Huddersfield Town 2015/16 season
League Position: 19th (2014/15: 17th)
Average league attendance: 12,630 (2014/15: 13,612)
Top league goalscorer: Nahki Wells (17)
Safety for David Wagner's side was never really in doubt last season despite The Terriers spending much of 2016 in the lower reaches of the Sky Bet Championship table, unable to string together a consistent run of results.
It was evolution rather than revolution in West Yorkshire last summer as seven players, including Martin Crainie [Barnsley], Emyr Hwys [Wigan Athletic], and Jamie Paterson [Nottingham Forest], came in with six going the other way, most notably Conor Coady, who joined Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Alex Smithies and Oscar Gobern, who both left for Queens Park Rangers.
Under Chris Powell, Town failed to win any of their first seven matches, including a 2-1 home defeat to League Two side Notts County in the Capital One Cup First Round. September and October were kinder to Terriers fans as they tasted defeat just once in six matches but another poor run of form saw Powell depart after a 2-2 draw at home to Reading. Wagner was brought in a week later and, after an initial two defeats, his brand of high-pressing football bore fruit as Town won five of their next nine games to pull away from the relegation zone.
January saw unattached midfielder Karim Matmour sign on a permanent deal with Jed Steer [Aston Villa], Rajiv Van La Parra [Wolverhampton Wanderers], and Elvis Manu [Brighton and Hove Albion] all joining on loan. Sondre Tronstad [Haugesund] was the only player to leave the John Smith's Stadium permanently this January although Murray Wallace [Scunthorpe United], William Boyle [York City], Joe Wilkinson [Bradford Park Avenue], and Jordy Hiwula [Walsall] all departed on loan.
Town continued to pick up enough points to keep them away from the relegation scrap, recording fine wins over Nottingham Forest, Reading, Leeds United, and Blackburn Rovers, but they couldn't turn those one-off performances into consistent runs of form. With safety already long-secured the year ended on a sour note for the Yorkshire side as they conceded nine goals in their final two games, a 4-0 defeat to Bristol City and a 5-1 loss to The Bees, to end the season in 19th place.
The Ground
The John Smith's Stadium Stadium Way Huddersfield HD1 6PX Click here for directions to The John Smith's Stadium
The Manager
David Wagner took over as Head Coach at Huddersfield Town in November, replacing Chris Powell. The 44-year-old previously worked under Jürgen Klopp at Borussia Dormund, alongside his assistant Christoph Bühler, where they were in charge of BVB’s second squad for four-and-a-half years.
Wagner played professionally as a striker in his native country Germany, lining up for Mainz 05 and Schalke 04 throughout the 1990s. He was part of the Schalke squad that won the 1996/97 UEFA Cup, scoring in the 5-2 First Round win over Roda JC. Eligible due to his American father, he earned eight caps for the United States at international level in the late 1990s.
The First Meeting
8 January 1921, FA Cup First Round - Brentford 1 Huddersfield Town 2 Brentford: Young, Hodson, Rosier, Elliot, Amos, Challinor, Cartmell, King, Boyne, Morley, Henley Division One Huddersfield Town too strong for Bees in their first season as a Football League Club
The Last Meeting
7 May 2016, Sky Bet Championship - Huddersfield Town 1 Brentford 5 Brentford: Button, Colin, Dean, Barbet, Bidwell, Woods, Yennaris, Canos, Kerschbaumer, Saunders, Hogan Five-star Brentford end the season on a high with Canos, Hogan, Vibe and Swift on target
Head to Head
Brentford wins: 24 Draws: 15 Huddersfield wins: 22