[HerefordBull]

Shankly eventually got Liverpool to the top flight in 1964 and there they have been ever since. In fact their worst finish in the top flight ( Premier league or the old Division 1 ) is 8th!

Tough being a Liverpool fan never knowing the dramas, elation, disappointment etc of relegation and promotion that all us poor mortals have to endure following our respective teams. Feel sorry for them.

[Lord Snooty]

The rumour going around Huddersfield was that the board refused him the money to buy Ian St John and Ron Yeats, so as soon as he went to Liverpool they were his first signings.

People in the Town looked at Liverpool thinking that could've been us. But it wouldn't really. Things were changing in the 60s. The minimum wage had been scrapped and the bigger, better supported clubs would get who they wanted.

We still say it though. Look where we would be if we'd kept Carlos. 

[Lord Snooty]

More Shankly stuff to come in a few days time.

[Lord Snooty]

August 19:

Let's all meet up in the year 2000. By the fountain down the road? No, at Hillsborough.

On this date, Town played Sheffield Wednesday away and following a disappointing opening day defeat to Watford at home, we went and gave a barnstorming performance against them there Owls and pulped them.

Town, you may recall, had just failed, miserably, to make the Play Offs in the previous season, losing at Fulham on the last day to finish 8th after being in the top 6 all season. Wendy had just been relegated from the Premier League. They still had some of their star names in this line up. Kevin Pressman in goal, Des Walker, gobby Sky pundit Andy Hinchcliffe, future Town boss Simon Grayson and Bob's brother Gilles De Bilde.

They also had one of our own. The legend himself, Andy Booth, in what I think was his only match against us. He was given a rousing reception by all the Town fans behind the goal, who watched in disbelief as we raced into a 3-0 lead in the first half, with all goals up the other end. Martin Smith scored first, Kevin Gallen added a second and then Smith got his second with a glancing header.

Three nil up is always a dangerous scoreline for Huddersfield Town. So what did manager Steve Bruce do? Took off exciting playmaker Dean Gorré and brought on useless ex Leeds man, Scott Sellars. Within three minutes, Wendy had pulled one back. It was Boothy with the goal, a header, reacting quickest after a free kick had been brilliantly saved by Nico Vaesen. He leapt and punched the air in front of the Town fans, who greeted him with the respect he deserves.

That was in the 45th minute and so we had another 45 to hang on. Gobby Hinchcliffe made it 3-2 from the penalty spot after 64 and so it was game on. Luckily we held on and it was three points to the boys in blue, er red sorry. Classic Panasonic strip.

So the season was up and running. Three points from two games. Here we go.

Well it was a false dawn. We didn't win again until December, by which time Bruce had been sacked and replaced by Lou Macari.

Town were relegated in 1951/52, but bounced straight back up again and on this date in 1953, we played our first match back in Division One. It was against Preston North End at Deepdale. And we won. Yes. A win away at Preston. What a team we must've had back then. 

It was a 2-1 win and Jimmy Watson scored them both, as Town manager Andy Beattie beat his old club, for whom he had played in the 1938 FA Cup Final.

Happy birthday, begrudgingly today to Nottingham Forest's Harry Toffolo. He's 27 today, having been born in 1995.

[HerefordBull]

Snoots, did you like Toffolo before he jumped ship to Forest?

[Lord Snooty]

Of course I did. I even got to like Carlos in the end.

Toffs has just had his best season ever and added goal scoring to his cv as well. This is his best chance now to establish himself as a PL player. Just wish him and Lewis had gone to play in front of some supporters who deserve to watch talent like that, instead of arrogant, self entitled assholes.

But I'm not bitter. Happy birthday, Harry.

[Lord Snooty]

August 20:

And so it came to pass that on this date in the Year of our Lord 1994, the faithful flock of fans of Huddersfield Town had inaugurated a new place of worship with a game against the Wycombe Wanderers. Said worshipful hallowed ground was to be known as the Alfred McAlpine Stadium.

That's 28 years ago and now, making me feel really old, I've supported Town longer at the new ground than the 27 years I watched them at the legendary Leeds Road stadium. This was the second season with Neil Warnock in as manager. The first one had started crap, but ended with a visit to Wembley and a grand celebration at the last league game at Leeds Road.

