Huddersfield Town A.F.C. Reserves and Academy

The Huddersfield Town Development Squad are the reserve team of the Premiership club Huddersfield Town. They play competitively as the Huddersfield Town Under 21s in the Professional Development League 2 Northern Division, of which they finished 1st in the 2013-14 season, but then proceeded to lose the nationwide play-off semi-final against Queens Park Rangers.

Huddersfield Town Development Squad and Academy

Full name	Huddersfield Town F.C. Development Squad and Academy
Founded	1908
Ground	Canalside Sports Complex, Huddersfield
President	Sir Patrick Stewart
Manager	Dev Squad: Frankie Bunn Academy: Steve Weaver
League	U21: U21 Professional Development League 2 North Division U18: U18 Professional Development League 2 North Division
2013–14	U21: U21 Professional Development League 2 North Division, 1st (lost in play-offs) U18: U18 Professional Development League 2 North Division, 1st (champions)
Home colours Away colours

Huddersfield Town are represented at Under 18 level by the Huddersfield Town Academy. The Academy compete in the U18 Professional Development League 2 North Division, of which they finished 1st in the 2013-14 season, and subsequently won the nationwide play-off final against Crewe Alexandra, becoming champions of the 2013–14 U18 Professional Development League 2. They also reached the quarter finals of last season's FA Youth Cup, losing 2-1 at eventual runners-up Fulham.

Home games for both sides are played at the club's training ground, Canalside, with the exception of some Development Squad fixtures, and FA Youth Cup games, which are played at the first team's John Smith's Stadium.

Development Squad

Huddersfield Town Football Club Under-21s also known as the Huddersfield Town Development Squad is the most senior level of Huddersfield Town’s youth development and the club's former reserve team. They play in League 2 North of the Professional Development League. The team is effectively Huddersfield Town’s second-string side, but is limited to three outfield players and one goalkeeper over the age of 21 per game following the introduction of new regulations from the 2012–13 season. They were four times Central League Champions as the Reserve Team but withdrew form formal reserve team competition 2009-10 season, and have been replaced by the Huddersfield Town Development Squad, playing a number of arranged friendlies during the season until 2012-13 season.

History

Reserve Team Years

The Huddersfield Town reserves competed in The Central League Division One East until the 2009-10 season when the Huddersfield Town manager Lee Clark chose not to enter a reserve team in the Central League during the 2010-11 season, instead planning a series of high quality friendlies. Clark stated that "the idea of reserve team football is to bridge the gap between youth team and first team football" and that "[we] have faced a lot of very young sides in the reserve league this season and that will not provide our own young professionals with the test they need".[1]

Whilst playing at reserve league level, the reserves split their home games between A.F.C. Emley's Welfare Ground and the Galpharm Stadium.

First team coach Paul Stephenson was the last serving reserve team manager.

Development Squad (2009-2012)

Lee Clark saw through his idea to discontinue the reserve team, and subsequently created the club's Development Squad, to be managed by Development Coach Steve Watson. Following a behind closed doors game at Doncaster Rovers, Watson described the team's games as "working very well", "from both perspectives - fitness for our first team squad members and as a way of integrating the younger players into a higher level of football."[2]

When Lee Clark left as manager of the first team on 15 February 2012, his coaching staff (including Watson) also left the club.[3] On 12 April 2012, the club appointed former Manchester City Elite Development Squad leader and Rochdale first team manager Steve Eyre as the club's Senior Professional Development Coach.[4]

Most fixtures have so far been played at the club's training ground, Canalside, but occasionally the Galpharm Stadium has been used to host Development Squad games that are open to the public.[5]

Professional Development League (2012-present)

From the 2012-13 season Huddersfield's development squad will compete in the newly formed Under 21 Professional Development League in the League 2 North Division, the league was set up as part of the wide-reaching Elite Player Performance Plan, Town will be one of 12 clubs in the Category Two Northern section along with Crewe Alexandra, Barnsley, Birmingham City, Coventry City, Derby County, Leeds United, Leicester City, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday and Wigan Athletic. The fixtures are set up to mirror those in the FA Premier Academy League for Under 18s.[6]

In the 2019–20 season, a Huddersfield team entered a small league (under-21 plus three overage) along with Brentford and four Scottish clubs.[7]

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 45 DF  ENG Demeaco Duhaney

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  IDN Young Lex (at Port Vale)

Honours

• The Central League Champions: 4
  • 1914-15, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1930–31
• U21 Professional Development League 2 North, 1st Place:
  • 2013–14

Academy

The role of the Huddersfield Town Academy is to develop players and their abilities to their full potential for the club's first team.[8] The Academy has produced a number of players including former England under-21 players Andy Booth and Jon Stead, former Irish Under 21 internationals Michael Collins and James Berrett as well as Nathan Clarke who made 300 appearances for the first team. The Academy is currently managed by former Sheffield Wednesday & Sheffield United player Leigh Bromby.

