# 2005–06 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

The 2005–06 season of Huddersfield Town A.F.C. was their second competitive campaign in the restructured Football League One. They finished in 4th place, qualifying them for the play-offs, but, after beating Barnsley 1–0 in the first leg at Oakwell, they lost the second leg 3–1 at the Galpharm Stadium, to lose 3–2 on aggregate.
Their season was also noted for their cup campaigns in the Football League Cup and FA Cup. They managed a respectable 3–1 loss to Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, where around half of the 12,000 crowd were Town fans. Then in the FA Cup, the Terriers were 8 minutes away from forcing a replay against José Mourinho's Chelsea, before succumbing to a goal by Eiður Guðjohnsen.

## 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 |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Paul Rachubka |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Andy Holdsworth |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Danny Adams |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Mark Hudson |
| 5 | DF | ENG | David Mirfin |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Nathan Clarke |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Chris Brandon |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Tony Carss |
| 9 | FW | POL | Paweł Abbott |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Gary Taylor-Fletcher |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Danny Schofield |
| 12 | MF | PAK | Adnan Ahmed |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Tom Clarke |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | FW | IRL | John McAliskey |
| 16 | DF | SCO | Martin McIntosh |
| 17 | DF | ENG | John McCombe |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Jon Worthington (Captain) |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Anthony Lloyd |
| 20 | FW | MSR | Junior Mendes |
| 21 | MF | WAL | Lee Fowler |
| 22 | GK | ENG | Phil Senior |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Andy Booth |
| 24 | MF | IRL | Michael Collins |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Matty Young |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Aaron Hardy |

## Review

Before the start of the season 2005–06, the club launched the controversial 'Young Guns' campaign. The players, manager Peter Jackson, assistant manager Terry Yorath, and coach Martyn Booty posed for the 2006 calendar in cowboy outfits. Six of the younger players featured on the cover of the corporate hospitality brochure. Basing the cover around the 'Young Guns' theme was widely considered to be a mistake and caused the booklet to be adversely linked with the Brokeback Mountain film.
Despite losing to Nottingham Forest on the opening day of the season, Huddersfield started the 2005–06 season brightly and were top of the table by mid-October. During the season they got the chance to show their pedigree by playing at Blackburn Rovers in the League Cup, which they lost 3–1.
Then they had a big money-spinning FA Cup match at Chelsea in January. They showed superb spirit to only lose 2–1, but many predicted it could be the turning point in Town's season, as they hadn't won a game since being drawn against them, a month earlier.
Gerry Murphy won the Football League's Contribution to Football award on 5 March 2006 selected by listeners of BBC Radio Five Live's Sport on Five.
With the season heading towards its climax, Town had to prepare for the play-offs after a disappointing April, which saw them lose out on automatic promotion to the Championship. The goals of Paweł Abbott, Gary Taylor-Fletcher, Andy Booth, Danny Schofield and Sheffield Wednesday loan signing David Graham helped Town to have the joint-second best scoring record in the division behind Swansea City.
Huddersfield beat Barnsley 1–0 at Barnsley in the play-off semi-final first leg but lost 1–3 (2–3 on aggregate) in the return. Season highlights included an away victory against local rivals Bradford City and a league double over fellow neighbours Oldham Athletic.

## 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 |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Paul Rachubka |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Andy Holdsworth |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Danny Adams |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Mark Hudson |
| 5 | DF | ENG | David Mirfin |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Nathan Clarke |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Chris Brandon |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Tony Carss |
| 9 | FW | POL | Paweł Abbott |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Gary Taylor-Fletcher |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Danny Schofield |
| 12 | MF | PAK | Adnan Ahmed |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Tom Clarke |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | FW | IRL | John McAliskey |
| 16 | DF | SCO | Martin McIntosh |
| 17 | DF | ENG | John McCombe |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Jon Worthington (Captain) |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Anthony Lloyd |
| 20 | FW | MSR | Junior Mendes (on loan at Northampton Town) |
| 21 | FW | SCO | David Graham (on loan from Sheffield Wednesday) |
| 22 | GK | ENG | Phil Senior |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Andy Booth |
| 24 | MF | IRL | Michael Collins |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Matty Young |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Aaron Hardy |

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 2 | Colchester United (P) | 46 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 58 | 40 | +18 | 79 | Promotion to the Championship |
| 3 | Brentford | 46 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 72 | 52 | +20 | 76 | Qualification for the League One play-offs |
| 4 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 19 | 16 | 11 | 72 | 59 | +13 | 73 | Qualification for the League One play-offs |
| 5 | Barnsley (O, P) | 46 | 18 | 18 | 10 | 62 | 44 | +18 | 72 | Qualification for the League One play-offs |
| 6 | Swansea City | 46 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 78 | 55 | +23 | 71 | Qualification for the League One play-offs |

## Results
### Pre-season matches

| Date | Competition | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F - A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 12 July 2005 | Copa Ibiza Semi-Final | Coventry City | N | 0 - 1 | | ? |
| 13 July 2005 | Copa Ibiza 3rd Place Play-Off | Ibiza XI | N | 2 - 1 | Carss, Worthington | ? |
| 19 July 2005 | Friendly match | Harrogate Town | A | 4 - 1 | Abbott 4 | 551 |
| 20 July 2005 | Friendly match | Rossendale United | A | 4 - 0 | Hudson, T. Clarke, Mendes, Young | ? |
| 22 July 2005 | Friendly match | Mansfield Town | A | 2 - 1 | Booth, Mendes | 1,562 |
| 25 July 2005 | Friendly match | A.F.C. Emley | A | 1 - 1 | McAliskey | 346 |
| 30 July 2005 | Friendly match | Rochdale | A | 2 - 2 | Booth, Abbott (pen) | 1,903 |
| 1 August 2005 | Friendly match | Bradford Park Avenue | A | 3 - 2 | Mendes 2, Carss | 408 |

