2004–05 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town's 2004–05 campaign was their first competitive campaign in the restructured Coca-Cola League One. They finished 9th with 70 points, just one point less than Hartlepool United in 6th, the lowest playoff position.

Huddersfield Town
2004–05 season
ChairmanKen Davy
ManagerPeter Jackson
League One9th
FA CupFirst round
(knocked out by Stockport County)
League CupFirst round
(knocked out by Leeds United)
League TrophySecond round
(knocked out by Blackpool)
Top goalscorerLeague: Pawel Abbott (26)
All: Pawel Abbott (27)
Highest home attendance17,292 vs Sheffield Wednesday (29 March 2005)
Lowest home attendance3,831 vs Morecambe (28 September 2004)
Biggest win4–0 vs Hull City (5 September 2004)
4–0 vs Swindon Town (30 April 2005)
Biggest defeat3–6 vs Blackpool (2 November 2004)
0–3 vs Tranmere Rovers (22 February 2005)

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
1 GK   ENG Ian Gray
2 DF   ENG Andy Holdsworth
3 DF   ENG Anthony Lloyd
4 MF   WAL Lee Fowler
5 DF   ENG Steve Yates
6 DF   ENG Nathan Clarke
7 MF   ENG Chris Brandon
8 MF   ENG Tony Carss
9 FW   POL Pawel Abbott
10 FW   MSR Junior Mendes
11 MF   ENG Danny Schofield
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 DF   ENG Rob Edwards (Club captain)
16 DF   NGA Efe Sodje (Team captain)
17 DF   ENG David Mirfin
18 MF   ENG Jon Worthington
19 FW   NGA Akpo Sodje
20 FW   IRL John McAliskey
22 GK   ENG Phil Senior
23 FW   ENG Andy Booth
24 DF   ENG John McCombe
25 MF   PAK Adnan Ahmed
27 DF   ENG Nat Brown

Review

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Town beat Stockport County on the opening day, but then failed to score in their next 4 games, including a 1–0 defeat to Leeds United in the first round of the League Cup at Elland Road. The season included victories away at eventual champions Luton Town and at home over runners-up Hull City but also included two derby defeats against Bradford City. However, a disastrous mid-season spell of form (including seven successive away league defeats and having Efe Sodje stripped of the captaincy after his red card against Blackpool in the Football League Trophy) saw the side slump and in real danger of a relegation battle.

Jon Worthington was made captain after the Blackpool game, but then Huddersfield gained a recovery in form with the loan signing of Luke Beckett from Sheffield United, but he was then recalled by Sheffield in mid-February.

The team were in deep trouble in mid-March, with relegation being a big possibility, but the play-offs were still possible, although Town had to win all their final 10 games to have a realistic chance of reaching the play-offs and all was going well, until Town played Colchester United at the Galpharm Stadium. With 1 minute to go, Town were leading 2–1, but then a goalkeeping error by Paul Rachubka (signed earlier in the season from Charlton Athletic) let Colchester equalise the game. That proved to be fatal, Town did win all the other 9 games and they missed out on the play-offs by one point.

During the season, many graduates from Town's own academy started to cement first-team places, such as Andy Holdsworth, David Mirfin, Nathan Clarke, Tom Clarke, Adnan Ahmed and Michael Collins. Beckett departed to join local rivals Oldham Athletic before the transfer deadline.

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
2 DF   ENG Andy Holdsworth
3 DF   ENG Anthony Lloyd
4 MF   WAL Lee Fowler
5 DF   ENG Steve Yates
6 DF   ENG Nathan Clarke
7 MF   ENG Chris Brandon
8 MF   ENG Tony Carss
9 FW   POL Pawel Abbott
10 FW   MSR Junior Mendes
11 MF   ENG Danny Schofield
14 DF   ENG Rob Edwards (Club captain)
17 DF   ENG David Mirfin
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF   ENG Jon Worthington (Team captain)
20 FW   IRL John McAliskey
21 DF   ENG Danny Adams
22 GK   ENG Phil Senior
23 FW   ENG Andy Booth
24 DF   ENG John McCombe
25 MF   PAK Adnan Ahmed
26 GK   ENG Paul Rachubka
27 DF   ENG Nat Brown
29 MF   IRL Michael Collins
36 DF   ENG Tom Clarke