History

Future

After the arrival of current Chairman Dean Hoyle in the summer of 2009, an overall development of every aspect of Huddersfield Town including the Academy. The main development taking place with regards to the Academy is the current redevelopment of the Club's new training complex, Canalside. The project will conclude with the Academy players training alongside their first team counterparts for the first time at a high quality, purpose-built facility.[9]

Current Academy Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 GK  ENG Scott Moloney — GK  ENG Luke Mewitt — DF  ENG Jordan Eli — DF  ENG Sam Gibson — DF  IRL Mason O'Malley — DF  SCO Cameron Taylor — DF  ENG Jordan Thomas — DF  ENG Oran Thompson — MF  ENG Scott High

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ENG Ben Jackson — MF  ENG Isaac Marriott — MF  ENG Saul Milovanovic — MF  ENG Dom Tear — MF  ENG Dahomey Raymond 41 MF  ENG Matty Daly — FW  ENG Ben Mills — FW  ENG Micah Obiero

[10]

• U18 Professional Development League 2 Champions:
  • 2013–14

Current Academy Staff

Position	Staff
President	Sir Patrick Stewart
Academy Manager	Steve Weaver
Development Coach	Frankie Bunn
U18s Manager	Leigh Bromby
Head of Academy Coaching	Tony Carss
Academy Head of Recruitment	Steve Smith
Academy Goalkeeper Coach	Nick Colgan
Education & Welfare Officer	Karen Crosland
Academy Head of Sports Science and Medicine	Steve Redmond
Academy Physio	Jon Worthington

Last updated: 30 May 2017
Source: Who's Who

Recent academy graduates

Academy graduates who still play for Huddersfield, including those that are currently out on loan to other clubs, are highlighted in green.

Appearances and goals are those in competitive fixtures for Huddersfield Town.

