HUDDERSFIELD fan and former Daily Telegraph football writer Rob Stewart has released a book about the Terriers’ fortunes in the 1979-80 season.

In the final game of the season they won the Division Four title by beating Hartlepool United at Leeds Road.

Today while the Yorkshire club are in the Premier League, Pools are on the brink of administration, in desperate need of new investment.

The sides were on an equal footing in League One just six years ago.

Back in 1980, Steve Kindon was the Terriers’ top striker, and he was up against Pools’ hard-man Billy Ayre.

In an extract from the book, Kindon recalls how fearsome Ayre was as an opponent that season.

HARTLEPOOL will always have a niche in Town’s history because of the events of May 3, 1979.

But it was a trip up to Pools’ Victoria Ground on the North Sea coast and a duel with their centre-half, Billy Ayre, that has a permanent place in Steve Kindon’s football memories.

“One of my first Town games was up at Hartlepool and I was gob-smacked because Mick called me into his office and said there’s a centre-half you’re going to be up against called Billy Ayre and he’s a mad man.

“Mick said ‘I’ll never say this to you again but if there’s a 50-50 let him have it because I’ve bought you for the season to get us up and I don’t want you getting injured.’

“Then on the Tuesday or Wednesday, we were warming up for training, I saw Robbo (Ian Robins) and Fletch (Peter Fletcher) and went over for a chat.

'All right lads?’

‘Just thinking, Saturday we’re up against Billy Ayre.’

‘Who’s this Billy Ayre?

‘He's a nutter.’

“I went shopping in town and got talking to some fans.

‘It’s Billy Ayre on Saturday.’

‘Yes I know it is.’

“I was wondering: who is this monster?

“Come the Saturday, I was warming up with Andy Rankin when Hartlepool came out.

“Someone shouted at me – 'Kindon - none of your fancy-Dan First Division tricks today - I’m gonna do you.’

“And he ran off, I looked at Andy – who was as dry as they came – and he quipped ‘intelligent conversation was it?

“It must have been Billy Ayre. It got me thinking about what Mick had said, him wanting me for the rest of the season.

“But did I follow his instructions? Did I …..”

According to Kindon, they “battered each other to death” but attack became the best form of defence for the Town striker.

“Andy Rankin didn't have a long kick and as we were playing into the wind the ball went up and came down vertically and I knew this is the obvious opportunity for me to take a whack.

“I jumped as though to head it but I jumped to the side and went whack. And there was this monster Billy Ayre just trying to head the ball, not trying to do me at all and I caught him across the face.

“He collapsed and it was horrible of me to do. The nine Hartlepool players should have steamed into me but all I heard was ‘hell he’s done Billy’ so I went up in their esteem.

“For 90 minutes we kicked each other. Fairly. We hurt each other fairly. We walked off afterwards like soldiers battered and bruised with arms around each other.

‘See you in 20 minutes for a beer, Kindo.’

‘Too right.’

On that final day of the season there was knock on Town’s dressing room door. It was Billy Ayre.

‘Kindo – hope you do it today…..but I’m not going to help you’.

“That was everything I would have wanted, hoped for and expected of him.”

The 101 Club can be ordered from Great Northern Books via their website gnbooks.co.uk or emailing sales@greatnorthernbooks.co.uk,