2003–04 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town's 2003–04 campaign was their first competitive campaign in the bottom division since the 1979–80 season. Huddersfield secured a return to the third tier (to be then called Football League One), at the first attempt, by beating Mansfield Town, on penalties, in the Playoff Final on 31 May 2004 at the Millennium Stadium.

Huddersfield Town
2003–04 season
ChairmanKen Davy
ManagerPeter Jackson
Nationwide Football League Division Three4th (promoted via Play-offs)
Play-offsWinners
FA CupFirst round
(knocked out by Accrington Stanley)
Carling CupThird round
(knocked out by Reading)
LDV Vans TrophyFirst round
(knocked out by Carlisle United)
Top goalscorerLeague: Jon Stead (16)
All: Jon Stead (18)
Highest home attendance19,467 vs Lincoln City (19 May 2004)
Lowest home attendance6,673 vs Derby County (12 August 2003)
Biggest win4–0 vs Macclesfield Town (13 March 2004)
Biggest defeat2–6 vs Scunthorpe United (1 November 2003)
0–4 vs Macclesfield Town (13 December 2003)

Squad at the start of the season

The squad at the start of the season was mainly depleted. When Peter Jackson took over in late June 2003, there were only 8 players on the official list of registered players, because of the mass clear-out caused by Town going into administration the previous 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 Ian Gray
2 DF  ENG Martyn Booty
3 DF  ENG Rob Edwards (Club Captain)
4 MF  WAL Lee Fowler
5 DF  ENG Steve Yates
6 DF  WAL Ian Hughes
7 MF  ENG Tyrone Thompson
8 MF  ENG Tony Carss
9 FW  ENG Jon Stead
10 FW  ENG Jon Newby
11 MF  ENG Danny Schofield
12 MF  ENG Chris Holland
13 GK  ENG Phil Senior
14 MF  USA John Thorrington
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF  ENG Nathan Clarke
16 DF  NGA Efe Sodje (Team Captain)
17 DF  ENG Paul Scott
18 MF  ENG Jon Worthington
19 MF  IRL Dwayne Mattis
20 DF  ENG Nat Brown
21 DF  ENG Andy Holdsworth
22 FW  ENG Steven Kenworthy
23 FW  ENG Andy Booth
24 DF  ENG Anthony Lloyd
25 DF  ENG Joe Washington
26 MF  ENG Adnan Ahmed
27 DF  ENG David Mirfin
28 DF  ENG John McCombe

Review

Peter Jackson began his second spell as Huddersfield manager in the summer of 2003 as the Terriers came out of administration under the new ownership of Ken Davy. He again wasted no time in installing Yorath as his assistant. With only eight players turning up to his first training session, and star player Martin Smith defecting to Northampton Town, many supporters would have been happy to see the side consolidate and not slip any further down the league. But some shrewd signings (including Rob Edwards, Tony Carss, Efe Sodje, Steve Yates and goalkeeper Ian Gray), the emergence of a talented group of youngsters, and the prolific form of the previously ineffective Jon Stead made Town among the early pace-setters for the Division. As winter approached, Jackson's young side became more inconsistent and seemed to be fading but a change of formation tightened up the defence. Goalkeeper Paul Rachubka was brought in as the side found a new resilience and the ability to grind out narrow victories. Stead's form saw an offer from Sunderland, that was rejected, but he was snapped up by Premiership Blackburn Rovers for around £1.2 million in January and was replaced by Polish U21 striker Pawel Abbott who had been unable to establish himself at Preston North End.

It took Huddersfield until the end of August to register their first league win of the season in Division 3 (a 2–1 win against Bristol Rovers at the McAlpine Stadium), but they managed to knock out Division 1 side Derby County in the first round of the League Cup and then amazingly beat Sunderland 4–2 in the second round at the Stadium of Light. They then went on a 4-game winning streak, before hitting a bad patch, when they won only one game in 7, including losing in all three cup competitions (1–0 to Reading in the League Cup, 2–0 to Carlisle United in the Football League Trophy & 1–0 to Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup live on BBC One). Then after beating leaders Hull City 3–1, they went on a good run which came to a dramatic halt when they lost 4–0 to Macclesfield Town at Moss Rose. They then went on another good run throughout January 2004, but then they lost their talisman Jon Stead, who was sold to Premier League side Blackburn Rovers for £1.3 million.

