1975–76 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season
Huddersfield Town's 1975–76 campaign was the first season in the 67 years existence of the club, that the team had been in the fourth tier of the Football League. Under Bobby Collins and then Tom Johnston, Town managed a 4th round appearance in the season's FA Cup competition and a 5th-place finish in Division 4. Town managed to finish just one place and two points behind 4th-placed Tranmere Rovers.
| 1975–76 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman |  Keith Longbottom |
| Manager |  Bobby Collins (until 23 December 1975) Tom Johnston (from 23 December 1975) |
| Football League Fourth Division | 5th |
| FA Cup | Fourth round (knocked out by Bolton Wanderers) |
| Football League Cup | Second round (knocked out by Derby County) |
| Top goalscorer | League: Terry Gray (15) All: Terry Gray (19) |
| Highest home attendance | 27,894 vs Bolton Wanderers (24 January 1976) |
| Lowest home attendance | 3,595 vs Northampton Town (16 August 1975) |
| Biggest win | 3–0 vs Darlington (21 February 1976) 3–0 vs Reading (28 February 1976) |
| Biggest defeat | 1–4 vs Doncaster Rovers (4 November 1975) 1–4 vs Exeter City (27 March 1976) 0–3 vs Tranmere Rovers (17 April 1976) |
Squad at the start of the season
editNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Review
editFollowing their third relegation in four seasons, Town started the 1975–76 season in the Fourth Division, a level never seen by the Terriers, or by any team who had won the First Division. The Board had decided to return Town to the all-blue kit. The early part of the season under Bobby Collins and general manager Tom Johnston saw Town make a steady early start to the campaign, which only seemed to have a minor falter between late October and just before Christmas saw Town lose 6 out of 10 games, although the other 4 in that run were wins. The strain of general manager Johnston took its toll on manager Collins, who resigned two days before Christmas, with Johnston taking over, making him the first man in the club's history to have the job twice (Although, that is strictly speaking untrue as Ian Greaves was caretaker manager in 1964, before taking the job on a full-time basis in 1968 .).
Under Johnston, Town went on a pulsating run in the FA Cup 4th round, which led to a match-up with Bolton Wanderers, now managed by Ian Greaves, which Town narrowly lost 1–0. But, near the end of the season, Town without top scorer Terry Gray and his strike partner Bobby Campbell were both out with broken legs. Town's form plummeted as they only won 1 of their last 12 league games, whereas if any 3 of those winless games had resulted in wins, Town would have got promoted back into Division 3 at the first attempt, but instead they found themselves languishing in the division for another 4 seasons.
Squad at the end of the season
editNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Results
edit| Date | Opponents | Home/ Away |
Result F–A |
Scorers | Attendance | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 August 1975 | Northampton Town | H | 1–1 | Gray | 3,595 | 10th |
| 23 August 1975 | Watford | A | 2–0 | O'Neil (pen), Gray | 4,500 | 6th |
| 30 August 1975 | Rochdale | H | 0–0 | 4,185 | 5th | |
| 6 September 1975 | Scunthorpe United | A | 1–0 | Campbell | 2,232 | 1st |
| 13 September 1975 | Lincoln City | H | 0–1 | 5,209 | 5th | |
| 20 September 1975 | Cambridge United | A | 0–0 | 3,150 | 6th | |
| 24 September 1975 | Bradford City | A | 2–2 | Gray (2) | 4,476 | 9th |
| 27 September 1975 | Brentford | H | 2–1 | Gray, Garwood | 4,160 | 5th |
| 4 October 1975 | Workington | A | 2–0 | Maitland, Garwood | 1,158 | 5th |
| 11 October 1975 | Swansea City | A | 1–1 | Garwood | 3,332 | 6th |
| 18 October 1975 | Newport County | H | 2–1 | Garwood, Gray | 5,477 | 4th |
| 21 October 1975 | Torquay United | H | 2–3 | Belfitt, Garwood | 5,777 | 5th |
| 25 October 1975 | Reading | A | 0–2 | 6,679 | 9th | |
| 1 November 1975 | Hartlepool | H | 2–0 | Garwood (pen), Smith | 4,183 | 7th |
| 4 November 1975 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 1–4 | Gray | 10,650 | 9th |
| 8 November 1975 | Stockport County | A | 1–0 | Gray | 2,789 | 7th |
| 15 November 1975 | Darlington | H | 1–0 | Smith | 4,133 | 6th |
| 29 November 1975 | Barnsley | A | 3–2 | Lawson (2), Smith | 5,007 | 5th |
| 6 December 1975 | Exeter City | H | 0–1 | 4,987 | 6th | |
| 20 December 1975 | Bournemouth | A | 0–1 | 4,012 | 8th | |
| 26 December 1975 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 1–0 | Belfitt | 6,672 | 7th |
| 27 December 1975 | Southport | A | 2–1 | Belfitt, Smith | 2,546 | 6th |
| 17 January 1976 | Cambridge United | H | 2–0 | Smith, Hart | 5,195 | 6th |
| 27 January 1976 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 1–0 | Newton | 4,459 | 6th |
| 7 February 1976 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 1–2 | Gray | 6,305 | 7th |
| 14 February 1976 | Stockport County | H | 2–2 | Newton (2) | 5,307 | 8th |
