2011–12 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town
2011–12 season
Chairman Dean Hoyle
Manager Lee Clark (until 15 February 2012)
Simon Grayson (from 20 February 2012)
League One 4th (promoted via play-offs)
FA Cup First Round
League Cup Second Round
Football League Trophy Second Round
Top goalscorer League: Jordan Rhodes (36)
All: Jordan Rhodes (40)
Highest home attendance 18,646 vs. Sheffield Wednesday (7 April 2012)
Lowest home attendance 10,489 vs. Bradford City (4 October 2011)
Home colours
Away colours
← 2010–11
2012–13 →

Huddersfield Town's 2011–12 campaign was Huddersfield Town's eighth consecutive season in the third tier of English football. After losing to Peterborough United in the play-off final the previous season, Town hoped to avoid the play-offs and push for automatic promotion this season.

This season saw Town sack their manager for the first time since the 2008–09 season, when Lee Clark left the club on 15 February 2012. He was replaced by the former Leeds United boss, Simon Grayson on 20 February.

At the end of the season, Town finished in 4th place, meaning a 3rd consecutive season in the play-offs. They played Milton Keynes Dons in the semi-finals, and won 3–2 on aggregate, winning the away leg 2–0, before losing the home leg 2–1.

They played Sheffield United in the final at Wembley Stadium on 26 May. After the match finished 0–0 after extra time, the Terriers won the penalty shoot-out 8–7, after every player on the pitch took a penalty. The decisive penalty was taken by the United goalkeeper Steve Simonsen, who saw his penalty go over the crossbar, giving Huddersfield the glory, and promotion to the Football League Championship.

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. Position Player
1 England GK Alex Smithies
2 England DF Calum Woods
3 Scotland DF Gary Naysmith
4 Iceland MF Joey Guðjónsson
5 England DF Peter Clarke (Captain)
6 England DF Jamie McCombe
7 England MF Gary Roberts
8 England MF Antony Kay
9 England FW Danny Cadamarteri
10 England MF Oscar Gobern
11 England MF Danny Ward
12 England DF Tom Clarke (on loan at Leyton Orient)
13 England GK Ian Bennett
14 Northern Ireland MF Damien Johnson (on loan from Plymouth Argyle)
15 Scotland DF Liam Cooper (on loan from Hull City)
16 Scotland MF Scott Arfield
17 Scotland FW Jordan Rhodes
No. Position Player
18 England MF Tommy Miller
19 Republic of Ireland FW Alan Lee
20 Republic of Ireland MF Donal McDermott
21 England FW Lee Novak
22 England MF Anton Robinson
25 Republic of Ireland GK Nick Colgan
26 England GK Lloyd Allinson
27 England FW Robbie Simpson (on loan at Oldham Athletic)
28 England DF Nathan Clarke (on loan at Oldham Athletic)
29 England DF Liam Ridehalgh (on loan at Swindon Town)
30 England FW James Spencer (on loan at Cheltenham Town)
31 England MF Chris Atkinson (on loan at Darlington)
32 England DF Jack Hunt
33 England MF Matt Crooks
34 England MF Aidan Chippendale (on loan at Inverness Caledonian Thistle)
35 England DF Greg Pearson
36 Canada GK Simon Thomas

Kit

The 2011–12 season was the Club's first with technical kit supplier Umbro, and two new kits were introduced. Kirklees College and Radian B continued their home and away shirt sponsorships, respectively.

The home kit consists of a white shirt with three light blue stripes, white shorts and black socks. The away shirt is red with a white and black double-chevron, and was worn with black shorts and white socks. The shorts and socks of both these kits were interchangeable in the event of a colour clash. On 5 November, Town wore a charity kit in their game against Walsall in Help For Heroes colours – a limited number of replicas were sold with proceeds going to the charity.

Supplier: Umbro
Sponsor(s): Kirklees College (home), Radian B (away)

Home
Home alternate
Away
Away alternate
Charity
GK home
GK away
GK third

Last updated: 15 September 2012.
Source: Npower League One 2011–12 – Historical Football Kits

Review

Despite losing in the play-off final, there isn't expected to be a mass exodus of players, mainly due to the fact that most of them are on long-term contracts, although Nathan Clarke and Robbie Simpson were told that they could look for new clubs.

