[Lord Snooty]

Five years ago to the day. How on earth have we gone from that, to this?

Nice to see Denis Law there watching the game. And the fair haired, slightly balding Bobby Charlton.

[Lord Snooty]

October 22:

It's a very happy birthday today to the big guy, Mark Fotheringham. He was born on this date in 1983 and so he's 39 today. Let's hope he's celebrating with a big win at Middlesbrough.

Born in Dundee, he started out his playing career at Celtic, joining them as a 16 year old, going on to make three appearances for them before going back home and signing for Dundee, the Dark Blues.

His career has been described as "journeyman", because he never seemed to settle anywhere and the 59 games he played for Dundee was the second most he played at one club. The most he played was 69 for Norwich, where he was club captain under the management of Glenn Roeder. However, he was stripped of that captaincy when he kicked off big style after being subbed in a match. We've already seen he's a passionate guy and can quite see this happening.

Before Norwich though, he'd been traveling Europe, playing in Germany and Switzerland. And after Norwich, he had unsuccessful trials in Spain, Derby and at Sheffield United. He's told us how desperate he was to play games during his playing career, which is why he kept moving around if he wasn't getting selected, so after these latest rejections, he went back home again and signed for the other Dundee club, Dundee United, the Tangerines.

But that was just a short term deal as he had already done a deal to play in Cyprus for Anorthosis Famagusta. That didn't work out and so the air miles kept clocking up as Mark tried and tried again to get matches for anybody who would have him. He went back to Scotland and signed for Livingston. Then back home again, re-signing for the Dark Blues.

Next? Out to Germany, back to Scotland (Ross County), down to Notts County, darn the Smoke to Fulham, where he played for Felix Magath. Ar Mark became assistant to Felix for a time, but was released in 2015 and was without a club for twelve months. That unemployment ended when he went back to play out the rest of his career at his old club, Livingston.

It was then that Magath's mate, Thomas Oral, took him on as assistant coach at Karlsruher SC. He had a year there, but the to-ing and fro-ing continued as he got on a plane again and took up the assistant coach job at Cowdenbeath. Two years there, quite a long stay by comparison, but then it was back over to Germany and a job with Oral again. That was at FC Ingolstadt, a job that ended when they got relegated. However, the two of them were back in the same jobs again as they were begged to return. This time, they achieved promotion for the club. And then quit.

In March this year, Mark was appointed as assistant to Magath in the Bundesliga at Hertha Berlin. But then came the job offer he just couldn't resist, when Leigh Bromby came calling.

On the 28th of September he became the Head Coach of the greatest fooball club in the world, Huddersfield Town.

Today's big question, based on only five games so far, what do you think of him so far? (ruggish!) 

He's not the only Town manager celebrating a birthday today. The harshly dismissed Danny Cowley is 44 today, having been born in Havering in that there London in 1978. 

Him and his brother did a brilliant job at Lincoln and in my opinion, at Town as well. But what do I know? I'm not a multi millionaire, potless chairman, am I? 

On the field of play, we had an iconic moment of the 2016/17 season on this date in 2016 in the last minute of the game with Derby County at the JSS.

It was heading for a 0-0 draw when the 4th official held up his board signalling four minutes added on. It was in the third of those that Harry Bunn got to the ball first in the corner and sent over a perfect cross for Elias Kachunga to nod home, sending the crowd wild. Not just the crowd.

David Wagner couldn't contain his excitement. He went sprinting down the wing, past the deflated Derby boss, Steve McClaren, to join in with the celebrations. Those celebrations didn't revolve around the scorer though. They all went to young Bunn, the baker's son for that brilliantly hot cross.

Nice to see McClaren react with class, dignity and respect though as Wagz returned to the dugout.

Not one, not two, but three international games on this date involving Huddersfield Town players.

On this date in 1924, Sam Wadsworth gained his 6th cap for England, but this one was the first he had as captain. It was a British Championship match against Ireland and England won it 3-1 at Goodison Park. Bob Kelly of Burnley, who of course came to play for us, scored the first goal. Centre forward Harry Bedford of Blackpool got the second and Villa's Billy Walker got the third. Billy Gillespie got a consolation for the Irish as England won 3-1.


On this date in 1938, Alf Young of Huddersfield Town, played his final game for England. It was a 4-2 defeat against Wales at Ninian Park, Cardiff and it was his 9th cap for the country.

