| Clubname: | Huddersfield Town Development Squad and Academy |
| Fullname: | Huddersfield Town F.C. Development Squad and Academy |
| Founded: | 1908 |
| Ground: | Canalside Sports Complex, Huddersfield |
| Chairman: | Sir Patrick Stewart |
| Chrtitle: | President |
| Manager: | Dev Squad: Frankie Bunn Academy: Steve Weaver |
| League: | U21: U21 Professional Development League 2 North Division U18: U18 Professional Development League 2 North Division |
| Season: | 2013–14 |
| Position: | U21: U21 Professional Development League 2 North Division, 1st (lost in play-offs) U18: U18 Professional Development League 2 North Division, 1st (champions) |
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The Huddersfield Town Development Squad is the reserve team of Championship club Huddersfield Town. They play competitively as the Huddersfield Town Under 21s in the Professional Development League 2 Northern Division, of which they finished 1st in the 2013–14 season, but then proceeded to lose the nationwide play-off semi-final against Queens Park Rangers.
Huddersfield Town is represented at the under-18 level by the Huddersfield Town Academy. The academy competes in the U18 Professional Development League 2 North Division, of which they finished 1st in the 2013–14 season and subsequently won the nationwide play-off final against Crewe Alexandra, becoming champions of the 2013–14 U18 Professional Development League 2. They also reached the quarterfinals of last season's FA Youth Cup, losing 2-1 at eventual runners-up Fulham.
Home games for both sides are played at the club's training ground, Canalside, with the exception of some Development Squad fixtures, and FA Youth Cup games, which are played at the first team's John Smith's Stadium.
Huddersfield Town Football Club Under-21s, also known as the Huddersfield Town Development Squad, is the most senior level of Huddersfield Town's youth development and the club's former reserve team. They play in League 2 North of the Professional Development League. The team is effectively Huddersfield Town's second-string side, but is limited to three outfield players and one goalkeeper over the age of 21 per game following the introduction of new regulations for the 2012–13 season. They were four times Central League Champions as the reserve team but withdrew from formal reserve team competition 2009-10 season, and have been replaced by the Huddersfield Town Development Squad, playing a number of arranged friendlies during the season until 2012-13 season.
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".[1]
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.
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."[2]
When Lee Clark left as manager of the first team on February 15, 2012, his coaching staff (including Watson) also left the club.[3] On April 12, 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.[4]
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.[5]
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.[6]
In the 2019–20 season, a Huddersfield team entered a small league (under-21 plus three overage) along with Brentford and four Scottish clubs.[7]
The role of the Huddersfield Town Academy is to develop players and their abilities to their full potential for the club's first team.[8] 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 academy is currently managed by former Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United player Leigh Bromby.
After the arrival of current 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.[9]
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 | width=12% | Born | width=13% | International Honours | width=29% | Debut | width=5% | Apps | width=5% | Goals | width=10% | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 19 v Burnley (a), 8 January 2022 | 1 | 0 | Carlos Corberán | ||||||||||
| Age 17 v Plymouth Argyle (h), 9 January 2021 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Age 18 v Plymouth Argyle (h), 9 January 2021 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Age 19 v Plymouth Argyle (h), 9 January 2021 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Age 17 v Plymouth Argyle (h), 9 January 2021 | 3 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Age 17 v AFC Bournemouth (a), 12 December 2020 | 2 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Age 21 v Rochdale (h), 5 September 2020 | 6 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Age 19 v Rochdale (h), 5 September 2020 | 3 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Age 19 v Rochdale (h), 5 September 2020 | 2 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Age 19 v Millwall (a), 22 July 2020 | 40 | 0 | Danny Schofield | ||||||||||
