1985–86 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town's 1985–86 campaign was another disappointing season for the Terriers, with the team struggling for consistency and survival in the Second Division, until the arrival of Scottish striker Duncan Shearer from Chelsea near the end of the season saw Town guarantee their status in 16th place.

Huddersfield Town
1985–86 season
Chairman Keith Longbottom
Manager Mick Buxton
Canon League Second Division16th
FA CupThird round
(knocked out by Reading)
Milk CupSecond round
(knocked out by Shrewsbury Town)
Top goalscorerLeague: Dale Tempest (12)
All: Dale Tempest (13)
Highest home attendance11,667 vs Bradford City (7 September 1985)
Lowest home attendance4,511 vs Shrewsbury Town (15 March 1986)
Biggest win2–0 vs Bradford City (7 September 1985)
3–1 vs Leeds United (5 October 1985)
2–0 vs Oldham Athletic (21 Decembebr 1985)
3–1 vs Sheffield United (11 January 1986)
2–0 vs Sunderland (1 March 1986)
3–1 vs Barnsley (31 March 1986)
2–0 vs Stoke City (5 April 1986)
Biggest defeat0–3 vs Shrewsbury Town (12 October 1985)
0–3 vs Stoke City (2 November 1985)
1–4 vs Portsmouth (1 February 1986)
1–4 vs Norwich City (12 March 1986)
0–3 vs Bradford City (22 March 1986)
0–3 vs Middlesbrough (29 March 1986)
0–3 vs Charlton Athletic (12 April 1986)

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
-- GK  ENG Brian Cox
-- GK  ENG Keith Mason
-- DF  WAL Ian Bray
-- DF  ENG Malcolm Brown
-- DF  ENG David Burke
-- DF  WAL Steve Doyle
-- DF  WAL Joey Jones
-- DF  ENG Paul Jones
-- DF  ENG Simon Webster
-- MF  ENG Peter Butler
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- MF  ENG David Cowling
-- MF  ENG Terry Curran
-- MF  ENG Brian Stanton
-- MF  ENG Phil Wilson
-- MF  ENG Julian Winter
-- FW  ENG Graham Cooper
-- FW  ENG David Cork
-- FW  ENG Paul Raynor
-- FW  ENG Liam Robinson
-- FW  ENG Dale Tempest

Review

Town had a good start to the season with Dale Tempest becoming the first and so far only Town player to score a hat-trick on the opening day of a league season in Town's 4–3 win over Millwall. He was top scorer with 12 goals, even though he was on loan at Gillingham in the latter part of the season, before moving to Lokeren in Belgium at the end of the season.

Between October and December, Town went on a run of 10 consecutive matches without a win, which saw Town hover dangerously above the relegation zone for most of the season. Following that they went on a run of only 1 defeat in 8 matches, followed by a run of 5 losses in 6, which forced manager Mick Buxton to bring in a new striker.

In came Chelsea striker Duncan Shearer, who scored a hat-trick on his full debut in Town's 3–1 win over Barnsley. That coupled with three other wins saw Town finish in 16th place, just 6 points and 3 places above the relegation zone.

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
-- GK  ENG Brian Cox
-- GK  ENG Keith Mason
-- DF  WAL Ian Bray
-- DF  ENG Malcolm Brown
-- DF  ENG David Burke
-- DF  WAL Steve Doyle
-- DF  WAL Joey Jones
-- DF  ENG Simon Webster
-- DF  ENG Paul Wilson
-- MF  ENG Peter Butler
-- MF  ENG David Cowling
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- MF  ENG Terry Curran
-- MF  ENG Brian Stanton
-- MF  ENG Phil Wilson
-- MF  ENG Julian Winter
-- FW  ENG Graham Cooper
-- FW  ENG David Cork
-- FW  ENG Paul Raynor
-- FW  ENG Liam Robinson
-- FW  SCO Duncan Shearer
-- FW  ENG Dale Tempest

