2005–06 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

The 2005–06 season of Huddersfield Town A.F.C. was their second competitive campaign in the restructured Football League One. They finished in 4th place, qualifying them for the play-offs, but, after beating Barnsley 1–0 in the first leg at Oakwell, they lost the second leg 3–1 at the Galpharm Stadium, to lose 3–2 on aggregate.

Huddersfield Town
2005–06 season
ChairmanKen Davy
ManagerPeter Jackson
Coca-Cola League One4th
Play-offsSemi-finals
(knocked out by Barnsley)
FA CupThird round
(knocked out by Chelsea)
Carling CupSecond round
(knocked out by Blackburn Rovers)
LDV Vans TrophyFirst round
(knocked out by Boston United)
Top goalscorerLeague: Andy Booth (13)
All: Andy Booth
Gary Taylor-Fletcher (15)
Highest home attendance19,223 vs. Barnsley (16 May 2006)
Lowest home attendance5,518 vs. Welling United (6 November 2005)
Biggest win5–0 vs Milton Keynes Dons (18 February 2006)
Biggest defeat1–4 vs Scunthorpe United (2 September 2005)
0–3 vs Port Vale (28 December 2005)

Their season was also noted for their cup campaigns in the Football League Cup and FA Cup. They managed a respectable 3–1 loss to Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, where around half of the 12,000 crowd were Town fans. Then in the FA Cup, the Terriers were 8 minutes away from forcing a replay against José Mourinho's Chelsea, before succumbing to a goal by Eiður Guðjohnsen.

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 Paul Rachubka
2 DF  ENG Andy Holdsworth
3 DF  ENG Danny Adams
4 MF  ENG Mark Hudson
5 DF  ENG David Mirfin
6 DF  ENG Nathan Clarke
7 MF  ENG Chris Brandon
8 MF  ENG Tony Carss
9 FW  POL Paweł Abbott
10 FW  ENG Gary Taylor-Fletcher
11 MF  ENG Danny Schofield
12 MF  PAK Adnan Ahmed
14 DF  ENG Tom Clarke
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 FW  IRL John McAliskey
16 DF  SCO Martin McIntosh
17 DF  ENG John McCombe
18 MF  ENG Jon Worthington (Captain)
19 DF  ENG Anthony Lloyd
20 FW  MSR Junior Mendes
21 MF  WAL Lee Fowler
22 GK  ENG Phil Senior
23 FW  ENG Andy Booth
24 MF  IRL Michael Collins
25 MF  ENG Matty Young
26 DF  ENG Aaron Hardy

Review
Controversial 'Young Guns' campaign

Before the start of the season 2005–06, the club launched the controversial 'Young Guns' campaign. The players, manager Peter Jackson, assistant manager Terry Yorath, and coach Martyn Booty posed for the 2006 calendar in cowboy outfits.[1] Six of the younger players featured on the cover of the corporate hospitality brochure. Basing the cover around the 'Young Guns' theme was widely considered to be a mistake and caused the booklet to be adversely linked with the Brokeback Mountain film.

Despite losing to Nottingham Forest on the opening day of the season, Huddersfield started the 2005–06 season brightly and were top of the table by mid-October. During the season they got the chance to show their pedigree by playing at Blackburn Rovers in the Carling Cup, which they lost 3–1.

Then they had a big money-spinning FA Cup match at Chelsea in January. They showed superb spirit to only lose 2–1, but many predicted it could be the turning point in Town's season, as they hadn't won a game since being drawn against them, a month earlier.

Gerry Murphy won the Football League's Contribution to Football award on 5 March 2006 selected by listeners of BBC Radio Five Live's Sport on Five.[2][3]

With the season heading towards its climax, Town had to prepare for the play-offs after a disappointing April, which saw them lose out on automatic promotion to the Championship. The goals of Paweł Abbott, Gary Taylor-Fletcher, Andy Booth, Danny Schofield and Sheffield Wednesday loan signing David Graham helped Town to have the joint-second best scoring record in the division behind Swansea City.

Huddersfield beat Barnsley 1–0 at Barnsley in the play-off semi-final first leg but lost 1–3 (2–3 on aggregate) in the return. Season highlights included an away victory against local rivals Bradford City and a league double over fellow neighbours Oldham Athletic.

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 Paul Rachubka
2 DF  ENG Andy Holdsworth
3 DF  ENG Danny Adams
4 MF  ENG Mark Hudson
5 DF  ENG David Mirfin
6 DF  ENG Nathan Clarke
7 MF  ENG Chris Brandon
8 MF  ENG Tony Carss
9 FW  POL Paweł Abbott
10 FW  ENG Gary Taylor-Fletcher
11 MF  ENG Danny Schofield
12 MF  PAK Adnan Ahmed
14 DF  ENG Tom Clarke
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 FW  IRL John McAliskey
16 DF  SCO Martin McIntosh
17 DF  ENG John McCombe
18 MF  ENG Jon Worthington (Captain)
19 DF  ENG Anthony Lloyd
20 FW  MSR Junior Mendes (on loan at Northampton Town)
21 FW  SCO David Graham (on loan from Sheffield Wednesday)
22 GK  ENG Phil Senior
23 FW  ENG Andy Booth
24 MF  IRL Michael Collins
25 MF  ENG Matty Young
26 DF  ENG Aaron Hardy