Town's first signing of the close season was the right-back Calum Woods from newly promoted Scottish Premier League side Dunfermline Athletic on a free transfer on 8 June. On 1 July, two more signings were added to the team, defender/midfielder Oscar Gobern signed for a fee of £275,000, which was settled by a tribunal from Southampton, and winger Donal McDermott signed from Manchester City, also on a fee to be settled by a tribunal. Experienced midfielder Tommy Miller was then snapped up on a one-year deal following his release by Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday. On 8 July, Town confirmed the signing of defender Liam Cooper on a season-long loan from Championship side Hull City. On 11 July, winger Danny Ward, who had a successful loan spell at the Terriers at the end of the season, signed a permanent 3-year deal for an undisclosed fee from Bolton Wanderers. On 19 July, the Terriers signed Plymouth Argyle midfielder Damien Johnson on a second consecutive season-long loan. The midfield was further bolstered with the signing of Anton Robinson from Bournemouth on 1 August for an undisclosed fee. On 5 August, Clark signed Canadian goalkeeper Simon Thomas on a free transfer following a successful loan spell. On 23 November, after losing an appeal to get Alan Lee's red card he received against Notts County rescinded, Town signed striker Jon Parkin on a 2-month loan from Cardiff City, which ended on 23 January. The following day, as the loan transfer window shut, Leeds United defender Alex Bruce on loan until 2 January 2012, but Leeds terminated it on 29 December. On 24 January 2012, Town brought in Reading defender Sean Morrison on loan for the rest of the season, after failing to make an appearance while on loan with the club the previous season. Just as the transfer window shut on 31 January, Town signed young Scottish centre-back Murray Wallace from Scottish First Division side Falkirk for an undisclosed fee, with Wallace returning to the Bairns for the remainder of the current season. His team-mate at Falkirk, Kallum Higginbotham also joined Town for an undisclosed fee on the same day. On 16 March Town signed Uruguayan international midfielder Diego Arismendi on loan from Stoke City until the end of the season.

The first departure from the club during the post-season was right-back Lee Peltier, who joined Championship side Leicester City on 21 June, for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around £750,000. Following him out of the Galpharm was young defender Leigh Franks who joined Conference North side Alfreton Town on 23 June. Next to go was winger Anthony Pilkington, who joined Premier League new boys Norwich City on 6 July for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around £2 million. Young striker James Spencer joined Cheltenham Town on a 6-month loan on 20 July. 19 year-old midfielder Chris Atkinson left on a six-month loan deal at Conference National side Darlington on 25 July. On 19 August Nathan Clarke joined fellow League One side Oldham Athletic on loan until the end of January. Just as the transfer window shut on 31 August, young midfielder Aidan Chippendale joined Scottish Premier League side Inverness Caledonian Thistle on loan until January 2012. Tom Clarke left the club on 9 September, joining Leyton Orient on a 93-day emergency loan, and Robbie Simpson joined Oldham Athletic for the same deal the following day. They both returned to the Galpharm on 12 December. Simpson then returned to Oldham on 2 January, before making the move permanent on 30 January. Left-back Liam Ridehalgh joined Football League Two side Swindon Town on a month's loan on 28 September, which was extended to the end of the year, before he returned. On 4 November, young defender Greg Pearson joined Blyth Spartans on a month's loan. On 24 November, Jamie McCombe joined Preston North End on loan until 2 January 2012, but it was cut short on 22 December, owing to defensive injuries at Town, but then the following day, it was revealed that the termination could not go ahead for administrative reasons, so he stayed at Preston. On 5 January 2012, Liam Ridehalgh was sent on loan again, this time to Town's fellow League One side Chesterfield. On 31 January, as the transfer window shut, Donal McDermott left the club, just 6 months after joining to go to his former club, A.F.C. Bournemouth for an undisclosed fee. On 9 March, Nathan Clarke left on loan for Bury for the remainder of the season, and young midfielder Matt Crooks joined Conference North side F.C. Halifax Town for the rest of the season as well. On 22 March, just as the loan window shut, Kallum Higginbotham was sent on loan to Barnsley for the rest of the season, although he was recalled on 26 April. On 29 March, goalkeeper Lloyd Allinson was loaned out to Ilkeston for the rest of the season. On 27 April, Icelandic international Joey Guðjónsson had his contract terminated, citing "family reasons", and he returned home to his native Iceland, to play for his hometown club, ÍA.

