1955–56 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town's 1955–56 campaign saw Town relegated from Division 1. They finished in 21st position with 35 points, the same as 20th placed Aston Villa, who survived due to a superior goal average. The season was a cramped affair in the league standings, with difference in points between 2nd placed Blackpool and bottom placed Sheffield United, being just 16 points.

Huddersfield Town
1955–56 season
ChairmanDick Parker
J. Bernard Newman
ManagerAndy Beattie
Football League First Division21st (relegated)
FA CupThird round
(knocked out by Bolton Wanderers)
Top goalscorerLeague: Jimmy Glazzard (11)
All: Jimmy Glazzard (11)
Highest home attendance37,780 vs Manchester United (31 March 1956)
Lowest home attendance9,224 vs Birmingham City (7 March 1956)
Biggest win4–0 vs Sunderland (24 December 1955)
4–0 vs Charlton Athletic (14 April 1956)
Biggest defeat0–5 vs Birmingham City (19 November 1955)

Squad at the start of the season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
-- GK England ENG Harry Mills
-- GK England ENG Jack Wheeler
-- DF England ENG John Battye
-- DF England ENG Jack Connor
-- DF England ENG Tony Conwell
-- DF England ENG Brian Gibson
-- DF England ENG Laurie Kelly
-- DF England ENG Bill McGarry
-- DF England ENG Len Quested
-- DF England ENG Ken Taylor
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- MF Northern Ireland NIR Gerry Burrell
-- MF Scotland SCO Willie Davie
-- MF England ENG Albert Hobson
-- MF England ENG Jackie Marriott
-- MF England ENG Vic Metcalfe
-- FW England ENG Tommy Cavanagh
-- FW England ENG Bryan Frear
-- FW England ENG Jimmy Glazzard
-- FW England ENG Ron Simpson
-- FW Scotland SCO Jimmy Watson

Review

Following the previous season's failure to improve on the season before's 3rd-placed finish, some were wondering what Town would conjure up under Andy Beattie. The start of the season was dreadful for Town, with many losses sending Town into a downward spiral to the bottom of Division 1. Even the signing of Aston Villa striker Dave Hickson didn't halt the slide to Division 2. A run of 7 defeats in a row, including a 5–2 defeat at Everton, followed immediately by a 6–2 defeat to Newcastle United at Leeds Road didn't help things much.

February to April saw Town mount a recovery mainly through the goals of Jimmy Glazzard, Dave Hickson and Vic Metcalfe. Town still had a chance of survival with 4 matches to go, although they realistically had to win all their last 4 games against West Bromwich Albion, Charlton Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur and Charlton Athletic. They did manage to achieve this, but an inferior goal average meant that Town went down, while Aston Villa survived.

Squad at the end of the season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
-- GK England ENG Harry Fearnley
-- GK England ENG Jack Wheeler
-- DF England ENG John Battye
-- DF England ENG Ron Cockerill
-- DF England ENG John Coddington
-- DF England ENG Jack Connor
-- DF England ENG Tony Conwell
-- DF England ENG Brian Gibson
-- DF England ENG Laurie Kelly
-- DF England ENG Bill McGarry
-- DF England ENG Len Quested
-- DF England ENG Ken Taylor
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- DF England ENG Ray Wilson
-- MF Northern Ireland NIR Gerry Burrell
-- MF Scotland SCO Willie Davie
-- MF Scotland SCO Bob Ledger
-- MF England ENG Jackie Marriott
-- MF England ENG Vic Metcalfe
-- FW England ENG Tommy Cavanagh
-- FW England ENG Bryan Frear
-- FW England ENG Jimmy Glazzard
-- FW England ENG Dave Hickson
-- FW England ENG Ron Simpson
-- FW Scotland SCO Jimmy Watson

