CLOSED SEASON 2000
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August 2000
August 11th
Huddersfield Town have announced the tranfer of
defender Kevin Gray to First Division rivals Stockport
County. The transfer fee remains undisclosed.
August 10th
Town today announced the signing of striker Kevin
Gallen from QPR. Gallen passed a medical and has signed
a one-year contract. He was available on a free transfer
due to the Bosman Ruling.
August 5th
The might of the Premiership, in the shape of local
rivals Leeds United, visited the McAlpine stadium and
went away victors by two goals to nil.
Leeds dominated the first half and took the
lead through an Ian Harte free kick from just outside the
area. Vaesen failed to get to the ball despite being at full
stretch. Town should have been awarded a penalty in the 31st
minute when Dean Gorre was brought down in the Leeds area
but the referee waved play on - much to the chagrin of the
Town players and supporters.
With the Leeds side dominant it was no suprise when Bowyer
slotted the ball into the net after being put through by Dacourt
just before the half time break
In the second half Town looked more menacing and Clyde Wijnhard
had two gilt-edged opportunities to score for the Terriers
but the first shot was well saved by Martyn and the second
was wide of the mark.
The crowd of 12,852 (including 4,312 Leeds fans) were
entertained by the skill of Martyn and the holding play
of Viduka up front.
In the Town side the industry of Kenny Irons was a pleasure
to watch and Martin Smith was trying to get into positions
that would leave him free to be passed to. Unfortunately
the experienced Leeds defence were pretty tight at the
back and the two Wijnhard opportunities were the best
that Huddersfield had to offer. Of the other players
Gorre showed his usual deft footwork and Thornley never
looked like penetrating down the left flank.
After the game manager Steve Bruce expressed his admiration
for the quality of Leeds and stated that he would perhaps
like to bring in two or three more players in the near
future.
August 2nd
In one of their final pre-season friendlies Town
visited the JJB Stadium in Wigan and emerged 2 - 1 victors
thanks to goals from Ben Thornley and Clyde Wijnhard
- who both came on as second half substitutes.
Wigan took the lead through veteran Neil Redfearn
in the 56th minute but Town struck back a few minutes
later when Thornley vollied into the back of the net.
Town then left it late but after a mistake from the
Wigan keeper Wijnhard poached a close-quarter goal in
the 82nd minute.
As in other pre-season games the line up was somewhat
experimental and Town made a total of five substitutions
throughout the game, all of them in the second half.
The next scheduled match is the friendly against Premiership
neighbours Leeds United which should give a near-capacity
gate at the McAlpine stadium this Saturday.
July 2000
July 29th
Town took on Port Vale at Vale Park and emerged
winners by 6 goals to 2. Whilst a couple of goals from
Martin Smith (8 and 24), plus one each from trialist
Kevin Gallen (41), trialist Sebastien Sansoni, Chris
Beech,(61)and Rob Edwards (90), made the scoreline look
good, the worrying aspect to emerge from the game was
the second half fragility of the defence.
Whilst on the Scottish tour the defence was found wanting
at times although the inclusion of Ken Monkou for a
first half run-out in this game kept the home side out.
July 26th
QPR striker Kevin Gallen has been granted a trial
with Town and will probably play in Saturdays friendly
against Port Vale at Vale Park. The 24-year-old Gallen
is out of contract at Loftus Road and looking to rebuild
his career with a new club. He was out of the game for
a long time with serious ligament damage whilst at QPR
and has struggled to recapture the form that had him
tipped for future stardom.
July 22nd
 Town
finished off their three match tour of Scotland with a 1 -
1 draw against Scottish Premier League team Motherwell. They
had previously beaten Livingston 2 - 1 on the Monday and Dunfermline
by the same score on Wednesday.
 Whilst
up in Scotland Town took the opportunity to give trials to
two players, US National centre-back Gregg Berhalter and Polish
international player Tomek Iwan. Berhalter only managed to
play for 45 minutes in the Livingston match before coming
off injured. He then had to fly back to the States to rejoin
the US National squad. He is expected back at any time to
resume his trial.
Meanwhile Tomek Iwan managed to get a couple of gamed
under his belt and impressed both the Town management
and the travelling supporters. It is reported that Town
have made overtures to PSV Eindhoven with a view to
purchasing the player.
July 9th
There has been plenty of speculation in the press
that Town are pursuing Sheffield Wednesday player Andy
Booth the former Huddersfield player. Wednesday manager
Paul Jewell has issued a hands-off warning to Steve
Bruce.
Elsewhere the only significant news is the launch of
the official Huddersfield Town AFC web site at http://www.htafc.com
Please feel free to check it out. It is a nice looking
site but at the end of the day the content is controlled
by the club, not the independent so please keep checking
back for an unbiased view!
July 5th
As the players reported for pre-season training
this week there is nothing to report on the transfer
front. However Steve Bruce has only just returned after
his holiday in Barbados so transfer activity could begin
as Town look to improve upon their final position last
season. However it may be a case of letting players
leave the club as well as welcoming new ones as the
administration seek to keep the wage bill at a manageable
level.
All players look to have come back from their break
injury free and it is now up to the fitness experts
to try and maintain a minimal injury list throughout
this coming campaign. There is no doubt that the loss
of key players through injury proved to be a handicap
that kept Town from entering the play-off's
Season ticket sales are going well and look like beating
last years figures.
June 2000
June 23rd
Huddersfield Town's first match of the season will
be against newly-relegated Watford at the McAlpine
stadium on Saturday August 12th. A week later they will
face South Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday, again
relegated from the Premiership last season, at Hillsborough.
Other key fixtures include the December 26th clash at
home to Tranmere Rovers, January 1st away to Crystal
Palace and Easter Saturday's home game against Fulham.
There will be a number of new 'local derbies' this season
as newly promoted Preston and Burnley join the fray
as well as some interesting ties against old rivals
such as Wolves, Bolton, Sheffield United, Barnsley and
Blackburn.
May 2000
May 19th
Huddersfield Town have confirmed that they are to
go on a pre-season tour of Scotland at the end of July.
Opponents and dates have yet to be confirmed. The team
has also been given a match against local Premiership
high-flyers Leeds United at the McAlpine Stadium as
part of the build-up for the new season.
Martin Smith's scan on his back has given him the all
clear and he should be able to participate in all pre-season
build-up's and training.
May 12th
A disappointing end to the season as Town held a top
six position for most of the time and then failed to
gain a play-off place in the end. Injuries played a
major part in the lack of success with key players missing
at vital times.
No Doubt rumours will abound throughout the closed season
but we will only report facts as and when events
occur.
It was reported today that midfield dynamo Kenny Irons has
been diagnosed as suffering from a double hernia and will
be operated on as soon as possible.
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