All the goals came in the first half, with Tommy Lawton and Stanley Matthews both getting equalisers for England, but the Welsh scored twice just before half time.


Another Town player got his final cap for England on this date. This was in 1955 and it was Bill McGarry who also played at Ninian Park against Wales and it was another defeat. Two-one to the Welsh this time as Bill got his fourth cap.

The England goal was an own goal from John Charles of Leeds. He of course, was one of the big names in the game at that time, but not as famous as his grandson, Jake Charles, who played one game for Huddersfield Town as an 87th minute sub in 2015. If you were wondering, Jake is now playing in the National League North with Scarborough Athletic.

[HerefordBull]

.......brilliant hot cross.......( from Harry Bunn)

John Charles.......one of the greats for Hereford United playing over 170 times for the club and still scoring despite having the challenge of being a player manager for most of his time at the club. We were in the Southern League at the time and he was certainly influential in getting crowds into Edgar Street and the eventual rise to a Football League place.

He had a relaxed approach to the management side and when Ronnie Radford ( of "that goal" fame!) asked at his first game where Charles wanted him to play he got the reply...    " are you a midfielder ?" which Radford said yes to, so Charles replied...... " play in midfield then" !

[Lord Snooty]

I didn't know he'd been at Hereford. We used to live near Leeds and if ever you'd mention football to any old geezer, they'd go on about John Charles.

[Lord Snooty]

October 23:

On this date in 1982, Mark Lillis scored four goals in a game against Cardiff City at Leeds Road. It was the first time a Town player had done this for absolutely ages. I can't think of one in the time I'd been watching. But then we went and had one three months later when Brian Stanton scored four against the Billy Bantams.

This was a Division Three match and was the second game in a sequence of seven straight wins in the league. It was also the first four goals in a sequence of nine goals in four games for Mark as well. Not bad for an emergency striker, who only went up front because Terry Austin had been sold and new strikers Maurice Cox and Roy Greenwood turned out to be flops.

He got partnered with Colin Russell and the two of them fired us all the way to promotion and that run of seven wins took us from 14th to 2nd in the table.

Those Lillis goals were bad luck for local butcher and Town fan Harry Hancock, who had promised him a t-bone steak for every goal he scored in the season. Or maybe good luck, a small price to pay for getting us promoted.

Anyway, I just found it. It was 1957 when a Town player scored four goals in a game before. That was Ken Taylor in a game against West Ham.

On this date in 1920, our war hero, club captain and a man who played a great part in the survival of the club in the 1919 crisis, Fred Bullock won his one and only England cap in a Home International match against Ireland at Roker Park. It was a 2-0 win for England and Fred wasn't the only player to get an only one cap in this game. Man Utd goalie Jack Mew and Everton's Dickie Downs did the same.

Burnley's Bob Kelly got the first goal. He of course would later come and play for us. Didn't I write that yesterday? Seems a bit like deja vu. Villa's Billy Walker got the second. Sounds very much like deja vu.

There were some rather old players in the team, following most of them losing the peaks of their careers to the war. Bullock was 34, as was Downs. Mew was 31, Villa's Andy Ducat at right half and Preston's Joe McCall at centre half were also both 34 years old.

Two birthdays to finish with today. Josh Ruffels of the current Huddersfield Town squad is 29 today, having been born in Oxford in 1993. He signed for us from his home town club last year and when he came on as a sub against Blackburn, it meant that he was the 1,000th player to play for the club.

And Andy Payton is 55 today. He was born in Whalley in Lancashire in 1967 and signed for Town in 1996 from Barnsley. He was leading scorer in his first season with us, scoring 19 times, but struggled in his second season and was sold to Burnley, who were a league below us at the time.

He scored an absolute pot load for them!

[Lord Snooty]

October 24:

Sad news to start with today, as on this date in 1961, Clem Stephenson died, in Huddersfield, aged 71.

He was one of the stars of the triple championships of the 1920s and went on to be the longest serving manager and was at the club fron 1920 to 1942.

Clem was born in 1890, on the 6th of February. So if you want to read more about him, trace back on this thread to that date and indulge. I did write quite a bit about him then, so just a brief summary coming up now.

