1965–66 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season
# 1965–66 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

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

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 | Peter Goy |
| -- | GK | IRL | John Oldfield |
| -- | DF | ENG | Denis Atkins |
| -- | DF | ENG | Chris Cattlin |
| -- | DF | ENG | John Coddington |
| -- | DF | ENG | David Joy |
| -- | DF | ENG | Billy Legg |
| -- | DF | ENG | Bob McNab |
| -- | DF | IRL | Mick Meagan |
| -- | MF | ENG | Peter Dinsdale |
| -- | MF | ENG | Billy Lynn |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| -- | MF | ENG | Kevin McHale |
| -- | MF | NIR | Jimmy Nicholson |
| -- | MF | ENG | Michael O'Grady |
| -- | MF | SCO | Johnny Quigley |
| -- | MF | ENG | Steve Smith |
| -- | MF | ENG | Ray Veall |
| -- | FW | ENG | Allan Gilliver |
| -- | FW | ENG | Tony Leighton |
| -- | FW | SCO | Les Massie |
| -- | FW | ENG | John Rudge |
| -- | FW | ENG | Derek Stokes |

## 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

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 | Peter Goy |
| -- | GK | IRL | John Oldfield |
| -- | DF | ENG | Denis Atkins |
| -- | DF | ENG | Chris Cattlin |
| -- | DF | ENG | John Coddington |
| -- | DF | ENG | David Joy |
| -- | DF | ENG | Billy Legg |
| -- | DF | ENG | Bob McNab |
| -- | DF | IRL | Mick Meagan |
| -- | MF | ENG | Peter Dinsdale |
| -- | MF | ENG | Billy Lynn |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| -- | MF | ENG | Kevin McHale |
| -- | MF | NIR | Jimmy Nicholson |
| -- | MF | SCO | Johnny Quigley |
| -- | MF | ENG | Steve Smith |
| -- | MF | ENG | Ray Veall |
| -- | FW | ENG | Allan Gilliver |
| -- | FW | ENG | Tony Leighton |
| -- | FW | SCO | Les Massie |
| -- | FW | ENG | John Rudge |
| -- | FW | ENG | Don Weston |