Results

Division One
Date Opponents H / A Result
F – A		 Scorers Attendance Position
20 August 1955 Portsmouth H 1–0 Watson 21,062 1st
24 August 1955 Chelsea H 1–3 Glazzard 20,308 14th
27 August 1955 Sunderland A 1–4 Cavanagh 42,369 17th
29 August 1955 Chelsea A 0–0 25,883 16th
3 September 1955 Aston Villa H 1–1 Glazzard 19,805 17th
10 September 1955 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 0–4 43,954 20th
17 September 1955 Manchester City H 3–3 McGarry, Metcalfe (pen), Connor 26,443 21st
24 September 1955 Cardiff City A 2–1 Watson, Davie 25,117 18th
1 October 1955 Preston North End H 2–2 Watson, Glazzard 23,892 16th
8 October 1955 Burnley A 0–2 22,109 19th
15 October 1955 Luton Town H 0–2 19,621 21st
22 October 1955 Manchester United A 0–3 34,150 21st
29 October 1955 Sheffield United H 1–2 Glazzard 17,832 21st
5 November 1955 Everton A 2–5 Glazzard, Lello (og) 36,423 21st
12 November 1955 Newcastle United H 2–6 Cavanagh, Watson 18,664 22nd
19 November 1955 Birmingham City A 0–5 24,841 22nd
26 November 1955 West Bromwich Albion H 1–0 Metcalfe (pen) 18,731 22nd
3 December 1955 Charlton Athletic A 1–4 Metcalfe (pen) 16,728 22nd
10 December 1955 Tottenham Hotspur H 1–0 Glazzard 11,094 22nd
17 December 1955 Portsmouth A 2–5 Metcalfe (pen), Watson 16,347 22nd
24 December 1955 Sunderland H 4–0 Quested, Marriott, Glazzard (2) 21,803 22nd
26 December 1955 Blackpool A 2–4 Glazzard, Hickson 27,628 22nd
27 December 1955 Blackpool H 3–1 Metcalfe (2), Gratrix (og) 34,619 22nd
31 December 1955 Aston Villa A 0–3 24,993 22nd
2 January 1956 Bolton Wanderers A 2–2 Hartle (og), Cavanagh 39,524 22nd
14 January 1956 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 1–3 Metcalfe (pen) 14,587 22nd
21 January 1956 Manchester City A 0–1 21,076 22nd
4 February 1956 Cardiff City H 1–2 Metcalfe (pen) 12,586 22nd
11 February 1956 Preston North End A 2–1 Hickson (2) 17,363 22nd
18 February 1956 Burnley H 1–0 Cavanagh 16,243 21st
25 February 1956 Luton Town A 2–1 McGarry (2) 15,331 21st
7 March 1956 Birmingham City H 1–1 Simpson 9,224 20th
10 March 1956 Sheffield United A 1–3 Quested 30,382 21st
17 March 1956 Everton H 1–0 Hickson 18,807 21st
24 March 1956 Newcastle United A 1–1 Davie 20,008 20th
31 March 1956 Manchester United H 0–2 37,780 22nd
2 April 1956 Arsenal A 0–2 30,836 22nd
3 April 1956 Arsenal H 0–1 24,469 22nd
7 April 1956 West Bromwich Albion A 2–1 Hickson, Glazzard 16,141 22nd
14 April 1956 Charlton Athletic H 4–0 Metcalfe (2), McGarry, Hickson 14,065 22nd
21 April 1956 Tottenham Hotspur A 2–1 Norman (og), Hickson 36,387 21st
28 April 1956 Bolton Wanderers H 3–1 Glazzard, Hickson (2) 18,877 21st

FA Cup
Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F – A		 Scorers Attendance
7 January 1956 Round 3 Bolton Wanderers A 0–0 Match abandoned after 46 minutes due to fog ?
11 January 1956 Round 3 Bolton Wanderers A 0–3 20,862

Appearances and goals
NameNationPositionLeague AppsLeague GoalsFA Cup AppsFA Cup GoalsTotal AppsTotal Goals
John Battye EnglandDF800080
Gerry Burrell Northern IrelandMF400040
Tommy Cavanagh EnglandFW19410204
Ron Cockerill EnglandDF100010
John Coddington EnglandDF100010
Jack Connor EnglandDF210021
Tony Conwell EnglandDF18000180
Willie Davie ScotlandFW21200212
Harry Fearnley EnglandGK13000130
Bryan Frear EnglandFW700070
Brian Gibson EnglandDF28010290
Jimmy Glazzard EnglandFW2711102811
Dave Hickson EnglandFW26910279
Albert Hobson EnglandMF300030
Laurie Kelly EnglandDF28010290
Bob Ledger EnglandMF100010
Jackie Marriott EnglandMF27110281
Bill McGarry EnglandDF40410414
Vic Metcalfe EnglandMF3110103210
Harry Mills EnglandGK10000100
Len Quested EnglandDF42210432
Ron Simpson EnglandFW21100211
Ken Taylor EnglandDF36010370
Jimmy Watson ScotlandMF23500235
Jack Wheeler EnglandGK19010200
Ray Wilson EnglandDF600060
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.