Results

Pre-season matches
Date Competition Opponents Home/
Away		 Result
F - A		 Scorers Attendance
12 July 2005 Copa Ibiza Semi-Final Coventry City N 0 - 1 ?
13 July 2005 Copa Ibiza 3rd Place Play-Off Ibiza XI N 2 - 1 Carss, Worthington ?
19 July 2005 Friendly match Harrogate Town A 4 - 1 Abbott 4 551
20 July 2005 Friendly match Rossendale United A 4 - 0 Hudson, T. Clarke, Mendes, Young ?
22 July 2005 Friendly match Mansfield Town A 2 - 1 Booth, Mendes 1,562
25 July 2005 Friendly match A.F.C. Emley A 1 - 1 McAliskey 346
30 July 2005 Friendly match Rochdale A 2 - 2 Booth, Abbott (pen) 1,903
1 August 2005 Friendly match Bradford Park Avenue A 3 - 2 Mendes 2, Carss 408

Football League One
Date Opponents Home/
Away		 Result
F - A		 Scorers Attendance League
position
6 August 2005 Nottingham Forest A 1 - 2 Abbott [64 (pen)] 24,042 16th
9 August 2005 Bristol City H 1 - 0 Abbott [89] 11,138 12th
13 August 2005 Swansea City H 3 - 1 Booth [27], Abbott [41], Schofield [76] 10,304 3rd
20 August 2005 Southend United A 1 - 1 Abbott [45] 5,567 5th
27 August 2005 Hartlepool United H 2 - 1 Abbott [12], Schofield [17] 11,241 2nd
29 August 2005 Doncaster Rovers A 2 - 1 Brandon [2], Worthington [40] 7,222 1st
2 September 2005 Scunthorpe United H 1 - 4 Abbott [66 (pen)] 14,112 2nd
10 September 2005 Oldham Athletic A 3 - 0 Schofield [27], Taylor-Fletcher [37, 72] 8,803 3rd
17 September 2005 Brentford H 3 - 2 Abbott [34], Schofield [90], Booth [90] 11,622 2nd
24 September 2005 Colchester United A 1 - 1 Taylor-Fletcher [65] 3,415 3rd
27 September 2005 Tranmere Rovers H 1 - 0 Schofield [87] 10,640 3rd
1 October 2005 Bournemouth H 2 - 2 Schofield [14], Taylor-Fletcher [21] 13,522 3rd
10 October 2005 Bradford City A 2 - 1 Hudson [21], Booth [79] 12,285 2nd
15 October 2005 Walsall H 3 - 1 Booth [15], Abbott [34, 78] 11,642 1st
22 October 2005 Chesterfield A 3 - 4 Hudson [80], Worthington [87], Holdsworth [90] 6,206 2nd
29 October 2005 Swindon Town H 1 - 1 Brandon [54] 11,352 3rd
12 November 2005 Yeovil Town A 2 - 1 Booth [11], Hudson [39] 6,742 2nd
19 November 2005 Bradford City H 0 - 0 17,331 2nd
26 November 2005 Nottingham Forest H 2 - 1 Schofield [21], Booth [26] 17,370 2nd
6 December 2005 Milton Keynes Dons A 2 - 2 Abbott [7], Booth [64] 4,832 2nd
10 December 2005 Bristol City A 0 - 2 9,949 2nd
17 December 2005 Southend United H 0 - 0 11,223 3rd
26 December 2005 Rotherham United A 1 - 1 Taylor-Fletcher [90] 7,380 3rd
28 December 2005 Port Vale H 0 - 3 10,824 3rd
31 December 2005 Barnsley A 2 - 2 Booth [76], Taylor-Fletcher [90] 13,063 4th
2 January 2006 Gillingham H 0 - 0 11,483 5th
10 January 2006 Scunthorpe United A 2 - 2 Schofield [44], McIntosh [90] 4,450 4th
14 January 2006 Blackpool H 2 - 0 T. Clarke [9], Schofield [73] 11,977 3rd
21 January 2006 Brentford A 0 - 2 7,636 5th
28 January 2006 Oldham Athletic H 3 - 2 Branston [45 (og)], Abbott [48], Graham [59] 14,973 3rd
3 February 2006 Tranmere Rovers A 1 - 2 Graham [48] 8,300 4th
11 February 2006 Colchester United H 2 - 0 Worthington [14], Graham [68] 13,515 5th
14 February 2006 Blackpool A 1 - 0 Brandon [43 (pen)] 6,004 5th
18 February 2006 Milton Keynes Dons H 5 - 0 McIntosh [19], Taylor-Fletcher [24], Worthington [36], Mirfin [77], Collins [90] 11,423 3rd
24 February 2006 Swansea City A 2 - 2 McIntosh [70], Graham [82] 13,110 2nd
4 March 2006 Doncaster Rovers H 2 - 2 McIntosh [8], Graham [40] 14,490 2nd
10 March 2006 Hartlepool United A 1 - 3 Graham [22] 5,648 3rd
18 March 2006 Rotherham United H 4 - 1 Booth [32, 39, 82], Taylor-Fletcher [83] 15,264 3rd
25 March 2006 Port Vale A 1 - 1 Booth [81] 5,664 2nd
1 April 2006 Barnsley H 1 - 0 Taylor-Fletcher [55] 19,052 3rd
8 April 2006 Gillingham A 0 - 2 7,014 3rd
15 April 2006 Bournemouth A 1 - 1 Taylor-Fletcher [71] 7,406 3rd
18 April 2006 Chesterfield H 1 - 2 Graham [13] 13,368 4th
22 April 2006 Walsall A 3 - 1 Graham [25], Abbott [83], Booth [90] 5,554 4th
29 April 2006 Yeovil Town H 1 - 2 Graham [8] 14,473 4th
6 May 2006 Swindon Town A 0 - 0 6,353 4th

