Huddersfield Town F.C. season 2003-04

Infobox Football club season
club = Huddersfield Town

season = 2003–04
manager = flagicon|ENG Peter Jackson
chairman = flagicon|ENG Ken Davy
league = Division Three
league result = 4th "(promoted via Play-offs)"
cup1 = FA Cup
cup1 result = First Round
cup2 = Carling Cup
cup2 result = Third Round
cup3 = LDV Vans Trophy
cup3 result = First Round
league topscorer =
Jon Stead (16)
season topscorer =
Jon Stead (18)
highest attendance = 19,467 vs Lincoln City (19 May 2004)
lowest attendance = 6,673 vs Derby County (12 August 2003)

Huddersfield Town's 2003-04 campaign was their first competitive campaign in the bottom division since the 1979-80 season. Huddersfield secured a return to Coca-Cola League One, at the first attempt, by beating Mansfield Town, on penalties, in the Playoff Final on 31 May 2004 at the Millennium Stadium.

quad at the start of the season

The squad at the start of the season was mainly depleted. When Peter Jackson took over in late June 2003, there were only 8 players on the official list of registered players, because of the mass clear-out caused by Town going into administration the previous season.

Review

It took Huddersfield until the end of August to register their first league win of the season in Division 3 (a 2-1 win against Bristol Rovers at the McAlpine Stadium), but they managed to knock out Division 1 side Derby County in the first round of the Carling Cup and then amazingly beat Sunderland 4-2 in the second round at the Stadium of Light. They then went on a 4-game winning streak, before hitting a bad patch, when they won only one game in 7, including losing in all three cup competitions (1-0 to Reading in the Carling Cup, 2-0 to Carlisle United in the LDV Vans Trophy & 1-0 to Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup live on BBC One). Then after beating leaders Hull City 3-1, they went on a good run which came to a dramatic halt when they lost 4-0 to Macclesfield Town at Moss Rose. They then went on another good run throughout January 2004, but then they lost their talisman Jon Stead, who was sold to Premier League side Blackburn Rovers for £1.3m.

With only Andy Booth as a proper striker, Town loaned Preston North End striker Paweł Abbott, who scored 4 goals in his 6 games, they then signed him on a permanent deal for £125,000 and Huddersfield continued their climb up the table and with only 2 games to go, Huddersfield only needed to win one of their last team games to virtually guarantee automatic promotion to Division 2. But on May 1, they lost their final home game to Mansfield Town 3-1, meaning they had to beat Cheltenham Town at Whaddon Road to ensure automatic promotion ahead of Torquay United. At half-time, all was going well, Huddersfield were 1-0 up thanks to Andy Booth's 100th goal for the club. But then disaster struck when Abbott received the ball just inside his own half and, inexplicably, ran back towards Town's goal and horrendously underhit a backpass that allowed the Robins to equalise with just 15 minutes of the game left. This, together with Torquay's win at Southend United, condemned the Terriers to a Play-Off spot, by virtue of an inferior goal difference.

The Play-off semi-final saw Town escape two bruising encounters with Lincoln City with goals from Danny Schofield and Rob Edwards staving off a spirited Lincoln fightback in the second leg, so Town went through 4-3 on aggregate. In the final at the Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, Town rode their luck against a Mansfield Town side who had hit three in each league meeting of the sides. Just before the end of normal time the Stags netted but the linesman controversially ruled that the initiating cross had gone out over the by-line. A penalty shoot-out then followed, which Town won 4-1, saw Town home and out of Division Three at the first attempt, securing their place in the newly-named Coca-Cola League One.

quad at the end of the season

Results

= Division Three =

= Carling Cup =

= LDV Vans Trophy =