# 1986–87 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town's 1986–87 campaign saw the end of Mick Buxton's reign as Huddersfield Town manager, a job he had had for 8 years. Only Clem Stephenson has had a longer reign as manager of the Terriers. He was replaced by Steve Smith in early January 1987, but Town only survived relegation by 3 points, which became a sort of precursor to the debacle that the next season's campaign would bring.

## 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 | ENG | Brian Cox |
| -- | DF | WAL | Ian Bray |
| -- | DF | ENG | Malcolm Brown |
| -- | DF | ENG | David Burke |
| -- | DF | WAL | Steve Doyle |
| -- | DF | WAL | Joey Jones |
| -- | DF | ENG | Graham Mitchell |
| -- | DF | ENG | Simon Trevitt |
| -- | DF | ENG | Simon Webster |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| -- | DF | ENG | Paul Wilson |
| -- | MF | ENG | David Cowling |
| -- | MF | ENG | Andy Thackeray |
| -- | MF | ENG | Phil Wilson |
| -- | MF | ENG | Julian Winter |
| -- | FW | ENG | Graham Cooper |
| -- | FW | ENG | David Cork |
| -- | FW | ENG | Paul Raynor |
| -- | FW | SCO | Duncan Shearer |

## Review

The start of the season was mixed, with no win until 20 September, when they surprisingly beat near neighbours and early league leaders Oldham Athletic 5–4 at Leeds Road despite playing with ten men for much of the game. The main highlight of the early part of the season was a Littlewoods Cup tie against Arsenal, in which Town only lost 3–1 on aggregate.
The middle part of the season didn't prove to be much better, a run of 4 consecutive losses including a 4–3 loss at Bradford City, but that was reconciled when they beat them 5–2 on 27 December. Just before beating Bradford, Mick Buxton's tenure as Town manager ended after 8 years in charge. He was replaced by coach Steve Smith.
Smith's tenure started with a 4–2 defeat by Norwich City, but during March, Town went on a run of six consecutive draws – a club record. Town finished the season in 17th, just 3 points and 3 places above the drop zone. Little did Town fans know what was going to happen to Town the following season.

## 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 | ENG | Brian Cox |
| -- | DF | WAL | Ian Bray |
| -- | DF | ENG | Malcolm Brown |
| -- | DF | ENG | David Burke |
| -- | DF | WAL | Joey Jones |
| -- | DF | SCO | Willie McStay |
| -- | DF | ENG | Graham Mitchell |
| -- | DF | ENG | Simon Trevitt |
| -- | DF | ENG | Simon Webster |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| -- | DF | ENG | Paul Wilson |
| -- | MF | ENG | Ian Banks |
| -- | MF | ENG | David Cowling |
| -- | MF | ENG | Julian Winter |
| -- | MF | ENG | Phil Wilson |
| -- | FW | ENG | Graham Cooper |
| -- | FW | ENG | David Cork |
| -- | FW | SCO | Duncan Shearer |
| -- | FW | ENG | Peter Ward |

