1954–55 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town's 1954–55 campaign saw Town make a brilliant start in their second season back in the 1st Division. However, a disappointing mid-season ended their chance of improving on their 3rd-place finish the previous season. They eventually finished down in 12th place with 41 points, 7 points behind second placed Wolverhampton Wanderers. This was also the last season in which the leading goalscorer in Division 1 came from the club, when Jimmy Glazzard scored 32 goals.

Huddersfield Town
1954–55 season
ChairmanDick Parker
ManagerAndy Beattie
Football League First Division12th
FA CupQuarter-finals
(knocked out by Newcastle United)
Top goalscorerLeague: Jimmy Glazzard (26)
All: Jimmy Glazzard (32)
Highest home attendance54,960 vs Newcastle United (12 March 1955)
Lowest home attendance5,287 vs Aston Villa (23 February 1955)
Biggest win3–0 vs Sheffield Wednesday (13 September 1954)
Biggest defeat0–4 vs Preston North End (5 March 1955)
0–4 vs Everton (23 March 1955)

Squad at the start of the season

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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 Harry Mills
-- GK   ENG Jack Wheeler
-- DF   ENG John Battye
-- DF   ENG Brian Gibson
-- DF   ENG Laurie Kelly
-- DF   ENG Don McEvoy
-- DF   ENG Bill McGarry
-- DF   ENG Len Quested
-- DF   ENG Ron Staniforth
-- DF   ENG Ken Taylor
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- MF   NIR Gerry Burrell
-- MF   SCO Willie Davie
-- MF   ENG Albert Hobson
-- MF   ENG Vic Metcalfe
-- FW   ENG Tommy Cavanagh
-- FW   ENG Bryan Frear
-- FW   ENG Jimmy Glazzard
-- FW   ENG Roy Shiner
-- FW   ENG Ron Simpson
-- FW   SCO Jimmy Watson

Review

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After losing their first 3 matches, Town went on an impressive run of just 1 defeat in 12 matches, which included wins over Chelsea, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Portsmouth, the teams who would eventually be the top 3 at the end of the season. Other interesting results during the season were a 5–3 win over Arsenal at Highbury and a 6–4 defeat by Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.

Jimmy Glazzard's 32 goals made him the top scorer in Division 1, but a depressing spell between mid-December and early April which saw Town fail to register a win in the league saw Town drop out of the top 5 of the table. However, Town's form in the FA Cup didn't reflect their league form, as they reached the 6th round for the first time since the 1938–39 season, before losing to Newcastle United in a replay at St James' Park. In the league they finished 12th with 41 points.

