[Lord Snooty]

May 5:

It's a happy birthday today to Pawel Abbott. Born on this date in 1982, he's 40 years old today. He was born and raised in York, but has a Polish mum, which is why he played for the Polish u21s and why he spent the back end of his career playing in Poland.

The highlight of his playing career though was definitely the three years he had playing for Huddersfield Town. He first came on loan from Preston in 2004 to replace Jon Stead, who had been sold to Premier League Blackburn Rovers.

Pav scored on his debut, coming on as a sub and netting a late equaliser at Bristol Rovers and followed that with goals in the next two matches as well, a couple of home wins against Lincoln and Yeovil. He scored four goals from six games in that loan period, which culminated in Play Off victory over Mansfield in 2004 at the Millennium Stadium. He was subbed at the start of extra time, which is why he didn't get involved in the penalty shoot out.

He signed on permanent at the start of the next season and scored in the opening game, an injury time winner at Stockport. That wasn't a great season, finishing 9th in League One, but it was a good one for Pav, being top scorer with 27, including a hat trick at Port Vale.

It was the next season though, 2005/06 that he set a new club record for scoring in successive matches. No, he didn't beat the Dave Mangnall record of scoring in eleven consecutive matches. This was scoring in consecutive matches at the start of the season. He scored in the opener away at Forest, yes that Forest, the Nottingham one who were in the 3rd Division. I know! They're such a big club, this can't possibly be right.

Anyway, he went and scored in a 1-0 home win over Bristol City, a 3-1 win at home to Swansea, a 1-1 draw at Southend, a League Cup win at Chesterfield and a home win over Hartlepool, a total of six matches.

He only played ten games in the next season. His final Town goals came at Swansea, two of them with the second one coming as a last minute winner. So impressed were the Swans management that they forked out £150,000 to take him there. And that's when his career started stuttering and the Pavalotti goal machine dried up, going to places like Darlington, Oldham and Charlton, before trying his luck in Poland.

We have another birthday, born in 1901 and so celebrating his 121st birthday today........ Sorry! Austen Campbell was born on this date in 1901 in Hamsterley, a pit village in County Durham. He started out his working life darn t' pit, before landing a contract with Blackburn Rovers in 1923.

He played in the 1928 FA Cup Final for them against Town, getting a winners medal. So impressed were the Town management that they signed him on in 1929 to replace Willie Watson who had just retired. He got a runners up medal when he played in the 1930 Final for Town against Arsenal.

During his time with us he formed a formidable half back line with Ken Willingham and Alf Young. Every one of his seasons at Leeds Road finished with the team in the top ten of the First Division, being runners up in 1933/34, before he moved to Hull City in 1935.

Austen played 8 times for England, six of those when he was a Town player.

He died in Blackburn in 1981, aged 80.

On this date in 2019, we had a bit of a bright moment in a terrible Prima Donna League season. It was the last home game of the 2018/19 season and the visitors were Manchester United, who we famously beat in the previous season. Both managers had changed since that day. David Wagner and Jose Mourinho had been replaced with Jan Siewert and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and it was against Town that Ole got his first win as United manager at Christmas. However, he wouldn't get a win here. In fact, Man U are the only team in our PL seasons to come twice to the JSS and not win at least one of them.

They did take the lead though through Scott McTominay, but in the second half the Terriers came back biting and equalised in the 60th minute. It was an assist from the goalkeeper, Jonas Lossl, who's inch perfect pass or hopeful long punt, depending on how well you remember it.

Anyway, it was Isaac Mbenza who was on the end of the pass and he took it on and drilled it into the back of the net, with David de Gea once again beaten at the John Smiths Stadium.