1998–99 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town's 1998–99 campaign was Town's full season with Peter Jackson at the helm. At the end of the season, Town finished a respectable 10th place, but within a day of the end of the season, owner Barry Rubery sacked Peter Jackson to the shock of just about every Huddersfield Town fan.

Huddersfield Town
1998–99 season
ChairmanEngland Barry Rubery
ManagerEngland Peter Jackson
Division One10th
FA CupFifth round
(knocked out by Derby County)
League CupSecond round
(knocked out by Everton)
Top goalscorerLeague: Marcus Stewart (22)
All: Marcus Stewart (26)
Highest home attendance21,629 vs Derby County (13 February 1999)
Lowest home attendance3,988 vs Mansfield Town (11 August 1998)
Biggest win4–0 vs Crystal Palace (5 December 1998)
Biggest defeat1–7 vs Barnsley (27 November 1998)

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
-- GK   ENG Steve Francis
-- GK   BEL Nico Vaesen
-- DF   ENG Sam Collins
-- DF   SCO Tom Cowan
-- DF   ENG Jon Dyson
-- DF   ENG Darren Edmondson
-- DF   ENG Rob Edwards
-- DF   ENG Kevin Gray
-- DF   IRL Thomas Heary
-- DF   ENG Sean Hessey
-- DF   WAL Steve Jenkins
-- DF   SCO Andy Morrison
-- MF   ENG Simon Baldry
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- MF   ENG David Beresford
-- MF   WAL Marcus Browning
-- MF   ENG Paul Dalton
-- MF   WAL Barry Horne
-- MF   SCO Grant Johnson
-- MF   WAL David Phillips
-- MF   ENG Lee Richardson
-- MF   ENG Ben Thornley
-- FW   ENG Wayne Allison
-- FW   ENG Paul Barnes
-- FW   GRN Delroy Facey
-- FW   ENG Ian Lawson
-- FW   ENG Marcus Stewart

Review

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Among the summer transfers brought in by manager Peter Jackson was Belgian goalkeeper Nico Vaesen, who was sent off on his debut after just 9 minutes against Bury, but after that made some exceptional performances in the Town net, which helped Town reach top spot in September and October. During that time, Town played Sunderland, which at the time saw a record 20,241 at a match at the McAlpine Stadium. (That would be eclipsed by the 21,629 that saw Town play Derby County in the FA Cup 5th round in February.)

Jackson recruited winger Ben Thornley (a popular loan signing under Horton) from Manchester United and in September, they beat Tranmere Rovers to top the early Division 1 table, thanks chiefly to the goalscoring prowess of Stewart and Allison.

Even though Town were top of the table, their away form was very mediocre at best. This was probably proven by their 7–1 loss to Barnsley in November (They were 6–0 down at half-time and to make matters worse the game was shown on Sky Sports!) Town did however have a good run in the FA Cup which culminated in a 5th-round match against Premier League side Derby County. They eventually lost 3–1 in the replay at Pride Park.

The team attracted the attention of local businessman Barry Rubery and, after protracted takeover talks, he took over the running of the club promising significant investment as the club sought Premiership status. The takeover rumours had a negative effect on the side and they fell away from the promotion race despite Jackson investing in the likes of Craig Armstrong and Jamie Vincent. A play-off place eventually faded following a horrible end to the season, which saw them win only one of their last 11 matches, although that was a 3–2 win against local rivals Bradford City at Valley Parade.

Jackson was hoping to mount a promotion challenge the following season, but he was suddenly sacked after the end of the season and replaced by former Manchester United captain Steve Bruce, whose first season in management with Sheffield United had brought little success. Jackson declined the role of academy director.

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
-- GK   ENG Phil Senior
-- GK   BEL Nico Vaesen
-- DF   ENG Sam Collins
-- DF   ENG Jon Dyson
-- DF   ENG Darren Edmondson
-- DF   ENG Rob Edwards
-- DF   ENG Kevin Gray
-- DF   IRL Thomas Heary
-- DF   WAL Steve Jenkins
-- DF   ENG Jamie Vincent
-- MF   ENG Craig Armstrong
-- MF   ENG Simon Baldry
-- MF   ENG Chris Beech
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- MF   ENG David Beresford
-- MF   ENG Paul Dalton
-- MF   WAL Barry Horne
-- MF   SCO Grant Johnson
-- MF   IRL Dwayne Mattis
-- MF   ENG Lee Richardson
-- MF   ENG Ben Thornley
-- FW   ENG Wayne Allison
-- FW   GRN Delroy Facey
-- FW   ENG Ian Lawson
-- FW   ENG Danny Schofield
-- FW   ENG Marcus Stewart

