[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........