG Iain Dunn
-- FW England ENG Ronnie Jepson

Review

[edit]

Following Town's promotion the previous season, many were surprised that manager Neil Warnock resigned to become manager of Plymouth Argyle. A few days later, the ex-Manchester City and Oxford United manager Brian Horton was hired as his replacement. They had a bad start to the season, losing 3–0 to local rivals Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park, but they managed to recover with convincing wins against Watford, Birmingham City, Charlton Athletic and Ipswich Town soon set Town players and fans alight.

Town did have a good middle part of the season, going on a run of only 2 losses in 19 league games losing only to Port Vale and eventual champions Derby County. They also put on a good run in the FA Cup, which saw them reach the last 16 for the first time since the 1971-72 season. They eventually lost in a replay to Premier League side Wimbledon, having been seconds away from knocking them out in the original tie, only for Efan Ekoku to score a 93rd minute equaliser for the Dons.

Town seemed to be on course for a play-off spot, but the end of the season saw Town lose 8 of their last 13 games, winning only 3 of them. They finished in 8th place, but a better end to the season might have seen Town get nearer to the play-offs for the Premier League.

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 Steve Francis
-- GK Wales WAL Tony Norman
-- DF Scotland SCO Tom Cowan
-- DF England ENG Jon Dyson
-- DF England ENG Kevin Gray
-- DF Wales WAL Steve Jenkins
-- DF Republic of Ireland IRL Robbie Ryan
-- DF Republic of Ireland IRL Pat Scully
-- DF England ENG Lee Sinnott
-- MF England ENG Simon Baldry
-- MF England ENG Darren Bullock
-- MF England ENG Simon Collins
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- MF England ENG Gary Crosby
-- MF England ENG Paul Dalton
-- MF England ENG Rob Edwards
-- MF England ENG Lee Makel
-- MF England ENG Paul Reid
-- MF England ENG Ben Thornley (on loan from Manchester United)
-- MF England ENG Mark Ward
-- FW England ENG Andy Booth
-- FW England ENG Iain Dunn
-- FW England ENG Ronnie Jepson
-- FW England ENG Rodney Rowe

Results

[edit]
Date Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F - A
Scorers Attendance Position
12 August 1995 Oldham Athletic A 0 - 3 10,259 24th
19 August 1995 Watford H 1 - 0 Jepson 10,556 18th
26 August 1995 Tranmere Rovers A 1 - 3 Cowan 9,072 19th
30 August 1995 Birmingham City H 4 - 2 Dalton (2), Jepson, Bullock 12,305 11th
2 September 1995 Charlton Athletic A 1 - 2 Booth 9,570 12th
9 September 1995 Ipswich Town H 2 - 1 Collins, Sedgley (og) 12,057 10th
12 September 1995 Barnsley H 3 - 0 Jepson, Collins, Booth 14,635 3rd
16 September 1995 Crystal Palace A 0 - 0 15,645 5th
24 September 1995 Sheffield United H 1 - 2 Jepson 12,840 10th
30 September 1995 West Bromwich Albion A 2 - 1 Cowan, Booth 15,945 5th
7 October 1995 Port Vale H 0 - 2 11,559 9th
14 October 1995 Reading A 1 - 3 Booth 8,534 14th
21 October 1995 Sunderland H 1 - 1 Booth 16,054 11th
28 October 1995 Southend United A 0 - 0 5,128 13th
4 November 1995 Norwich City H 3 - 2 Jepson, Jenkins, Dalton 13,747 9th
11 November 1995 Portsmouth A 1 - 1 Scully 6,876 11th
18 November 1995 Millwall A 0 - 0 9,402 12th
21 November 1995 Leicester City H 3 - 1 Bullock (2), Dalton 14,300 10th
25 November 1995 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 2 - 1 Booth, Dalton 16,423 8th
2 December 1995 Port Vale A 0 - 1 7,701 11th
9 December 1995 Sheffield United A 2 - 0 Booth, Bullock 12,126 10th
16 December 1995 West Bromwich Albion H 4 - 1 Turner, Jepson (2), Booth 12,664 4th
23 December 1995 Luton Town A 2 - 2 Booth, Makel 7,076 5th
26 December 1995 Derby County H 0 - 1 17,878 7th
30 December 1995 Stoke City H 1 - 1 Prudhoe (og) 15,071 6th
1 January 1996 Grimsby Town A 1 - 1 Jepson (pen) 7,524 4th
13 January 1996 Watford A 1 - 0 Bullock 7,568 2nd
20 January 1996 Oldham Athletic H 0 - 0 13,013 3rd
3 February 1996 Tranmere Rovers H 1 - 0 Collins 12,041 3rd
20 February 1996 Charlton Athletic H 2 - 2 Booth, Rowe 10,951 4th
24 February 1996 Crystal Palace H 3 - 0 Booth, Jepson (pen), Makel 13,041 4th
2 March 1996 Derby County A 2 - 3 Booth, Thornley 17,097 5th
9 March 1996 Luton Town H 1 - 0 Edwards 11,950 6th
12 March 1996 Birmingham City A 0 - 2 15,296 6th
16 March 1996 Stoke City A 1 - 1 Edwards 13,157 6th
19 March 1996 Barnsley A 0 - 3 10,660 7th
24 March 1996 Grimsby Town H 1 - 3 Jepson 12,090 7th
30 March 1996 Sunderland A 2 - 3 Edwards, Booth 20,130 8th
2 April 1996 Reading H 3 - 1 Edwards (2), Booth 11,828 6th
6 April 1996 Southend United H 3 - 1 Jepson, Edwards, Booth 11,558 6th
8 April 1996 Norwich City A 0 - 2 13,021 6th
13 April 1996 Millwall H 3 - 0 Jepson (pen), Edwards, Booth 11,206 6th
20 April 1996 Leicester City A 1 - 2 Bullock 17,619 8th
27 April 1996 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 0 - 0 25,290 8th
1 May 1996 Ipswich Town A 1 - 2 Thornley 17,473 8th
5 May 1996 Portsmouth H 0 - 1 14,091 8th

