Huddersfield Town's 1998–99 campaign was Town's full season with Peter Jackson at the helm. At the end of the season, Town finished a respectable 10th place, but within a day of the end of the season, owner Barry Rubery sacked Peter Jackson to the shock of just about every Huddersfield Town fan.
Squad at the start of the season
Review Among the summer transfers brought in by manager Peter Jackson was Belgian goalkeeper Nico Vaesen, who was sent off on his debut after just 9 minutes against Bury, but after that made some exceptional performances in the Town net, which helped Town reach top spot in September and October. During that time, Town played Sunderland, which at the time saw a record 20,241 at a match at the McAlpine Stadium. (That would be eclipsed by the 21,629 that saw Town play Derby County in the FA Cup fifth round in February.)
Jackson recruited winger Ben Thornley (a popular loan signing under Horton) from Manchester United and in September, they beat Tranmere Rovers to top the early Division 1 table, thanks chiefly to the goalscoring prowess of Stewart and Allison.
Even though Town were top of the table, their away form was very mediocre at best. This was probably proven by their 7–1 loss to Barnsley in November (They were 6–0 down at half-time) Town did however have a good run in the FA Cup which culminated in a 5th-round match against Premier League side Derby County. They eventually lost 3–1 in the replay at Pride Park.
The team attracted the attention of local businessman Barry Rubery and, after protracted takeover talks, he took over the running of the club promising significant investment as the club sought Premiership status. The takeover rumours had a negative effect on the side and they fell away from the promotion race despite Jackson investing in the likes of Craig Armstrong and Jamie Vincent. A play-off place eventually faded following a horrible end to the season, which saw them win only one of their last 11 matches, although that was a 3–2 win against local rivals Bradford City at Valley Parade.
Jackson was hoping to mount a promotion challenge the following season, but he was suddenly sacked after the end of the season and replaced by former Manchester United captain Steve Bruce, whose first season in management with Sheffield United had brought little success. Jackson declined the role of academy director.
Squad at the end of the season
Results Division One DateOpponentsHome/AwayResultF - AScorersAttendancePosition8 August 1998BuryA0 - 17,65921st15 August 1998Port ValeH2 - 1Dalton , Stewart 9,93011th22 August 1998Grimsby TownA0 - 16,97414th29 August 1998PortsmouthH3 - 3Stewart [45, 84], Allison 10,08513th31 August 1998Bristol CityA2 - 1Horne , Stewart 11,80110th5 September 1998Sheffield UnitedH1 - 0Allison 12,1926th8 September 1998WatfordH2 - 0Stewart , Allison 9,8115th11 September 1998Tranmere RoversA3 - 2Stewart , Allison [45, 69]5,7701st19 September 1998Wolverhampton WanderersH2 - 1Dalton , Thornley 13,8541st26 September 1998Bolton WanderersA0 - 320,9712nd29 September 1998Stockport CountyA1 - 1Allison 8,0232nd3 October 1998Oxford UnitedH2 - 0Dalton , Stewart 10,9681st9 October 1998Swindon TownA0 - 38,3161st17 October 1998Queens Park RangersH2 - 0Edwards , Thornley 11,2761st21 October 1998SunderlandH1 - 1Stewart 20,2411st24 October 1998Norwich CityA1 - 4Beresford 15,4032nd31 October 1998Birmingham CityA1 - 1Stewart 14,4683rd7 November 1998Ipswich