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. Position Player
1 England GK Alex Smithies
2 England DF Calum Woods
3 Scotland DF Gary Naysmith
5 England DF Peter Clarke (Captain)
6 England DF Jamie McCombe
7 England MF Gary Roberts
8 England MF Antony Kay
9 England FW Danny Cadamarteri
10 England MF Oscar Gobern
11 England MF Danny Ward
12 England DF Tom Clarke
13 England GK Ian Bennett
14 Northern Ireland MF Damien Johnson (on loan from Plymouth Argyle)
15 England DF Sean Morrison (on loan from Reading)
16 Scotland MF Scott Arfield
17 Scotland FW Jordan Rhodes
18 England MF Tommy Miller
No. Position Player
19 Republic of Ireland FW Alan Lee
20 Uruguay MF Diego Arismendi (on loan from Stoke City)
21 England FW Lee Novak
22 England MF Anton Robinson
25 Republic of Ireland GK Nick Colgan
26 England GK Lloyd Allinson (on loan at Ilkeston)
27 England FW Kallum Higginbotham
28 England DF Nathan Clarke (on loan at Bury)
29 England DF Liam Ridehalgh (on loan at Chesterfield)
30 England FW James Spencer (on loan at Cheltenham Town)
31 England MF Chris Atkinson
32 England DF Jack Hunt
33 England MF Matt Crooks (on loan at FC Halifax Town)
34 England MF Aidan Chippendale
35 England DF Greg Pearson
36 Canada GK Simon Thomas
-- Scotland DF Murray Wallace (on loan at Falkirk)

League Table

Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification or relegation
2 Sheffield Wednesday (P) 46 28 9 9 82 48+34 93 Promotion to 2012–13 Football League Championship
3 Sheffield United 46 27 9 10 92 51+41 90 Qualification to League One Playoffs
4 Huddersfield Town (O) (P) 46 21 18 7 79 47+32 81
5 Milton Keynes Dons 46 22 14 10 84 47+37 80
6 Stevenage 46 21 10 15 69 44+25 73

Updated to games played on 26 May 2012.
Source: The Football League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Transfers

In

Date Pos. Name From Fee
8 June DF England Calum Woods Scotland Dunfermline Athletic Free
1 July MF England Oscar Gobern England Southampton £275,000
1 July MF Republic of Ireland Donal McDermott England Manchester City Tribunal
7 July MF England Tommy Miller England Sheffield Wednesday Free
11 July MF England Danny Ward England Bolton Wanderers Undisclosed Fee
1 August MF England Anton Robinson England Bournemouth Undisclosed Fee
5 August GK Canada Simon Thomas Canada Vancouver Whitecaps Free
31 January DF Scotland Murray Wallace Scotland Falkirk Undisclosed Fee
31 January FW England Kallum Higginbotham Scotland Falkirk Undisclosed Fee

Loans in

Date Pos. Name From Expiry
8 July DF Scotland Liam Cooper England Hull City June 2012
19 July MF Northern Ireland Damien Johnson England Plymouth Argyle June 2012
23 November FW England Jon Parkin Wales Cardiff City January 2012
24 November DF Republic of Ireland Alex Bruce England Leeds United January 2012
12 December DF England Tom Clarke England Leyton Orient Loan Ended
12 December FW England Robbie Simpson England Oldham Athletic Loan Ended
28 September DF England Liam Ridehalgh England Swindon Town Loan Ended
3 January DF England Jamie McCombe England Preston North End Loan Ended
4 January MF England Chris Atkinson England Darlington Loan Ended
4 January DF England Nathan Clarke England Oldham Athletic Loan Ended
4 January DF England Greg Pearson England Blyth Spartans Loan Ended
9 January MF England Aidan Chippendale Scotland Inverness Caledonian Thistle Loan Ended
24 January DF Republic of Ireland Sean Morrison England Reading June 2012
16 March MF Uruguay Diego Arismendi England Stoke City End Of Season
26 April FW England Kallum Higginbotham England Barnsley Recalled
7 May DF England Liam Ridehalgh England Chesterfield Loan Ended
7 May DF Scotland Murray Wallace Scotland Falkirk Loan Ended
7 May DF England Nathan Clarke England Bury Loan Ended
7 May MF England Matt Crooks England F.C. Halifax Town Loan Ended
7 May GK England Lloyd Allinson England Ilkeston Loan Ended

