Huddersfield Town's 2007–08 campaign saw The Terriers fail to make any progress for a second successive season in Football League One. Andy Ritchie lost his job on April Fool's Day following a 4–1 defeat at local rivals Oldham Athletic. He was replaced by Stan Ternent for the new season.
The other big story was the handover of chairmanship from Ken Davy to local businessman Dean Hoyle. He would become the chairman after the centenary season.
Squad at the start of the season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Manager Andy Ritchie departed on 1 April, by 'mutual consent', following the embarrassing 4–1 defeat at rivals Oldham Athletic on 29 March. Academy director Gerry Murphy was put in caretaker charge.[2] First-team coach John Dungworth was the next to go, on 3 April, also announced as by 'mutual consent'.[3]Derby County assistant manager Stan Ternent was appointed as manager at the Galpharm Stadium, on 24 April, with his assistant being ex-Town player Ronnie Jepson. However, Murphy remained in charge of the team for the rest of the season and Ternent will take control of the team at the start of next season. It was announced, on 10 April, that Ken Davy was to step down as chairman after completing a deal with local businessman Dean Hoyle, who will take over at the start of the 2009–10 season. Hoyle joined the board immediately.[4]
On 1 August 2007, Huddersfield won a prestigious pre-season friendly, at home to Premier League side Blackburn Rovers, 2–1 with two Luke Beckett strikes. After a promising start which saw them lying 4th at the start of September, Huddersfield had slumped to 17th by 27 October with five consecutive away defeats, where they failed to score. The team's form continued to be inconsistent, though they had eased up to 13th by the end of 2007, helped by the occasional excellent result notably the 1–0 win at Swansea City on 16 November. From then until the middle of April the team were stuck in the narrow range of 13th–15th. The 2–1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion, on 18 March, was watched by just 6,004 spectators, the lowest ever league crowd at the Galpharm Stadium for a league match.[5] However, following Ritchie's departure, Town regained composure and finished with four consecutive victories including beating local rivals Leeds United 1–0, at the Galpharm, on 15 April. The attendance for that match was 16,413, the highest for a league match for nearly 4 years, apart from the play-off semi-finals. Huddersfield finished the season in 10th place in League One. Although they were 10 points short of a play-off place, at no stage of the season did they look like serious promotion contenders.
Huddersfield had an offer for Barnsley defender Robbie Williams accepted, with personal terms agreed on 13 July, but the following day during his medical, it was revealed that he had a hairline fracture in his shin, with the deal virtually collapsed, but after being given time to recover he finally signed for the Terriers on 24 August for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal. Manager Andy Ritchie had previously been unsuccessful in attempts to sign strikersIan Moore, Jo Kuffour & Jason Scotland.
Town won six of their seven pre-season friendlies including on 1 August 2007 a win 2–1 at home to Premier League side Blackburn Rovers with two Luke Beckett strikes. Recently departed Taylor-Fletcher and Rachubka were given an early chance to face their former club when Town were drawn away to Blackpool in the first round of the Carling Cup; the game finished 1–0 to the Seasiders thanks to a Ben Burgess goal.
Huddersfield beat Accrington Stanley on 10 November, in the first round of the FA Cup. They came back from 2–0 down thus avoiding their fate of four years previously when they lost 1–0, also in a first round tie away at Accrington.
Akins's loan was extended by another month on 20 December. Then on Christmas Eve, Jevons's loan was extended until 19 January 2008.[7] However, on 10 January Jevons was signed for £100,000, that could double to £200,000 depending on appearances and whether Town win promotion, on a deal that takes him until summer 2010.[8] Ronnie Wallwork returned to West Bromwich Albion on 29 December after the 93-day loan limit expired. On 11 January 2008 it was announced that Wallwork had signed for Sheffield Wednesday, on a free transfer, to the end of the season with a view to a permanent deal.[9][10]
On 28 February, long-serving midfielderDanny Schofield requested that he could leave the club at the end of the season for a new challenge. His name has been circulated to other clubs by manager Andy Ritchie.
On 2 March, Huddersfield won 2 prizes at the 3rd Football League Awards. The club won "Best League One Family Club" for their "Fans of the Future" initiative and Town youngster Daniel Broadbent celebrated his 18th birthday by winning the "League One Apprentice" award, an award won by Joe Skarz twelve months earlier.
On 1 April, three days after a humiliating 4–1 defeat at Oldham Athletic that dashed any lingering play-off hopes, it was announced that manager Andy Ritchie had left the club by mutual consent.[2] First-team coach John Dungworth was the next to go, on 3 April, also announced as by 'mutual consent'.[3] Chairman Ken Davy cited the fact that results had been far too inconsistent and that the club had not moved forward as had been expected. Ritchie had been in charge for slightly less than a year. Davy also stated that the club hoped to appoint a new manager before the end of the season. Academy director Gerry Murphy was put in caretaker charge until a replacement is found. He has ruled himself out of the running for the job. Front-runners include ex-Brentford and Leicester City boss Martin Allen, ex-Town player Mark Lillis and ex-EnglandcaptainAlan Shearer.
Among Murphy's first acts was to give the Town captaincy to defenderRob Page, so that the previous captain Jon Worthington can focus on his game more. During his tenure as caretaker manager, Murphy led the Terriers to an impressive 1–0 win over local rivals Leeds United.
On 24 April, it was revealed that Town had asked for permission to speak to Derby County assistant manager Stan Ternent, which was granted by Adam Pearson. He took over at the Galpharm Stadium later that day. His assistant is ex-Town player Ronnie Jepson. Derby's own website even said that Chris Hutchings, another person possibly lined up to replace Ritchie would be reunited with Paul Jewell as Ternent's replacement. Ternent will take charge of his first league game at the start of next season.
Squad at the end of the season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Updated to match(es) played on 3 May 2008. Source: The Football League Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
