Huddersfield Town's 1965–66 campaign was a fairly successful season for the Town. For a large amount of the season, Town were on the verge on promotion to Division 1. Town also managed to reach the 5th round of the FA Cup, before losing to Sheffield Wednesday. Town finished in 4th place, but a win in the final game against Coventry City, might have given the team promotion, but a 2–0 defeat left the door open for Southampton.
Squad at the start of the season
Review Tom Johnston began his first full season in charge of Huddersfield Town in glorious mood. They won their first 3 games, which included a 6–0 win over Middlesbrough, where both Allan Gilliver and Les Massie scored hat-tricks. Gilliver actually scored 7 goals in his first 4 league games, which would lead him to a transfer to Blackburn Rovers at the end of the season. By Christmas, Town were at the summit of the 2nd Division, but a little drop in form saw them slowly go down the table.
A nice run in the FA Cup saw Town reach the 5th round, before they narrowly lost to Sheffield Wednesday. Town only won 2 of their last 10 matches, which saw them miss out on promotion by just 3 points from Southampton. This would be the closest that Town would get to Division 1 until their promotion in the 1969–70 season.
Squad at the end of the season
Results Division Two DateOpponentsHome/AwayResultF–AScorersAttendancePosition21 August 1965Leyton OrientA2–0Gilliver, Nicholson7,3811st24 August 1965Ipswich TownH1–0Gilliver11,4481st28 August 1965MiddlesbroughH6–0Gilliver (3), Massie (3)14,7721st31 August 1965Ipswich TownA2–2Gilliver (2)14,2831st4 September 1965Bristol CityA1–2Nicholson15,7082nd7 September 1965Bolton WanderersH1–0McHale24,5321st11 September 1965Crystal PalaceA1–2O'Grady16,6844th15 September 1965Bolton WanderersA1–1Leighton16,6143rd18 September 1965Preston North EndH2–1Leighton (2)18,1142nd25 September 1965Charlton AthleticA2–0Massie, O'Grady14,6611st2 October 1965Plymouth ArgyleH2–1McHale, Leighton16,7071st9 October 1965Manchester CityH0–031,8761st16 October 1965Rotherham UnitedA0–016,9391st23 October 1965Wolverhampton WanderersH1–1Leighton19,1221st30 October 1965Norwich CityA1–1Leighton16,4423rd6 November 1965BuryH2–0Quigley, Weston17,2121st13 November 1965SouthamptonA1–0Nicholson21,6601st20 November 1965Derby CountyH1–3Weston14,3362nd27 November 1965Cardiff CityA1–0Smith10,8981st4 December 1965Carlisle UnitedH2–0Leighton (2 pens)15,5171st11 December 1965Coventry CityA3–0Nicholson, Gilliver, McHale27,7351st18 December 1965Rotherham UnitedH4–0McHale, Gilliver (2), Leighton (pen)17,8551st28 December 1965Birmingham CityA1–2Leighton19,7501st1 January 1966Manchester CityA0–247,1711st8 January 1966SouthamptonH2–0Gilliver (2)17,9891st15 January 1966Wolverhampton WanderersA1–2Weston28,6982nd29 January 1966Leyton OrientH1–1Leighton16,0113rd5 February 1966MiddlesbroughA3–1Massie (3)13,4852nd19 February 1966Bristol CityH3–0Coddington (pen), Weston (2)18,5442nd26 February 1966Crystal PalaceH1–1Sewell (og)17,3502nd12 March 1966Preston North EndA1–1Gilliver17,7242nd15 March 1966Birmingham CityH2–0Gilliver (2)19,1561st19 March 1966Charlton AthleticH1–1Gilliver17,6692nd25 March 1966Plymouth ArgyleA0–013,9021st6 April 1966PortsmouthA1–2McHale13,9322nd9 April 1966Norwich CityH0–013,9422nd11 April 1966PortsmouthH2–0Gilliver, Veall18,4791st16 April 1966Derby CountyA1–4Massie15,7932nd19 April 1966BuryA4–0McHale (2), Gilliver, Weston12,7831st23 April 1966Cardiff CityH1–1Carver (og)19,1381st30 April 1966Carlisle UnitedA0–213,6882nd7 May 1966Coventry CityH0–224,9974th
FA Cup DateRoundOpponentsHome/AwayResultF–AScorersAttendance24 January 1966Round 3Hartlepools UnitedH3–1Quigley (2), Leighton24,50512 February 1966Round 4Plymouth ArgyleA2–0Smith, Massie26,3355 March 1966Round 5Sheffield WednesdayH1–2Smith49,514
Football League Cup DateRoundOpponentsHome/AwayResultF–AScorersAttendance21 September 1965Round 2BuryA2–0McHale, O'Grady5,62913 October 1965Round 3Preston North EndH0–19,774
Appearances and goals NameNationalityPositionLeagueFA CupLeague CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsDenis AtkinsDF4203020470Chris CattlinDF0 (1)000000 (1)0John CoddingtonDF4013000431Peter DinsdaleDF14 (1)0202018 (1)0Allan GilliverFW271810002818David JoyDF10000010Billy LeggDF10000010Tony LeightonFW271121203112Billy LynnMF30000030Les MassieFW2282110259Kevin McHaleMF4073021458Bob McNabDF4203020470Mick MeaganDF31 (1)0202035 (1)0Jimmy NicholsonMF4143020464Michael O'GradyMF1220011133John OldfieldGK4203020470Johnny QuigleyMF4112210443Steve SmithMF14 (3)1221017 (3)3Derek StokesFW00002020Ray VeallMF1111000121Don WestonFW11 (2)6100012 (2)6
References