2009–10 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town's 2009–10 campaign was the club's first full season under the chairmanship of Dean Hoyle, with manager Lee Clark in his first full season in charge of the team. They finished in 6th place, before losing to Millwall in the play-offs.

Huddersfield Town

2009–10 season
Chairman	Dean Hoyle
Manager	Lee Clark
Football League One	6th
Play-offs	Semi-finals (knocked out by Millwall)
FA Cup	Third round (knocked out by West Bromwich Albion)
League Cup	Second round (knocked out by Newcastle United)
League Trophy	Second round (knocked out by Chesterfield)
Top goalscorer	League: Jordan Rhodes (19) All: Jordan Rhodes (23)
Highest home attendance	21,764 vs Leeds United (27 February 2010)
Lowest home attendance	5,120 vs Stockport County (11 August 2009)
Biggest win	7–1 vs Brighton & Hove Albion (18 August 2009) 6–0 vs Wycombe Wanderers (14 November 2009) 6–0 vs Stockport County (24 April 2010)
Biggest defeat	0–5 vs Southampton (2 March 2010)
Home colours Away colours

Squad at the start of the season

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

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ENG	Alex Smithies
2	DF	ENG	Lee Peltier
3	DF	ENG	Joe Skarz
4	MF	IRL	Michael Collins
5	DF	ENG	Peter Clarke (Captain)
6	DF	ENG	Nathan Clarke
7	MF	ENG	Gary Roberts
8	MF	ENG	Antony Kay
9	FW	JAM	Theo Robinson
10	FW	ENG	Robbie Simpson
11	MF	IRL	Jim Goodwin
12	DF	ENG	Tom Clarke
14	FW	ENG	Phil Jevons (on loan at Morecambe)
15	MF	ENG	Ian Craney (on loan at Morecambe)
16	DF	ENG	Robbie Williams

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
17	FW	SCO	Jordan Rhodes
18	DF	ENG	Andy Butler
19	MF	IRL	Anthony Pilkington
20	DF	ENG	Chris Lucketti
21	FW	ENG	Lee Novak
22	MF	IRL	James Berrett
24	FW	ENG	Tom Denton (on loan at Cheltenham Town)
26	GK	ENG	Simon Eastwood
27	GK	ENG	Matt Glennon
28	MF	ENG	Lionel Ainsworth
29	DF	ENG	Liam Ridehalgh
30	MF	ENG	Lewis Nightingale
31	DF	ENG	Spencer Harris
32	DF	ENG	Jack Hunt
33	DF	ENG	Leigh Franks

Review

After the end of the centenary season, Dean Hoyle made wholesale changes at the club. As well as the retirement of Andy Booth, Clark released Jon Worthington, Malvin Kamara, Dominik Werling, Daniel Broadbent, Dan Codman. Danny Cadamarteri and Andy Holdsworth both rejected new deals and subsequently left the club. Cadamarteri joined Scottish Premier League side Dundee United, then a week later, ex-captain Worthington joined fellow League One side Oldham Athletic. On 16 July, young striker Tom Denton joined Football League Two side Cheltenham Town on a six-month loan deal. He returned to the club on 10 November, two months earlier than anticipated. On 22 July, midfielder Ian Craney and striker Phil Jevons joined League Two side Morecambe on season-long loans. Unfortunately, an injury cut short half of Craney's season, and he returned to the Galpharm on 20 April. The following day, his contract at the club was terminated. Also that day, Keigan Parker and Andy Holdsworth joined Oldham Athletic, following Jon Worthington. On 25 July, young goalkeeper Simon Eastwood joined Bradford City on loan until the end of the year. He returned to the Galpharm on 31 December. On 4 August, Eastwood was joined at Bradford by Michael Flynn after terminating his contract at the Galpharm. Kamara joined Conference National side Barrow on 25 September. On 14 December, young defender Spencer Harris moved to Northern Premier League Division One North side Curzon Ashton on a month's loan. On 1 January 2010, midfielder Jim Goodwin joined Oldham Athletic on a month's loan, which was extended to the end of the season on 1 February. On 7 January, defender Andy Butler joined Championship side Blackpool on loan until the end of the season. On 13 January, goalkeeper Matt Glennon terminated his contract with the Terriers, so he could join Bradford City on a permanent deal. On 21 January, left-back Joe Skarz joined League Two side Shrewsbury Town on loan until the end of the season. The following day, 2 of the team's youngsters, Jack Hunt & Leigh Franks were sent on loan to Conference National side Grays Athletic and Conference North side Fleetwood Town respectively. On 27 January, Lionel Ainsworth joined fellow League One side Brentford on a month's loan, which was extended to the end of the season on 1 February. On 1 February, Tom Denton and Lewis Nightingale joined Northern Premier League Division One North side Wakefield on one-month loans. On 17 March, young defender Spencer Harris was released from his contract, then signed for Ossett Town. On 17 May 2010, former captain Chris Lucketti left the club.