### Football League One

| Date | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F - A | Scorers | Attendance | League position |
| 6 August 2005 | Nottingham Forest | A | 1 - 2 | Abbott [64 (pen)] | 24,042 | 16th |
| 9 August 2005 | Bristol City | H | 1 - 0 | Abbott [89] | 11,138 | 12th |
| 13 August 2005 | Swansea City | H | 3 - 1 | Booth [27], Abbott [41], Schofield [76] | 10,304 | 3rd |
| 20 August 2005 | Southend United | A | 1 - 1 | Abbott [45] | 5,567 | 5th |
| 27 August 2005 | Hartlepool United | H | 2 - 1 | Abbott [12], Schofield [17] | 11,241 | 2nd |
| 29 August 2005 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 2 - 1 | Brandon [2], Worthington [40] | 7,222 | 1st |
| 2 September 2005 | Scunthorpe United | H | 1 - 4 | Abbott [66 (pen)] | 14,112 | 2nd |
| 10 September 2005 | Oldham Athletic | A | 3 - 0 | Schofield [27], Taylor-Fletcher [37, 72] | 8,803 | 3rd |
| 17 September 2005 | Brentford | H | 3 - 2 | Abbott [34], Schofield [90], Booth [90] | 11,622 | 2nd |
| 24 September 2005 | Colchester United | A | 1 - 1 | Taylor-Fletcher [65] | 3,415 | 3rd |
| 27 September 2005 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 1 - 0 | Schofield [87] | 10,640 | 3rd |
| 1 October 2005 | AFC Bournemouth | H | 2 - 2 | Schofield [14], Taylor-Fletcher [21] | 13,522 | 3rd |
| 10 October 2005 | Bradford City | A | 2 - 1 | Hudson [21], Booth [79] | 12,285 | 2nd |
| 15 October 2005 | Walsall | H | 3 - 1 | Booth [15], Abbott [34, 78] | 11,642 | 1st |
| 22 October 2005 | Chesterfield | A | 3 - 4 | Hudson [80], Worthington [87], Holdsworth [90] | 6,206 | 2nd |
| 29 October 2005 | Swindon Town | H | 1 - 1 | Brandon [54] | 11,352 | 3rd |
| 12 November 2005 | Yeovil Town | A | 2 - 1 | Booth [11], Hudson [39] | 6,742 | 2nd |
| 19 November 2005 | Bradford City | H | 0 - 0 | | 17,331 | 2nd |
| 26 November 2005 | Nottingham Forest | H | 2 - 1 | Schofield [21], Booth [26] | 17,370 | 2nd |
| 6 December 2005 | Milton Keynes Dons | A | 2 - 2 | Abbott [7], Booth [64] | 4,832 | 2nd |
| 10 December 2005 | Bristol City | A | 0 - 2 | | 9,949 | 2nd |
| 17 December 2005 | Southend United | H | 0 - 0 | | 11,223 | 3rd |
| 26 December 2005 | Rotherham United | A | 1 - 1 | Taylor-Fletcher [90] | 7,380 | 3rd |
| 28 December 2005 | Port Vale | H | 0 - 3 | | 10,824 | 3rd |
| 31 December 2005 | Barnsley | A | 2 - 2 | Booth [76], Taylor-Fletcher [90] | 13,063 | 4th |
| 2 January 2006 | Gillingham | H | 0 - 0 | | 11,483 | 5th |
| 10 January 2006 | Scunthorpe United | A | 2 - 2 | Schofield [44], McIntosh [90] | 4,450 | 4th |
| 14 January 2006 | Blackpool | H | 2 - 0 | T. Clarke [9], Schofield [73] | 11,977 | 3rd |
| 21 January 2006 | Brentford | A | 0 - 2 | | 7,636 | 5th |
| 28 January 2006 | Oldham Athletic | H | 3 - 2 | Branston [45 (og)], Abbott [48], Graham [59] | 14,973 | 3rd |
| 3 February 2006 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1 - 2 | Graham [48] | 8,300 | 4th |
| 11 February 2006 | Colchester United | H | 2 - 0 | Worthington [14], Graham [68] | 13,515 | 5th |
| 14 February 2006 | Blackpool | A | 1 - 0 | Brandon [43 (pen)] | 6,004 | 5th |
| 18 February 2006 | Milton Keynes Dons | H | 5 - 0 | McIntosh [19], Taylor-Fletcher [24], Worthington [36], Mirfin [77], Collins [90] | 11,423 | 3rd |
| 24 February 2006 | Swansea City | A | 2 - 2 | McIntosh [70], Graham [82] | 13,110 | 2nd |
| 4 March 2006 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 2 - 2 | McIntosh [8], Graham [40] | 14,490 | 2nd |
| 10 March 2006 | Hartlepool United | A | 1 - 3 | Graham [22] | 5,648 | 3rd |
| 18 March 2006 | Rotherham United | H | 4 - 1 | Booth [32, 39, 82], Taylor-Fletcher [83] | 15,264 | 3rd |
| 25 March 2006 | Port Vale | A | 1 - 1 | Booth [81] | 5,664 | 2nd |
| 1 April 2006 | Barnsley | H | 1 - 0 | Taylor-Fletcher [55] | 19,052 | 3rd |
| 8 April 2006 | Gillingham | A | 0 - 2 | | 7,014 | 3rd |
| 15 April 2006 | AFC Bournemouth | A | 1 - 1 | Taylor-Fletcher [71] | 7,406 | 3rd |
| 18 April 2006 | Chesterfield | H | 1 - 2 | Graham [13] | 13,368 | 4th |
| 22 April 2006 | Walsall | A | 3 - 1 | Graham [25], Abbott [83], Booth [90] | 5,554 | 4th |
| 29 April 2006 | Yeovil Town | H | 1 - 2 | Graham [8] | 14,473 | 4th |
| 6 May 2006 | Swindon Town | A | 0 - 0 | | 6,353 | 4th |