TownH2 - 2Edwards , Allison 14,2405th14 November 1998West Bromwich AlbionA1 - 3Beresford 13,6269th21 November 1998Bradford CityH2 - 1Barnes , Johnson 18,1736th27 November 1998BarnsleyA1 - 7Facey 16,6487th5 December 1998Crystal PalaceH4 - 0Stewart [15, 24, 81], Facey 10,4536th12 December 1998West Bromwich AlbionH0 - 311,9478th19 December 1998Crewe AlexandraA2 - 1Stewart [13, 48]5,1028th26 December 1998Grimsby TownH2 - 0Stewart , Beech 16,1866th28 December 1998Sheffield UnitedA1 - 2Stewart [67 (pen)]17,3597th9 January 1999BuryH2 - 2Allison , Johnson 10,7888th16 January 1999PortsmouthA0 - 110,33410th30 January 1999Bristol CityH2 - 2Phillips , Johnson 13,93410th6 February 1999Port ValeA0 - 26,49911th16 February 1999WatfordA1 - 1Beech 10,30311th20 February 1999Tranmere RoversH0 - 011,41112th27 February 1999Wolverhampton WanderersA2 - 2Gray , Hamilton 21,77812th2 March 1999Bolton WanderersH3 - 2Stewart , Johnson , Armstrong 13,8678th6 March 1999Stockport CountyH3 - 0Stewart [64 (pen), 68], Jenkins 11,9148th9 March 1999Oxford UnitedA2 - 2Thornley , Stewart [86 (pen)]6,0347th13 March 1999Ipswich TownA0 - 317,17010th20 March 1999Birmingham CityH1 - 1Facey 14,6679th24 March 1999Norwich CityH1 - 1Hughes [83 (og)]9,7178th3 April 1999Queens Park RangersA1 - 1Lawson 11,1139th5 April 1999Swindon TownH1 - 2Lawson 11,7199th10 April 1999SunderlandA0 - 241,07410th17 April 1999Bradford CityA3 - 2Stewart , Allison , Thornley 15,1249th24 April 1999BarnsleyH0 - 115,35310th1 May 1999Crystal PalaceA2 - 2Dyson , Stewart [40 (pen)]17,28210th9 May 1999Crewe AlexandraH0 - 015,10510th
FA Cup DateRoundOpponentsHome/AwayResultF - AScorersAttendance2 January 1999Round 3Queens Park RangersA1 - 0Allison 11,68523 January 1999Round 4WrexhamA1 - 1Allison 8,7143 February 1999Round 4 replayWrexhamH2 - 1Stewart , Thornley 15,42713 February 1999Round 5Derby CountyH2 - 2Beech , Stewart 21,62924 February 1999Round 5 replayDerby CountyA1 - 3Beech 28,704
League Cup DateRoundOpponentsHome/AwayResultF - AScorersAttendance11 August 1998Round 1 1st LegMansfield TownH3 - 2Johnson , Allison , Dalton [81 (pen)]3,98818 August 1998Round 1 2nd LegMansfield TownA1 - 1Stewart 2,936 Huddersfield won 4–3 on aggregate15 September 1998Round 2 1st LegEvertonH1 - 1Allison 15,39523 September 1998Round 2 2nd LegEvertonA1 - 2Stewart 18,718 Huddersfield lost 3–2 on aggregate
Appearances and goals NameNationalityPositionLeagueFA CupLeague CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsWayne AllisonFW44942325113Craig ArmstrongMF1310000131Simon BaldryMF8 (5)01 (1)0009 (6)0Paul BarnesFW2 (13)11 (1)00 (3)03 (17)1Chris BeechMF13 (4)2220015 (4)4David BeresfordMF13 (6)21 (1)00 (2)014 (9)2Marcus BrowningMF2 (4)0001 (2)03 (6)0Sam CollinsDF22 (1)0304029 (1)0Tom CowanDF50200070Paul DaltonMF7 (2)3003 (1)110 (3)4Jon DysonDF10 (4)1200012 (4)1Darren EdmondsonDF1 (2)02 (1)0003 (3)0Rob EdwardsMF4525040542Delroy FaceyFW5 (15)30 (2)0005 (17)3Steve FrancisGK30000030Kevin GrayDF28 (6)1502 (1)035 (7)1Des HamiltonMF1010000101Thomas HearyDF30000030Sean HesseyDF7 (3)010008 (3)0Barry HorneMF2010040241Mark JacksonDF50000050Steve JenkinsDF3613040431Grant JohnsonMF3645041455Ian LawsonFW2 (4)200002 (4)2Dwayne MattisMF0 (2)000000 (2)0Andy MorrisonDF1200030150David PhillipsMF15 (8)1500020 (8)1Lee RichardsonMF13 (2)0000013 (2)0Danny SchofieldMF10000010Marcus StewartFW432252425226Ben ThornleyMF32 (3)4314039 (3)5Nico VaesenGK4305040520Jamie VincentDF70000070
References