Out

Date Pos. Name To Fee
21 June DF England Lee Peltier England Leicester City Undisclosed Fee
23 June DF England Leigh Franks England Alfreton Town Free
6 July MF Republic of Ireland Anthony Pilkington England Norwich City Undisclosed Fee
30 January FW England Robbie Simpson England Oldham Athletic Contract Cancelled
31 January MF Republic of Ireland Donal McDermott England A.F.C. Bournemouth Undisclosed Fee
27 April MF Iceland Joey Guðjónsson Iceland ÍA Free

Loans out

Date Pos. Name To Expiry
20 July FW England James Spencer England Cheltenham Town End Of Season
25 July MF England Chris Atkinson England Darlington January 2012
19 August DF England Nathan Clarke England Oldham Athletic January 2012
31 August MF England Aidan Chippendale Scotland Inverness Caledonian Thistle January 2012
9 September DF England Tom Clarke England Leyton Orient December 2011
10 September FW England Robbie Simpson England Oldham Athletic December 2011
28 September DF England Liam Ridehalgh England Swindon Town December 2011
4 November DF England Greg Pearson England Blyth Spartans December 2011
24 November DF England Jamie McCombe England Preston North End January 2012
1 December DF Scotland Liam Cooper England Hull City Loan Cancelled
29 December DF Republic of Ireland Alex Bruce England Leeds United Loan Cancelled
2 January FW England Robbie Simpson England Oldham Athletic February 2012
5 January DF England Liam Ridehalgh England Chesterfield May 2012
23 January FW England Jon Parkin Wales Cardiff City Loan Ended
31 January DF Scotland Murray Wallace Scotland Falkirk End Of Season
9 March DF England Nathan Clarke England Bury End Of Season
9 March MF England Matt Crooks England F.C. Halifax Town End Of Season
23 March FW England Kallum Higginbotham England Barnsley End Of Season
29 March GK England Lloyd Allinson England Ilkeston End Of Season

Squad Statistics

Appearances and goals

As of 26 May 2012
No. Pos Nat Player TotalLeague One FA Cup League Cup JP Trophy
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK England Alex Smithies 15 0 14+1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
2 DF England Calum Woods 31 0 26+3 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0
3 DF Scotland Gary Naysmith 26 0 20+2 0 1+0 0 2+0 0 1+0 0
4 MF Iceland Joey Guðjónsson 8 0 6+2 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
5 DF England Peter Clarke 36 1 34+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0 1+0 1
6 DF England Jamie McCombe 23 3 20+0 3 1+0 0 2+0 0 0+0 0
7 MF England Gary Roberts 45 7 28+12 6 1+0 0 1+1 1 1+1 0
8 MF England Antony Kay 32 1 26+3 1 1+0 0 0+0 0 1+1 0
9 FW England Danny Cadamarteri 16 0 6+9 0 0+1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
10 MF England Oscar Gobern 25 2 19+2 2 0+0 0 1+1 0 2+0 0
11 MF England Danny Ward 47 5 34+8 4 0+1 0 1+1 1 1+1 0
12 DF England Tom Clarke 16 0 7+9 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
13 GK England Ian Bennett 38 0 35+0 0 0+0 0 2+0 0 1+0 0
14 MF Northern Ireland Damien Johnson (on loan) 21 0 19+2 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
15 DF Scotland Liam Cooper (on loan) 7 0 2+2 0 0+0 0 1+0 0 2+0 0
15 DF Republic of Ireland Sean Morrison (on loan) 22 1 22+0 1 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
16 MF Scotland Scott Arfield 40 2 25+12 2 0+1 0 1+0 0 0+1 0
17 FW Scotland Jordan Rhodes 45 40 39+4 38 0+0 0 1+0 2 1+0 0
18 MF England Tommy Miller 33 2 27+2 1 1+0 0 2+0 0 1+0 1
19 FW Republic of Ireland Alan Lee 38 7 18+15 7 1+0 0 0+2 0 2+0 0
20 MF Republic of Ireland Donal McDermott 14 1 6+3 0 1+0 0 2+0 0 2+0 1
20 MF Uruguay Diego Arismendi 9 0 7+2 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
21 FW England Lee Novak 49 17 32+12 13 1+0 1 2+0 2 1+1 1
22 MF England Anton Robinson 30 1 12+14 1 1+0 0 1+0 0 2+0 0
24 FW England Jon Parkin (on loan) 3 0 2+1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
25 GK Republic of Ireland Nick Colgan 2 0 0+0 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0
27 FW England Kallum Higginbotham 7 0 5+2 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
31 MF England Chris Atkinson 1 0 0+1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
32 DF England Jack Hunt 50 3 46+0 2 0+0 0 2+0 1 2+0 0
36 GK Canada Simon Thomas 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
44 DF Republic of Ireland Alex Bruce (on loan) 3 0 3+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
  • Source:
League One games include play-off games.

