Huddersfield Town legends have been signed up for a charity match in memory of Meltham soldier Tom Wroe and colleague Sgt Gareth Thursby killed on duty in Afghanistan in 2012.
Match for Heroes 3 will see Town legends including Darren Bullock, Efe Sodje, Dean Gorre, Chris Billy, Martin Smith and Clyde Wijnhard take on Golcar United legends team at Golcar’s Skye Direct Stadium on May 1.
Huddersfield Hub sports editor Steven Downes looks back at the Town legends’ careers and time at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Matt Glennon
Matt is currently working as a summariser for BBC Radio Leeds, commentating with Paul Ogden on Terriers matches.
Back in his playing days he played for over 10 clubs and made 512 appearances as a goalkeeper. 109 of those games came at Town where Matt played for the Terriers between 2006-2010.
A good shot stopper, Glennon was a whole-hearted performer who never left anything out on the pitch. He now owns a hair salon business in Emley.
Matt is looking forward to playing and said: “It’s a great charity and one that needs highlighting as much as possible. Moving away from what you have always done and changing careers can be very tough.
“I am looking forward to putting the gloves back on. I have even got a new pair for the occasion! It will be great to catch up with old teammates again.
“It’s going to be painful but I’ll be joining in with my academy keepers to get back into shape for the fixture.”
Rob Edwards
Born in Manchester, Rob Edwards cemented his name into the Huddersfield Town history books when he scored the winning penalty against Lincoln City in the Division Two play-off semi-final to send them to the play-off final in 2004.
Rob had two spells at the Terriers. The first one was between 1996 and 2000 and the second 2003-2005. He was a defender but could also play higher up the field when needed.
After retiring from football in 2006 he went on to create a joinery business.
Delroy Facey
Delroy Facey played for 13 professional clubs in a career which spanned 20 years. Starting at Town in 1996, he played for the club until 2002. He returned to the club in 2005 on loan from Hull City.
Ken Monkou
Born in Suriname the 57-year-old played for Dutch side Feyenoord before moving to England where he played for both Chelsea and Southampton. He made over 300 appearances for both clubs combined before moving to West Yorkshire and to Huddersfield in 1999. He made over 20 appearances for the Terriers in two seasons at the John Smith’s Stadium.
An interesting fact about Ken is that he ran a Dutch pancake house in the Dutch city of Delft at one time!
Darren Bullock
Darren Bullock is a cult hero at Town. Signed from non-league Nuneaton Borough by then manager Neil Warnock. Darren went on to win promotion with Town in 1994-95. He scored the winning semi-final penalty away at Brentford to send Town to Wembley where they would eventually beat Bristol Rovers.
Efe Sodje
Efe played for a whole host of clubs all over the country from Yeovil to Bury. He also played at Huddersfield between 2003-2005 and was part of the promotion-winning side under Peter Jackson. He had ‘Against All Odds’ emblazoned on his headwear.
Clyde Wijnhard
Having played in the Netherlands at the start of his career, Clyde built up a superb striking partnership with Marcus Stewart at Huddersfield. Clyde played for the Terriers between 1999-2002. He also played for Leeds United. But we don’t talk about that.
Martin Smith
Martin was a superb winger/striker who loved to whip in delicious crosses into the box. The 47-year-old started his career in 1992 at Sunderland where he was worshipped as “the son of Pele.” He moved to West Yorkshire in 2000 and played over 80 times for Town. He left in 2003 to go to Northampton. Bags of ability but never fulfilled the enormous potential.
Dean Gorre
A classy midfield perfomer for Town at the start of the millennium. Dean spent much of his career in the Netherlands before making the switch to Huddersfield Town in 1999. He played for the club over two seasons, leaving in 2001. Now a coach Dean went on to manage Suriname, his home nation. Dean’s wife Magali appeared in The Real Housewives of Cheshire, if the internet is to be believed.
