Huddersfield Town A.F.C. Reserves and Academy

Huddersfield Town B Team and Academy

Full name	Huddersfield Town F.C. B Team and Academy
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
Home colours Away colours Third colours

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

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

Reserve team years

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)

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)

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)

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

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.

No. Pos. Nation Player 35 GK   ENG Francis Hurl — GK   ENG Oliver Riva — DF   ENG Luke Daley — DF   ENG Charlie Knowles 33 DF   ENG Omari Mrisho — DF   IRL Aaron O'Reilly — DF   NED Eko Solomon 34 MF   ENG Cameron Ashia

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF   ENG Scott High — MF   ENG Cian Philpott — MF   ENG Michael Stone 36 MF   ENG Daniel Vost — FW   POL Zak Abbott — FW   ENG Fopefoluwa Deru — FW   NIR Conor Falls 37 FW   ENG Peter Thomas

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player —

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. ^[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

Future

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

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.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   ENG Hugo Bennett — GK   ENG Alex Walpole — DF   ENG Anthony Gregory — DF   ENG Nicolas Idemudia — DF   ENG Joe Nicholson — DF   ENG Jay Smith-Sway — MF   ENG Oliver Calland

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF   ENG Donnell Garrick — MF   ENG Milkyas Mebrahtu — MF   WAL Marlie Neil — MF   ENG Luke Schofield — MF   RSA Gabriano Shelton — FW   ENG Zac Bowker — FW   ENG Mohamed Fikri

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

Current academy staff

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

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
Nicholas Bilokapic	Huddersfield Town	Camperdown	Australia U-17	Age 19 v Burnley (a), 8 January 2022	1	0	Carlos Corberán
Etienne Camara	Huddersfield Town	Noisy-le-Grand		Age 17 v Plymouth Argyle (h), 9 January 2021	1	0
Myles Bright	Huddersfield Town	London		Age 18 v Plymouth Argyle (h), 9 January 2021	1	0
Mustapha Olagunju	Huddersfield Town	Plumstead		Age 19 v Plymouth Argyle (h), 9 January 2021	1	0
Pat Jones	Huddersfield Town	Stockport	Wales U-17	Age 17 v Plymouth Argyle (h), 9 January 2021	3	0
Brahima Diarra	Huddersfield Town	Paris		Age 17 v AFC Bournemouth (a), 12 December 2020	2	0
Romoney Crichlow	Huddersfield Town	Luton		Age 21 v Rochdale (h), 5 September 2020	6	1
Ben Jackson	Huddersfield Town	Stockport		Age 19 v Rochdale (h), 5 September 2020	3	0
Josh Austerfield	Huddersfield Town	Morley		Age 19 v Rochdale (h), 5 September 2020	2	0
Scott High	Huddersfield Town	Sheffield	Scotland U-21	Age 19 v Millwall (a), 22 July 2020	40	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), 7 December 2019	1	0	Danny Cowley
Rarmani Edmonds-Green	Huddersfield Town	London		Age 19 v Lincoln City (h), 13 August 2019	27	2	Jan Siewert
Ryan Schofield	Huddersfield Town	Huddersfield	England U-20	Age 19 v Lincoln City (h), 13 August 2019	35	0
Lewis O'Brien	Huddersfield Town	Colchester		Age 20 v Queens Park Rangers (a), 10 August 2019	128	8
Matty Daly	Huddersfield Town	Stockport	England U-18	Age 18 v Watford (h), 20 April 2019	12	1
Aaron Rowe	Huddersfield Town	London		Age 18 v AFC Bournemouth (h), 9 March 2019	26	2
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 Milton Keynes 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 AFC 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	Huddersfield Town	Columbus, Georgia	United States	Age 18 v Hull City (a), 24 September 2013	86	9
Jordan Sinnott	Deceased	Bradford		Age 18 v Leicester City (h), 26 January 2013	5	0	Mark Lillis
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 Milton Keynes 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

Information in the above table is correct as of 5 May 2022

References

1. "Football Club History Database - Huddersfield Town reserves" . Retrieved 5 November 2024.
2. "Reserves withdraw from Totesport.com League". htafc.com. 31 May 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
3. "Development Game Played In Donny". htafc.com. 6 September 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
4. "Lee Clark - A Club Statement". htafc.com. 15 February 2012. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
5. "Eyre Appointed Development Coach". htafc.com. 12 April 2012. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
6. "Open Development Game Today". htafc.com. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
7. "Huddersfield Town keen to play new Under 21 League games at the John Smith's Stadium". 14 August 2012.
8. Celtic and Rangers join new cross-border reserve competition along with Aberdeen and Hibs, Daily Record, 16 September 2019
9. "Huddersfield Town B team boss spells out club's long-term youth strategy". 14 December 2022.
10. "B Team - Huddersfield Town FC". Huddersfield Town A.F.C. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
11. "HTFC Academy - Our Ethos". htafcacademy.com. Archived from the original on 30 January 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
12. "HTFC Academy - history". Archived from the original on 30 January 2011.
13. "New Hires Complete Town Academy Coaching Structure". Huddersfield Town A.F.C. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
14. "Under 18s - Huddersfield Town FC". Huddersfield Town A.F.C. Retrieved 5 November 2024.