Starting XI

No.
Pos
Nat
Name
MS Notes
13 GK England Ian Bennett 38
32 RB England Jack Hunt 50
5 CB England Peter Clarke 36
8 CB England Antony Kay 28 Jamie McCombe has 22 starts
2 LB England Calum Woods 28 Gary Naysmith has 24 starts
7 RM England Gary Roberts 31
16 CM Scotland Scott Arfield 26 Oscar Gobern has 22 starts
18 CM England Tommy Miller 31
11 LM England Danny Ward 36
17 CF Scotland Jordan Rhodes 41
21 CF England Lee Novak 36

Top Scorers

Place Position Nation Number Name League One FA Cup League Cup JP Trophy Play-Offs Total
1 FW Scotland 17 Jordan Rhodes 36 0 2 0 2 40
2 FW England 21 Lee Novak 13 1 2 1 0 17
3= MF England 7 Gary Roberts 6 0 1 0 0 7
FW Republic of Ireland 19 Alan Lee 7 0 0 0 0 7
5 MF England 11 Danny Ward 4 0 1 0 0 5
6= DF England 6 Jamie McCombe 3 0 0 0 0 3
DF England 32 Jack Hunt 1 0 1 0 1 3
8= MF England 10 Oscar Gobern 2 0 0 0 0 2
MF Scotland 16 Scott Arfield 2 0 0 0 0 2
MF England 18 Tommy Miller 1 0 0 1 0 2
11= DF England 5 Peter Clarke 0 0 0 1 0 1
DF England 8 Antony Kay 1 0 0 0 0 1
DF Republic of Ireland 15 Sean Morrison 1 0 0 0 0 1
MF Republic of Ireland 20 Donal McDermott 0 0 0 1 0 1
MF England 22 Anton Robinson 1 0 0 0 0 1
Own goals 1 0 0 0 0 1
TOTALS 79 1 7 4 3 94

Disciplinary Record

Number Nation Position Name League One FA Cup League Cup JP Trophy Play-Offs Total
Red card Red card Red card Red card Red card Red card
32 England DF Jack Hunt 9 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 11 0
19 Republic of Ireland FW Alan Lee 5 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 7 1
5 England DF Peter Clarke 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 7 0
2 England DF Calum Woods 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6 0
22 England MF Anton Robinson 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6 0
8 England MF Antony Kay 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 0
18 England MF Tommy Miller 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0
3 Scotland DF Gary Naysmith 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
7 England MF Gary Roberts 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
10 England MF Oscar Gobern 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
14 Northern Ireland MF Damien Johnson 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0
21 England FW Lee Novak 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
6 England DF Jamie McCombe 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1
11 England MF Danny Ward 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
15 Republic of Ireland DF Sean Morrison 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
16 Scotland MF Scott Arfield 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
20 Uruguay MF Diego Arismendi 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
1 England GK Alex Smithies 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
4 Iceland MF Joey Guðjónsson 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
9 England FW Danny Cadamarteri 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
12 England DF Tom Clarke 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
20 Republic of Ireland MF Donal McDermott 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
27 England MF Kallum Higginbotham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
44 Republic of Ireland DF Alex Bruce 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Totals 67 2 2 0 3 0 6 0 5 0 83 2

Results

Pre-season

League One

Football League One Play-Offs

  • Huddersfield won 3–2 on aggregate.

FA Cup

Football League Cup

Football League Trophy

References