Mick Midwood
Mick Midwood started his career at Huddersfield in 1993 and spent two years at the club before leaving in 1995. He returned in 1997 for another year. He has also played locally for Halifax Town, Emley AFC and Ossett Town.
Chris Billy
Chris Billy will forever be connected to Huddersfield Town and was one of the last legendary players to play on the Leeds Road turf. Having made over 90 appearances for the club between 1991 and 1995 and being born in the town he is a hero to many. Chris scored the winning goal in the 1994-95 play-off final against Bristol Rovers at Wembley. Legend. Legend. Legend.
Craig Armstrong
Craig arrived in Huddersfield in 1999 and stayed for two years at the club making over 100 appearances. A combative defender who was good on the ball, Craig enjoyed his time at the John Smith’s Stadium and looks back fondly.
Andy Holdsworth
Born in Pontefract Andy Holdsworth signed for the Terriers in 2003 and left the club in 2009. He made over 230 appearances for Town scoring six goals. He was part of the Peter Jackson side that beat Mansfield in the 2003-04 play-off final at the Millennium Stadium to win promotion from Division Two. As a young, fresh-faced player Andy volunteered to dress up as an elf and was driven round on a train throwing out sweets to kids. Now that’s commitment to the club! He’s now working with the under-18s at Sheffield Wednesday.
Ian Lawson
Ian played for Huddersfield between 1993 and 1999 making over 40 appearances. He was more famous as his father’s son. Dad Jimmy played for Town from 1968-1976 and was part of the famous 1970 team promoted to the First Division. Jimmy went on to make over 240 appearances for Town.
Mark Kelly
Mark Kelly was involved in the first team and appeared on the squad photo for the 1995-96 season. His Twitter biog says he was Sir Alex Ferguson’s CPO (close protection officer) 2000-2003!
Joe Skarz
Joe played for Huddersfield between 2006 and 2010 and made over 60 appearances. A talented defender Joe, 32, is now player-coach at Golcar United. He’s still got a dangerous left boot when it comes to free-kicks.
Manager – Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson is a genuine legend at both Town and Bradford City where he was both player and manager. Peter played over 150 times for the Terriers across four years between 1990 and 1994. He managed the club between 1997 and 1999 and again between 2003 and 2007.
Peter was instrumental in helping the club survive through the administration period and Town fans will always point to his leadership and mental strength through that time. He steered the club to an unlikely promotion in 2003-04 for which no Town fan who saw it will ever forget.
Tickets for the game can be bought HERE.
To promote the game up to 40 fundraisers will take part in a sponsored walk on Saturday January 22 ahead of Golcar United’s home game against Daisy Hill.
The group will walk the 19.3 miles from Farsley Celtic to Golcar, setting off at 6.30am with the aim of getting to the Skye Direct Stadium before the 3pm kick-off.
The route will go through Drighlington, Cleckheaton, Hartshead, Bradley, Huddersfield, Aspley and Longroyd Bridge.
Danny McDonagh, of Bond Brickwork Ltd, has agreed to sponsor the walk and one of the kits for the match.
On sponsoring the walk he said: “After seeing there was a charity event at Golcar United I wanted to know a bit more.
“I spoke to (secretary) Ben Senior and he put me in touch with Jonathan Horsman (organiser), after hearing how passionate Jonathan was and the drive he had for this event it inspired me to ask if I could be involved in a sponsorship way. We have now sponsored the kit and the walk they are doing from Farsley to Golcar.
“I got involved as I’ve been lucky enough to have friends in the army who have all safely returned home to their families.
“After hearing how the match is in honour of the unfortunate young man from Meltham it made me want to give something back.
“Being a local businessman I really like to get in and help where I can in supporting local charities.
“I’m really excited by this event as many of my favourite players at Huddersfield Town will be playing again, I’m sure the local people of Golcar and the Colne Valley area will support this event and hopefully raise lots of money in support of the charity.”
