Huddersfield Town's 1971–72 campaign was Town's last season in the Football League's top division. They finished bottom of the table with only 25 points, the same as

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

. Town won only 6 matches in the league all season and did not win any games from December to the end of the season. The only bright spark came in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

campaign which saw Town reach the 6th round, before losing to

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

. Town only scored 6 away goals in 1972, and 2 of those were own goals. This would be the start of Town's slump which would see Town relegated to Division 4 in 1975, and they would not return to the top flight, by then the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

, until 2017.

Squad at the start of the season

Review

Following their first season back in Division 1 for 15 years, Town were hoping to try to reach the summit of English football. This season would be one of Town's worst in their history. Town were bottom of the table all season, with the exception of a small period in September. They had a run of 4 wins in 5 during that time including a 2–1 win over rivals Leeds United. Town's last league win on 27 November was a 2–1 win over Derby County, who would become champions at the end of the season. Town never won another league game until the next season, but they put on an inspired run in the

. After beating Division 2 sides

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

and

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

, Town hosted West Ham United and put on a thrilling display culminating in a 4–2 win over the Hammers. They then lost to

in the 6th round and were then promptly relegated to Division 2 with 25 points, the same as

Squad at the end of the season

Results

Division One The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

Appearances and goals

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huddersfield Town A.F.C. Season 1971-72 1971-72 English football clubs 1971–72 season