Huddersfield Town will return to the Championship in a few weeks time, following their relegation from the Premier League. The 2018/19 season was a dismal one for Town fans, with just three victories to celebrate all season and some embarrassing low points along the way.
While some fans may see relegation to the Championship as a terrible thing, I’m feeling positive about the forthcoming campaign. Here’s a list of reasons why I think we’re going to have a good season.
More games where we’ve got a good chance of winning
While it was nice to have a couple of years in the top-flight of English football, the last season was awful to watch for the majority of the time. While it would be daft to think Town are going to be competing at the top end of the Championship, it’s almost certain we’ll win far more games in the upcoming season than we did in the last one.
I don’t go to games expecting to see Town win, even when we’re up against relative minnows, but last season I went to far too many games expecting to lose. That wasn’t a fun frame of mind to be in, particularly as it was so often accurate. I’m looking forward to watching Town play and seeing a competitive game every time, whether we win, lose or draw.
Parachute payments mean we’re one of the big boys (for now)
Huddersfield Town pulled off a modern miracle in getting promoted from the Championship with one of the league’s smallest budgets. It’s incredibly rare for clubs to overcome financial disparity like that. While I don’t agree with parachute payments on principle, I’m not going to complain about the unnatural advantage it gives Town in the next three seasons.
It appears that the bulk of the parachute money will be needed to balance the books now we’ve got players earning significantly more than our previous Championship squad. While we still have those payments we can punch above our weight and should have a decent chance of being able to compete at the top end of the table.
New chairman, Phil Hodgkingson, has made it clear that Town are in a stable financial position and no players will leave unless our valuation is met. It means we’re likely to either keep our best players or will sell them and reinvest some of the fees we receive into capable replacements.
The mercenaries are on their way out
I’ve got no inside knowledge, so can’t say exactly what went on behind the scenes with Town last season. However, it was clear that things were not happy in the camp and some players either threw their toys out of the pram or were excluded by the management. Either way, it’s better for all concerned for these negative influences to leave the club and a new dressing room atmosphere can then be cultivated.
The videos the club have released on their YouTube account of preseason training show that the current squad clearly get on well and want to play for each other. It’s vital that we can generate that kind of spirit, as it was such a big part of Town’s success the last time we were playing in the Championship.
The Championship is more exciting than the Premier League
The Premier League is hyped as being an amazing experience, but the reality didn’t quite live up to the marketing material. The stadiums in the Premier League are often packed with tourists or fair-weather fans that sit back and wait to be entertained. The library-like atmosphere in the grounds led to a sanitised experience for many matches.
The Championship is a relentless competition with teams that are, on the whole, far more evenly matched. Every club is either pushing for playoffs or fending off relegation all the way through the season. In the Premier League there is the battle among the top-six teams, five or six teams fighting relegation and then a big lump of teams that have little to play for every year but seventh place. The Championship offers up more drama and shocks than the Premier League on a weekly basis, and I’m excited about Town being part of that next season.
Town are repeating the steps that lead to our earlier success
I’ve seen a bit of negativity on social media about the way the club is being run but I feel quite pleased with how it’s all going. It’s sad that Dean Hoyle is leaving but his selection of a successor seems like a smart choice. Phil Hodgkinson is a local businessman with a genuine passion for the club, much better him than some faceless billionaire from overseas. I heard someone else say recently that Phil Hodgkinson is Dean Hoyle ten years ago. While that may be an overstatement, there are parallels between the two men and I’m sure that Dean Hoyle would only step down if he felt the club were in safe hands.
There are question marks about Siewert too, but I think it’s unfair to judge him on his performance in the Premier League as he was working with a demoralised squad that he hadn’t chosen. He has some similar ideas to David Wagner but also wants to do things his own way. I’m not certain he’s going to be a success but his philosophy of attacking and high-pressing football should at least make Town fun to watch this season.
The signings so far have also got a familiar feel to them too, more in keeping with our thrifty Championship spending in the past than the splurges of the Premier League transfer windows. We’re not overspending on players that are established, instead we’re picking up players based on their potential. This is a gamble but it worked for us before and the Championship is a level where players have a better chance of coming in from other leagues and making an impact.
So it’s definitely not all doom and gloom. It’s hard to know what kind of season lays ahead, but there are some good reasons to be optimistic and excited about the season that is to come.