[Lord Snooty]

November 7:

It's a dark date in the history of this great football club. Two events, many years apart, when the club was at possibly it's lowest point from where there were two options. Disappear without trace. Or fight back.

Back in 1919, Leeds City had been found guilty of making illegal payments to players during the First World War and rather harshly expelled from the Football League. Their place had been taken by Port Vale who, seeing as the season was well under way, took over their results and fixtures.

The people of Leeds then had a meeting at which it was decided to found a phoenix club, to play at Elland Road under the name of Leeds United. They were then offered a place in the Midland League. Huddersfield Town chairman, John Hilton Crowther had been at that meeting.

On this date in 1919, a Friday night, a further meeting was held at the YMCA Halls in Albion Street, Leeds, attended by Crowther and Arthur Fairclough (pictured below) the Town manager, who both addressed the meeting.

It was proposed for Huddersfield Town to move lock, stock and barrel into Elland Road and instead of taking up the offer from the Midland League, they would instead do to Huddersfield Town what Port Vale did. That is, take over our results and fixtures and our place in the Football League Second Division, which at the time stood in 8th place following a fine 3-0 win at home to Fulham on the previous Saturday, the one which attracted a crowd of less than 3,000.

The people of Huddersfield obviously had no interest in supporting football, preferring rugby league and so this move seemed to be the sensible thing to do.

The following day's Examiner headline read........

TOWN CLUB DEAD!

So how would the people of the town and the surrounding areas respond? Did the club survive? Well obviously, yes. And if you've been reading this all year you'll know how. Who's daft idea was it to write the history of the club this way around? 



The other dark day came on this date in 1987. Town were bottom of the Second Division, having only won one game all season, last week's win at home to Millwall. Today we traveled across the Pennines to play Manchester City at Maine Road and suffered a club record defeat of 10-1. We were to wear probably the worst ever away kit as well.

Malcolm Macdonald was the Town manager and City were managed by a future Town manager, Mel Machin. This is all news to me. Reading up on something I've ignored and put right at the back of my mind. It's like some form of therapy, which may make me feel more at ease about it. Maybe not. Let me know how you feel after this session.

Anyway, I wasn't there at the game. A friend of mine was and he said it was humiliating, more so after the game when the City fans just laughed at the Town fans instead of trying to kick the shit out of them.

Where was I? Well I was working. Listening to the radio, we started off quite well, with Duncan Shearer and David Cork going close to scoring, but somehow had gone 4-0 down by half time, by which time I'd left work and was walking home. By the time I got home it was 9-0. Just in time to hear Andy May score for Town from the penalty spot.

As bad a day it was for us, it was a momentous and historic day for Citeh. Neil McNab, who later came to play for us, scored the first, but then for the first time in a Football League match, three players scored hat tricks. They were Paul Stewart, David White and Tony Adcock.

Poor old Brian Cox is remembered as the goalkeeper who let in ten, which is a bit of bad luck for him, because he really was a great keeper and had performed brilliantly to get us promoted into the Second Division in the first place.

If you can stomach it, here's the whole ITV footage from the Sunday afternoon, or was it on Saturday night back then? Like I said, I've obliterated most of this from my memory bank and I've never watched this (until now). All I could remember was Martin Tyler and his mocking commentary and I certainly didn't remember Frank Worthington being the expert summariser.

Tyler never mentions this match though to be fair to him. In fact he only ever mentions it every time he commentates on a City match, as soon as they go two or three goals up.

If you have been traumatised by watching these harrowing scenes, then watch this. For on this date, exactly ten years later, in 1997, we played Man City away, at the same ground and beat them 1-0 with the Goal of the Century, scored by Rob Edwards.

And the truth of the matter is that, despite all their money and titles and multi million pounds worth of players, they've never done the Thrice Champions. We were the first and they haven't ever won more than two in a row, so stick that up yer arse, yer Mancky tossers!

There were comparisons to the match from ten years earlier. We once more were bottom of the Second Division (calling itself Division One at the time). But that's where the comparisons end, for we were onto the Great Escape. Peter Jackson and Terry Yorath were in charge now and we had just won our first game of the season a week before (at home to Stoke). Sorry, there's another comparison. 

Anyway, by the end of the season, Town had avoided relegation, finishing 16th, a whole five points above the drop zone. So who was it five points below us in 22nd place, going down with Reading and Stoke. Hard to believe it now, but it was, oh yes it was.......

MANCHESTER CITY!