Which League One teams are within a two-hour drive of Huddersfield Town? (And what are the likely ticket allocations?)

It’s only a few weeks until the fixtures come out and we can start plotting potential away trips for Huddersfield Town’s first season in League One since 2012, following their relegation from the Championship. And while going down is never nice, one of the consolations of dropping down a division is the prospect of some new away trips. Because let’s face it, there are so many times you can get excited about the prospect of Stoke or Preston North End away before the sparkle starts to fade off these fixtures. And while League One might not be exactly packed with glamour, in the way the Premier League is, there is a lot of character and fun away days to look forward to. And it’ll be nice to play some different clubs too, after so long in the top two tiers of English football. 

In this article, I’m going to take a look at the League One away trips for the forthcoming season that are within a two-hour drive of Huddersfield Town’s stadium. I used Google Maps to estimate the travel time during relatively quiet travel times, so some of them might be a tad optimistic for a weekend matchday. The away allocation estimates should also be taken with a pinch of salt, as most have come from a Blackpool Reporter article about League One allocations from last season and the rest have been sourced from awayday websites which aren’t always up to date but they do typically give a good idea of the ballpark number of tickets we’ll receive for any given fixture.

I chose a two-hour drive as the cut-off for this article because that’s typically the amount of driving I’m willing to drive without stopping for a wee and a leg stretch (I feel like I’ll get stick in the comments and from my dad for this) and also because doing all 23 teams would have made this article humongous. If enough people enjoy reading this one, I might do an equivalent for the further afield away trips, as some decent away trips involve a bit more travelling – though I think only the true hardcore fans will fancy Exeter away which is destined to be scheduled for a cold Tuesday night in February. 

Anyway, here’s my rundown of Huddersfield Town’s League One awayday’s within a two-hour drive of Huddersfield.

Barnsley

Stadium name: Oakwell

Distance: 19 miles

Driving time: 40 minutes 

Likely away ticket allocation: 5,000 (source)

Last season’s league position: 6th (Lost in the playoff semi-finals)

I’d be curious to know if many fans see this as a proper derby game. While I always want to beat our South Yorkshire rivals, I don’t see it anywhere near a derby in the same way as Bradford or Leeds. Even so, I really enjoy an away trip to Oakwell, they always seem to be fairly well-matched games and it’s an easy enough journey to make too. For Town fans that live on the south side of Town you can even be home around the same time as a match at the John Smith’s Stadium if you get away quickly.  

There will be added spice to this encounter with Barnsley, where it will be Michael Duff’s return to his former club – like showing off your new, more attractive and wealthy new partner to your ex. Though that assumes he will still be in charge for Barnsley away, which is far from guaranteed given we’ve been getting through three managers a season in the last two campaigns. It could also be a battle between two teams at the top end of the table,  but it’s far too early to know if that will be the case.

Bolton Wanderers

Stadium name: Toughsheet Community Stadium

Distance: 37 miles

Driving time: 48 minutes

Likely away ticket allocation: 5,100 (source)

Last season’s league position: 3rd (Lost in playoff final) 

Bolton’s stadium was designed by the same people that designed Town’s and opened not too long after and you can see the same design style when you look at the two side by side. Arguably, ours is nicer to look at as a piece of architecture but theirs has the corners filled in, which unquestionably creates a better atmosphere in terms of keeping noise inside the stadium. 

Thankfully, there should be no issue with ticket allocation for this fixture and there will be an opportunity for thousands of Town fans to make the relatively short trip across the M62 to take on a team that will hope to go one better this season, after losing the playoff final to Oxford in the most recent campaign. The bookies think they have a good chance too, as they’re second favourites to go up at the moment, behind Birmingham (though, we’re third, so what do they know?).

Rotherham United

Stadium name: AESSEAL New York Stadium

Distance: 22 miles

Driving time: 49 minutes

Likely away ticket allocation: 2,500 (source) 

Last season’s league position: 24th in the Championship

Another easy to get to jaunt into South Yorkshire awaits in Rotherham. The New York Stadium is somewhat charmless, with its generic, flat pack design but it’s nice enough I suppose and the atmosphere is pretty good when there’s something to cheer as the noise bounces around the stadium. 

Rotherham were awful in the Championship last season, timid and limp – though we paid them too much respect in the most recent game where we failed to beat them and registered another draw (conceding a red card didn’t help). In League One, Rotherham are a different prospect and will most likely be there or thereabouts. 

I’m quite an open-minded person and don’t judge anyone on appearances but Steve Evans’ face creates a feeling of visceral disgust in me that I find hard to explain (I think it relates to a story I heard about him eating egg butties on the touchline while supervising training back when he was Leeds manager and the thought of the yolk dribbling down his chin unsettles my stomach). But he does seem to know how to assemble a team to get out of League One, as they have been vigorously working the free agent market to bulk up their squad.