Results

Division Two

Date Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F–A
Scorers Attendance Position
17 August 1985 Millwall H 4–3 Tempest (3, 1 pen), Webster 6,603 5th
20 August 1985 Grimsby Town A 1–1 Curran 6,180 3rd
24 August 1985 Oldham Athletic A 1–1 Cork 6,024 5th
26 August 1985 Portsmouth H 1–2 Tempest 9,298 8th
31 August 1985 Crystal Palace A 3–2 Cork, Tempest, Webster 6,026 8th
3 September 1985 Blackburn Rovers H 0–0 9,060 6th
7 September 1985 Bradford City H 2–0 Cowling, Cork 11,667 4th
14 September 1985 Sheffield United A 1–1 Cork 13,854 7th
21 September 1985 Norwich City H 0–0 7,225 7th
28 September 1985 Sunderland A 0–1 18,979 9th
5 October 1985 Leeds United H 3–1 Tempest, Stanton, Curran 9,983 7th
12 October 1985 Shrewsbury Town A 0–3 3,986 9th
19 October 1985 Hull City A 1–3 Phil Wilson 8,128 11th
26 October 1985 Carlisle United H 3–3 Tempest, Raynor, Cork 5,012 11th
2 November 1985 Stoke City A 0–3 7,291 14th
9 November 1985 Charlton Athletic H 0–2 5,205 16th
16 November 1985 Brighton & Hove Albion A 3–4 Tempest, Cowling (2) 7,952 16th
23 November 1985 Fulham H 1–3 Tempest 4,650 19th
30 November 1985 Wimbledon A 2–2 Cork, Raynor 2,805 18th
7 December 1985 Grimsby Town H 2–2 Cowling (2) 4,811 20th
14 December 1985 Millwall A 1–2 Tempest 3,645 21st
21 December 1985 Oldham Athletic H 2–0 Cowling, Bray 5,094 21st
26 December 1985 Barnsley H 1–1 Raynor 10,575 19th
1 January 1986 Middlesbrough A 1–0 J. Jones 8,487 20th
11 January 1986 Sheffield United H 3–1 Raynor (2), Tempest 9,268 18th
18 January 1986 Crystal Palace H 0–0 5,729 17th
1 February 1986 Portsmouth A 1–4 Tempest 10,937 19th
25 February 1986 Hull City H 2–1 Cork, Curran 4,518 16th
1 March 1986 Sunderland H 2–0 Curran (2) 7,150 14th
8 March 1986 Leeds United A 0–2 14,667 18th
12 March 1986 Norwich City A 1–4 Curran 12,772 18th
15 March 1986 Shrewsbury Town H 1–0 Curran 4,511 16th
18 March 1986 Carlisle United A 0–2 3,334 16th
22 March 1986 Bradford City A 0–3 9,058 18th
29 March 1986 Middlesbrough H 0–3 5,585 18th
31 March 1986 Barnsley A 3–1 Shearer (3) 5,746 15th
5 April 1986 Stoke City H 2–0 Shearer (2) 5,750 15th
12 April 1986 Charlton Athletic A 0–3 4,143 17th
15 April 1986 Blackburn Rovers A 1–0 Cork 5,183 15th
19 April 1986 Brighton & Hove Albion H 1–0 Shearer 5,469 12th
26 April 1986 Fulham A 1–2 Shearer 2,877 16th
3 May 1986 Wimbledon H 0–1 6,083 16th

FA Cup

Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F–A
Scorers Attendance
4 January 1986 Round 3 Reading H 0–0 9,875
13 January 1986 Round 3 Replay Reading A 1–2 Cowling 8,726

Milk Cup

Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F–A
Scorers Attendance
23 September 1985 Round 2 1st Leg Shrewsbury Town A 3–2 J. Jones, Curran, Tempest 2,251
7 October 1985 Round 2 2nd Leg Shrewsbury Town H 0–2 4,966
  • Huddersfield lost 4–3 on aggregate.

Appearances and goals

NameNationPositionLeague AppsLeague GoalsFA Cup AppsFA Cup GoalsLeague Cup AppsLeague Cup GoalsTotal AppsTotal Goals
Ian Bray WalesDF3212020361
Malcolm Brown EnglandDF36 (1)0200038 (1)0
Peter Butler EnglandMF0 (1)000000 (1)0
David Cork EnglandFW37 (1)80 (1)02039 (2)8
David Cowling EnglandMF3962120437
Brian Cox EnglandGK3702020410
Terry Curran EnglandMF33 (1)7002135 (1)8
Steve Doyle WalesMF4202020460
Joey Jones WalesDF3812021422
Paul Jones EnglandDF1400020160
Keith Mason EnglandGK50000050
Paul Raynor EnglandMF20 (10)5200022 (10)5
Liam Robinson EnglandFW0 (1)000000 (1)0
Duncan Shearer ScotlandFW7 (1)700007 (1)7
Brian Stanton EnglandMF7 (6)1200 (1)09 (7)1
Dale Tempest EnglandFW29 (1)12202133 (1)13
Simon Webster EnglandDF4122020452
Paul Wilson EnglandDF70000070
Phil Wilson EnglandMF3512020391
Julian Winter EnglandMF3 (1)000003 (1)0
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