[Lord Snooty]

July 5:

It's a happy 19th birthday today to Brahima Diarra, who was born on this date in 2003 in Paris. He joined Town three years ago and has been coming on nicely in that time. I saw him a few times during lockdown when they were showing B team games on You Tube, and I think he looks a good player.

However...... his debut, coming on as a sub for Jaden Brown was poor. That was down at Bournemouth in a 5-0 defeat and even though he was still only 17, he looked out of his depth. Far too early for his first taste of big boys' footy. He also came on as a sub in the Cup defeat to Plymouth, but wasn't on long enough to make a decent contribution.

He had a loan with the Huddersfield Town C team, aka Harrogate Town, at the back end of last season, playing 14 times and scoring once.

Have you seen potential in Brahima and do you think he will come through to our first XI soon? Or are we looking to loan him out again?

This next fella had all the potential to become one of the finest footballers in the world, never mind Huddersfield. On this date in 2016, David Wagner brought in Aaron Mooy on loan from Manchester City, just six days after they had signed him from Melbourne City.

He turned out to be the best thing to come out of Australia since Skippy the Bush Kangaroo and won our Player of the Season award after being a key player in our promotion to the Premier League.

So, apart from the obvious reason (ker-ching), why oh why oh why is he wasting his talent fannying about playing in the Chinese League when he could be back here helping us get back to the Prima Donna League?

Ted Taylor the Town keeper in the Twenties, died on this date in 1956. He was a Thrice Champion with us, though he only played ten games in the middle championship winning season due to having had his leg broken. Although he was born in Liverpool, he must've stayed around here as it was in Golcar where he died, aged 69.

He was only 5' 8" tall, but was the best in the business, in an era when goalkeepers were still getting battered by centre forwards if they held on to the ball too long. As such, he became the England goalkeeper, winning 8 caps in his time with the Town, the first of which was at the age of 35 against Ireland in 1922. He kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 win at the Hawthorns.

The selectors were having trouble deciding who's the best keeper, having given debuts to goalies from The Wednesday and Burnley in the previous two matches, but Ted kept hold of the gloves for the next match, a 2-2 draw against the Welsh at Ninian Park in the British Championships. That was followed by a 6-1 friendly match victory over Belgium at Highbury, in which he was joined by Town team mate, Sam Wadsworth. They both played in the next game, a 2-2 draw at Hampden Park, with future Town striker Bob Kelly of Burnley scoring one of the England goals.

Ted was left out of the post season mini tour to Sweden, but was back between the sticks for the Home Internationals again for a 2-1 defeat at Windsor Park against the Irish. That was his first defeat in the England shirt. He was dropped!

He was back soon though after the selectors eventually realised their mistake, bringing him back for the first ever England international at the new Wembley Stadium. And he's been credited with the first goal in an international there, in his own net, when a shot from Billy Cowan of Dundee hit the post and rebounded in off the unfortunate goalie. Villa's Billy Walker equalised in the second half as the game ended 1-1.

His next England cap came just after he had helped Town win the first of our hat trick of Football League titles, in a trip across the Channel to Paris. Vivian Gibbons of Clapton Orient scored twice in that game as the French were beaten 3-1.

Ted was out of the team for a couple of years then though after breaking his leg and his 8th and final cap came in April 1926, just five days after playing in the 3-0 win against Bolton that confirmed the third successive title. He was joined in the game, played at Old Trafford against Scotland, by Roy Goodall. Unfortunately for Ted and Roy, their Town team mate Alex Jackson was in the Scottish line up and it was he who scored the only goal of the game.

That was the end of Ted's international career at the age of 39 and the end of his Town career as well. But not the end of his medal haul. He went to Everton and won the League title with them in 27/28, before finishing off his career with Wrexham.