Final league table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
7 Bristol City 46 18 16 12 74 57 +17 70
8 Bournemouth 46 20 10 16 77 64 +13 70
9 Huddersfield Town 46 20 10 16 74 65 +9 70
10 Doncaster Rovers 46 16 18 12 65 60 +5 66
11 Bradford City 46 17 14 15 64 62 +2 65
Updated to match(es) played on May 2005. Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Results

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Pre-season matches

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Date Competition Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F - A
Scorers Attendance
12 July 2004 Friendly match Wakefield-Emley A 2 - 1 Mirfin, Holdsworth 1,589
17 July 2004 Friendly match Middlesbrough A 1 - 2 Booth ?
19 July 2004 Friendly match Ossett Town A 2 - 0 A. Sodje, McCombe 1,000+
21 July 2004 Friendly match Bradford Park Avenue A 2 - 1 McAliskey, Carss 800+
24 July 2004 Friendly match Harrogate Town A 2 - 2 Abbott (pen), Brandon 704
27 July 2004 Friendly match Rotherham United A 2 - 0 2 og 1,720
28 July 2004 Friendly match Farsley Celtic A 1 - 1 A. Sodje ?
31 July 2004 Friendly match Macclesfield Town A 1 - 0 Brandon ?
3 August 2004 Friendly match Guiseley A 2 - 0 Brown, Fowler c. 500

Coca-Cola League One

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Date Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F - A
Scorers Attendance League
position
7 August 2004 Stockport County A 3 - 2 Carss [45], Booth [87], Abbott [90] 7,473 4th
10 August 2004 Chesterfield H 0 - 0 11,942 6th
16 August 2004 Hartlepool United H 0 - 2 9,968 14th
21 August 2004 Sheffield Wednesday A 0 - 1 26,264 17th
28 August 2004 Peterborough United H 2 - 1 McAliskey [16], Worthington [48] 9,531 14th
30 August 2004 Doncaster Rovers A 1 - 2 Worthington [83] 7,068 16th
5 September 2004 Hull City H 4 - 0 Abbott [7], Edwards [14], Brandon [74], Booth [87] 13,542 11th
11 September 2004 Port Vale A 3 - 0 Abbott [62, 67, 65] 6,298 5th
18 September 2004 Barnsley H 0 - 2 14,794 9th
25 September 2004 Bristol City A 3 - 3 Schofield [28], Abbott [35], Brandon [60] 10,783 10th
2 October 2004 Walsall H 3 - 1 Abbott, [29, 68], Mendes [30] 11,324 7th
9 October 2004 Torquay United A 1 - 2 Mendes [39] 3,033 9th
16 October 2004 Luton Town A 2 - 1 Mendes [14, 36] 8,192 7th
19 October 2004 Tranmere Rovers H 1 - 3 Abbott [33] 10,324 8th
23 October 2004 Milton Keynes Dons H 3 - 0 Abbott [33, 45 (pen)], Mendes [45] 10,709 7th
30 October 2004 Blackpool A 1 - 1 Booth [15] 7,676 8th
7 November 2004 Brentford H 1 - 1 Abbott [71] 10,810 9th
20 November 2004 Colchester United A 0 - 0 3,972 11th
27 November 2004 Wrexham H 1 - 2 Schofield [41] 11,127 14th
8 December 2004 Swindon Town A 2 - 1 Abbott [19], Brandon [34] 4,828 10th
11 December 2004 Oldham Athletic A 1 - 2 Abbott [7] 8,389 11th
18 December 2004 Bradford City H 0 - 1 17,281 13th
26 December 2004 Port Vale H 2 - 1 Schofield [4], Abbott [8] 12,243 12th
28 December 2004 AFC Bournemouth A 2 - 2 McAliskey [38], Mirfin [60] 8,448 12th
1 January 2005 Hull City A 1 - 2 Brandon [40] 22,291 13th
3 January 2005 Bristol City H 2 - 2 Orr [18 (og)], Abbott [58] 11,151 13th
8 January 2005 Torquay United H 1 - 1 E Sodje [24] 9,194 13th
15 January 2005 Barnsley A 2 - 4 Abbott [55 (pen)], Booth [70] 11,725 14th
22 January 2005 AFC Bournemouth H 3 - 2 Abbott [8 (pen)], Beckett [35, 45] 9,754 13th
29 January 2005 Walsall A 3 - 4 Booth [7], Beckett [11, 33] 5,727 14th
5 February 2005 Luton Town H 1 - 1 Beckett [90] 12,611 14th
12 February 2005 Milton Keynes Dons A 1 - 2 Booth [30] 4,793 15th
19 February 2005 Blackpool H 1 - 0 Beckett [2] 10,614 14th
22 February 2005 Tranmere Rovers A 0 - 3 7,613 14th
26 February 2005 Oldham Athletic H 2 - 1 Abbott [4, 29] 11,161 13th
5 March 2005 Bradford City A 0 - 2 15,417 14th
12 March 2005 Chesterfield A 1 - 2 Mirfin [79] 4,827 15th
19 March 2005 Stockport County H 5 - 3 Booth [4], Abbott [51], Mirfin [82], Ahmed [83], Dolan [90 (og)] 11,180 14th
25 March 2005 Hartlepool United A 1 - 0 Booth [42] 6,205 13th
29 March 2005 Sheffield Wednesday H 1 - 0 Worthington [7] 17,292 13th
2 April 2005 Peterborough United A 2 - 1 Brandon [21], Schofield [84] 3,976 12th
9 April 2005 Doncaster Rovers H 3 - 1 Abbott [1], Booth [43], Brandon [56] 12,792 8th
16 April 2005 Colchester United H 2 - 2 Abbott [20], Schofield [62] 10,831 9th
23 April 2005 Brentford A 1 - 0 Abbott [26] 7,703 10th
30 April 2005 Swindon Town H 4 - 0 Abbott [62, 80], Booth [79], Edwards [85] 13,559 9th
7 May 2005 Wrexham A 1 - 0 Mirfin [43] 7,151 9th