He signed for us in 1920, from Aston Villa, shortly after playing for them against us in the 1920 FA Cup Final, which they won 1-0. He'd had ten years at Villa and that was his second Cup winners medal after winning one in 1913 in a 1-0 win against Sunderland. He'd also had three league runners up finishes in his time there.

So when he joined the Town, the first signing for Herbert Chapman, as a 30 year old, many would've thought his best days were behind him. Not at all. He went on to become the first man to get three FA Cup winners medals when we beat Preston in the 1922 Final, following that with a Charity Shield win.

Then he won the league three times in a row, followed by two league runners up spots and a runners up medal in the FA Cup Final of 1928 when he skippered the team in the shock defeat against Blackburn Rovers at Wembley in 1928.

Then in 1929 he became manager, staying in the job until 1942. In that time he had us FA Cup runners up twice, and league runners up twice, but throughout his time as manager, we remained the northern powerhouse side, challenging for medals every year.

Clem's playing record has him 29th in the appearances chart with 275. And in the scorers chart, he's in 24th with 50 goals.

As a manager, he was in charge of 556 games, not including the war time ones. Of those, there were 235 wins, with a win percentage of 42.27%.

Upon the field of play, we had two victories under Clem's management on this date. In 1931, we played Sunderland at Leeds Road and beat them 4-1. Dave Mangnall scored twice, in the seson he scored a total of 42, 36 year old Billy Smith got one and George McLean got the fourth.

And then in 1936, we beat Middlesbrough 2-0 at home. Ex Newcastle striker, Jimmy Richardson got the first and Alf Lythgoe got the second.

Staying with the theme of beating north-east teams, on this date in 1953, we beat Newcastle United up at Sid James' Park. This was in the season after promotion back to Division One, when we finished third. It was the 7th win in 8 games that had us up into 2nd place. Jimmy Glazzard scored the first and the second was an own goal from their centre half, Frank Brennan.

[Lord Snooty]

October 25:

It's a happy birthday to a lad who was a crucial part of our last promotion season, even though he only played in 23 of the league games, mostly from the bench. I'm talking about Jack Payne, who was born in Tower Hamlets on this date in 1994 and so is 28 today.

Who can forget that winning goal at Newcastle?

Since then, he's slipped back to the lower leagues and is now playing for Charlton Athletic in League One.

In the penultimate game of our first season in the Football League, we set a club record victory score of 7-1 against Birmingham. On this date in 1913, we beat that score to set a new record by winning 7-0 against......... Birmingham.

CAAAN WE PLAY YOU EVERY WEEEEEK?

They were still called Birmingham then, after starting as Small Heath Alliance. They didn't become Birmingham City until 1943. But that wasn't why we beat them 7-0, was it?

I don't know why we had the bogey over them. It's not like we were running away with the league and they were bottom. We actually finished on the same number of mid table points.

Anyway, the scorers were. Bert Smith, a right half, who left for Tottenham after the war and played twice for England. Fred Fayers, the Quaker conchie, who I wrote about the other day. Irishman James Macauley, who left for Preston soon afterwards. And geordie lad Thomas Elliott (pictured) got a hat trick. He was deaf, according to his Wiki page. And an own goal from William Bell.

On this date in 1983, Mick Buxton and the boys went down to Vicarage Road to take on Watford in a League Cup 2nd round 2nd leg match, with a two goals to one lead from the first. They were one of the top teams in the country at the time, with Graham Taylor as manager, but we had been magnificent in the first leg when goals from David Cowling and an own goal for us gave us the advantage, despite a wonder strike from England international rap artist, John Barnes reducing their deficit.

Jimmy Gilligan and Steve Sims scored for the home team, but it was two centre backs scoring for Town to give us a 2-2 draw on the night and a 4-3 aggregate win. They were Dave Sutton and Paul Jones, the heroes on the night.

It will be another First Division team in the next round. A trip to the Victoria Ground to take on Stoke City.

On this date in 1969, Ian Greaves was getting his team into form. Form that would eventually lead to the team winning the 2nd Division title. Today we had a brilliant away win at Boothferry Park against Hull City.

It was a 3-2 win and Frank Worthington scored a couple of the goals with Bobby Hoy getting the other.

The win took us up to 2nd in the table and gave Town fans some kind of belief that this could actually be the year we got back where we belong after 14 seasons in Division Two, the longest spell we had ever had outside the top flight.