| 17 February 1976 | Torquay United | A | 3–1 | Gray (2), Baines | 2,019 | 6th |
| 21 February 1976 | Darlington | A | 3–0 | Firth, Gray, Lawson | 2,052 | 6th |
| 28 February 1976 | Reading | H | 3–0 | Newton, Gray (2) | 6,546 | 7th |
| 1 March 1976 | Rochdale | A | 0–0 | 3,791 | 5th | |
| 6 March 1976 | Hartlepool | A | 1–1 | Gray | 2,044 | 6th |
| 9 March 1976 | Workington | H | 2–0 | Hughes (og), Lawson | 5,010 | 5th |
| 13 March 1976 | Swansea City | H | 2–0 | Butler, Firth | 6,393 | 5th |
| 17 March 1976 | Newport County | A | 2–1 | Sidebottom, Butler | 1,374 | 4th |
| 20 March 1976 | Barnsley | H | 1–2 | Goldthorpe | 10,049 | 5th |
| 23 March 1976 | Lincoln City | A | 0–0 | 11,290 | 5th | |
| 27 March 1976 | Exeter City | A | 1–4 | Sidebottom | 3,925 | 5th |
| 30 March 1976 | Bournemouth | H | 0–0 | 5,834 | 5th | |
| 3 April 1976 | Northampton Town | A | 1–1 | Belfitt | 7,218 | 5th |
| 5 April 1976 | Brentford | A | 0–0 | 4,413 | 5th | |
| 10 April 1976 | Scunthorpe United | H | 1–1 | Dolan | 6,502 | 5th |
| 14 April 1976 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 2–0 | Belfitt, Newton | 2,750 | 5th |
| 17 April 1976 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 0–3 | 8,308 | 5th | |
| 19 April 1976 | Southport | H | 1–2 | Belfitt | 6,324 | 5th |
| 24 April 1976 | Watford | H | 1–0 | Goldthorpe | 3,787 | 5th |
| 29 April 1976 | Bradford City | H | 0–0 | 4,779 | 5th |
| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away |
Result F–A |
Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 November 1975 | Round 1 | Walsall | A | 1–0 | Belfitt | 5,506 |
| 13 December 1975 | Round 2 | Port Vale | H | 2–1 | Belfitt, Baines | 6,218 |
| 3 January 1976 | Round 3 | Fulham | A | 3–2 | Gray (2), Lawson | 10,299 |
| 24 January 1976 | Round 4 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 0–1 | 27,894 |
| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away |
Result F–A |
Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 August 1975 | Round 1 1st Leg | Barnsley | H | 2–1 | Gray, Dolan | 4,200 |
| 27 August 1975 | Round 1 2nd Leg | Barnsley | A | 1–1 | Campbell | 6,043
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| 10 September 1975 | Round 2 | Derby County | A | 1–2 | Gray | 20,602 |
Appearances and goals
edit| Name | Nation | Position | League Apps | League Goals | FA Cup Apps | FA Cup Goals | League Cup Apps | League Cup Goals | Total Apps | Total Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Baines | England |
DF | 41 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 2 |
| Rod Belfitt | England |
FW | 28 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 8 |
| Mick Butler | England |
MF | 9 (1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 (1) | 2 |
| Bobby Campbell |  Northern Ireland |
FW | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 2 |
| Willie Coulson | England |
MF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Terry Dolan | England |
MF | 29 (1) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 35 (1) | 2 |
| Barry Endean | England |
MF | 2 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (2) | 0 |
| Franny Firth | England |
FW | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 |
| Martin Fowler | England |
MF | 6 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 (2) | 0 |
| Paul Garner | England |
DF | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| Colin Garwood | England |
FW | 12 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 6 |
| Wayne Goldthorpe | England |
FW | 6 (2) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 (2) | 2 |
| Terry Gray | England |
FW | 29 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 36 | 19 |
| Peter Hart | England |
MF | 17 (2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 (2) | 1 |
| Geoff Hutt | England |
DF | 20 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| Jimmy Lawson | England |
MF | 22 (3) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 (3) | 5 |
| Lloyd Maitland | England |
MF | 9 (6) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 (6) | 1 |
| Grahame McGifford | England |
DF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Bob Newton | England |
FW | 16 (2) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 (2) | 5 |
| Brian O'Neil | England |
MF | 38 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 44 | 1 |
| Terry Poole | England |
GK | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| John Saunders | England |
DF | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Arnie Sidebottom | England |
DF | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| Chris Simpkin | England |
DF | 25 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| Steve Smith | England |
MF | 41 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 5 |
| Alan Sweeney | Scotland |
DF | 36 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
| Dick Taylor | England |
GK | 42 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 49 | 0 |