1986–87 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town's 1986–87 campaign saw the end of Mick Buxton's reign as Huddersfield Town manager, a job he had had for 8 years. Only Clem Stephenson has had a longer reign as manager of the Terriers. He was replaced by Steve Smith in early January 1987, but Town only survived relegation by 3 points, which became a sort of precursor to the debacle that the next season's campaign would bring.

Huddersfield Town
1986–87 season
ChairmanEngland Keith Longbottom
ManagerEngland Mick Buxton (until 22 December 1986)
England Steve Smith (from 13 January 1987)
Second Division17th
FA CupThird round
(knocked out by Norwich City)
League CupSecond round
(knocked out by Arsenal)
Full Members' CupFirst round
(knocked out by Blackburn Rovers)
Top goalscorerLeague: Duncan Shearer (21)
All: Duncan Shearer (25)
Highest home attendance10,003 vs Bradford City (27 December 1986)
Lowest home attendance1,947 vs Blackburn Rovers (16 September 1986)
Biggest win5–2 vs Bradford City (27 December 1986)
3–0 vs Millwall (9 May 1987)
Biggest defeat0–4 vs Millwall (13 December 1986)

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   ENG Brian Cox
-- DF   WAL Ian Bray
-- DF   ENG Malcolm Brown
-- DF   ENG David Burke
-- DF   WAL Steve Doyle
-- DF   WAL Joey Jones
-- DF   ENG Graham Mitchell
-- DF   ENG Simon Trevitt
-- DF   ENG Simon Webster
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- DF   ENG Paul Wilson
-- MF   ENG David Cowling
-- MF   ENG Andy Thackeray
-- MF   ENG Phil Wilson
-- MF   ENG Julian Winter
-- FW   ENG Graham Cooper
-- FW   ENG David Cork
-- FW   ENG Paul Raynor
-- FW   SCO Duncan Shearer

Review

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The start of the season was mixed, with no win until 20 September, when they surprisingly beat near neighbours and early league leaders Oldham Athletic 5–4 at Leeds Road despite playing with ten men for much of the game. The main highlight of the early part of the season was a Littlewoods Cup tie against Arsenal, in which Town only lost 3–1 on aggregate.

The middle part of the season didn't prove to be much better, a run of 4 consecutive losses including a 4–3 loss at Bradford City, but that was reconciled when they beat them 5–2 on 27 December. Just before beating Bradford, Mick Buxton's tenure as Town manager ended after 8 years in charge. He was replaced by coach Steve Smith.

Smith's tenure started with a 4–2 defeat by Norwich City, but during March, Town went on a run of six consecutive draws – a club record. Town finished the season in 17th, just 3 points and 3 places above the drop zone. Little did Town fans know what was going to happen to Town the following season.

Squad at the end 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   ENG Brian Cox
-- DF   WAL Ian Bray
-- DF   ENG Malcolm Brown
-- DF   ENG David Burke
-- DF   WAL Joey Jones
-- DF   SCO Willie McStay
-- DF   ENG Graham Mitchell
-- DF   ENG Simon Trevitt
-- DF   ENG Simon Webster
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- DF   ENG Paul Wilson
-- MF   ENG Ian Banks
-- MF   ENG David Cowling
-- MF   ENG Julian Winter
-- MF   ENG Phil Wilson
-- FW   ENG Graham Cooper
-- FW   ENG David Cork
-- FW   SCO Duncan Shearer
-- FW   ENG Peter Ward