Squad at the end of the season

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

Results

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Date Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F–A
Scorers Attendance Position
21 August 1954 Blackpool H 1–3 Metcalfe (pen) 35,793 18th
25 August 1954 Portsmouth A 2–4 Pickett (og), Watson 35,873 18th
28 August 1954 Charlton Athletic A 1–2 Burrell 22,422 21st
30 August 1954 Portsmouth H 2–1 Watson, Metcalfe 22,688 18th
4 September 1954 Bolton Wanderers H 2–0 Metcalfe, Cavanagh 28,726 14th
6 September 1954 Sheffield Wednesday A 1–4 Glazzard 25,825 18th
11 September 1954 Cardiff City A 1–1 Watson 21,840 17th
13 September 1954 Sheffield Wednesday H 3–0 Metcalfe (pen), Glazzard (2) 20,570 12th
18 September 1954 Manchester United A 1–1 Cavanagh 45,648 13th
25 September 1954 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 2–0 Burrell, Cavanagh 30,861 12th
2 October 1954 Aston Villa A 0–0 20,435 13th
9 October 1954 Chelsea H 1–0 Cavanagh 29,556 11th
16 October 1954 Leicester City A 3–1 Burrell, Glazzard, Cavanagh 30,491 10th
23 October 1954 Everton H 2–1 Watson, Glazzard 27,390 7th
30 October 1954 Manchester City A 4–2 Glazzard (3), Watson 34,246 4th
6 November 1954 Sheffield United H 1–2 Glazzard 20,664 6th
13 November 1954 Arsenal A 5–3 McGarry, Watson, Glazzard (2), Metcalfe 42,950 4th
20 November 1954 West Bromwich Albion H 3–3 Glazzard, Watson, Quested 28,372 5th
27 November 1954 Newcastle United A 2–2 Watson, Burrell 36,409 4th
4 December 1954 Burnley H 0–1 17,392 7th
11 December 1954 Preston North End A 3–2 Glazzard, Forbes (og), Cavanagh 23,774 5th
18 December 1954 Blackpool A 1–1 Glazzard 17,579 6th
25 December 1954 Sunderland A 1–1 Burrell 39,900 6th
27 December 1954 Sunderland H 1–1 Metcalfe (pen) 47,450 6th
1 January 1955 Charlton Athletic H 0–0 26,996 7th
5 February 1955 Manchester United H 1–3 Glazzard 31,408 9th
12 February 1955 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 4–6 Glazzard (3), Frear 30,666 10th
23 February 1955 Aston Villa H 1–2 Glazzard 5,287 10th
26 February 1955 Chelsea A 1–4 Burrell 35,786 11th
5 March 1955 Preston North End H 0–4 24,929 15th
19 March 1955 Manchester City H 0–0 31,065 17th
23 March 1955 Everton A 0–4 15,561 17th
26 March 1955 Sheffield United A 2–2 Glazzard, Coldwell (og) 11,951 18th
2 April 1955 Arsenal H 0–1 22,853 18th
9 April 1955 Burnley A 1–1 Glazzard 22,214 20th
11 April 1955 Tottenham Hotspur A 1–1 Hopkins (og) 23,332 20th
12 April 1955 Tottenham Hotspur H 1–0 Frear 23,580 16th
16 April 1955 Newcastle United H 2–0 Glazzard (2) 21,913 14th
23 April 1955 West Bromwich Albion A 1–2 Glazzard 18,661 17th
27 April 1955 Bolton Wanderers A 0–1 16,184 17th
30 April 1955 Leicester City H 3–1 Glazzard, Watson (2) 16,498 16th
2 May 1955 Cardiff City H 2–0 Glazzard, Watson 10,476 12th
Date Round Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F–A
Scorers Attendance
8 January 1955 Round 3 Coventry City H 3–3 Glazzard (2), Watson 31,576
13 January 1955 Round 3 Replay Coventry City A 2 – 1 (aet: 90 mins: 1–1) Glazzard, Watson 23,716
29 January 1955 Round 4 Torquay United A 1–0 Glazzard 21,908
19 February 1955 Round 5 Liverpool A 2–0 Hobson, Glazzard 57,115
12 March 1955 Round 6 Newcastle United H 1–1 Glazzard 54,960
16 March 1955 Round 6 Replay Newcastle United A 0 – 2 (aet: 90 mins: 0–0) 52,380

Appearances and goals

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Name Nation Position League Apps League Goals FA Cup Apps FA Cup Goals Total Apps Total Goals
John Battye   England DF 6 0 0 0 6 0
Gerry Burrell   Northern Ireland MF 36 6 1 0 37 6
Tommy Cavanagh   England FW 24 6 3 0 27 6
Jack Connor   England DF 5 0 0 0 5 0
Willie Davie   Scotland FW 6 0 1 0 7 0
Bryan Frear   England FW 11 2 2 0 13 2
Brian Gibson   England DF 14 0 1 0 15 0
Jimmy Glazzard   England FW 42 26 6 6 48 32
Albert Hobson   England MF 6 0 5 1 11 1
Laurie Kelly   England DF 41 0 6 0 47 0
Don McEvoy   England DF 6 0 0 0 6 0
Bill McGarry   England DF 32 1 6 0 38 1
Vic Metcalfe   England MF 35 6 6 0 41 6
Len Quested   England DF 42 1 6 0 48 1
Roy Shiner   England FW 1 0 0 0 1 0
Ron Simpson   England FW 7 0 0 0 7 0
Ron Staniforth   England DF 28 0 5 0 33 0
Ken Taylor   England DF 36 0 6 0 42 0
Jimmy Watson   Scotland MF 42 11 6 2 48 13
Jack Wheeler   England GK 42 0 6 0 48 0