# 1976–77 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town's 1976–77 campaign was Huddersfield Town's second season in the 4th Division. Under Tom Johnston, Town almost gained promotion back to the 3rd Division, but a dreadful end to the season saw Town finish in 9th place with 50 points, 9 points off 4th place, which was taken by rivals Bradford City.

## 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 | Terry Poole |
| -- | GK | ENG | Dick Taylor |
| -- | DF | ENG | Steve Baines |
| -- | DF | ENG | Paul Cooper |
| -- | DF | ENG | Neil Hague |
| -- | DF | ENG | Peter Hart |
| -- | DF | SCO | Peter Oliver |
| -- | DF | ENG | Arnie Sidebottom |
| -- | DF | SCO | Alan Sweeney |
| -- | MF | ENG | Terry Armstrong |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| -- | MF | ENG | Martin Fowler |
| -- | MF | ENG | Lloyd Maitland |
| -- | MF | ENG | Steve Smith |
| -- | FW | ENG | Mick Butler |
| -- | FW | NIR | Bobby Campbell |
| -- | FW | ENG | Franny Firth |
| -- | FW | ENG | Wayne Goldthorpe |
| -- | FW | ENG | Terry Gray |
| -- | FW | ENG | Bob Newton |

## Review

Town had a mixed start to the season, with wins and draws seeming to come from all over the place. Although they were never on a massive losing or unbeaten run under Tom Johnston, they mainly relied on new signing Kevin Johnson from Hartlepool, who scored 13 goals during the season.
They had a run of 7 straight wins during late January to early March saw Town climb ever nearer to promotion, but the last nine games (6 of them under Johnston's replacement, John Haselden) saw Town fail to win a single match, which saw Town slumber down the table into a final position of 9th place, just 14 points off 4th place, which was taken up by rivals Bradford City.

## 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 | Alan Starling |
| -- | GK | ENG | Dick Taylor |
| -- | DF | ENG | Steve Baines |
| -- | DF | ENG | Paul Cooper |
| -- | DF | ENG | Paul Gartland |
| -- | DF | ENG | Neil Hague |
| -- | DF | ENG | Peter Hart |
| -- | DF | SCO | Peter Oliver |
| -- | DF | ENG | Arnie Sidebottom |
| -- | DF | SCO | Alan Sweeney |
| -- | MF | ENG | Terry Armstrong |
| -- | MF | ENG | Martin Fowler |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| -- | MF | ENG | Kevin Johnson |
| -- | MF | ENG | Lloyd Maitland |
| -- | MF | ENG | Jim McCaffrey |
| -- | MF | ENG | Steve Smith |
| -- | FW | ENG | Mick Butler |
| -- | FW | NIR | Bobby Campbell |
| -- | FW | ENG | Terry Eccles |
| -- | FW | ENG | Franny Firth |
| -- | FW | ENG | Wayne Goldthorpe |
| -- | FW | ENG | Terry Gray |
| -- | FW | ENG | Peter Howey |
| -- | FW | ENG | Bob Newton |