League One Play-Offs
Date Round Opponents Home/
Away		 Result
F - A		 Scorers Attendance
11 May 2006 Semi-Final 1st Leg Barnsley A 1 - 0 Taylor-Fletcher [85] 16,127
15 May 2006 Semi-Final 2nd Leg Barnsley H 1 - 3 Worthington [65] 19,223
  • Huddersfield lost 3-2 on aggregate.

FA Cup
Date Round Opponents Home/
Away		 Result
F - A		 Scorers Attendance
6 November 2005 Round 1 Welling United H 4 - 1 Booth [27, 69], Schofield [50 (pen)], Holdsworth [81] 5,518
4 December 2005 Round 2 Worcester City A 1 - 0 Brandon [61] 4,163
7 January 2006 Round 3 Chelsea A 1 - 2 Taylor-Fletcher [74] 41,650

Carling Cup
Date Round Opponents Home/
Away		 Result
F - A		 Scorers Attendance
24 August 2005 Round 1 Chesterfield A 4 - 2 Abbott [9], Taylor-Fletcher [56, 76, 90] 2,922
21 September 2005 Round 2 Blackburn Rovers A 1 - 3 Abbott [79] 11,755

LDV Vans Trophy
Date Round Opponents Home/
Away		 Result
F - A		 Scorers Attendance
19 October 2005 Round 1

North

 Boston United A 1 - 2 Mirfin [68] 1,593

Appearances and goals
Squad No.NameNationPositionLeague AppsLeague GoalsFA Cup AppsFA Cup GoalsLeague Cup AppsLeague Cup GoalsFLT AppsFLT GoalsPlayoff AppsPlayoff GoalsTotal AppsTotal Goals
1Paul Rachubka EnglandGK34020201020410
2Andy Holdsworth EnglandDF37 (5)131200 (1)02044 (6)2
3Danny Adams EnglandDF40030200020470
4Mark Hudson EnglandMF25 (4)3300 (1)0002030 (5)3
5David Mirfin EnglandDF27 (4)12 (1)0000 (1)10029 (6)2
6Nathan Clarke EnglandDF46030200 (1)02053 (1)0
7Chris Brandon EnglandMF36 (4)3311 (1)0000 (1)040 (6)4
8Tony Carss EnglandMF9 (8)00 (1)020000011 (9)0
9Paweł Abbott PolandFW26 (10)121 (2)022100 (2)030 (14)14
10Gary Taylor-Fletcher EnglandFW30 (13)10311 (1)3102137 (14)15
11Danny Schofield EnglandMF37 (4)93120002044 (4)10
12Adnan Ahmed PakistanMF4 (9)0100000005 (9)0
14Tom Clarke EnglandDF16 (1)10 (1)00 (1)0100017 (3)1
15John McAliskey Republic of IrelandFW0 (9)0000000000 (9)0
16Martin McIntosh ScotlandDF20 (2)41010002024 (2)4
17John McCombe EnglandDF100010100030
18Jon Worthington EnglandMF41420101021475
19Anthony Lloyd EnglandDF000000100010
19Dan Smith EnglandDF7 (1)0000000007 (1)0
20Junior Mendes MontserratMF1 (4)0001 (1)000002 (5)0
21David Graham ScotlandFW15 (1)90000002017 (1)9
22Phil Senior EnglandGK12 (1)01000000013 (1)0
23Andy Booth EnglandFW33 (3)132210002038 (3)15
24Michael Collins Republic of IrelandMF9 (8)10 (2)010100011 (10)1
25Matty Young EnglandMF0 (2)0000010001 (2)0
26Aaron Hardy EnglandDF000000100010
27James Hand Republic of IrelandMF000000100010

References
  1. Club ridiculed over Brokeback Mountain calendar, Marc Shoffman, Pink News, 22 February 2006
  2. "Football League Awards - Jagielka Named Championship Player Of The Year", Tony Leighton, FourFourTwo
  3. "Shortlists Announced For Football League Awards", The Football League
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