Huddersfield Town V PNE

The Terriers: As long as I can remember Huddersfield Town have been The Terriers. It seems a distinct part of the club’s culture and heritage. But where did this moniker come from?

The connection to Huddersfield lies with the ‘father’ of the Yorkshire terrier breed, Huddersfield Ben.



Although not the first Yorkshire terrier to exist, Huddersfield Ben is commonly referred to as the foundation sire of the breed and was born, in Huddersfield in 1865. But it wasn’t until the 1969/1970 season that Huddersfield Town took the nickname. Prior to this, most fans referred to the club as The Town, and  the club's mascots had included including a goat, a replica of Aladdin’s lamp, and a stuffed donkey.

After a Mr Bill Brook became the promotion officer, he decided the club could do with a rebrand and settled on the Yorkshire terrier as the ideal mascot and moniker.And so, in the 1969/1970 season, the team wore blue and white striped shirts with the famous red terrier badge and the The Terriers nickname was born. As part of Brook’s rebranding efforts, the club also adopted their first terrier mascot, which was an actual Yorkshire terrier called Skippy. This would set off a long line of terrier mascots at the club, The name and mascot were initially announced in the home programme for the game against Bolton Wanderers on 27th September, 1969­­­

Many fans at the time were against the identity change, preferring to simply keep the tradition of referring to the club as The Town. Nevertheless, the name stuck and since then the club has leaned into the terrier nickname, particularly through David Wagner’s managerial years, where the terrier identity was referenced constantly throughout promotion and the Premier League seasons.

Managerial changes. Following last season's controversial Play-Off Final defeat to Forest (being denied two good penalty shouts) Carlos Corberán left in July 2022, shortly before the start of 2022–23 Championship season. Former Town player Danny Schofield was appointed as the new head coach, but he was sacked 10 weeks later after a poor start to the new season, to be replaced by Hertha BSC assistant coach  Mark Fotheringham.



Schofield's nine league games yielded seven defeats, prompting the Terriers to terminate his contract with the club 23rd in the Championship table.

Players Although Lewis O'Brien and Harry Toffolo left for Forest in the off-season, the Terriers have recruited extensively with Michal Helik, Tyreece Simpson and Luke Mbete among the signings in the last transfer window.There has been a modest improvement in their home results under the new manager.

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Promises to be a truly dire match but North End should be well supported with over 2,000 fans there despite it being a midweek fixture. It's a architectural pleasing ground....but the parking and getting away are nightmares. My advice, get there early...plenty of places to eat and drink. Can't honestly say I'm looking forward to it after the last two showings.