## Results

### Division Two

| Date | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Position |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 21 August 1965 | Leyton Orient | A | 2–0 | Gilliver, Nicholson | 7,381 | 1st |
| 24 August 1965 | Ipswich Town | H | 1–0 | Gilliver | 11,448 | 1st |
| 28 August 1965 | Middlesbrough | H | 6–0 | Gilliver (3), Massie (3) | 14,772 | 1st |
| 31 August 1965 | Ipswich Town | A | 2–2 | Gilliver (2) | 14,283 | 1st |
| 4 September 1965 | Bristol City | A | 1–2 | Nicholson | 15,708 | 2nd |
| 7 September 1965 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1–0 | McHale | 24,532 | 1st |
| 11 September 1965 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–2 | O'Grady | 16,684 | 4th |
| 15 September 1965 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | Leighton | 16,614 | 3rd |
| 18 September 1965 | Preston North End | H | 2–1 | Leighton (2) | 18,114 | 2nd |
| 25 September 1965 | Charlton Athletic | A | 2–0 | Massie, O'Grady | 14,661 | 1st |
| 2 October 1965 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 2–1 | McHale, Leighton | 16,707 | 1st |
| 9 October 1965 | Manchester City | H | 0–0 | | 31,876 | 1st |
| 16 October 1965 | Rotherham United | A | 0–0 | | 16,939 | 1st |
| 23 October 1965 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–1 | Leighton | 19,122 | 1st |
| 30 October 1965 | Norwich City | A | 1–1 | Leighton | 16,442 | 3rd |
| 6 November 1965 | Bury | H | 2–0 | Quigley, Weston | 17,212 | 1st |
| 13 November 1965 | Southampton | A | 1–0 | Nicholson | 21,660 | 1st |
| 20 November 1965 | Derby County | H | 1–3 | Weston | 14,336 | 2nd |
| 27 November 1965 | Cardiff City | A | 1–0 | Smith | 10,898 | 1st |
| 4 December 1965 | Carlisle United | H | 2–0 | Leighton (2 pens) | 15,517 | 1st |
| 11 December 1965 | Coventry City | A | 3–0 | Nicholson, Gilliver, McHale | 27,735 | 1st |
| 18 December 1965 | Rotherham United | H | 4–0 | McHale, Gilliver (2), Leighton (pen) | 17,855 | 1st |
| 28 December 1965 | Birmingham City | A | 1–2 | Leighton | 19,750 | 1st |
| 1 January 1966 | Manchester City | A | 0–2 | | 47,171 | 1st |
| 8 January 1966 | Southampton | H | 2–0 | Gilliver (2) | 17,989 | 1st |
| 15 January 1966 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–2 | Weston | 28,698 | 2nd |
| 29 January 1966 | Leyton Orient | H | 1–1 | Leighton | 16,011 | 3rd |
| 5 February 1966 | Middlesbrough | A | 3–1 | Massie (3) | 13,485 | 2nd |
| 19 February 1966 | Bristol City | H | 3–0 | Coddington (pen), Weston (2) | 18,544 | 2nd |
| 26 February 1966 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–1 | Sewell (og) | 17,350 | 2nd |
| 12 March 1966 | Preston North End | A | 1–1 | Gilliver | 17,724 | 2nd |
| 15 March 1966 | Birmingham City | H | 2–0 | Gilliver (2) | 19,156 | 1st |
| 19 March 1966 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–1 | Gilliver | 17,669 | 2nd |
| 25 March 1966 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 0–0 | | 13,902 | 1st |
| 6 April 1966 | Portsmouth | A | 1–2 | McHale | 13,932 | 2nd |
| 9 April 1966 | Norwich City | H | 0–0 | | 13,942 | 2nd |
| 11 April 1966 | Portsmouth | H | 2–0 | Gilliver, Veall | 18,479 | 1st |
| 16 April 1966 | Derby County | A | 1–4 | Massie | 15,793 | 2nd |
| 19 April 1966 | Bury | A | 4–0 | McHale (2), Gilliver, Weston | 12,783 | 1st |
| 23 April 1966 | Cardiff City | H | 1–1 | Carver (og) | 19,138 | 1st |
| 30 April 1966 | Carlisle United | A | 0–2 | | 13,688 | 2nd |
| 7 May 1966 | Coventry City | H | 0–2 | | 24,997 | 4th |

### FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 24 January 1966 | Round 3 | Hartlepools United | H | 3–1 | Quigley (2), Leighton | 24,505 |
| 12 February 1966 | Round 4 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 2–0 | Smith, Massie | 26,335 |
| 5 March 1966 | Round 5 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 1–2 | Smith | 49,514 |

### Football League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 21 September 1965 | Round 2 | Bury | A | 2–0 | McHale, O'Grady | 5,629 |
| 13 October 1965 | Round 3 | Preston North End | H | 0–1 | | 9,774 |

## 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 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Denis Atkins | England | DF | 42 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 0 |
| Chris Cattlin | England | DF | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
| John Coddington | England | DF | 40 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 1 |
| Peter Dinsdale | England | DF | 14 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 (1) | 0 |
| Allan Gilliver | England | FW | 27 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 18 |
| David Joy | England | DF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Billy Legg | England | DF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Tony Leighton | England | FW | 27 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 12 |
| Billy Lynn | England | MF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Les Massie | Scotland | FW | 22 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 9 |
| Kevin McHale | England | MF | 40 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 45 | 8 |
| Bob McNab | England | DF | 42 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 0 |
| Mick Meagan | Republic of Ireland | DF | 31 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 (1) | 0 |
| Jimmy Nicholson | Northern Ireland | MF | 41 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 4 |
| Michael O'Grady | England | MF | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 3 |
| John Oldfield | Republic of Ireland | GK | 42 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 0 |
| Johnny Quigley | Scotland | MF | 41 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 3 |
| Steve Smith | England | MF | 14 (3) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 17 (3) | 3 |
| Derek Stokes | England | FW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Ray Veall | England | MF | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| Don Weston | England | FW | 11 (2) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 (2) | 6 |