## Results
### Division Four

| Date | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Position |
| 21 August 1976 | Torquay United | A | 0–1 | | 3,955 | 19th |
| 28 August 1976 | Brentford | H | 1–0 | Newton | 4,559 | 15th |
| 4 September 1976 | Newport County | A | 1–1 | Firth | 2,247 | 14th |
| 11 September 1976 | Swansea City | H | 2–2 | Newton, Firth | 4,048 | 15th |
| 14 September 1976 | Southport | H | 1–0 | Smith | 4,174 | 8th |
| 18 September 1976 | Darlington | A | 0–2 | | 3,037 | 11th |
| 25 September 1976 | Stockport County | H | 2–0 | Johnson, Baines | 5,916 | 9th |
| 2 October 1976 | Barnsley | A | 1–2 | Butler | 7,124 | 14th |
| 9 October 1976 | Bradford City | H | 3–0 | Sidebottom, Butler, Johnson | 10,608 | 10th |
| 16 October 1976 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 2–1 | Sidebottom, Jones | 7,494 | 7th |
| 23 October 1976 | Aldershot | A | 0–1 | | 4,598 | 11th |
| 26 October 1976 | Watford | H | 2–2 | Johnson (2, 1 pen.) | 5,299 | 9th |
| 30 October 1976 | Hartlepool | A | 1–0 | Goldthorpe | 2,613 | 6th |
| 2 November 1976 | Cambridge United | A | 1–1 | Goldthorpe | 4,357 | 7th |
| 6 November 1976 | Workington | H | 2–1 | Hague, Smith | 5,621 | 5th |
| 12 November 1976 | Exeter City | A | 0–2 | | 3,657 | 9th |
| 26 November 1976 | Rochdale | H | 2–1 | Johnson (pen.), Jones | 5,240 | 7th |
| 4 December 1976 | Southend United | A | 1–1 | Baines | 4,419 | 6th |
| 18 December 1976 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 0–1 | | 4,932 | 8th |
| 27 December 1976 | Halifax Town | A | 0–0 | | 8,720 | 8th |
| 28 December 1976 | Scunthorpe United | H | 1–0 | Hague | 7,028 | 6th |
| 1 January 1977 | Workington | A | 2–3 | Baines, Johnson | 2,133 | 8th |
| 8 January 1977 | Bournemouth | A | 0–1 | | 4,494 | 12th |
| 15 January 1977 | Southport | A | 2–2 | Campbell (2) | 1,803 | 11th |
| 22 January 1977 | Torquay United | H | 2–1 | Johnson, Eccles | 6,237 | 10th |
| 5 February 1977 | Brentford | A | 3–1 | Johnson, Campbell, N. Smith (o.g.) | 4,830 | 11th |
| 12 February 1977 | Newport County | H | 3–0 | Eccles, Campbell, Johnson (pen.) | 5,452 | 9th |
| 15 February 1977 | Hartlepool | H | 4–1 | Johnson, Baines, Fowler, Creamer (o.g.) | 5,493 | 5th |
| 26 February 1977 | Darlington | H | 3–1 | Campbell (2), Johnson (pen.) | 6,315 | 7th |
| 4 March 1977 | Stockport County | A | 3–2 | Campbell, Gray (2) | 5,499 | 5th |
| 12 March 1977 | Barnsley | H | 1–0 | Eccles | 11,659 | 4th |
| 19 March 1977 | Bradford City | A | 1–3 | Oliver | 10,734 | 6th |
| 21 March 1977 | Colchester United | H | 0–0 | | 7,508 | 4th |
| 25 March 1977 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 0–2 | | 11,042 | 6th |
| 2 April 1977 | Aldershot | H | 2–0 | Hart, Butler | 5,073 | 7th |
| 5 April 1977 | Halifax Town | H | 1–0 | Smith | 7,591 | 5th |
| 9 April 1977 | Scunthorpe United | A | 4–0 | Gray (3), Johnson | 4,207 | 5th |
| 12 April 1977 | Cambridge United | H | 1–2 | Johnson | 11,829 | 6th |
| 16 April 1977 | Watford | A | 0–2 | | 6,181 | 7th |
| 19 April 1977 | Colchester United | H | 1–3 | Dowman (o.g.) | 5,057 | 9th |
| 23 April 1977 | Exeter City | H | 0–1 | | 4,717 | 10th |
| 26 April 1977 | Swansea City | A | 1–2 | Gray | 9,613 | 10th |
| 30 April 1977 | Rochdale | A | 2–2 | Baines, Campbell | 1,626 | 10th |
| 3 May 1977 | Bournemouth | H | 0–0 | | 2,342 | 10th |
| 7 May 1977 | Southend United | H | 1–1 | Howey | 2,275 | 10th |
| 14 May 1977 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 0–0 | | 2,153 | 9th |

### FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 20 November 1976 | Round 1 | Mansfield Town | H | 0–0 | | 9,025 |
| 22 November 1976 | Round 1 Replay | Mansfield Town | A | 1–2 | Sidebottom | 9,036 |

### Football League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 14 August 1976 | Round 1 1st Leg | Hartlepool | H | 2–0 | Baines, Newton | 3,603 |
| 18 August 1976 | Round 1 2nd Leg | Hartlepool | A | 2–1 | Newton, Butler | 2,060 Huddersfield won 4–1 on aggregate. |
| 31 August 1976 | Round 2 | Northampton Town | A | 1–0 | Newton | 6,641 |
| 20 September 1976 | Round 3 | Chelsea | A | 0–2 | | 19,860 |

## Appearances and goals

| Name | Nation | Position | League apps | League goals | FA Cup apps | FA Cup goals | League Cup apps | League Cup goals | Total apps | Total goals |
| Terry Armstrong | England | FW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Steve Baines | England | DF | 43 (1) | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 49 (1) | 6 |
| Mick Butler | England | MF | 23 (3) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 26 (3) | 4 |
| Bobby Campbell | Northern Ireland | FW | 19 (1) | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 (1) | 8 |
| Paul Cooper | England | DF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Terry Eccles | England | FW | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 |
| Franny Firth | England | FW | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 2 |
| Martin Fowler | England | MF | 36 (3) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 42 (3) | 1 |
| Paul Gartland | England | DF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| John Gilligan | England | MF | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
| Wayne Goldthorpe | England | FW | 5 (2) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 (2) | 2 |
| Terry Gray | England | FW | 17 (1) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 (1) | 6 |
| Neil Hague | England | DF | 25 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 30 | 2 |
| Peter Hart | England | MF | 44 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 1 |
| Peter Howey | England | MF | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Kevin Johnson | England | FW | 38 | 13 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 (1) | 13 |
| Chris Jones | England | MF | 9 (5) | 2 | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 11 (7) | 2 |
| Lloyd Maitland | England | MF | 10 (2) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 16 (2) | 0 |
| Jim McCaffrey | England | MF | 14 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 (1) | 0 |
| Bob Newton | England | FW | 15 (2) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 (1) | 3 | 20 (3) | 5 |
| Peter Oliver | Scotland | DF | 41 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 47 | 1 |
| Terry Poole | England | GK | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
| Arnie Sidebottom | England | DF | 18 (5) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 (2) | 0 | 20 (7) | 3 |
| Steve Smith | England | MF | 44 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 3 |
| Alan Starling | England | GK | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Alan Sweeney | Scotland | DF | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| Dick Taylor | England | GK | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Paul Walker | England | MF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |