The lowdown on our Nahki’s new club

Huddersfield Town has some new fans in Bermuda, following Nahki Wells’ record-breaking move to the Championship side.

The striker produced an eye-catching debut on Saturday as he came off the bench to score a late winner against Millwall and seal a 1-0 win.

It’s established the 23-year-old as a fans’ favourite already and prompted Huddersfield fans and their local media to do a little research on this wonderful island.

On the flip side, there are many on these shores who want to know more about The Terriers and the club their man now calls home.

So here’s eight things you may not know about the club:

The start

Huddersfield Town FC was founded 105 years in 1908 — 13 years after the game of Rugby League was born in the Town. Initially they had no turnstiles or changing facilities but, with some ambitious plans for the ground and club, they persuaded the big chiefs at the Football League to let them join. But just two years later they sunk into liquidation and in 1919 the local press reported the club would move to Leeds to start afresh. Horrified by that prospect, fundraising and demonstrations went into overdrive and the club was saved. Remarkably a year later, the club reached the FA Cup final. 

The 1920s

Undoubtedly the most successful period of Huddersfield’s history, which saw them win the championship (the old Premier League, if you will) three times on the trot – in 1923-24, 1924-25 and 1925-26. For the next two years they were runners-up as well, which was an incredible turnaround given the financial troubles of the previous decade.

Not only that but they were FA Cup winners in 1922 and runners-up in 1920 and 1928 (and in 1930 and 1938). It was a golden era for the club. By the end of the decade the capacity at Leeds Road was over 60,000.

Past players

Billy Smith will not be a name most are familiar with but he is one of the club’s all-time record scorers and a key part of the championship-winning 1920s. He also scored the winning goal in the 1922 FA Cup final against Preston.  

Inside forward Clem Stephenson was another player from that era who has legendary status and who also managed the club with distinction in the 1930s.

A few other players worth picking out are Ray Wilson, a nippy left-back who went on to play in the England team that won the World Cup in 1966, while Manchester United legend Dennis Law started his career at Town as a 15-year-old and played four seasons (scoring 19 goals) before joining Man City in 1959.

Of the modern-day players local hero and former striker Andy Booth is synonomous with the club and his 452 appearance puts him fourth in the all-time list.

Managers

Current manager Mark Robins is, of course, the former Manchester United striker and famous for scoring the goal that supposedly kept Sir Alex Ferguson from being sacked during his initially tough years at Old Trafford. Robins was preceded by Simon Grayson, Lee Clark, Peter Jackson and Neil Warnock.

But without doubt the most successful manager in Town’s history is Herbert Chapman, with whom the club won two of their championships in the 1920s as well as the FA Cup. It was a magical four years and he then moved to Arsenal where he won a further FA Cup and two First Division titles before his death in 1934. A genuine all-time great.

Modern day

After a return to the top flight in 1970, which lasted two seasons, the club went into decline. There there were some bleak years but under Warnock the team reached the final of the AutoWindscreens Shield in 1994 and appeared at Wembley for the first time since 1938. 

A new stadium followed – then called the Alfred McAlpine (now called the John Smith’s Stadium) — but by 2003 the club were in the bottom division. A play-off win in 2004 got them back into the third tier before in 2012, under Grayson, they won a dramatic play-off final against Sheffield United at Wembley.

The game finish 0-0 but the Terriers won the penalty shootout 8-7, with keeper Alex Smithies scoring the winning spot-kick to send them into the Championship.

Current squad

Arguably the most recognizable players in the current squad are all strikers. Along with Wells, the club has James Vaughan, Jon Stead and Martin Paterson on their books.

Vaughan began his career with a high-profile spell at Everton, while Jon Stead is a local boy who has played in the Premier League for Sheffield United, Sunderland and Blackburn. Paterson enjoyed a season in the top division with Burnley and is a Northern Ireland international. Anthony Gerrard, cousin of Steven, is also at the club.

Transfer record

Before Bermuda’s Wells  smashed it, the record was £1.2m for striker Marcus Stewart, who went on to play for Ipswich Town and Sunderland.

Owner

In 2009, Dean Hoyle became chairman and majority shareholder of the club. Hoyle, a lifelong fan, is a self-made multi-millionaire and the founder of the Card Factory, which he reportedly sold for £360million in 2010.