Player	Current Club	Born	International Honours	Debut	Apps	Goals	Manager
Scott High	Huddersfield Town	Sheffield		Age 19 v Millwall (a), 22 July 2020	1	0	Danny Schofield
Micah Obiero	Huddersfield Town	London		Age 19 v Millwall (a), 22 July 2020	1	0
Kian Harratt	Huddersfield Town	Barnsley		Age 17 v Leeds United (h), 07 December 2019	1	0	Danny Cowley
Rarmani Edmonds-Green	Huddersfield Town	London		Age 19 v Lincoln City (h), 13 August 2019	2	0	Jan Siewert
Ryan Schofield	Huddersfield Town	Huddersfield	England U-20	Age 19 v Lincoln City (h), 13 August 2019	2	0
Lewis O'Brien	Huddersfield Town	Colchester		Age 20 v QPR (a), 10 August 2019	39	2
Matty Daly	Huddersfield Town	Stockport	England U-18	Age 18 v Watford (h), 20 April 2019	6	1
Aaron Rowe	Huddersfield Town	London		Age 18 v Bournemouth (h), 09 March 2019	3	0
Jordan Williams	Barnsley	Huddersfield	England U-18	Age 17 v Rotherham United (h), 23 August 2017	1	0	David Wagner
Lloyd Allinson	Gainsborough Trinity	Rothwell		Age 22 v Brentford (h), 7 May 2016	1	0
Flo Bojaj	Etar	London	Albania U-17	Age 19 v MK Dons (h), 20 October 2015	7	1	Chris Powell
Joe Wilkinson	Ossett Albion	Dewsbury		Age 19 v Blackburn Rovers (h), 25 April 2015	1	0
Jake Charles	Stafford Rangers	Leeds	Wales U-21	Age 19 v Fulham (h), 21 March 2015	1	0
Will Boyle	Cheltenham Town	Leeds		Age 19 v Reading (h), 24 February 2015	2	0
Matt Crooks	Rotherham United	Leeds		Age 20 v A.F.C. Bournemouth (h), 9 August 2014	1	0	Mark Robins
Philip Billing	Bournemouth	Copenhagen	Denmark U-21	Age 17 v Leicester City (h), 26 April 2014	91	6
Duane Holmes	Derby County	Columbus, Georgia		Age 18 v Hull City (a), 24 September 2013	26	1
Jordan Sinnott	Deceased	Bradford		Age 18 v Leicester City (h), 26 January 2013	5	0	Mark Lillis
Jimmy Spencer	Farsley Celtic	Leeds		Age 20 v Preston North End (a), 13 August 2012	2	0	Simon Grayson
Aidan Chippendale	Shaw Lane	Bradford		Age 18 v Bristol Rovers (a), 12 March 2011	1	0	Lee Clark
Jack Hunt	Bristol City	Rothwell		Age 20 v Colchester United (h), 23 January 2011	121	4
Chris Atkinson	Farsley Celtic	Halifax		Age 18 v Macclesfield Town (h), 27 November 2010	13	1
Liam Ridehalgh	Tranmere Rovers	Halifax		Age 19 v Charlton Athletic (h), 28 August 2010	26	0
Simon Eastwood	Oxford United	Luton	England U-19	Age 19 v Leyton Orient (a), 2 May 2009	1	0
Alex Smithies	Cardiff City	Huddersfield	England U-19	Age 17 v Southend United (a), 5 December 2007	274	0	Andy Ritchie
Daniel Broadbent	Mossley	Leeds	England U-16	Age 17 v Tranmere Rovers (a), 26 October 2007	6	0
Shane Killock	Bradford Park Avenue	Huddersfield		Age 18 v Crewe Alexandra (a), 7 September 2007	1	0
Lucas Akins	Burton Albion	Huddersfield		Age 18 v Northampton Town (a), 27 April 2007	6	0
James Berrett	Halifax Town	Halifax	Rep. Ireland U-21	Age 18 v Oldham Athletic (a), 7 April 2007	41	2	Gerry Murphy
Danny Racchi	Free Agent	Elland		Age 19 v Port Vale (h), 31 March 2007	6	0
Joe Skarz	Kettering Town	Huddersfield		Age 17 v Scunthorpe United (h), 4 November 2006	81	1	Peter Jackson
James Hand	Kingscourt Harps	Drogheda	Rep. Ireland U-21	Age 18 v Boston United (a), 19 October 2005	2	0
Aaron Hardy	Farsley	South Elmsall		Age 19 v Boston United (a), 19 October 2005	19	0
Matty Young	Frickley Athletic	Leeds		Age 19 v Walsall (h), 15 October 2005	42	2
Michael Collins	Alfreton Town	Halifax	Rep. Ireland U-21	Age 18 v Blackpool (h), 19 February 2005	197	22
Tom Clarke	Salford City	Halifax	England U-19	Age 17 v MK Dons (a), 12 February 2005	112	3
John McAliskey	Huddersfield YMCA	Huddersfield	Rep. Ireland U-21	Age 19 v Macclesfield Town (h), 13 March 2004	48	8
Anthony Lloyd	Retired	Taunton		Age 19 v Leyton Orient (h), 27 September 2003	51	3
Adnan Ahmed	Retired	Burnley	Pakistan	Age 19 v Rochdale (a), 16 September 2003	45	2
Andy Holdsworth	Barnsley (Academy Coach)	Pontefract		Age 19 v Bristol Rovers (h), 30 August 2003	261	8
John McCombe	Chester	Pontefract		Age 17 v Oldham Athletic (h), 3 May 2003	20	0	Mel Machin
David Mirfin	Mansfield Town	Sheffield		Age 18 v Oldham Athletic (h), 3 May 2003	179	12
Phil Senior	Retired	Huddersfield		Age 20 v Crewe Alexandra (a), 18 January 2003	57	0	Mick Wadsworth
Nat Brown	Brighouse Town	Sheffield		Age 21 v Northampton Town (a), 14 September 2002	84	0
Paul Scott	Retired	Wakefield		Age 22 v Peterborough United (a), 17 August 2002	37	2
Jon Worthington	Huddersfield Town (Academy Physio)	Dewsbury		Age 19 v Plymouth Argyle (a), 13 August 2002	237	14
Jon Stead	Notts County	Huddersfield	England U21	Age 19 v Brentford (h), 10 August 2002	100	27
Nathan Clarke	Halifax Town	Halifax		Age 18 v Stoke City (a), 8 September 2001	299	10	Lou Macari
Michael Senior	Retired	Huddersfield		Age 18 v Notts County (h), 14 September 1999	4	0	Steve Bruce
Dwayne Mattis	Newsome (Manager)	Huddersfield	Rep. Ireland U-21	Age 17 v Crystal Palace (a), 1 May 1999	81	3	Peter Jackson
Michael Midwood	Retired	Huddersfield		Age 21 v Oxford United (a), 9 August 1997	1	0	Brian Horton
Delroy Facey	Retired	Huddersfield	Grenada	Age 16 v Portsmouth (h), 15 March 1997	86	15

Information in the above table is correct as of 11 February 2018

References

1. "Reserves withdraw from Totesport.com League". htafc.com. 2010-05-31. Retrieved 2011-07-16.
2. "Development Game Played In Donny". htafc.com. 2011-09-06. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
3. "Lee Clark - A Club Statement". htafc.com. 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2012-04-12.
4. "Eyre Appointed Development Coach". htafc.com. 2012-04-12. Archived from the original on 2012-04-14. Retrieved 2012-04-12.
5. "Open Development Game Today". htafc.com. 2011-08-31. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
6. http://www.examiner.co.uk/huddersfield-town-fc/huddersfield-town-news/2012/08/15/86081-31624519/?
7. Celtic and Rangers join new cross-border reserve competition along with Aberdeen and Hibs, Daily Record, 16 September 2019
8. "HTFC Academy - Our Ethos". htafcacademy.com. Archived from the original on 2011-01-30. Retrieved 2011-07-16.
9. http://www.htafcacademy.com/history.php?id=future
10. "2014/15 Academy Scholars Confirmed". htafc.com. 2014-04-30. Retrieved 2014-06-28.