FA Cup

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Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F - A
Scorers Attendance
13 November 2004 Round 1 Stockport County A 1 - 3 Abbott [90] 3,479

League Cup

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Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F - A
Scorers Attendance
24 August 2004 Round 1 Leeds United A 0 - 1 30,115

Football League Trophy

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Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F - A
Scorers Attendance
28 September 2004 Round 1 North Morecambe H 3 - 0 Mirfin [47], Mendes [84 (pen)], Fowler [90] 3,831
2 November 2004 Round 2 North Blackpool A 3 - 6 (aet, 90 mins: 2 - 2) McAliskey [47], Schofield [53], Ahmed [105] 3,533

Appearances and goals

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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 Total Apps Total Goals
1 Ian Gray   England GK 12 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 13 0
2 Andy Holdsworth   England DF 38 (2) 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 41 (2) 0
3 Anthony Lloyd   England DF 10 (1) 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 13 (1) 0
4 Lee Fowler   Wales MF 8 (12) 0 0 (1) 0 0 0 2 1 10 (13) 1
5 Steve Yates   England DF 15 (2) 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 17 (2) 0
6 Nathan Clarke   England DF 37 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 40 0
7 Chris Brandon   England MF 42 (2) 6 1 0 1 0 0 0 44 (2) 6
8 Tony Carss   England MF 23 (4) 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 25 (4) 1
9 Pawel Abbott   Poland FW 36 (8) 26 1 1 1 0 0 (1) 0 38 (9) 25
10 Junior Mendes   Montserrat FW 13 (12) 5 1 0 0 (1) 0 1 1 15 (13) 6
11 Danny Schofield   England MF 21 (12) 5 1 0 0 0 2 1 24 (12) 6
12 Luke Beckett   England FW 7 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 6
12 Delroy Facey   Grenada FW 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
14 Rob Edwards   England DF 21 (3) 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 22 (3) 2
16 Efe Sodje   England DF 24 (4) 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 26 (4) 1
17 David Mirfin   England DF 38 (3) 4 1 0 1 0 1 1 41 (3) 5
18 Jon Worthington   England MF 39 3 1 0 1 0 1 0 42 3
19 Akpo Sodje   Nigeria FW 1 (6) 0 0 0 0 0 1 (1) 0 2 (7) 0
20 John McAliskey   Republic of Ireland FW 7 (11) 2 0 0 0 (1) 0 1 (1) 1 8 (13) 3
21 Danny Adams   England DF 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
22 Phil Senior   England GK 5 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 7 (1) 0
23 Andy Booth   England FW 25 (4) 10 0 0 1 0 1 0 27 (4) 10
24 John McCombe   England DF 4 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 6 (1) 0
25 Adnan Ahmed   Pakistan MF 16 (2) 1 0 0 0 0 0 (2) 1 18 (4) 2
26 Paul Rachubka   England GK 29 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 30 0
27 Nat Brown   England DF 7 (10) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 8 (10) 0
29 Michael Collins   Republic of Ireland MF 7 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 (1) 0
36 Tom Clarke   England DF 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 0