Stockport County

Stadium name: Edgeley Park

Distance: 41 miles

Driving time: 52 minutes

Likely away ticket allocation: 900 but can be increased to 1,400 for bigger games. (source) 

Last season’s league position: 1st in League Two

Edgeley Park has been around since 1891 but has been redeveloped so many times that it probably only bears a passing resemblance to the stadium that stood in the same place a hundred and thirty years ago. The current capacity is just short of 11,000 but work is due to start in 2025 to redevelop the ground again to expand it to 18,000 so this season will be the last chance for Town fans to see us play there in its current iteration. 

Looking at the likely allocation of away tickets and the fairly short journey time to Stockport, this fixture has the potential to be one that generates ticket outrage among Town fans. It’s been a while since we’ve had competition for away tickets for Town because we’ve been so poor that anyone that’s wanted to go to away games has been able to get a ticket. But if there is a big demand for tickets for this game the club will have to devise a priority system and no matter which scheme they create, it will be hated by a large and vocal section of fans (currently, I think the top priority group is season ticket holders who are members of the lottery but I don’t think the current system will be sophisticated enough to cope).

Stockport came up from League Two as champions and while they will have to adjust to a set up in quality after promotion, they will at least have the winning habit from the season before to keep them going. I expect they will be a tricky opponent for Town.

Wigan Athletic

Stadium name: The Brick Community Stadium

Distance: 43 miles

Driving time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Likely away ticket allocation: 5,000 (source)

Last season’s league position: 12th (following 8 point deduction for breach of EFL rules)

Another Alfred McAlpine Stadium from the 90s, but nowhere near as nice to look at as the John Smith’s Stadium from my (admittedly biased) opinion. It looks like ALDI have had a go at doing Town’s stadium on the cheap and got close but not quite managed to get it right. Still, compared to many modern stadia, it’s quite nice and a vast improvement on some of the places I’ve watched Town play at in the past.

Like Bolton, this is a fairly short trip and a big away ticket allocation, so I’d hope this is a game where a good Town following could bring a bumper away crowd and make it a great atmosphere. 

Wigan are a hard team to predict this coming season, after last season was upset by off-field strife and a points deduction. I vaguely recall Town were linked with poaching their manager, Sean Maloney, at one point so he must be fairly decent. It seems like their financial situation is more stable now, so that may make them a tougher prospect in the season ahead.

Blackpool

Stadium name: Bloomfield Road

Distance: 71 miles

Driving time: 1 hour 19 minutes

Likely away ticket allocation: 2,500 (source) 

Last season’s league position: 8th

Likely to be a very popular away trip for many Town fans, as Blackpool, despite the fact it’s a bit shabby, is still a fun seaside town to many people. For those with families there’s the chance to go to the amusements and the rides at the Pleasure Beach. The more debauched section of our fanbase will be drawn to the plethora of sticky-carpeted bars and clubs where you can get sloshed and behave disgracefully. And if you’re not hurting anyone, where’s the harm in that? (Though it’s not my idea of fun any more.)

Town fans that are more interested in the events on the pitch will be mostly hoping that they get to watch the full game, as a 2015 away game at Bloomfield Road was abandoned after 48 minutes due to Blackpool fans protesting on the pitch and refusing to leave. I remember seeing a wheelchair-bound supporter somehow made it onto the pitch, so you really have to question how serious the stewards were about stopping the fans if someone managed to wheel themselves on without any impediment to their progress. The fixture was never replayed and, I believe promises for Town fans to receive free away tickets the next time we played Blackpool did not materise when they next met us in the Championship in 2021.

One interesting sideshow for this fixture will be the opportunity for Jordan Rhodes to show that we made a mistake in letting him go, as he has signed a one-year deal with Blackpool recently. He never really got a chance at Town during his second spell, but enjoyed a fairly prolific spell on loan at Blackpool last season, so it’s sensible that he’s signed on for another year at a club where he’s enjoyed his football and been among the goals.

Mansfield Town

Stadium name: One Call Stadium (FIeld Mill)

Distance: 43 miles

Driving time: 1 hour 23 minutes

Likely away ticket allocation: Around 1800 (source)  

Last season’s league position: 3rd in League Two

Field Mill is another of those stadiums which has a lot of history, stretching back a long time but with so much renovation over the years that it’s similar to Trigger’s broom from Only Fools and Horses and it resembles many more recently built stadia. 