Charity kit worn against Southend United, 16 January 2010, in Yorkshire Air Ambulance colours.

On 29 May, Clark made his first signing of the summer, by bringing in Tranmere Rovers captain Antony Kay on a free transfer. On 12 June, Clark signed defender Peter Clarke on a free transfer from Southend United. On 18 June, Coventry City striker Robbie Simpson was signed for £300,000 on a three-year deal. On 30 June, Lee Peltier was signed from Yeovil Town on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. On 3 July, young striker Theo Robinson was signed from Football League Championship side Watford for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal. On 31 July, Ipswich Town striker Jordan Rhodes joined the Terriers on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee. On 14 August, Clark signed Manchester United and England U-19 midfielder Danny Drinkwater on a season-long loan from Old Trafford. On 19 January, Birmingham City defender Krystian Pearce joined on an original emergency loan, to be made into a permanent deal. On 22 January, Lee Clark bolstered his defensive options further with the loan signing of Preston North End's Neal Trotman. On 28 January, Clark made a double signing, Australian international Dean Heffernan signed until the end of the season from A-League side Central Coast Mariners and young striker Nathan Eccleston signed on a month's loan from Liverpool. On 18 February, after impressing on a trial, young midfielder Taser Hassan signed a contract with the Terriers until the end of the season.

Town finished in 6th place, meaning that they played Millwall in the play-offs. After a goalless first leg at the Galpharm, Huddersfield lost the second leg 2–0 at The New Den, meaning that they stay in League One for another season.

Squad at the end of the season

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

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ENG	Alex Smithies
2	DF	ENG	Lee Peltier
3	DF	ENG	Joe Skarz
4	MF	IRL	Michael Collins
5	DF	ENG	Peter Clarke (Captain)
6	DF	ENG	Nathan Clarke
7	MF	ENG	Gary Roberts
8	MF	ENG	Antony Kay
9	FW	JAM	Theo Robinson
10	FW	ENG	Robbie Simpson
11	MF	IRL	Jim Goodwin
12	DF	ENG	Tom Clarke
13	DF	AUS	Dean Heffernan
14	FW	ENG	Phil Jevons (on loan at Morecambe)
16	DF	ENG	Robbie Williams
17	FW	SCO	Jordan Rhodes

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
18	DF	ENG	Andy Butler (on loan at Blackpool)
19	MF	IRL	Anthony Pilkington
21	FW	ENG	Lee Novak
22	MF	IRL	James Berrett
24	FW	ENG	Tom Denton
26	GK	ENG	Simon Eastwood (on loan at Bradford City)
27	DF	BRB	Krystian Pearce
28	MF	ENG	Lionel Ainsworth
29	DF	ENG	Liam Ridehalgh
30	MF	ENG	Lewis Nightingale
32	DF	ENG	Jack Hunt
33	DF	ENG	Leigh Franks
34	MF	ENG	Aidan Chippendale
35	DF	ENG	Neal Trotman (on loan from Preston North End)
36	FW	ENG	Nathan Eccleston (on loan from Liverpool)
43	MF	ENG	James Deltman (on loan)

Players in and out

In

Date Player Previous Club Cost 29 May Antony Kay Tranmere Rovers Free 12 June Peter Clarke Southend United Free 18 June Robbie Simpson Coventry City £300,000 30 June Lee Peltier Yeovil Town Undisclosed Fee 3 July Theo Robinson Watford Undisclosed Fee 31 July Jordan Rhodes Ipswich Town Undisclosed Fee 14 August Danny Drinkwater Manchester United Loan 10 November Tom Denton Cheltenham Town Loan Return 31 December Simon Eastwood Bradford City Loan Return 19 January Krystian Pearce Birmingham City Undisclosed Fee 22 January Neal Trotman Preston North End Loan 28 January Dean Heffernan Central Coast Mariners Undisclosed Fee 28 January Nathan Eccleston Liverpool Loan 15 February Spencer Harris Curzon Ashton Loan Return 18 February Taser Hassan Unattached Free 23 February Jack Hunt Grays Athletic Loan Return 23 February Leigh Franks Fleetwood Town Loan Return 12 March Lewis Nightingale Wakefield Loan Return 20 April Ian Craney Morecambe Loan Return 29 April Lionel Ainsworth Brentford Loan Return 11 May Jim Goodwin Oldham Athletic Loan Return 11 May Joe Skarz Shrewsbury Town Loan Return

Out

Date Player New Club Cost 22 May Danny Cadamarteri Dundee United Free 26 May Jon Worthington Oldham Athletic Free 16 July Tom Denton Cheltenham Town Loan 22 July Ian Craney Morecambe Loan 22 July Phil Jevons Morecambe Loan 22 July Andy Holdsworth Oldham Athletic Free 22 July Keigan Parker Oldham Athletic Free 25 July Simon Eastwood Bradford City Loan 4 August Michael Flynn Bradford City Free 25 September Malvin Kamara Barrow Free 14 December Spencer Harris Curzon Ashton Loan 1 January Jim Goodwin Oldham Athletic Loan 7 January Andy Butler Blackpool Loan 13 January Matt Glennon Bradford City Free 21 January Joe Skarz Shrewsbury Town Loan 22 January Jack Hunt Grays Athletic Loan 22 January Leigh Franks Fleetwood Town Loan 27 January Lionel Ainsworth Brentford Loan 1 February Tom Denton Wakefield Loan 1 February Lewis Nightingale Wakefield Loan 12 March Lewis Nightingale Salford City Loan 17 March Spencer Harris Ossett Town Free 21 April Ian Craney Fleetwood Town Free 17 May Chris Lucketti Released Free 20 May Danny Drinkwater Manchester United Loan Return 20 May Nathan Eccleston Liverpool Loan Return 20 May Neal Trotman Preston North End Loan Return 21 May Dean Heffernan Melbourne Heart End of Contract

Final league table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
4	Charlton Athletic	46	23	15	8	71	48	+23	84	Qualification for League One play-offs
5	Swindon Town	46	22	16	8	73	57	+16	82
6	Huddersfield Town	46	23	11	12	82	56	+26	80
7	Southampton	46	23	14	9	85	47	+38	73
8	Colchester United	46	20	12	14	64	52	+12	72

Source: The Football League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:

Results

Pre-season matches

Date	Competition	Opponents	Home/ Away	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
11 July 2009	Pre-season Friendly	Gateshead	A	2–2	Simpson [22], Jevons [52]	756
11 July 2009	Pre-season Friendly	Wakefield	A	1–0	Denton [53]	684
15 July 2009	Pre-season Friendly	Corby Town	A	4–1	Robinson [10, 12, 68], Novak [54]	475
17 July 2009	Pre-season Friendly	A.F.C. Emley	A	6–0	Jevons [15, 25, 55], Flynn [18], Parker [49], Franks [69]	?
18 July 2009	Pre-season Friendly	Morecambe	A	3–0	Robinson [2, 44, 54]	1,018
21 July 2009	Pre-season Friendly	Newcastle United	H	0–1		9,691
22 July 2009	Pre-season Friendly	Bradford Park Avenue	A	4–0	Ainsworth [16, 35], Novak [50], Hunt [80]	?
25 July 2009	Pre-season Friendly	Coventry City	H	0–0		3,886
28 July 2009	Pre-season Friendly	Macclesfield Town	A	3–0	Pilkington [17], Collins [25], Simpson [84 pen]	?
1 August 2009	Pre-season Friendly	Wrexham	A	3–1	Robinson [2], Novak [83], Roberts [85]	1,303