Results

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Date Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance Position
23 August 1986 Sunderland H 0–2 9,937 20th
30 August 1986 West Bromwich Albion A 0–1 9,250 20th
6 September 1986 Leeds United H 1–1 Shearer 9,306 21st
9 September 1986 Crystal Palace A 0–1 6,601 21st
13 September 1986 Birmingham City A 1–1 Dicks (og) 6,934 20th
20 September 1986 Oldham Athletic H 5–4 Raynor (2), Shearer (2), Brown (pen) 7,368 19th
27 September 1986 Portsmouth A 0–1 9,022 20th
4 October 1986 Derby County H 2–0 Cork, Raynor 7,690 19th
11 October 1986 Stoke City A 0–2 7,543 20th
18 October 1986 Sheffield United A 0–0 9,243 21st
21 October 1986 Shrewsbury Town H 2–1 Shearer (2) 4,097 16th
25 October 1986 Hull City H 1–3 Banks (pen) 5,406 19th
1 November 1986 Ipswich Town A 0–3 10,211 19th
8 November 1986 Brighton & Hove Albion H 2–1 Shearer, Banks 4,463 17th
15 November 1986 Bradford City A 3–4 Raynor, McDermott, Banks (pen) 8,011 19th
22 November 1986 Plymouth Argyle H 1–2 Webster 4,874 20th
13 December 1986 Millwall A 0–4 3,515 22nd
20 December 1986 Crystal Palace H 1–2 Shearer 4,181 22nd
26 December 1986 Blackburn Rovers A 2–1 Shearer, Barker (og) 7,144 20th
27 December 1986 Bradford City H 5–2 Shearer (4), Banks 10,003 19th
1 January 1987 Grimsby Town H 0–0 7,530 19th
3 January 1987 Leeds United A 1–1 Banks 17,983 19th
24 January 1987 Sunderland A 1–2 Winter 10,486 21st
7 February 1987 West Bromwich Albion H 2–1 Shearer, Cork 5,218 22nd
14 February 1987 Shrewsbury Town A 2–1 Banks, Shearer 3,285 18th
17 February 1987 Reading A 2–3 Cork, Shearer 4,664 18th
21 February 1987 Portsmouth H 2–0 Shearer, Banks 6,229 18th
28 February 1987 Oldham Athletic A 0–2 8,911 18th
3 March 1987 Birmingham City H 2–2 Cooper, Cork 5,177 18th
7 March 1987 Hull City A 0–0 5,872 17th
14 March 1987 Sheffield United H 1–1 Banks 7,568 18th
21 March 1987 Stoke City H 2–2 Shearer, Cork 7,222 18th
31 March 1987 Barnsley H 2–2 Shearer (2) 7,569 19th
3 April 1987 Brighton & Hove Albion A 1–1 Shearer 7,516 19th
8 April 1987 Derby County A 0–2 15,432 19th
11 April 1987 Ipswich Town H 1–2 McCall (og) 5,888 20th
18 April 1987 Grimsby Town A 1–0 Jones 4,198 20th
20 April 1987 Blackburn Rovers H 1–2 Cork 7,731 21st
25 April 1987 Plymouth Argyle A 1–1 Cork 13,342 21st
2 May 1987 Reading H 2–0 Shearer, Phil Wilson 4,549 19th
4 May 1987 Barnsley A 1–0 Cooper 8,564 18th
9 May 1987 Millwall H 3–0 Jones, Cork (2) 6,955 17th

FA Cup

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Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance
10 January 1987 Round 3 Norwich City A 1–1 Shearer 11,524
21 January 1987 Round 3 replay Norwich City H 2–4 Brown (pen), Cork 8,970

League Cup

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Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance
26 August 1986 Round 1 1st Leg Halifax Town H 3–1 Cork, Cowling, Shearer 2,636
2 September 1986 Round 1 2nd Leg Halifax Town A 2–2 Cork, Shearer 1,353
  • Huddersfield won 5–3 on aggregate.
23 September 1986 Round 2 1st Leg Arsenal A 0–2 15,194
7 October 1986 Round 2 2nd Leg Arsenal H 1–1 Banks 8,713
  • Huddersfield lost 3–1 on aggregate.
Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance
16 September 1986 Round 1 Blackburn Rovers H 1–2 Shearer 1,947

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 FLT Apps FLT Goals Total Apps Total Goals
Ian Banks   England MF 37 8 2 0 2 1 0 0 41 9
Ian Bray   Wales DF 13 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 17 0
Malcolm Brown   England DF 33 1 2 1 3 0 0 0 38 2
David Burke   England DF 21 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 23 0
Graham Cooper   England FW 7 (5) 2 0 (1) 0 1 (2) 0 1 0 9 (8) 2
David Cork   England FW 31 (5) 9 2 1 3 (1) 2 0 0 36 (6) 12
David Cowling   England MF 34 0 2 0 4 1 1 0 41 1
Brian Cox   England GK 37 0 2 0 4 0 1 0 44 0
Andy Dibble   Wales GK 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Steve Doyle   Wales MF 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 7 0
Joey Jones   Wales DF 29 (1) 2 0 0 4 0 0 0 33 (1) 2
Brian McDermott   England MF 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1
Willie McStay   Scotland DF 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0
Graham Mitchell   England DF 16 (1) 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 20 (1) 0
Paul Raynor   England MF 18 (2) 4 0 (1) 0 3 0 1 0 22 (3) 4
Duncan Shearer   Scotland FW 42 21 2 1 4 2 1 1 49 25
Andy Thackeray   England MF 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0 2 (1) 0
Simon Trevitt   England DF 9 (2) 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 11 (2) 0
Peter Ward   England FW 4 (3) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 (3) 0
Simon Webster   England DF 39 1 2 0 3 0 1 0 45 1
Paul Wilson   England DF 8 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 9 0
Phil Wilson   England MF 37 (1) 1 2 0 4 0 1 0 44 (1) 1
Julian Winter   England MF 31 1 2 0 1 (1) 0 1 0 35 (1) 1