On this date in 1919, Jack Cock became the club's first ever England international. This was the first international game after the Great War and our Jack had played his part in it. I may have mentioned before that he won the Military Medal for Bravery in the Field and a Mentioned in Despatches for gallantry. Was this selection made as a thank you for his services to the country by the FA? The team was selected by a committee back then instead of a manager and a few of the rest of the side were making their one and only appearances for the country. Maybe that's why Fred Bullock got his one and only call up in the next year. Who knows?

Or it could be that Jack had earned his place with his performances on the field of play. He scored four in a match against Bury a few weeks earlier.

Anyway, he scored what must be the quickest goal on debut in an England international, netting in the first minute. I haven't said who the opponents were yet, have I? 

It was Ireland at Windsor Park and they got a late equaliser to draw the match 1-1 in front of a 30,000 crowd.

The sad aspect of this, our first England international, was that he'd already played his last game for us, in an away win at the newly named Leicester City (formely Fosse). He signed for Chelsea shortly after this match for a club record fee of two and a half grand.

Jack's story is another one that would make a great film. I will elaborate more next month when it would be his birthday.

We ain't done yet. Ray Wilson played for England again, on this date in 1961. It was a World Cup qualifier at Wembley Stadium against Portugal, with a full house crowd of 100,000.

And it was all over within ten minutes with goals from Burnley's John Connelly and Ray Pointer scoring in the 5th and 9th minutes. Burnley were in their prime at the time, having won the league in 1960.

This was the last game in the qualifying group and the win meant that England had got through to the Finals next summer in Chile. Portugal needed to win 7-0 to stop our lads getting through, so those two early goals would've just stopped them in their tracks. They'd only themselves to blame though after a shock defeat at Luxembourg three weeks earlier.

[Lord Snooty]

October 26:

Another day. Another win against Leeds.

This time it's in the Championship, on this date in 2013. The one where returning hero, Jon Stead scored the winner.

It didn't start well at the John MacAlpharm Stadium with lanky streak of piss, Matt Smith scoring, unchallenged at the back post from a corner. But then Danny Ward equalised and it was one all after ten minutes.

That was the score at half time, but then just after the hour, Tom Lees scored his first goal for the Terriers. Sadly for him, he was playing for Leeds that day.

We didn't hold the lead forlong as Florist loanee Dexter Blackstock went and scored for the White Shite to make it 2-2.

But then in the 79th minute, Steady fired a low shot into the corner of the net at the Panasonic End to send the crowd wild.

Absolute scenes! 

Another Yorkshire derby win, on this date in 1999. This was the great half a season with Steve Bruce. Two weeks after the fantastic win down at Chelsea in the League Cupand having not won in the three league games that followed, we got back to winning ways with a win at home to Barnsley.

We'd lost at Bolton and then drawn with Stockport and Fulham, but this win started a brilliant run of six straight victories. This win over our neighbours would have us into 5th. We'd be up to second after the six wins in a row.

The goals came from Clyde Wijnhard after 13 minutes, but Mike Sheron equalised just six minutes later. The game was heading for a draw when Simon Baldry, on as a sub for the disappointing Georgios Donis, scored the winner in the 89th minute.

[Lord Snooty]

October 27:

The Great Unbeatable Town Manager, Lee Clark was born on this date in 1972 in Wallsend, thus making him 50 years old today.

He was the nearly man for us. Nearly got us promoted and nearly chinned every reporter who dared to ask him anything that was a bit, errm, well anything at all really. Them lot at Radio Leeds detested the bloke. 

His time with us is most famous for the unbeaten run of regular league games, which went as far as 43, beating the record set by Nottingham Forest under Brian Clough. The main criticism of this record by the fans was that we didn't show up for the Play Off Final against the Pish and that should've been included because, in all fairness, it is an EFL match, innit?

Another bug bear was that there were too many draws in there and that we played more to avoid defeat rather than going out to win games. Well that's slightly unfair. He has the biggest win percentage of any permanent Town manager since the 1920s. Only Ambrose Langley, Herbert Chapman and Cecil Potter can better his 48.59%.

So, the nearly man. Got us to the Play Offs in 09/10 and 10/11 and was inside the top 6 for a third crack at it when Dean Hoyle suddenly called an end to his time and appointed Simon Grayson, who then went and got us promoted.