### League One Play-Offs

| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F - A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 11 May 2006 | Semi-Final 1st Leg | Barnsley | A | 1 - 0 | Taylor-Fletcher [85] | 16,127 |
| 15 May 2006 | Semi-Final 2nd Leg | Barnsley | H | 1 - 3 | Worthington [65] | 19,223 Huddersfield lost 3–2 on aggregate. |

### FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F - A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 6 November 2005 | Round 1 | Welling United | H | 4 - 1 | Booth [27, 69], Schofield [50 (pen)], Holdsworth [81] | 5,518 |
| 4 December 2005 | Round 2 | Worcester City | A | 1 - 0 | Brandon [61] | 4,163 |
| 7 January 2006 | Round 3 | Chelsea | A | 1 - 2 | Taylor-Fletcher [74] | 41,650 |

### League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F - A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 24 August 2005 | Round 1 | Chesterfield | A | 4 - 2 | Abbott [9], Taylor-Fletcher [56, 76, 90] | 2,922 |
| 21 September 2005 | Round 2 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1 - 3 | Abbott [79] | 11,755 |

### Football League Trophy

| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F - A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 19 October 2005 | Round 1 North | Boston United | A | 1 - 2 | Mirfin [68] | 1,593 |

## Appearances and goals

| Squad No. | Name | Nation | Position | League Apps | League Goals | FA Cup Apps | FA Cup Goals | League Cup Apps | League Cup Goals | FLT Apps | FLT Goals | Playoff Apps | Playoff Goals | Total Apps | Total Goals |
| 1 | Paul Rachubka | England | GK | 34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 0 |
| 2 | Andy Holdsworth | England | DF | 37 (5) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 44 (6) | 2 |
| 3 | Danny Adams | England | DF | 40 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 0 |
| 4 | Mark Hudson | England | MF | 25 (4) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 30 (5) | 3 |
| 5 | David Mirfin | England | DF | 27 (4) | 1 | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 29 (6) | 2 |
| 6 | Nathan Clarke | England | DF | 46 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 53 (1) | 0 |
| 7 | Chris Brandon | England | MF | 36 (4) | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 40 (6) | 4 |
| 8 | Tony Carss | England | MF | 9 (8) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 (9) | 0 |
| 9 | Pawel Abbott | Poland | FW | 26 (10) | 12 | 1 (2) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 30 (14) | 14 |
| 10 | Gary Taylor-Fletcher | England | FW | 30 (13) | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 (1) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 37 (14) | 15 |
| 11 | Danny Schofield | England | MF | 37 (4) | 9 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 44 (4) | 10 |
| 12 | Adnan Ahmed | Pakistan | MF | 4 (9) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 (9) | 0 |
| 14 | Tom Clarke | England | DF | 16 (1) | 1 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 (3) | 1 |
| 15 | John McAliskey | Republic of Ireland | FW | 0 (9) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (9) | 0 |
| 16 | Martin McIntosh | Scotland | DF | 20 (2) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 (2) | 4 |
| 17 | John McCombe | England | DF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | Jon Worthington | England | MF | 41 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 47 | 5 |
| 19 | Anthony Lloyd | England | DF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | Dan Smith | England | DF | 7 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 (1) | 0 |
| 20 | Junior Mendes | Montserrat | MF | 1 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (5) | 0 |
| 21 | David Graham | Scotland | FW | 15 (1) | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17 (1) | 9 |
| 22 | Phil Senior | England | GK | 12 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 (1) | 0 |
| 23 | Andy Booth | England | FW | 33 (3) | 13 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 (3) | 15 |
| 24 | Michael Collins | Republic of Ireland | MF | 9 (8) | 1 | 0 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 (10) | 1 |
| 25 | Matty Young | England | MF | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 |
| 26 | Aaron Hardy | England | DF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | James Hand | Republic of Ireland | MF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |