SIX years ago Huddersfield Town had just eight players and were in the bottom tier of English football.
In administration, the biggest concern was could the Terriers survive, not in what division could they play in.
Fast forward to 2009 and the club is dreaming of the Championship and Premiership – Ken Davy highly satisfied as his spell as chairman draws to a close.
Huddersfield Giants chairman and self-confessed rugby league man Davy took control of the Terriers in 2003 when manager Peter Jackson began with just eight players on his books.
Relegation to English football's bottom tier had left the Terriers financially in the mire but half a decade on it's a different ball game as Davy prepares to hand over to chairman-elect Dean Hoyle at the end of the season.
Davy, 67, admits that by any stretch of the imagination his period as chairman has seen considerable highs and lows.
Crucially, the chairman is delighted to be bowing out at arguably Town's highest peak yet – the Terriers on the
of a
under new boss Lee Clark, pictured below, and soaring towards the League One play-offs.
"It's certainly a far cry from 2003," said Davy.
"The way I see it is that I rescued the club from disappearing.
"It was in the very real sense the 59th minute of the 11th hour when myself and Roger Armitage and Andrew Watson came in to rescue the club and the reason we rescued it was because we felt it would have been an absolute tragedy for fans and for the community and town of Huddersfield and the surrounding area for the club to disappear.
"In rescuing it we took on a lot of debts and a club that was quite literally on its uppers.
"It was in disarray, it had a good administration led by Ann Hough and the ticket office but beyond that there was very little commercial income, there was virtually no lottery income and the retail had been franchised out to another organisation and was virtually dead in the water.
"We actually took over a club that was still burdened with debt and had no income of any consequence and indeed, as has often been said, had very few players as well because only eight turned up on the first day of training.
"We were also in the lower reaches in the bottom division of the Football League."
For even the most ardent Terriers fan, Town's future did not look bright – if indeed they had one – but a rebuilding process both on and off the field slowly but surely began to take shape.
The Terriers' stay in England's basement division was short and sweet – Jackson's side was promoted from League Two after defeating Mansfield Town on penalties in the play-off final at Cardiff.
Town were ninth but just one point off the top six on their return to League One and they then reached the play-offs after finishing fourth in 2005-06, going out in the semi-finals to Barnsley.
Disappointing 15th and tenth- placed finishes followed in the next two seasons but there is every indication that 2008-09 should significantly better that.
Davy explained the rebuilding process.
He said: "what we have now and what Dean will inherit is a club that is in good heart, that has a strong supporter base and a solid infrastructure.
"We have essentially rebuilt the infrastructure from the bottom up and whilst the performances on the field in the last couple of years have not met our expectations, I am delighted that we are in the top half of this division and who knows what we can go on to achieve in this and subsequent years.
"I am excited for Dean and for the club as a whole and I am very pleased that our period of running the club has helped to get it into a position where it is well placed to move forward.
"It has been achieved through a lot of hard work and through a lot of very enthusiastic people."
Davy's spell as chairman has seen him appoint four permanent managers – Jackson, Andy Ritchie, Stan Ternent and now Lee Clark.
In between, Gerry Murphy has three times performed heroics as caretaker boss.
Davy is convinced that under Clark, along with a vastly-experienced backroom staff, Town now have a potent winning formula.
"I think Lee and the team has that blend of youth, enthusiasm and maturity," said Davy.
"We are very, very pleased and enthusiastic about the future.
"I don't think there's any limit to what they can do but we've always got to remember in sport that it is dangerous to over-promise and it's also a reality that Rome wasn't built in a day.
"But we do have a solid infrastructure, we have great facilities, which Lee has readily acknowledged and we have a potentially very strong team."
Ultimately, Davy will experience just five more months of the new set-up before the baton is handed to Hoyle at the end of the season.
By his own admittance, Davy has never been a "football man" but six years at the Galpharm has somewhat changed that.
"Whilst it is common knowledge that I was not steeped in football when I took over as chairman, I love the club," said a sentimental Davy.
"I've really been enjoying football, I got into it personally and emotionally and so, yes, in the very real sense I shall be sorry to have that reduced involvement but that's tempered by the knowledge that the club is going in the right direction."
A new era under Hoyle now beckons and Davy is very hopeful that it can be Huddersfield's best for many years.
He said: "We all stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us and I am pleased to be handing over a club to Dean Hoyle that's in good shape and in so much better shape than we inherited.
"At the end of the day we don't really own it – we're kind of trustees for a football club and are looking after it for the next generation.
"I see Dean Hoyle as essentially representing the next generation – there is a reasonable age gap between him and I – and so I am proud to be handing over the club.
"I am also proud to have had the support I have had from the vast majority of supporters, from staff within the club and from the board – in particular Roger Armitage, Andrew Watson, Ann Hough and Ralph Rimmer – Ralph Rimmer being the managing director of the stadium.
"They have been a tremendous support to me over the last few years and now I am proud to be passing on something that is in so much better shape than we inherited six years ago."
"I think Lee and the team has that blend of youth, enthusiasm and maturity," said Davy.
"We are very, very pleased and enthusiastic about the future.
"I don't think there's any limit to what they can do but we've always got to remember in sport that it is dangerous to over-promise and it's also a reality that Rome wasn't built in a day.
"But we do have a solid infrastructure, we have great facilities, which Lee has readily acknowledged and we have a potentially very strong team."
Ultimately, Davy will experience just five more months of the new set-up before the baton is handed to Hoyle at the end of the season.
By his own admittance, Davy has never been a "football man" but six years at the Galpharm has somewhat changed that.
"Whilst it is common knowledge that I was not steeped in football when I took over as chairman, I love the club," said a sentimental Davy.
"I've really been enjoying football, I got into it personally and emotionally and so, yes, in the very real sense I shall be sorry to have that reduced involvement but that's tempered by the knowledge that the club is going in the right direction."
A new era under Hoyle now beckons and Davy is very hopeful that it can be Huddersfield's best for many years.
He said: "We all stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us and I am pleased to be handing over a club to Dean Hoyle that's in good shape and in so much better shape than we inherited.
"At the end of the day we don't really own it – we're kind of trustees for a football club and are looking after it for the next generation.
"I see Dean Hoyle as essentially representing the next generation – there is a reasonable age gap between him and I – and so I am proud to be handing over the club.
"I am also proud to have had the support I have had from the vast majority of supporters, from staff within the club and from the board – in particular Roger Armitage, Andrew Watson, Ann Hough and Ralph Rimmer – Ralph Rimmer being the managing director of the stadium.
"They have been a tremendous support to me over the last few years and now I am proud to be passing on something that is in so much better shape than we inherited six years ago."
in such a great state.
of a 
under new boss Lee Clark, pictured below, and soaring towards the League One play-offs.