That last match had been against Blackpool and we played them a week before this match at the seaside and stuffed them 4-1, so nobody was expecting us to lose against Wycombe, who had just got promoted by beating Preston in the Play Off Final. This was a 3rd tier game, called Division Two back then following the formation of the Premier League a couple of years earlier and in true Town style, we cocked up and lost 1-0.

A crowd of 13,334 turned up, with only the Riverside and Kilner Bank stands open at this time and watched in horror as Simon Garner scored the party pooping goal.





Town won promotion though at the end of that season, beating Bristol Rovers at Wembley in the Play Off Final. Two years later, the Rovers' star player at Wembley, Marcus Stewart was now a Town player. On this date in 1996, we played Wrexham at home in a League Cup 1st round 1st leg game and Stewy scored a hat trick in a 3-0 win.

When the McAlpine opened, the away fans were housed in a corner of the Kilner Stand, but now they had been moved to the newly opened South Stand and so for this cup game, we went and sat in the Kilner for the first time. We have season tickets in the Riverside.

Anyway, 3-0 win, Stewart hat trick, but it was the bloke he replaced in the Town attack who's name the Kilner Bank were singing at the end of the match. Why?

Well Andy Booth, who we had transferred to Sheffield Wednesday for the money to buy Stewart, Andy Payton and Andy Morrison, had just scored his first goal for t'Owls. So? Well it was against Leeds Urinals in the Premier League at Bellend Road and Boothy had just completed a 2-0 win with a goal in the 90th minute, the news of which was being shared by the people with transistor radios. All together now.......

"Who put the ball in the bastards' net?
Boothy, Boothy."

           

Twenty years later, the stadium was now called the John Smith's Stadium and on this date in 2016, Town played Barnsley in the Championship. The Wagner Revolution was in full swing and the Terriers were unbeaten in the league with wins against Brentford and Newcastle and a draw at Villa.

We scored first in this one with full back Chris Löwe scoring his first Town goal. Barnsley leveled just after half time and when the fourth official put his board up to signal the added on time, it looked like we'd dropped precious points. Nahki Wells had had a couple of efforts well saved and Rajiv van La Parra shot over when he should've found the net. But nobody expected what came next.

Elias Kachunga laid off a neat pass to the edge of the area where a Town player smashed it high into the net. Absolute scenes! The scorer was engulfed by jubilant team mates, but who was under that pile of bodies? It can't be? It is. It's Jonathan Hogg! 

He was in his fourth season now and this was his first league goal, after he'd had one previously in the League Cup against Charlton.

Couple that with cock ups from Fulham, Norwich and Brighton, we were top of the league.

That season was a roaring success and twelve months on from that Barnsley win, we were in the Premier League and on this date in 2017, we played Newcastle United at home on a Sunday afternoon in front of the Sky Sports cameras. It was the first top flight fixture for the stadium and the first at home for the club for 45 years.

We won it 1-0 with Aaron Mooy scoring the goal. Have a look at this........

[HerefordBull]

New stadium or old place of worship Terriers?

What were the feelings when it was muted you would move from Leeds Road?

[Lord Snooty]

Personally I thought it was a rotten idea and we should rebuild bit by bit like others have done. Once we were in there though, it was brilliant. Don't know why I was bothered at all.

The new place is looking a bit jaded in places now though. Can't believe it's 28 years old.

[theo_luddite]

Some fond memories of the old ground in my youth, but it was well past it's use by date by the time we moved out. Not so fond memories of the restricted views, getting caught against crush barriers on the way out and the ankle deep swamps in around the loos. Had we stayed much longer, in a ground that once held over 60,000 in the 1930's, we'd have been down to a legal safe limit below 10,000.

Building new next door to the old (or as near as practical) means the journey to/from the ground has barely changed other than the last few yards. Had it been built across town somewhere else then I might not have been so keen. The only downside to me is the corners not being filled in. For the first go at a new stadium of it's size in the EFL since Noah sailed past, cursing the rain, it wasn't a bad effort.