Results

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Date Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F - A
Scorers Attendance Position
8 August 1998 Bury A 0 - 1 7,659 21st
15 August 1998 Port Vale H 2 - 1 Dalton [40], Stewart [60] 9,930 11th
22 August 1998 Grimsby Town A 0 - 1 6,974 14th
29 August 1998 Portsmouth H 3 - 3 Stewart [45, 84], Allison [89] 10,085 13th
31 August 1998 Bristol City A 2 - 1 Horne [48], Stewart [52] 11,801 10th
5 September 1998 Sheffield United H 1 - 0 Allison [88] 12,192 6th
8 September 1998 Watford H 2 - 0 Stewart [21], Allison [41] 9,811 5th
11 September 1998 Tranmere Rovers A 3 - 2 Stewart [21], Allison [45, 69] 5,770 1st
19 September 1998 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 2 - 1 Dalton [19], Thornley [90] 13,854 1st
26 September 1998 Bolton Wanderers A 0 - 3 20,971 2nd
29 September 1998 Stockport County A 1 - 1 Allison [40] 8,023 2nd
3 October 1998 Oxford United H 2 - 0 Dalton [24], Stewart [33] 10,968 1st
9 October 1998 Swindon Town A 0 - 3 8,316 1st
17 October 1998 Queens Park Rangers H 2 - 0 Edwards [12], Thornley [48] 11,276 1st
21 October 1998 Sunderland H 1 - 1 Stewart [28] 20,241 1st
24 October 1998 Norwich City A 1 - 4 Beresford [59] 15,403 2nd
31 October 1998 Birmingham City A 1 - 1 Stewart [61] 14,468 3rd
7 November 1998 Ipswich Town H 2 - 2 Edwards [65], Allison [74] 14,240 5th
14 November 1998 West Bromwich Albion A 1 - 3 Beresford [6] 13,626 9th
21 November 1998 Bradford City H 2 - 1 Barnes [70], Johnson [72] 18,173 6th
27 November 1998 Barnsley A 1 - 7 Facey [74] 16,648 7th
5 December 1998 Crystal Palace H 4 - 0 Stewart [15, 24, 81], Facey [90] 10,453 6th
12 December 1998 West Bromwich Albion H 0 - 3 11,947 8th
19 December 1998 Crewe Alexandra A 2 - 1 Stewart [13, 48] 5,102 8th
26 December 1998 Grimsby Town H 2 - 0 Stewart [53], Beech [65] 16,186 6th
28 December 1998 Sheffield United A 1 - 2 Stewart [67 (pen)] 17,359 7th
9 January 1999 Bury H 2 - 2 Allison [32], Johnson [83] 10,788 8th
16 January 1999 Portsmouth A 0 - 1 10,334 10th
30 January 1999 Bristol City H 2 - 2 Phillips [3], Johnson [59] 13,934 10th
6 February 1999 Port Vale A 0 - 2 6,499 11th
16 February 1999 Watford A 1 - 1 Beech [71] 10,303 11th
20 February 1999 Tranmere Rovers H 0 - 0 11,411 12th
27 February 1999 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 2 - 2 Gray [59], Hamilton [90] 21,778 12th
2 March 1999 Bolton Wanderers H 3 - 2 Stewart [36], Johnson [41], Armstrong [46] 13,867 8th
6 March 1999 Stockport County H 3 - 0 Stewart [64 (pen), 68], Jenkins [72] 11,914 8th
9 March 1999 Oxford United A 2 - 2 Thornley [29], Stewart [86 (pen)] 6,034 7th
13 March 1999 Ipswich Town A 0 - 3 17,170 10th
20 March 1999 Birmingham City H 1 - 1 Facey [55] 14,667 9th
24 March 1999 Norwich City H 1 - 1 Hughes [83 (og)] 9,717 8th
3 April 1999 Queens Park Rangers A 1 - 1 Lawson [79] 11,113 9th
5 April 1999 Swindon Town H 1 - 2 Lawson [80] 11,719 9th
10 April 1999 Sunderland A 0 - 2 41,074 10th
17 April 1999 Bradford City A 3 - 2 Stewart [22], Allison [24], Thornley [36] 15,124 9th
24 April 1999 Barnsley H 0 - 1 15,353 10th
1 May 1999 Crystal Palace A 2 - 2 Dyson [33], Stewart [40 (pen)] 17,282 10th
9 May 1999 Crewe Alexandra H 0 - 0 15,105 10th
Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F - A
Scorers Attendance
2 January 1999 Round 3 Queens Park Rangers A 1 - 0 Allison [42] 11,685
23 January 1999 Round 4 Wrexham A 1 - 1 Allison [22] 8,714
3 February 1999 Round 4 replay Wrexham H 2 - 1 Stewart [20], Thornley [28] 15,427
13 February 1999 Round 5 Derby County H 2 - 2 Beech [42], Stewart [71] 21,629
24 February 1999 Round 5 replay Derby County A 1 - 3 Beech [15] 28,704
Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F - A
Scorers Attendance
11 August 1998 Round 1 1st Leg Mansfield Town H 3 - 2 Johnson [18], Allison [74], Dalton [81 (pen)] 3,988
18 August 1998 Round 1 2nd Leg Mansfield Town A 1 - 1 Stewart [28] 2,936
  • Huddersfield won 4–3 on aggregate
15 September 1998 Round 2 1st Leg Everton H 1 - 1 Allison [45] 15,395
23 September 1998 Round 2 2nd Leg Everton A 1 - 2 Stewart [1] 18,718
  • Huddersfield lost 3–2 on aggregate

