Huddersfield Town's 1985–86 campaign was another disappointing season for the Terriers, with the team struggling for consistency and survival in the Second Division, until the arrival of Scottish striker Duncan Shearer from Chelsea near the end of the season saw Town guarantee their status in 16th place.
Squad at the start of the season
Review Town had a good start to the season with Dale Tempest becoming the first and so far only Town player to score a hat-trick on the opening day of a league season in Town's 4–3 win over Millwall. He was top scorer with 12 goals, even though he was on loan at Gillingham in the latter part of the season, before moving to Lokeren in Belgium at the end of the season.
Between October and December, Town went on a run of 10 consecutive matches without a win, which saw Town hover dangerously above the relegation zone for most of the season. Following that they went on a run of only 1 defeat in 8 matches, followed by a run of 5 losses in 6, which forced manager Mick Buxton to bring in a new striker.
In came Chelsea striker Duncan Shearer, who scored a hat-trick on his full debut in Town's 3–1 win over Barnsley. That coupled with three other wins saw Town finish in 16th place, just 6 points and 3 places above the relegation zone.
Squad at the end of the season
Results Division Two DateOpponentsHome/AwayResultF–AScorersAttendancePosition17 August 1985MillwallH4–3Tempest (3, 1 pen), Webster6,6035th20 August 1985Grimsby TownA1–1Curran6,1803rd24 August 1985Oldham AthleticA1–1Cork6,0245th26 August 1985PortsmouthH1–2Tempest9,2988th31 August 1985Crystal PalaceA3–2Cork, Tempest, Webster6,0268th3 September 1985Blackburn RoversH0–09,0606th7 September 1985Bradford CityH2–0Cowling, Cork11,6674th14 September 1985Sheffield UnitedA1–1Cork13,8547th21 September 1985Norwich CityH0–07,2257th28 September 1985SunderlandA0–118,9799th5 October 1985Leeds UnitedH3–1Tempest, Stanton, Curran9,9837th12 October 1985Shrewsbury TownA0–33,9869th19 October 1985Hull CityA1–3Phil Wilson8,12811th26 October 1985Carlisle UnitedH3–3Tempest, Raynor, Cork5,01211th2 November 1985Stoke CityA0–37,29114th9 November 1985Charlton AthleticH0–25,20516th16 November 1985Brighton & Hove AlbionA3–4Tempest, Cowling (2)7,95216th23 November 1985FulhamH1–3Tempest4,65019th30 November 1985WimbledonA2–2Cork, Raynor2,80518th7 December 1985Grimsby TownH2–2Cowling (2)4,81120th14 December 1985MillwallA1–2Tempest3,64521st21 December 1985Oldham AthleticH2–0Cowling, Bray5,09421st26 December 1985BarnsleyH1–1Raynor10,57519th1 January 1986MiddlesbroughA1–0J. Jones8,48720th11 January 1986Sheffield UnitedH3–1Raynor (2), Tempest9,26818th18 January 1986Crystal PalaceH0–05,72917th1 February 1986PortsmouthA1–4Tempest10,93719th25 February 1986Hull CityH2–1Cork, Curran4,51816th1 March 1986SunderlandH2–0Curran (2)7,15014th8 March 1986Leeds UnitedA0–214,66718th12 March 1986Norwich CityA1–4Curran12,77218th15 March 1986Shrewsbury TownH1–0Curran4,51116th18 March 1986Carlisle UnitedA0–23,33416th22 March 1986Bradford CityA0–39,05818th29 March 1986MiddlesbroughH0–35,58518th31 March 1986BarnsleyA3–1Shearer (3)5,74615th5 April 1986Stoke CityH2–0Shearer (2)5,75015th12 April 1986Charlton AthleticA0–34,14317th15 April 1986Blackburn RoversA1–0Cork5,18315th19 April 1986Brighton & Hove AlbionH1–0Shearer5,46912th26 April 1986FulhamA1–2Shearer2,87716th3 May 1986WimbledonH0–16,08316th
FA Cup
DateRoundOpponentsHome/AwayResultF–AScorersAttendance4 January 1986Round 3ReadingH0–09,87513 January 1986Round 3 ReplayReadingA1–2Cowling8,726
League Cup
DateRoundOpponentsHome/AwayResultF–AScorersAttendance23 September 1985Round 2 1st LegShrewsbury TownA3–2J. Jones, Curran, Tempest2,2517 October 1985Round 2 2nd LegShrewsbury TownH0–24,966 Huddersfield lost 4–3 on aggregate.
Appearances and goals NameNationalityPositionLeagueFA CupLeague CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsIan BrayDF3212020361Malcolm BrownDF36 (1)0200038 (1)0Peter ButlerMF0 (1)000000 (1)0David CorkFW37 (1)80 (1)02039 (2)8David CowlingMF3962120437Brian CoxGK3702020410Terry CurranMF33 (1)7002135 (1)8Steve DoyleMF4202020460Joey JonesDF3812021422Paul JonesDF1400020160Keith MasonGK50000050Paul RaynorMF20 (10)5200022 (10)5Liam RobinsonFW0 (1)000000 (1)0Duncan ShearerFW7 (1)700007 (1)7Brian StantonMF7 (6)1200 (1)09 (7)1Dale TempestFW29 (1)12202133 (1)13Simon WebsterDF4122020452Paul WilsonDF70000070Phil WilsonMF3512020391Julian WinterMF3 (1)000003 (1)0
References