Lee's team was brilliant though, exciting to watch, probably the best since Mick Buxton was here and he really should've had us up. But that's football for you.

After us, he's been around a few clubs without much sucess. His Wikipedia page has him down as a Play Off winner though. That was at Kilmarnock when his team won the 2016 Scottish Premiership Play Off, beating Falkirk in a two legged final. Not really that big an achievement though as they were the team from the bottom end of the Premiership, playing off to avoid relegation rather than win promotion.

I reckon that's the best way to have a play off. Just my personal opinion. If you get to the Play Offs, but can't beat the team who's from the bottom of the division above, you don't really deserve to go up. That's how the Football League Play Offs started, but obviously money talks and the alternative was a lucrative Wembley Final with the opportunity to cream more money off gullible supporters, who will follow their team on what's called a big day out. Rip off London bastards is what I call it.

Sorry, went off on a rant there.

Clarky has been out in the Middle East for the last few years and is currently out of work. If Fothers got the boot tomorrow and Leigh Bromby announced that a former manager was coming back, would you be happy if it turned out not to be David Wagner, but Lee Clark instead?

[Lord Snooty]

October 28:

Starting today with an obituary, for on this date in 1940, Fred Walker, the first ever manager of Huddersfield Town died in Leeds, aged 62.

He was born in 1878 and so would've been 30 years old when he took to the field as player/manager of our first ever match, in the North-Eastern League, away at South Shields Adelaide. He was from up in that neck of the woods having been born in Longbenton and starting his playing days with Hebburn Argyle as an amateur, combining this with his day job as a brass founder.

After a couple of seasons there, he went over to the west coast and played a couple of seasons, as captain, with Barrow. But then he was signed by Leeds City in 1905 and a had a chance to play in the Football League with the newly elected Peacocks.

He had three seasons down Bellend Road, playing at centre half mainly, but all along the back line at times when needed for cover. Sadly, he missed most of the 07/08 season with a bad illness and was allowed to leave at the end of the season.

Luckily for him, it was to join what would become the greatest football club in the world. But obviously nobody knew that then and so when the board of directors of the newly formed Huddersfield Town appointed him as manager/secretary, he was unsure how things would progress.

They progressed alright actually. He played in that first ever game, playing 21 times in that first season. He only played twice in the Midland League season before hanging up his boots and concentrating on managing the club and on getting the team elected into the Football League.

He did play in a couple of the FA Cup games and scored his only goal for the club in a 7-0 win against Rothwell White Rose at Leeds Road. In the next round of the Cup, Fred got his career ending injury against the rough house tactics of South Kirkby Colliery. He was deliberately kneed in the head and was carried off unconcsious and spending a week in hospital. The internal injuries meant that he was to pack in on medical advice. More on this infamous match next month.

Town did get elected into the FL at the end of the 09/10 season and Fred wasn't offered the job. Instead he stayed on as assistant to the new manager, Dick Pudan, but left in November 1910. And we know nothing else about him apart from the fact that he died thirty years later on this date in 1940. Did he go back to the brass foundry? Who knows?

Upon the field of play, we had a second replay in the League Cup on this date in 1963. It was against Plymouth Argyle in the second round and came after we had drawn 2-2 at Home Park (Derek Stokes 2) and then 3-3 at Leeds Road (Peter Dinsdale, Kevin Lewis pen, Len White).

A few years later when we had a second replay against Leeds, the two captains tossed for the venue for the replay. This time, they chose a venue sort of equidistant between the two clubs, Villa Park. It's 113 miles from Huddersfield and 210 from Plymouth. So to get a crowd of 3,000 in for the game was quite good really for a Monday night.

Town won it 2-1. Les Massie and Kevin McHale scored the goals to earn a money spinning, glamour tie away in the next round at, errm...... Workington. 

And of course, you guessed it. We lost 1-0. 

This game with the Pilgrims was one of six games we had over the season, drawing them in the FA Cup as well. Of the six games we won one and drew one in the league, drew two and won one in the LC and then won away in the FA Cup to set up a proper glamour tie this time, with Chelsea at the Bridge.

We even played the green gargoyles twice in the opening four games of the next season and you may recall that manager Eddie Boot quit after the second one. It wasn't football he'd had enough of. He was sick of the sight of bloody Plymouth.