1994–95 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town's 1994–95 campaign was Town's first season in their new stadium, the Alfred McAlpine Stadium. After playing at Leeds Road for 86 years, Town moved to the new stadium with a then capacity of around 20,000. Under the leadership of Neil Warnock, Town finished in 5th place, but after qualifying for the play-offs, Town beat 2nd placed Brentford, they beat 4th placed Bristol Rovers at Wembley Stadium.

Huddersfield Town
1994–95 season
ChairmanEngland Terry Fisher
England Geoffrey Headey
ManagerEngland Neil Warnock
Second Division5th (promoted via play-offs)
Play-offsWinners
FA CupSecond round
(knocked out by Lincoln City)
League CupSecond round
(knocked out by Southampton)
League TrophyArea quarter-final
(knocked out by Bury)
Top goalscorerLeague: Andy Booth (26)
All: Andy Booth (30)
Highest home attendance17,959 vs Birmingham City (6 May 1995)
Lowest home attendance4,183 vs York City (17 October 1994)
Biggest win5–1 vs Cardiff City (18 February 1995)
5–1 vs Chester City (11 March 1995)
Biggest defeat0–4 vs Southampton (5 October 1994)

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 Kevin Blackwell
-- GK England ENG Steve Francis
-- DF Scotland SCO Tom Cowan
-- DF England ENG Jon Dyson
-- DF England ENG Kevin Gray
-- DF England ENG Graham Mitchell
-- DF Republic of Ireland IRL Pat Scully
-- DF England ENG Simon Trevitt
-- MF England ENG Simon Baldry
-- MF England ENG Chris Billy
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- MF England ENG Darren Bullock
-- MF England ENG Gary Clayton
-- MF England ENG Richard Logan
-- MF England ENG Paul Reid
-- FW England ENG Andy Booth
-- FW England ENG Iain Dunn
-- FW England ENG Ronnie Jepson
-- FW England ENG Phil Starbuck
-- FW England ENG Craig Whitington

Review

Following a mediocre season the previous year, many were hoping the move to the Alfred McAlpine Stadium, many were hoping a charge up the Division 2 ladder.

In the summer of 1994, popular full-back Tom Cowan made his loan move from Sheffield United a permanent one, centre-back Kevin Gray arrived from Mansfield Town in a part exchange with Iffy Onuora, and midfielder Paul Reid made the switch from local rivals Bradford City. Phil Starbuck, despite speculation about a move to Notts County, signed a new deal that stipulated he was made new club captain. In addition to these signings, veteran striker Ronnie Jepson was revitalised and formed a potent strikeforce with the precocious Booth. A first-day 4–1 drubbing of Blackpool at Bloomfield Road, Reid and Jepson scoring twice, signalled that Town meant business.

A brilliant start to the season saw Town beat Blackpool 4–1 at Bloomfield Road, a 1–0 defeat to Wycombe Wanderers in their home league game followed, but they then went on a run of 13 league games without defeat, which was brought to an abrupt halt by a 3–0 defeat at York City. During Town's 2nd round match in the Auto Windscreens Shield, Iain Dunn became the first person in England to score a golden goal in first-class professional football.

In August 1994, the Terriers opened their new home with a 0–1 defeat to Martin O'Neill's recently promoted Wycombe Wanderers. However, things were soon to get much better for Warnock's team, Jepson and Booth amassing 53 goals between them in League and cup. Town soon reached the top of the league, where they would battle with Birmingham City and Brentford for the one automatic spot that season. But with Starbuck unable to find his form, the festive period saw a downturn in their fortunes. Starbuck had played his last game for the club and would move on loan to Sheffield United, later making his move permanent. Despite a substantial outlay on the Bradford City Lees (Sinnott and Duxbury) with Graham Mitchell going in the other direction, the first warning signs came with some poor results over the festive season, including defeats at Wycombe and Hull City. The Terriers challenge started to fade around Easter with solitary points gained in Yorkshire derbies against Hull City and Rotherham United and a defeat in a match played in farcical conditions at Shrewsbury Town signalled the end of Town's automatic hopes. Warnock's men limped over the finish line in 5th place (one of their lowest positions in months) and signed off with a home defeat by newly crowned champions Birmingham.

A two-legged play-off against 2nd placed Brentford then followed. After a 1–1 draw at the McAlpine, many thought Town blew it again, but a 1–1 draw at Griffin Park led to a penalty shoot-out. After Pat Scully missed, Steve Francis saved the penalties of both Denny Mundee and Jamie Bates, it was left to Darren Bullock to score the winner to send Town to Wembley for a match against 4th placed Bristol Rovers.