## Results
### Division Two

| Date | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance | Position |
| 23 August 1986 | Sunderland | H | 0–2 | | 9,937 | 20th |
| 30 August 1986 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–1 | | 9,250 | 20th |
| 6 September 1986 | Leeds United | H | 1–1 | Shearer | 9,306 | 21st |
| 9 September 1986 | Crystal Palace | A | 0–1 | | 6,601 | 21st |
| 13 September 1986 | Birmingham City | A | 1–1 | Dicks (og) | 6,934 | 20th |
| 20 September 1986 | Oldham Athletic | H | 5–4 | Raynor (2), Shearer (2), Brown (pen) | 7,368 | 19th |
| 27 September 1986 | Portsmouth | A | 0–1 | | 9,022 | 20th |
| 4 October 1986 | Derby County | H | 2–0 | Cork, Raynor | 7,690 | 19th |
| 11 October 1986 | Stoke City | A | 0–2 | | 7,543 | 20th |
| 18 October 1986 | Sheffield United | A | 0–0 | | 9,243 | 21st |
| 21 October 1986 | Shrewsbury Town | H | 2–1 | Shearer (2) | 4,097 | 16th |
| 25 October 1986 | Hull City | H | 1–3 | Banks (pen) | 5,406 | 19th |
| 1 November 1986 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–3 | | 10,211 | 19th |
| 8 November 1986 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 2–1 | Shearer, Banks | 4,463 | 17th |
| 15 November 1986 | Bradford City | A | 3–4 | Raynor, McDermott, Banks (pen) | 8,011 | 19th |
| 22 November 1986 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 1–2 | Webster | 4,874 | 20th |
| 13 December 1986 | Millwall | A | 0–4 | | 3,515 | 22nd |
| 20 December 1986 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–2 | Shearer | 4,181 | 22nd |
| 26 December 1986 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 2–1 | Shearer, Barker (og) | 7,144 | 20th |
| 27 December 1986 | Bradford City | H | 5–2 | Shearer (4), Banks | 10,003 | 19th |
| 1 January 1987 | Grimsby Town | H | 0–0 | | 7,530 | 19th |
| 3 January 1987 | Leeds United | A | 1–1 | Banks | 17,983 | 19th |
| 24 January 1987 | Sunderland | A | 1–2 | Winter | 10,486 | 21st |
| 7 February 1987 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 2–1 | Shearer, Cork | 5,218 | 22nd |
| 14 February 1987 | Shrewsbury Town | A | 2–1 | Banks, Shearer | 3,285 | 18th |
| 17 February 1987 | Reading | A | 2–3 | Cork, Shearer | 4,664 | 18th |
| 21 February 1987 | Portsmouth | H | 2–0 | Shearer, Banks | 6,229 | 18th |
| 28 February 1987 | Oldham Athletic | A | 0–2 | | 8,911 | 18th |
| 3 March 1987 | Birmingham City | H | 2–2 | Cooper, Cork | 5,177 | 18th |
| 7 March 1987 | Hull City | A | 0–0 | | 5,872 | 17th |
| 14 March 1987 | Sheffield United | H | 1–1 | Banks | 7,568 | 18th |
| 21 March 1987 | Stoke City | H | 2–2 | Shearer, Cork | 7,222 | 18th |
| 31 March 1987 | Barnsley | H | 2–2 | Shearer (2) | 7,569 | 19th |
| 3 April 1987 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 1–1 | Shearer | 7,516 | 19th |
| 8 April 1987 | Derby County | A | 0–2 | | 15,432 | 19th |
| 11 April 1987 | Ipswich Town | H | 1–2 | McCall (og) | 5,888 | 20th |
| 18 April 1987 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–0 | Jones | 4,198 | 20th |
| 20 April 1987 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1–2 | Cork | 7,731 | 21st |
| 25 April 1987 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 1–1 | Cork | 13,342 | 21st |
| 2 May 1987 | Reading | H | 2–0 | Shearer, Phil Wilson | 4,549 | 19th |
| 4 May 1987 | Barnsley | A | 1–0 | Cooper | 8,564 | 18th |
| 9 May 1987 | Millwall | H | 3–0 | Jones, Cork (2) | 6,955 | 17th |

### FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 10 January 1987 | Round 3 | Norwich City | A | 1–1 | Shearer | 11,524 |
| 21 January 1987 | Round 3 replay | Norwich City | H | 2–4 | Brown (pen), Cork | 8,970 |

### League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 26 August 1986 | Round 1 1st Leg | Halifax Town | H | 3–1 | Cork, Cowling, Shearer | 2,636 |
| 2 September 1986 | Round 1 2nd Leg | Halifax Town | A | 2–2 | Cork, Shearer | 1,353 Huddersfield won 5–3 on aggregate. |
| 23 September 1986 | Round 2 1st Leg | Arsenal | A | 0–2 | | 15,194 |
| 7 October 1986 | Round 2 2nd Leg | Arsenal | H | 1–1 | Banks | 8,713 Huddersfield lost 3–1 on aggregate. |

### Full Members Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 16 September 1986 | Round 1 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1–2 | Shearer | 1,947 |

## Appearances and goals

| Name | Nation | Position | League Apps | League Goals | FA Cup Apps | FA Cup Goals | League Cup Apps | League Cup Goals | FLT Apps | FLT Goals | Total Apps | Total Goals |
| Ian Banks | England | MF | 37 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 9 |
| Ian Bray | Wales | DF | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| Malcolm Brown | England | DF | 33 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 2 |
| David Burke | England | DF | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| Graham Cooper | England | FW | 7 (5) | 2 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 (8) | 2 |
| David Cork | England | FW | 31 (5) | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 (1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 36 (6) | 12 |
| David Cowling | England | MF | 34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 1 |
| Brian Cox | England | GK | 37 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 0 |
| Andy Dibble | Wales | GK | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Steve Doyle | Wales | MF | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Joey Jones | Wales | DF | 29 (1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 (1) | 2 |
| Brian McDermott | England | MF | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Willie McStay | Scotland | DF | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
| Graham Mitchell | England | DF | 16 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 (1) | 0 |
| Paul Raynor | England | MF | 18 (2) | 4 | 0 (1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 (3) | 4 |
| Duncan Shearer | Scotland | FW | 42 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 49 | 25 |
| Andy Thackeray | England | MF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 |
| Simon Trevitt | England | DF | 9 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 (2) | 0 |
| Peter Ward | England | FW | 4 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 (3) | 0 |
| Simon Webster | England | DF | 39 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 1 |
| Paul Wilson | England | DF | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Phil Wilson | England | MF | 37 (1) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 (1) | 1 |
| Julian Winter | England | MF | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 (1) | 1 |