Football League One

Date	Opponents	Home/ Away	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance	Position
8 August 2009	Southend United	A	2–2	Pilkington [71], Rhodes [79]	8,059	9th
15 August 2009	Southampton	H	3–1	Rhodes [50, 68], Kay [82]	12,449	4th
18 August 2009	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	7–1	Kay [21], P. Clarke [35], Novak [43 (pen)], Roberts [64], Drinkwater [69], Robinson [73, 90]	11,269	4th
22 August 2009	Bristol Rovers	A	0–1		6,952	7th
29 August 2009	Yeovil Town	H	2–1	Robinson [33], Collins [65]	12,646	4th
5 September 2009	Milton Keynes Dons	A	3–2	Rhodes [55], Robinson [60], Kay [78]	9,772	3rd
12 September 2009	Brentford	H	0–0		12,020	4th
19 September 2009	Millwall	A	1–3	Rhodes [85]	8,502	6th
26 September 2009	Stockport County	H	0–0		14,921	6th
29 September 2009	Walsall	A	1–2	Robinson [47]	3,419	6th
3 October 2009	Colchester United	A	0–1		5,154	9th
10 October 2009	Exeter City	H	4–0	Novak [17], Rhodes [44, 49, 52]	13,438	8th
17 October 2009	Charlton Athletic	A	1–2	Pilkington [38]	16,991	8th
24 October 2009	Leyton Orient	H	4–0	Roberts [45], N. Clarke [57], Collins [74], Rhodes [90]	13,396	7th
1 November 2009	Oldham Athletic	A	1–0	Williams [59]	8,569	6th
14 November 2009	Wycombe Wanderers	H	6–0	P. Clarke [21, 63], Roberts [28], Pilkington [49], Duberry [82 (og)], Robinson [84 (pen)]	14,869	6th
21 November 2009	Hartlepool United	H	2–1	Hartley [56 (og)], Williams [66]	14,836	3rd
24 November 2009	Swindon Town	A	1–2	Novak [28]	6,630	5th
1 December 2009	Tranmere Rovers	H	3–3	Novak [6], Collins [58], Kay [81]	13,509	5th
5 December 2009	Leeds United	A	2–2	Novak [48], Rhodes [78]	36,723	5th
12 December 2009	Gillingham	H	2–1	Novak [40], Rhodes [45]	13,844	5th
19 December 2009	Norwich City	A	0–3		25,004	5th
28 December 2009	Milton Keynes Dons	H	1–0	Pilkington [27]	16,086	5th
16 January 2010	Southend United	H	2–1	Rhodes [44, 63]	14,200	5th
19 January 2010	Bristol Rovers	H	0–0		12,624	6th
30 January 2010	Yeovil Town	A	1–0	Eccleston [23]	4,110	7th
6 February 2010	Carlisle United	H	1–1	Pilkington [50]	14,132	7th
9 February 2010	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	0–0		4,711	7th
13 February 2010	Swindon Town	H	2–2	P. Clarke [8], Kay [50]	14,610	7th
16 February 2010	Carlisle United	A	2–1	Novak [6], Rhodes [56]	5,236	7th
20 February 2010	Hartlepool United	A	2–0	Roberts [15 (pen)], Trotman [66]	4,452	6th
23 February 2010	Tranmere Rovers	A	2–0	Novak [8, 48]	5,793	6th
27 February 2010	Leeds United	H	2–2	Pilkington [13], Roberts [85]	21,764	6th
2 March 2010	Southampton	A	0–5		19,821	6th
6 March 2010	Gillingham	A	0–2		5,388	7th
13 March 2010	Norwich City	H	1–3	Trotman [3]	17,959	7th
20 March 2010	Leyton Orient	A	2–0	Rhodes [26], Robinson [68]	4,119	7th
27 March 2010	Charlton Athletic	H	1–1	Rhodes [53]	14,459	7th
3 April 2010	Wycombe Wanderers	A	2–1	Rhodes [22], Robinson [52]	5,288	6th
6 April 2010	Oldham Athletic	H	2–0	Robinson [38, 90]	14,561	6th
10 April 2010	Brentford	A	0–3		5,209	6th
13 April 2010	Walsall	H	4–3	Robinson [22 (pen)], Rhodes [45], Kay [90], Novak [90]	14,396	6th
16 April 2010	Millwall	H	1–0	P. Clarke [39]	16,050	6th
24 April 2010	Stockport County	A	6–0	Pilkington [2], Robinson [37], Rhodes [68], Drinkwater [85], Roberts [90], Novak [90 (pen)]	6,887	6th
1 May 2010	Colchester United	H	2–1	Robinson [17 (pen)], Novak [90]	19,750	6th
8 May 2010	Exeter City	A	1–2	Roberts [2]	8,383	6th

Football League play-offs

Date	Round	Opponents	Home/ Away	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
15 May 2010	Semi-Final 1st Leg	Millwall	H	0–0		14,654
18 May 2010	Semi-Final 2nd Leg	Millwall	A	0–2		15,463 Millwall won 2–0 on aggregate.

FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	Home/ Away	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
6 November 2009	Round 1	Dagenham & Redbridge	H	6–1	Williams [9], Roberts [21, 72], Novak [24, 56], Rhodes [44]	5,858
28 November 2009	Round 2	Port Vale	A	1–0	N. Clarke [12]	5,311
2 January 2010	Round 3	West Bromwich Albion	H	0–2		13,472

Football League Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	Home/ Away	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
11 August 2009	Round 1	Stockport County	H	3–1	Rhodes [45, 48], Robinson [74]	5,120
26 August 2009	Round 2	Newcastle United	A	3–4	Robinson [37, 39 (pen)], Rhodes [47]	23,815

Football League Trophy

Date	Round	Opponents	Home/ Away	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
1 September 2009	Round 1 North East	Rotherham United	A	2–1	P. Clarke [2], Simpson [7]	2,246
6 October 2009	Round 2 North East	Chesterfield	A	3–3	Pilkington [65, 90], N. Clarke [90]	3,003 Chesterfield won 4 – 2 on penalties

		Penalties
	Lowry Lester Gray McDermott	4 – 2	Pilkington: over crossbar Williams Goodwin: Lee saved Kay

Appearances & goals

Squad No.	Name	Nation	Position	League Apps	League Goals	FA Cup Apps	FA Cup Goals	League Cup Apps	League Cup Goals	FLT Apps	FLT Goals	Play-off Apps	Play-off Goals	Total Apps	Total Goals
1	Alex Smithies	England	GK	46	0	3	0	2	0	2	0	2	0	55	0
2	Lee Peltier	England	DF	42	0	3	0	2	0	1	0	2	0	50	0
3	Joe Skarz	England	DF	14 (1)	0	1	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	19 (1)	0
4	Michael Collins	Republic of Ireland	MF	23 (5)	3	3	0	1	0	2	0	0 (1)	0	29 (6)	3
5	Peter Clarke	England	DF	46	5	3	0	2	0	1	1	2	0	54	6
6	Nathan Clarke	England	DF	15 (1)	1	3	1	1	0	2	1	0 (1)	0	21 (2)	3
7	Gary Roberts	England	MF	40 (3)	7	3	2	1	0	1	0	2	0	47 (3)	9
8	Antony Kay	England	MF	38 (2)	6	3	0	2	0	1	0	2	0	46 (2)	6
9	Theo Robinson	England	FW	17 (20)	13	0 (3)	0	1 (1)	3	0	0	0 (1)	0	18 (25)	16
10	Robbie Simpson	England	FW	4 (10)	0	0	0	0 (2)	0	1	1	0	0	5 (12)	1
11	Jim Goodwin	Republic of Ireland	MF	3 (2)	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	5 (2)	0
12	Tom Clarke	England	DF	15 (7)	0	0 (2)	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	17 (9)	0
13	Dean Heffernan	Australia	DF	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	0
16	Robbie Williams	England	DF	13 (4)	2	2	1	0	0	0 (1)	0	1 (1)	0	16 (6)	3
17	Jordan Rhodes	Scotland	FW	43 (2)	19	3	1	2	3	1	0	2	0	51 (2)	23
18	Andy Butler	England	DF	10 (1)	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	12 (1)	0
19	Anthony Pilkington	Republic of Ireland	MF	42 (1)	7	2	0	2	0	2	2	2	0	50 (1)	9
21	Lee Novak	England	FW	24 (14)	12	3	2	1	0	1 (1)	0	2	0	31 (15)	14
22	James Berrett	Republic of Ireland	MF	2 (7)	0	0 (1)	0	0 (1)	0	1	0	0	0	3 (9)	0
25	Danny Drinkwater	England	MF	27 (6)	2	0 (1)	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	30 (7)	2
27	Krystian Pearce	Barbados	DF	0 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0 (1)	0
28	Lionel Ainsworth	England	MF	2 (9)	0	1 (1)	0	0 (2)	0	1 (1)	0	0	0	4 (13)	0
35	Neal Trotman	England	DF	21	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	23	2
36	Nathan Eccleston	England	FW	4 (7)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	4 (8)	1