At Wembley, Town took the lead in the play-off final with a goal from Andy Booth one minute from half-time, but within a minute of the goal, future Town player Marcus Stewart levelled proceedings, but with less than 10 minutes remaining Huddersfield-born Chris Billy scored the winning goal which gained Town's promotion. Within a few days of winning promotion, Neil Warnock left to become manager of Plymouth Argyle.

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 Kevin Blackwell
-- GK England ENG Steve Francis
-- DF Scotland SCO Tom Cowan
-- DF England ENG Jon Dyson
-- DF England ENG Kevin Gray
-- DF Republic of Ireland IRL Pat Scully
-- DF England ENG Lee Sinnott
-- DF England ENG Simon Trevitt
-- MF England ENG Simon Baldry
-- MF England ENG Chris Billy
-- MF England ENG Darren Bullock
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- MF England ENG Gary Clayton
-- MF England ENG Simon Collins
-- MF England ENG Gary Crosby
-- MF England ENG Lee Duxbury
-- MF England ENG Richard Logan
-- MF England ENG Paul Reid
-- FW England ENG Andy Booth
-- FW England ENG Iain Dunn
-- FW England ENG Ronnie Jepson
-- FW England ENG Paul Moulden
-- FW England ENG Craig Whitington

Results

Second Division

Date Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance Position
13 August 1994 Blackpool A 4–1 Reid (2), Jepson (2) 8,343 4th
20 August 1994 Wycombe Wanderers H 0–1 13,334 12th
27 August 1994 Chester City A 2–1 Booth, Dunn 2,895 8th
30 August 1994 Leyton Orient H 2–1 Booth, Reid 8,552 6th
3 September 1994 Oxford United H 3–3 Booth, Starbuck (pen), Bullock 10,122 5th
10 September 1994 Plymouth Argyle A 3–0 Booth (3) 5,464 4th
13 September 1994 Peterborough United A 2–2 Dunn (2) 5,316 4th
17 September 1994 Stockport County H 2–1 Booth (2) 9,526 2nd
24 September 1994 Bradford City A 4–3 Booth (2), Jepson, Reid 11,300 2nd
1 October 1994 Brighton & Hove Albion H 3–0 Booth, Reid, Logan 10,321 1st
8 October 1994 Birmingham City A 1–1 Bullock 15,265 1st
15 October 1994 Cambridge United H 3–1 Jepson (2, 1 pen), Dunn 10,742 1st
22 October 1994 Crewe Alexandra A 3–3 Jepson, Billy, Booth 5,352 1st
29 October 1994 Bournemouth H 3–1 Booth, Jepson, Scully 11,251 1st
1 November 1994 Wrexham H 2–1 Bullock, Billy 9,639 1st
5 November 1994 York City A 0–3 6,345 1st
19 November 1994 Brentford H 1–0 Jepson 10,889 1st
26 November 1994 Bristol Rovers A 1–1 Jepson (pen) 5,679 2nd
10 December 1994 Wycombe Wanderers A 1–2 Jepson 6,790 4th
17 December 1994 Blackpool H 1–1 Booth 11,536 4th
26 December 1994 Hull City A 0–1 10,220 4th
27 December 1994 Rotherham United H 1–0 Booth 15,557 4th
31 December 1994 Swansea City A 1–1 Booth 5,438 4th
2 January 1995 Shrewsbury Town H 2–1 Jepson, Duxbury 12,748 2nd
7 January 1995 Crewe Alexandra H 1–2 Booth 11,466 2nd
14 January 1995 Cardiff City A 0–0 3,808 2nd
28 January 1995 Bournemouth A 2–0 Jepson, Duxbury 4,427 2nd
4 February 1995 Bristol Rovers H 1–1 Booth 10,389 3rd
11 February 1995 Wrexham A 2–1 Booth, Jepson 5,894 2nd
18 February 1995 Cardiff City H 5–1 Booth, Cowan, Jepson, Reid, Crosby 10,035 2nd
21 February 1995 Brentford A 0–0 9,562 2nd
25 February 1995 Brighton & Hove Albion A 0–0 7,751 3rd
28 February 1995 York City H 3–0 Jepson, Bullock, Crosby 10,468 1st
4 March 1995 Bradford City H 0–0 17,404 1st
7 March 1995 Oxford United A 1–3 Dyson 7,160 2nd
11 March 1995 Chester City H 5–1 Cowan, Jepson, Booth (3) 9,606 2nd
18 March 1995 Leyton Orient A 2–0 Dunn, Jepson (pen) 3,177 2nd
21 March 1995 Plymouth Argyle H 2–0 Dyson, Booth 12,099 1st
25 March 1995 Stockport County H 2–1 Jepson (pen), Gannon (og) 5,383 1st
1 April 1995 Peterborough United H 1–2 Bullock 11,324 2nd
8 April 1995 Swansea City H 2–0 Crosby (2) 10,105 1st
15 April 1995 Rotherham United A 1–1 Booth 6,687 1st
17 April 1995 Hull City H 1–1 Sinnott 12,402 2nd
22 April 1995 Shrewsbury Town A 1–2 Jepson (pen) 4,758 3rd
29 April 1995 Cambridge United A 1–1 Booth 5,188 3rd
6 May 1995 Birmingham City H 1–2 Moulden 17,959 5th