| Age 19 v Millwall (a), 22 July 2020 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Age 17 v Leeds United (h), 7 December 2019 | 1 | 0 | Danny Cowley | ||||||||||
| Age 19 v Lincoln City (h), 13 August 2019 | 27 | 2 | Jan Siewert | ||||||||||
| Age 19 v Lincoln City (h), 13 August 2019 | 35 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Age 20 v Queens Park Rangers (a), 10 August 2019 | 128 | 8 | |||||||||||
| Age 18 v Watford (h), 20 April 2019 | 12 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Age 18 v AFC Bournemouth (h), 9 March 2019 | 26 | 2 | |||||||||||
| Age 17 v Rotherham United (h), 23 August 2017 | 1 | 0 | David Wagner | ||||||||||
| Age 22 v Brentford (h), 7 May 2016 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Age 19 v Milton Keynes Dons (h), 20 October 2015 | 7 | 1 | Chris Powell | ||||||||||
| Age 19 v Blackburn Rovers (h), 25 April 2015 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Stafford Rangers | Age 19 v Fulham (h), 21 March 2015 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Cheltenham Town | Age 19 v Reading (h), 24 February 2015 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Age 20 v AFC Bournemouth (h), 9 August 2014 | 1 | 0 | Mark Robins | ||||||||||
| Age 17 v Leicester City (h), 26 April 2014 | 91 | 6 | |||||||||||
| Age 18 v Hull City (a), 24 September 2013 | 86 | 9 | |||||||||||
| Deceased | Age 18 v Leicester City (h), 26 January 2013 | 5 | 0 | Mark Lillis | |||||||||
| Age 18 v Bristol Rovers (a), 12 March 2011 | 1 | 0 | Lee Clark | ||||||||||
| Age 20 v Colchester United (h), 23 January 2011 | 121 | 4 | |||||||||||
| Age 18 v Macclesfield Town (h), 27 November 2010 | 13 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Age 19 v Charlton Athletic (h), 28 August 2010 | 26 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Age 19 v Leyton Orient (a), 2 May 2009 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Age 17 v Southend United (a), 5 December 2007 | 274 | 0 | Andy Ritchie | ||||||||||
| Age 17 v Tranmere Rovers (a), 26 October 2007 | 6 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Age 18 v Crewe Alexandra (a), 7 September 2007 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Age 18 v Northampton Town (a), 27 April 2007 | 6 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Age 18 v Oldham Athletic (a), 7 April 2007 | 41 | 2 | Gerry Murphy | ||||||||||
| Free Agent | Age 19 v Port Vale (h), 31 March 2007 | 6 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Age 17 v Scunthorpe United (h), 4 November 2006 | 81 | 1 | Peter Jackson | ||||||||||
| Kingscourt Harps | Age 18 v Boston United (a), 19 October 2005 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Age 19 v Boston United (a), 19 October 2005 | 19 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Age 19 v Walsall (h), 15 October 2005 | 42 | 2 | |||||||||||
| Age 18 v Blackpool (h), 19 February 2005 | 197 | 22 | |||||||||||
| Age 17 v Milton Keynes Dons (a), 12 February 2005 | 112 | 3 | |||||||||||
| Age 19 v Macclesfield Town (h), 13 March 2004 | 48 | 8 | |||||||||||
| Retired | Age 19 v Leyton Orient (h), 27 September 2003 | 51 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Retired | Age 19 v Rochdale (a), 16 September 2003 | 45 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Age 19 v Bristol Rovers (h), 30 August 2003 | 261 | 8 | |||||||||||
| Age 17 v Oldham Athletic (h), 3 May 2003 | 20 | 0 | Mel Machin | ||||||||||
| Age 18 v Oldham Athletic (h), 3 May 2003 | 179 | 12 | |||||||||||
| Retired | Age 20 v Crewe Alexandra (a), 18 January 2003 | 57 | 0 | Mick Wadsworth | |||||||||
| Age 21 v Northampton Town (a), 14 September 2002 | 84 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Retired | Age 22 v Peterborough United (a), 17 August 2002 | 37 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Huddersfield Town (Academy Physio) | Age 19 v Plymouth Argyle (a), 13 August 2002 | 237 | 14 | ||||||||||
| Age 19 v Brentford (h), 10 August 2002 | 100 | 27 | |||||||||||
| 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