With only Andy Booth as a proper striker, Town loaned Preston North End striker Pawel Abbott, who scored 4 goals in his 6 games, they then signed him on a permanent deal for £125,000 and Huddersfield continued their climb up the table and with only 2 games to go, Huddersfield only needed to win one of their last team games to virtually guarantee automatic promotion to Division 2. But on 1 May, they lost their final home game to Mansfield Town 3–1, meaning they had to beat Cheltenham Town at Whaddon Road to ensure automatic promotion ahead of Torquay United. At half-time, all was going well, Huddersfield were 1–0 up thanks to Andy Booth's 100th goal for the club. But then disaster struck when Abbott received the ball just inside his own half and, inexplicably, ran back towards Town's goal and horrendously under hit a backpass that allowed the Robins to equalise with just 15 minutes of the game left. This, together with Torquay's win at Southend United, condemned the Terriers to a Play-Off spot, by virtue of an inferior goal difference.

The Play-off semi-final saw Town escape two bruising encounters with Lincoln City with goals from Danny Schofield and Rob Edwards staving off a spirited Lincoln fightback in the second leg, so Town went through 4–3 on aggregate. In the final at the Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, Town rode their luck against a Mansfield Town side who had hit three in each league meeting of the sides. Just before the end of normal time the Stags netted but the linesman controversially ruled that the initiating cross had gone out over the by-line. A penalty shoot-out then followed, which Town won 4–1, saw Town home and out of Division Three at the first attempt, securing their place in the newly named Football League One.

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 Ian Gray
2 DF  ENG Martyn Booty
3 DF  ENG Rob Edwards (Club Captain)
4 MF  WAL Lee Fowler
5 DF  ENG Steve Yates
6 DF  WAL Ian Hughes
8 MF  ENG Tony Carss
9 FW  POL Pawel Abbott
10 FW  ENG Jon Newby
11 MF  ENG Danny Schofield
13 GK  ENG Phil Senior
14 FW  SCO Iffy Onuora
15 DF  ENG Nathan Clarke
16 DF  NGA Efe Sodje (Team Captain)
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 DF  ENG Paul Scott
18 MF  ENG Jon Worthington
20 DF  ENG Nat Brown
21 DF  ENG Andy Holdsworth
22 GK  ENG Lee Martin
23 FW  ENG Andy Booth
24 DF  ENG Anthony Lloyd
26 MF  PAK Adnan Ahmed
27 DF  ENG David Mirfin
28 DF  ENG John McCombe
29 GK  ENG Paul Rachubka (on loan from Charlton Athletic)
30 GK  ENG Jacob Giles
31 FW  IRL John McAliskey
32 MF  ENG Matty Young

Results

Pre-season matches

Date Competition Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance
16 July 2003 Friendly match Wakefield-Emley A 2–0 Newby, Booth 1,051
19 July 2003 Friendly match Halifax Town A 3–2 Fowler, Newby, Hudson 2,183
23 July 2003 Friendly match Sunderland H 2–0 Newby, Stead 5,144
25 July 2003 Friendly match Sheffield Wednesday A 2–2 Stead 2 ?
26 July 2003 Friendly match Farsley Celtic A 2–0 Scott, McAliskey ?
30 July 2003 Friendly match Guiseley A 8–0 Booth, Ahmed 2, Worthington, Preston, Schofield, Scott, Kenworthy ?
2 August 2003 Friendly match Wrexham A 3–1 Carss, Booth, Stead 1,840
5 August 2003 Friendly match Ossett Town A 2–2 Kenworthy, Ahmed ?
September 2003 Friendly match Sheffield United A 1–1 Mirfin ?