FA Cup

[edit]
Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F - A
Scorers Attendance
6 January 1996 Round 3 Blackpool H 2–1 Jepson (2, 1 pen) 12,424
6 February 1996 Round 4 Peterborough United H 2–0 Bullock, Booth 11,629
17 February 1996 Round 5 Wimbledon H 2 - 2 Rowe, Cowan 17,167
28 February 1996 Round 5 Replay Wimbledon A 1–3 Booth 7,015

League Cup

[edit]
Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F - A
Scorers Attendance
15 August 1995 Round 1 1st Leg Port Vale H 1–2 Dalton 5,363
22 August 1995 Round 1 2nd Leg Port Vale A 3–1 Bullock, Booth (2) 4,380
  • Huddersfield won 4–3 on aggregate
19 September 1995 Round 2 1st Leg Barnsley H 2–0 Collins, Booth 8,264
3 October 1995 Round 2 2nd Leg Barnsley A 0–4 8,192
  • Huddersfield lost 4–2 on aggregate

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
Simon Baldry  England MF 3 (11) 0 0 0 0 (1) 0 3 (12) 0
Andy Booth  England FW 43 16 4 2 4 3 51 21
Kenny Brown  England DF 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Darren Bullock  England MF 42 6 4 1 4 1 50 8
Simon Collins  England DF 18 (12) 3 1 (2) 0 4 1 23 (14) 4
Tom Cowan  Scotland DF 43 2 4 1 4 0 51 3
Gary Crosby  England MF 0 (1) 0 0 0 1 0 1 (1) 0
Paul Dalton  England MF 29 5 3 (1) 0 4 1 36 (1) 6
Iain Dunn  England FW 3 (11) 0 1 (1) 0 1 (2) 0 5 (14) 0
Lee Duxbury  England MF 3 0 0 0 1 0 4 0
Jon Dyson  England DF 15 (2) 0 0 0 2 0 17 (2) 0
Rob Edwards  England MF 13 7 0 0 0 0 13 7
Steve Francis  England GK 43 0 4 0 3 0 50 0
Kevin Gray  England DF 38 0 4 0 1 0 43 0
Steve Jenkins  Wales DF 31 1 4 0 0 0 35 1
Ronnie Jepson  England FW 40 (3) 12 2 2 3 0 45 (3) 14
Richard Logan  England MF 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Lee Makel  England MF 33 2 4 0 0 0 37 2
Tony Norman  Wales GK 3 0 0 0 1 0 4 0
Paul Reid  England MF 8 (5) 0 2 0 2 0 12 (5) 0
Rodney Rowe  England FW 6 (8) 1 3 (1) 1 0 (1) 0 9 (10) 2
Pat Scully  Republic of Ireland DF 25 1 0 0 3 0 28 1
Lee Sinnott  England DF 32 0 4 0 4 0 40 0
Ben Thornley  England MF 12 2 0 0 0 0 12 2
Simon Trevitt  England DF 4 0 0 0 2 0 6 0
Andy Turner  England MF 2 (3) 1 0 0 0 0 2 (3) 1
Mark Ward  England FW 7 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 7 (1) 0
Jon Whitney  England DF 3 (1) 0 0 0 0 (1) 0 3 (2) 0