If this fixture sells out for Town fans then it’s likely that things are going well for Town, as 1800 is a decent-ish allocation and it’s nearly an hour and half’s drive too. So enthusiasm for away games would have to be pretty high for all those tickets to be snapped up, based on past experience. 

I wouldn’t want to make any bold predictions about a newly promoted club in this division. There is obviously a settling in period but the momentum from promotion can carry you quite a long way too. My own memories of playing Mansfield will forever be linked to the Cardiff playoff final 2004 where Liam Lawrence’s awful penalty scuppered their chances and Lee Fowler sealed the win for Town. Though Mansfield had some mild revenge on us by selling us Junior Mendes, who is one of the long list of strikers that I’ve been excited about us signing who have then been massive flops. 

Wrexham

Stadium name: Stok Cae Ras / Stok Racecourse

Distance:  80 miles

Driving time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Likely away ticket allocation: 1,500 (source) 

Last season’s league position: 2nd in League Two

I’ve been enjoying watching the documentary series that has been following Wrexham’s fortunes since the high-profile takeover of the club by Ryan Renolds and Rob McElhenney. I might enjoy it less in the next season if Huddersfield Town are cast as the villains. Or maybe it’ll be great, as that will mean we’re succeeding at the Welsh club’s success. Since the Hollywood pair bought the club they have spent heavily to drive the club up the football pyramid but they may soon find that they are soon struggling to outmuscle the teams around them in terms of spending power. For example, I’m genuinely not sure if our owner is wealthier than Wrexham’s or not. Without being a forensic accountant, I’m not sure anyone could know for sure but they may not be quite the powerhouse in League One that they have been in the lower leagues is my point. 

Regardless, their fans are passionate and energised by their recent success after many years in the doldrums and while it’s not exactly an underdog story given their spending, it’s hard to begrudge their long-suffering fans a chance to rise up the leagues again. 

This could be another game that’s tricky to get tickets for, it may also attract a different demographic of fans too, with those hoping they may be able to catch a glimpse of a celebrity in the director’s box, as Ryan Renolds often brings his mates to the games. 

It should be a good match in footballing terms though, as the bookies rate Wrexham as having a similar chance as Town of going up currently, so we should be well-matched. I also have a personal dislike for Phil Parkinson, Wreham’s manager, since he turned down the chance to manage Huddersfield Town at the last minute and prompted the infamous empty chair press conference. 

Burton Albion

Stadium name: Pirelli Stadium

Distance: 80 miles

Driving time: 1 hour 49 minutes

Likely away ticket allocation: 1,800 (source)

Last season’s league position: 20th

I think this will be a popular away day for many Town fans, as we’ve only visited the Pirelli stadium once in our history (a 1-0 victory in our 2016-17 promotion season) so lots of fans will want to tick if off their lists. It’s also one of the newer stadia in the League, only opening in 2005 and with a capacity of under 7,000 it’s a cosy space – as an estate agent would put it.

Burton finished just outside of the relegation spots in League One last season, so they may be approaching League One like Town were approaching the Championship for many years and just hoping to hang on and stay in the division. That does not always translate to an easy afternoon’s work though, as teams determined to stay up are typically hard to break down and can be tricky opponents. 

Lincoln City

Stadium name: LNER Stadium / Sincil Bank

Distance: 72 miles

Driving time: 1 hour 55 minutes

Likely away ticket allocation: 2,000 (source)

Last season’s league position: 7th 

Away allocations for last season: 

Is anyone calling this place the LNER Stadium? Surely a historic name like Sincil Bank should be preserved rather than replaced by a train company sponsor. It seems like you’re doing your brand more harm than good to remove a bit of history and force people to talk about your company instead. Seems daft. I suppose the world is facing bigger problems right now. And someone who spends half their weekends sitting in the John Smith’s Stadium shouldn’t throw stones. But still…

Anyway, a trip to Lincoln should be good. It’s one of those places that are worth having a little explore around either side of the football game if you can plan a trip to coincide with the match. Obviously, you can have a weekend away in Wigan or Rotherham if you really fancy too, but if you have a non-football supporting partner who you want to drag along to make a weekend of it, this is probably the game to do it for (unless you plan to spread your wings further to such as Bristol Rovers or Cambridge).

After just missing out on the playoffs last season, Lincoln should be a competitive team this coming season, so it should be another decent game. Though I feel like I’ve said that for a lot of these games. I suspect most games in League One will be like this for Town, no team will be a pushover but we shouldn’t fear anyone either. 

I hope you’ve found this article interesting. I’ve mostly written it for my own amusement, to get excited about the potential awaydays in the coming season. Which away trips are you excited about going on? Would you like to see a similar article for the further afield away days? Let me know in the comments.