Division Three

Date Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance League
position
9 August 2003 Cambridge United H 2–2 Stead [30, 59] 10,319 12th
16 August 2003 Boston United A 2–2 Stead [55], Hughes [60] 3,452 13th
23 August 2003 York City H 0–1 9,850 17th
25 August 2003 Doncaster Rovers A 1–1 Booth [7] 7,367 19th
30 August 2003 Bristol Rovers H 2–1 Edwards [32], Stead [78] 8,486 16th
6 September 2003 Bury A 1–2 Scott [72] 4,592 18th
13 September 2003 Northampton Town H 3–0 Stead [17, 35], Carss [33 (pen)] 8,285 12th
16 September 2003 Rochdale A 1–1 Worthington [23] 4,626 13th
20 September 2003 Swansea City A 0–2 8,048 17th
27 September 2003 Leyton Orient H 3–0 Yates [31], Scott [62], Booth [83] 8,942 13th
30 September 2003 Kidderminster Harriers H 1–0 Stead [12] 8,275 11th
4 October 2003 Southend United A 2–1 Booth [45], Schofield [89] 4,205 9th
11 October 2003 Torquay United H 1–0 Carss [80] 9,117 6th
18 October 2003 Lincoln City A 1–3 Booth [5] 5,718 7th
21 October 2003 Yeovil Town A 1–2 Stead [42] 5,274 9th
25 October 2003 Carlisle United H 2–1 Booth [38], Stead [45] 9,059 7th
1 November 2003 Scunthorpe United A 2–6 Booth [46, 72] 4,715 9th
15 November 2003 Hull City H 3–1 Stead [32], Booth [41], Schofield [80] 13,893 8th
22 November 2003 Mansfield Town A 3–3 Schofield [15], Stead [31, 64] 5,828 10th
29 November 2003 Cheltenham Town H 0–0 8,442 10th
13 December 2003 Macclesfield Town A 0–4 3,059 10th
20 December 2003 Oxford United H 1–1 Stead [38] 9,368 10th
26 December 2003 Darlington A 1–0 Booth [28] 6,205 9th
28 December 2003 Bury H 1–0 Swailes [31 (og)] 10,217 9th
3 January 2004 Doncaster Rovers H 3–1 Stead [42, 69], Worthington [82] 13,044 7th
10 January 2004 Cambridge United A 2–1 Stead [44 (pen)], Worthington [85] 3,667 6th
17 January 2004 Boston United H 2–0 Sodje [71], Lloyd [86] 9,603 6th
25 January 2004 York City A 2–0 Schofield [88], Mirfin [89] 6,969 5th
7 February 2004 Darlington H 0–2 11,014 7th
14 February 2004 Torquay United A 1–0 Clarke [71] 3,821 6th
17 February 2004 Bristol Rovers A 1–1 Abbott [86] 6,262 6th
21 February 2004 Lincoln City H 2–1 Sodje [48], Abbott [67] 11,553 5th
2 March 2004 Yeovil Town H 3–1 Abbott [40], Schofield [46, 60] 9,395 4th
6 March 2004 Oxford United A 1–0 Sodje [41] 7,278 4th
9 March 2004 Carlisle United A 0–1 4,782 4th
13 March 2004 Macclesfield Town H 4–0 Booth [21], Abbott [47], Sodje [69], McAliskey [90] 9,729 3rd
16 March 2004 Rochdale H 1–1 Lloyd [49] 10,884 3rd
20 March 2004 Northampton Town A 0–1
  • Match abandoned after 39 minutes due to high winds.
27 March 2004 Swansea City H 3–0 Schofield [51, 85], Lloyd [89] 11,250 3rd
3 April 2004 Leyton Orient A 1–1 Booth [9] 4,137 3rd
10 April 2004 Southend United H 1–0 Abbott [30] 10,680 3rd
12 April 2004 Kidderminster Harriers A 1–2 Sall [84 (og)] 4,051 3rd
17 April 2004 Scunthorpe United H 3–2 Mirfin [5], McAliskey [87, 90] 12,108 3rd
20 April 2004 Northampton Town A 1–0 Booth [53] 6,873 3rd
24 April 2004 Hull City A 0–0 23,495 3rd
1 May 2004 Mansfield Town H 1–3 McAliskey [14] 18,633 3rd
8 May 2004 Cheltenham Town A 1–1 Booth [16] 5,814 4th