Promotion play-offs

Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance
14 May 1995 Semi-final first Leg Brentford H 1–1 Billy 14,160
17 May 1995 Semi-final second Leg Brentford A 1–1 Booth 11,161
  • 2–2 on aggregate.
    Penalties  
Grainger soccer ball with check mark
Taylor soccer ball with check mark
Mundee: Francis saved soccer ball with red X
Ratcliffe soccer ball with check mark
Bates: Francis saved soccer ball with red X
3–4 soccer ball with check mark Jepson
soccer ball with red X Scully: Dearden saved
soccer ball with check mark Duxbury
soccer ball with check mark Sinnott
soccer ball with check mark Bullock
 

Play-off final

Date Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance
28 May 1995 Bristol Rovers N 2–1 Booth, Billy 59,175

FA Cup

Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance
12 November 1994 First round Doncaster Rovers A 4–1 Bullock, Booth, Jepson, Dunn 6,626
3 December 1994 Second round Lincoln City A 0–1 4,143

League Cup

Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance
16 August 1994 First round first leg Scunthorpe United A 1–2 Scully 2,841
23 August 1994 First round second leg Scunthorpe United H 3–0 Jepson (2), Reid 6,445
  • Huddersfield won 4–2 on aggregate
20 September 1994 Second round first leg Southampton H 0–1 13,765
5 October 1994 Second round second leg Southampton A 0–4 12,032
  • Huddersfield lost 5–0 on aggregate

League Trophy

Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance
11 October 1994 First round

Group 7

Bradford City A 2–1 Baldry, Booth 3,772
18 October 1994 First round

Group 7

York City H 3–0 Mitchell, Clayton, Starbuck (pen) 4,183
30 November 1994 Second round Lincoln City H 3–2 (aet: 90 mins: 2–2) Crosby, Jepson (pen), Dunn (gg) 5,738
24 January 1995 Area quarter-final Bury A 1–2 Clayton 3,311

Appearances and goals

NameNationPositionLeague AppsLeague GoalsFA Cup AppsFA Cup GoalsLeague Cup AppsLeague Cup GoalsFLT AppsFLT GoalsPlayoff AppsPlayoff GoalsTotal AppsTotal Goals
Simon Baldry EnglandMF8 (3)000200 (2)10010 (5)1
Chris Billy EnglandMF30 (7)2203 (1)03 (1)03241 (9)4
Kevin Blackwell EnglandGK3 (1)0100 (1)030007 (2)0
Andy Booth EnglandFW45 (1)2621402 (1)13256 (2)30
Darren Bullock EnglandMF39621300030477
Gary Clayton EnglandMF0 (2)00 (1)00042004 (3)2
Simon Collins EnglandDF2 (2)000001 (1)0003 (3)0
Tom Cowan ScotlandDF37220402030482
Gary Crosby EnglandMF16 (3)410102 (2)13023 (5)5
Iain Dunn EnglandFW13 (26)50 (2)11 (2)0310 (3)017 (33)7
Lee Duxbury EnglandMF26200000030292
Jon Dyson EnglandDF23 (5)200401 (1)00 (1)028 (7)2
Steve Francis EnglandGK43010401030520
Kevin Gray EnglandDF500000300080
Ronnie Jepson EnglandFW36 (5)19213 (1)2413048 (6)23
Richard Logan EnglandMF24 (3)11030300031 (3)1
Graham Mitchell EnglandDF11 (1)02000310016 (1)1
Paul Moulden EnglandFW0 (2)0000000000 (2)0
Paul Reid EnglandMF42620311000487
Pat Scully Republic of IrelandDF38120412130493
Chris Short EnglandDF600000100070
Lee Sinnott EnglandDF25100000030281
Phil Starbuck EnglandFW4 (5)1003021009 (5)2
Simon Trevitt EnglandDF20 (1)02020203029 (1)0
Craig Whitington EnglandFW100000000010
Paul Williams (1st Spell) EnglandDF200000100030
Paul Williams (2nd Spell) EnglandDF700000000070
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