Huddersfield Town A.F.C. Reserves and Academy
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| Full name | Huddersfield Town F.C. B Team and Academy | |||
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| Founded | 1908 | |||
| Ground | Canalside Training Centre, Huddersfield | |||
| President | Sir Patrick Stewart | |||
| Manager | B Team: Michael Tonge U18: Oliver Jeffries | |||
| League | B Team: Central League U18: EFL Youth Alliance North Division | |||
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The Huddersfield Town B Team is the reserve team of League One football club Huddersfield Town. They play competitive football in the Central League and the Premier League Cup.
The Huddersfield Town Academy represent the club at youth level, the most senior team being the Under 18s who play in the EFL Youth Alliance North Division. Their biggest achievement is reaching the FA Youth Cup final in the 1973–74 season, losing 2–1 on aggregate to Tottenham Hotspur.
Home games for all sides are played at the club's training ground, Canalside, with the exception of some higher profile cup games which take place at the first team's John Smith's Stadium.
B Team
[edit]The club first entered a reserve team into a competition in the 1910–11 season, taking the first team's place in the Midland Football League upon their election to the Football League. They later played one season in the Yorkshire Combination, before joining the Central League in 1913–14, a competition they have won four times.[1]
History
[edit]Reserve team years
[edit]The Huddersfield Town reserves competed in The Central League Division One East until the 2009–10 season when 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 teams 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".[2]
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)
[edit]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."[3]
When Lee Clark left as manager of the first team on 15 February 2012, his coaching staff (including Watson) also left the club.[4] 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.[5]
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.[6]
Professional Development League (2012–2020)
[edit]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, and Town will be one of 12 clubs in the Category 2 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.[7]
In the 2019–20 season, a Huddersfield team entered a small league (under-21 plus three overage) along with Brentford and four Scottish clubs.[8]
B Team (2020–present)
[edit]In 2020 the club launched its B Team[9], effectively replacing the under-21 and under-23 age-level teams, and re-entered the Central League whilst continuing to take part in the Premier League Cup competition.
Current squad
[edit]- As of 5 November 2024[10]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
[edit]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Honours
[edit]- The Central League Champions: 4
- 1914–15, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1930–31
- U21 Professional Development League 2 North, 1st Place:
Academy
[edit]The role of the Huddersfield Town Academy is to develop players and their abilities to their full potential for the club's first team.[11] 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 current Academy Manager is former academy graduate Jon Worthington, with the under-18 team coached by Oliver Jeffries.
History
[edit]Future
[edit]After the arrival of chairman Dean Hoyle in the summer of 2009, there was an overall development in 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.[12]
The 2024-25 season saw the return of the academy to Category Three status, seeing the reinstation of teams below the under-19 level.[13]
Current academy squad
[edit]- As of 5 November 2024[14]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Current academy staff
[edit]| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| President | Sir Patrick Stewart |
| Academy Manager | Jonathan Worthington |
| Strategic Advisor | David Wetherall |
| Head of Coaching | George Danaher |
| B Team Coach | Michael Tonge |
| Professional Development Phase Lead Coach | Oliver Jeffries |
| Youth Development Lead Coach | Oran Thompson |
| Foundation Phase Lead Coach | Josh Waddingham |
| Under-16s Coach | Paul Quinn |
| Academy Goalkeeping Coach Neil | Neil Bennett |
Last updated: 5 Nov 2024
Source: New Hires Complete Town Academy Coaching Structure
Recent academy graduates
[edit]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.
Information in the above table is correct as of 5 May 2022
References
[edit]- ^ "Football Club History Database - Huddersfield Town reserves". Retrieved 5 November 2024.
- ^ "Reserves withdraw from Totesport.com League". htafc.com. 31 May 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
- ^ "Development Game Played In Donny". htafc.com. 6 September 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
- ^ "Lee Clark - A Club Statement". htafc.com. 15 February 2012. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- ^ "Eyre Appointed Development Coach". htafc.com. 12 April 2012. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- ^ "Open Development Game Today". htafc.com. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
- ^ "Huddersfield Town keen to play new Under 21 League games at the John Smith's Stadium". 14 August 2012.
- ^ Celtic and Rangers join new cross-border reserve competition along with Aberdeen and Hibs, Daily Record, 16 September 2019
- ^ "Huddersfield Town B team boss spells out club's long-term youth strategy". 14 December 2022.
- ^ "B Team - Huddersfield Town FC". Huddersfield Town A.F.C. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
- ^ "HTFC Academy - Our Ethos". htafcacademy.com. Archived from the original on 30 January 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
- ^ "HTFC Academy - history". Archived from the original on 30 January 2011.
- ^ "New Hires Complete Town Academy Coaching Structure". Huddersfield Town A.F.C. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
- ^ "Under 18s - Huddersfield Town FC". Huddersfield Town A.F.C. Retrieved 5 November 2024.