Division 3 Play-offs

Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance
15 May 2004 Semi-Final 1st Leg Lincoln City A 2–1 Onuora [5], Mirfin [72] 9,202
19 May 2004 Semi-Final 2nd Leg Lincoln City H 2–2 Schofield [60 (pen)], Edwards [83] 19,467
  • Huddersfield won 4–3 on aggregate.

Playoff Final

FA Cup

Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance
9 November 2003 Round 1 Accrington Stanley A 0–1 3,129

Carling Cup

Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance
12 August 2003 Round 1 Derby County H 2–1 Stead [59], Thorrington [70] 6,672
23 September 2003 Round 2 Sunderland A 4–2 Carss [2], Stead [20], Holdsworth [54], Booth [87] 13,516
28 October 2003 Round 3 Reading A 0–1 11,892

Football League Trophy

Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance
4 November 2003 Round 1

North

Carlisle United A 0–2 1,346

Appearances and goals

Squad No.NameNationPositionLeague AppsLeague GoalsFA Cup AppsFA Cup GoalsLeague Cup AppsLeague Cup GoalsFLT AppsFLT GoalsPlayoff AppsPlayoff GoalsTotal AppsTotal Goals
1Ian Gray EnglandGK17010301000220
2Martyn Booty EnglandDF3 (1)0000000003 (1)0
3Rob Edwards EnglandDF11 (6)10010002 (1)114 (7)2
4Lee Fowler WalesMF27 (2)00030000 (1)030 (3)0
5Steve Yates EnglandDF35100300030411
6Ian Hughes WalesDF12 (1)10010100014 (1)1
7Tyrone Thompson EnglandMF1 (1)0000000001 (1)0
8Tony Carss EnglandMF35 (1)20031001039 (1)3
9Pawel Abbott PolandFW710000001 (1)08 (1)1
9Jon Stead EnglandFW2616103210003118
10Jon Newby EnglandFW10 (4)00010000011 (4)0
11Danny Schofield EnglandMF38 (2)81030103146 (2)9
12Gary Harkins ScotlandMF1 (2)0000000001 (2)0
12Chris Holland EnglandMF0 (3)0100010002 (3)0
13Phil Senior EnglandGK1600 (1)000000016 (1)0
14Iffy Onuora ScotlandFW0 (3)0000000212 (3)1
14John Thorrington United StatesMF3 (2)0001100004 (2)1
15Nathan Clarke EnglandDF25 (1)11010000027 (1)1
16Efe Sodje EnglandDF37 (2)410200 (1)03043 (3)4
17Paul Scott EnglandDF16 (3)21010100 (1)019 (4)2
18Jon Worthington EnglandMF36 (3)31020103043 (3)3
19Dwayne Mattis Republic of IrelandMF2 (3)00 (1)00000002 (4)0
20Nat Brown EnglandDF13 (8)00 (1)00 (2)00 (1)00013 (12)0
21Andy Holdsworth EnglandDF31 (5)01021103038 (5)1
23Andy Booth EnglandFW36 (1)131021103043 (1)14
24Anthony Lloyd EnglandDF30 (1)31000103035 (1)3
25Pawel Abbott PolandFW5 (1)4000000005 (1)4
26Adnan Ahmed PakistanMF0 (1)0000000000 (1)0
27David Mirfin EnglandDF15 (6)20010103120 (6)3
29Fola Onibuje NigeriaFW0 (2)0000000000 (2)0
29Paul Rachubka EnglandGK13000000030160
31John McAliskey Republic of IrelandFW5 (3)40000000 (2)05 (5)4
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