[Lord Snooty]

December 23:

'Twas two days before Christmas and the directors of Huddersfield Town made the most despicable and disgraceful decision in the history of this great club. For this was the day, on this date in 1986, that they sacked Mick Buxton.

We had just gone bottom of the Second Division after four straight league defeats, but this was the manager who had taken us from the depths of Division 4, next to the bottom of the entire Football League when he took the job on.

He's the only man to have won two promotions for the club. He masterminded our last two automatic promotions, we haven't won automatic since 1983. His team holds the club record for the most league goals in a season. He is second, behind Clem Stephenson, as our longest serving manager taking charge of 438 matches.

And yet chairman Keith Longbottom, who appointed Mick in the first place in 1978, thought it was time to sack him. Just before Christmas. Almost as heartless as the c*** who made me redundant last week. At least I've got my pay off and a new job already. Poor Mick ended up at Scunthorpe.

Despite all this, Mick came back to rescue us from relegation in 1993, as assistant to Ian Ross, after Longbottom had been replaced by Graham Leslie as chairman. That was a massive success. Only three defeats in the last sixteen games saw us escape from certain relegation to comfortable mid table obscurity.

But then typical Town let them both go and took Neil Warnock on instead. And we all remember how badly that went. 

Have you noticed how we seem to be playing Watford and Arsenal a lot in December? Here's another couple of occasions.

On this date in 1922, one hundred years ago today, we beat the Gunners at Leeds Road in front of a massive 10,000 crowd. It was our third season in Division One and we ended the campaign in 3rd place, our highest finish so far.

We won this game 4-0 against an Arsenal team that would end the season in 11th. Goals came from a penalty by England international Sam Wadsworth, one from Joe Walter (who lived to the age of 99), and two from future Town managers. David Steele got his only league goal for the club and Clem Stephenson, our longest serving manager, got the fourth.

The Watford game comes from a relegation season. We'd made a bad start. Steve Bruce had been sacked and replaced by Lou Macari. Peter Ndlovu had arrived on loan and we'd started winning some matches.

On this date in 2000, Peter the Zimbabwean international on loan from Birmingham City, scored again. It was a 2-1 win down at Vicarage Road, he'd scored our first and Delroy Facey got the winner as we moved off the foot of the table, to 23rd.

Macari ended the month with the Manager of the Month award, but Birmingham recalled Ndlovu and he ended up at Sheffield United. And Town went down.