Appearances and goals

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Name Nation Position League Apps League Goals FA Cup Apps FA Cup Goals League Cup Apps League Cup Goals Total Apps Total Goals
Wayne Allison   England FW 44 9 4 2 3 2 51 13
Craig Armstrong   England MF 13 1 0 0 0 0 13 1
Simon Baldry   England MF 8 (5) 0 1 (1) 0 0 0 9 (6) 0
Paul Barnes   England FW 2 (13) 1 1 (1) 0 0 (3) 0 3 (17) 1
Chris Beech   England MF 13 (4) 2 2 2 0 0 15 (4) 4
David Beresford   England MF 13 (6) 2 1 (1) 0 0 (2) 0 14 (9) 2
Marcus Browning   Wales MF 2 (4) 0 0 0 1 (2) 0 3 (6) 0
Sam Collins   England DF 22 (1) 0 3 0 4 0 29 (1) 0
Tom Cowan   Scotland DF 5 0 2 0 0 0 7 0
Paul Dalton   England MF 7 (2) 3 0 0 3 (1) 1 10 (3) 4
Jon Dyson   England DF 10 (4) 1 2 0 0 0 12 (4) 1
Darren Edmondson   England DF 1 (2) 0 2 (1) 0 0 0 3 (3) 0
Rob Edwards   England MF 45 2 5 0 4 0 54 2
Delroy Facey   Grenada FW 5 (15) 3 0 (2) 0 0 0 5 (17) 3
Steve Francis   England GK 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Kevin Gray   England DF 28 (6) 1 5 0 2 (1) 0 35 (7) 1
Des Hamilton   England MF 10 1 0 0 0 0 10 1
Thomas Heary   Republic of Ireland DF 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Sean Hessey   England DF 7 (3) 0 1 0 0 0 8 (3) 0
Barry Horne   Wales MF 20 1 0 0 4 0 24 1
Mark Jackson   England DF 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Steve Jenkins   Wales DF 36 1 3 0 4 0 43 1
Grant Johnson   Scotland MF 36 4 5 0 4 1 45 5
Ian Lawson   England FW 2 (4) 2 0 0 0 0 2 (4) 2
Dwayne Mattis   Republic of Ireland MF 0 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 (2) 0
Andy Morrison   Scotland DF 12 0 0 0 3 0 15 0
David Phillips   Wales MF 15 (8) 1 5 0 0 0 20 (8) 1
Lee Richardson   England MF 13 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 13 (2) 0
Danny Schofield   England MF 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Marcus Stewart   England FW 43 22 5 2 4 2 52 26
Ben Thornley   England MF 32 (3) 4 3 1 4 0 39 (3) 5
Nico Vaesen   Belgium GK 43 0 5 0 4 0 52 0
Jamie Vincent   England DF 7 0 0 0 0 0 7 0