Huddersfield Town's 2000–01 campaign was their last competitive campaign in the second tier of English football, up until Town's return in the 2012–13 season. Huddersfield finished 22nd following a disastrous final day in which Town lost at home to Birmingham City, while their rivals Stockport County, Portsmouth & Crystal Palace all got their necessary results which sent Town down.
Squad at the start of the season
Review The optimism that had surrounded the club just a year earlier had completely dissipated and manager Bruce's ability to turn the tide was seriously in doubt given the side's finish to the previous season. After some less than inspiring signings, among them Kevin Gallen, Huddersfield made a horrific start to the season, winning only one of their first 19 games, (a 3–2 win over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough Stadium) which saw Steve Bruce lose his job in October after Town went to the bottom of the table following a 1–0 loss to Grimsby Town. Lou Macari, the former Stoke City, Birmingham City, West Ham United and Celtic manager, took over immediately, but results didn't improve. Then in December, a miracle occurred, the loan signing of Zimbabwean international Peter Ndlovu dramatically improved Town's fortunes. They won five out of seven games in December and drew the other two, which brought Macari the Manager of the Month award for December 2000 and helped push the Terriers out of the bottom three. Many thought that a repeat of "The Great Escape" three seasons ago was on the cards again.
However, Town's old manager Warnock (Crystal Palace) snapped Ndlovu up before a permanent deal could be agreed. Then a run of seven games without a win in January and February saw Town slide into trouble again, but Macari pulled a joker from the pack and signed the irreplaceable legend Andy Booth for £200,000 from Sheffield Wednesday. He scored on his debut in a 4–1 win against Portsmouth, but following defeats to promotion chasing Fulham and Blackburn Rovers, Town were in trouble again.
Their next game was against Queens Park Rangers. The Terriers won the game 2–1, which saw QPR relegated along with Tranmere Rovers, but then draws against Wimbledon and West Bromwich Albion saw Town in trouble on the final day. Town needed a win to guarantee 1st Division football, but a disputed goal for Crystal Palace combined with Town's 2–1 defeat by Birmingham City saw Town back down to Division 2.
Squad at the end of the season
Results Division One DateOpponentsHome/AwayResultF - AScorersAttendancePosition12 August 2000WatfordH1 - 2Palmer [16 (og)]13,01817th19 August 2000Sheffield WednesdayA3 - 2Smith [6, 39], Gallen 22,70410th26 August 2000Crystal PalaceH1 - 2Lucketti 10,67017th28 August 2000Stockport CountyA0 - 06,13716th9 September 2000Bolton WanderersH2 - 3Smith , Dyson 12,24821st12 September 2000WimbledonH0 - 27,59223rd16 September 2000GillinghamA1 - 2Gallen 8,50324th23 September 2000BurnleyH0 - 114,01624th30 September 2000Norwich CityA1 - 1Gallen 14,49922nd6 October 2000BarnsleyH1 - 1Smith 13,55622nd14 October 2000Grimsby TownA0 - 14,91123rd17 October 2000Sheffield UnitedA0 - 314,06223rd21 October 2000Preston North EndH0 - 013,16123rd24 October 2000Crewe AlexandraA0 - 15,21524th28 October 2000Blackburn RoversH0 - 112,28724th4 November 2000FulhamA0 - 313,10824th11 November 2000West Bromwich AlbionH0 - 211,80124th18 November 2000Queens Park RangersA1 - 1Gallen 11,54324th25 November 2000Birmingham CityA1 - 2Armstrong 22,12024th2 December 2000Crewe AlexandraH3 - 1Baldry , Smith , Gallen 10,60324th9 December 2000Wolverhampton WanderersH3 - 0Ndlovu [49, 90], Facey 11,50624th13 December 2000Nottingham ForestA3 - 1Ndlovu , Gallen [61, 65]28,37223rd16 December 2000PortsmouthA1 - 1Dyson 12,04124th23 December 2000WatfordA2 - 1Ndlovu , Facey 13,37123rd26 December 2000Tranmere RoversH3 - 0Facey , Dyson , Gallen 12,39719th30 December 2000Sheffield WednesdayH0 - 018,93119th13 January 2001Stockport CountyH0 - 010,98819th3 February 2001Nottingham ForestH1 - 1Facey 13,83821st10 February 2001Bolton WanderersA2 - 2Smith , Gallen 14,86621st17 February 2001GillinghamH2 - 3Armstrong , Smith [45 (pen)]10,57623rd24 February 2001BurnleyA0 - 116,19123rd27 February 2001Tranmere RoversA0 - 210,62124th3 March 2001Norwich CityH2 - 0Armstrong , Facey 11,12223rd6 March 2001Grimsby TownH0 - 09,49422nd10 March 2001BarnsleyA1 - 3Morris 15,29023rd17 March 2001Sheffield UnitedH2 - 1Smith , Facey 13,91822nd31 March 2001PortsmouthH4 - 1Booth , Facey , Gorré [89 (pen)], Baldry 13,19922nd3 April 2001Crystal PalaceA0 - 015,32422nd7 April 2001Wolverhampton WanderersA1 - 0Facey 19,42321st10 April 2001Preston North EndA0 - 015,18519th14 April 2001FulhamH1 - 2Facey 15,88221st16 April 2001Blackburn RoversA0 - 229,42621st21 April 2001Queens Park RangersH2 - 1Gorré , Facey 12,84620th28 April 2001West Bromwich AlbionA1 - 1Booth 17,54220th1 May 2001WimbledonA1 - 1Gallen 4,95620th6 May 2001Birmingham CityH1 - 2Booth 19,29022nd
FA Cup DateRoundOpponentsHome/AwayResultF - AScorersAttendance6 January 2001Round 3Bristol CityH0 - 29,192
Worthington Cup DateRoundOpponentsHome/AwayResultF - AScorersAttendance22 August 2000Round 1 1st LegOldham AthleticA0 - 14,2555 September 2000Round 1 2nd LegOldham AthleticH0 - 24,979 Huddersfield lose 3–0 on aggregate
Appearances and goals Squad No.NameNationalityPositionLeagueFA CupLeague CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals1Nico VaesenGK45010204802Steve JenkinsDF30000003003Jamie VincentDF14 (2)0102017 (2)04Craig ArmstrongMF44310104635Chris LuckettiDF40100204216Ken MonkouDF200000207Ben ThornleyMF29 (7)0102032 (7)08Kenny IronsMF18 (15)0001019 (15)09Martin SmithFW27 (3)8001028 (3)810Dean GorréMF23 (11)20 (1)01024 (12)211Clyde WijnhardFW4000105012Kevin GrayDF13 (4)0100014 (4)013Martyn MargetsonGK1 (1)000001 (1)014Jim BrennanMF0 (2)000000 (2)014Scott SellarsMF6 (8)00 (1)00 (1)06 (10)015Kevin KyleFW0 (4)000000 (4)015Peter NdlovuMF6400006415Lee MorrisFW5100005116Delroy FaceyFW22 (12)10101 (1)024 (13)1017Simon BaldryMF26 (9)2100 (2)027 (11)218Chris HayFW0 (4)000202 (4)019David BeresfordMF0 (2)000101 (2)020Thomas HearyDF25 (3)0102028 (3)021Jon DysonDF25 (5)3101027 (5)322Chris BeechMF100001011023Chris HollandMF290101031024Danny SchofieldMF0 (1)000000 (1)025Kevin GallenFW30 (8)10100031 (8)1026Rob KozlukDF140000014026Adie MosesDF10 (2)0000010 (2)032Andy BoothFW8300008334Michael SeniorMF0 (4)000000 (4)0
References