Huddersfield Town drew 1-1 with Birmingham City in a game that many Town fans will feel disappointed to come away with only a point. The Terriers were the better team on the day despite having to field a makeshift defence after injuries ruled out three of our first-choice back four.
Here are a few of my thoughts about the game:
Chalobah’s pass for the first goal
The highlight of the afternoon was the assist from Trevoh Chalobah for Frazier Campbell’s goal. From inside his own half, Chalobah played an inch-perfect pass into the stride of Campbell. While Chalobah hasn’t been at his best in recent Town games, he showed why Chelsea and England rate him highly with this individual moment of quality.
It’s worth pointing out that Campbell did incredibly well to time his run, use his first-touch to get into space and then to finish neatly. But it was the quality of the pass that opened up the opportunity for Campbell to score.
I’ve watched the goal back a few times now and it’s fascinating to see the reaction from the Birmingham City defenders after the ball has gone in. They looked stunned that they have conceded from a position where there didn’t seem to be any threat but one good run from Cambell and an incisive pass opened up their backline and gave Town the opening goal.
A sloppy goal to concede
The equaliser from Birmingham game from a set piece which Town should have been able to cope with. The ball in wasn’t well struck but a lack of organisation meant an unmarked Birmingham player could easily flick the ball into the six yard box and we weren’t able to get the ball cleared.
Sometimes you have to hold your hand up and accept that your opponent has produced a moment of quality and a goal couldn’t be avoided. This wasn’t one of those times. Town’s players showed a lack of organisation and composure which were the main reasons we conceded from a set piece we could easily have defended with a bit more organisation.
Cowley’s makeshift back four did a decent job
The number of defensive injuries in the squad meant that Danny Cowley had a difficult selection for this game and it led to an unexpected solution. Lewis O’Brien and Juninho Bacuna were played out of position as fullbacks instead of their usual central midfield slots.
Both players didn’t look out of place and showed their versatility by playing out of their regular positions. Lewis O’Brien in particular did well because he’s never played as a left-back before this game. Each had moments where they looked a little bit unsure of their position but they didn’t make any significant errors and both provided width for Town in attack as well as tracking back to cover the flanks.
Town are looking far better under the Cowley’s…
I’ve not blogged about Town much lately, so it’s worth commenting on the obvious improvements there have been on the pitch since the arrival of the Cowleys. Under Jan Siewert, Town would most likely have lost to Birmingham. There was a softness at the start of the season which allowed teams to take advantage of us and the lack of confidence in the squad allowed opposition teams to dictate games.
The biggest change I’ve seen at Town since Danny Cowley took charge is the attitude of the players on the pitch. It’s obvious that fighting spirit and playing for team are valued by the new manager because he picks the battlers to play most weeks while technically better players are left out because they don’t have those qualities. This has made Town harder to beat and a more cohesive unit on the pitch.
Alongside the increased team spirit, the defensive organisation has improved a great deal under the new regime and we are getting caught on the break a lot less often. This solidity gives us a base from which we can build. Obviously the current defensive injury crisis and the gaps in our squad are a threat to our improved defensive record but the makeshift defensive played against Birmingham still looked mostly solid.
… but there’s still a lot of room for improvement
The Championship is a far lower standard than the Premier League, so it’s easy to get carried away with Town’s recent upturn in form and think we may be able to climb to the top end of the table. I think such aspirations are a bit premature.
The new management team have done a great job of fixing Town’s most glaring problems and have started to accumulate positive results. This quick turnaround has been very impressive but it will take longer to make Huddersfield Town a genuinely good football team.
While the defensive side of the game is looking much better, we are still not capable of putting together periods of fluent, attacking football. Frazier Campbell’s tenacity and Karlan Grant’s goalscoring instincts have meant we’re a threat in the final third but we’re not carving opposition teams open often enough and lack a creative force when we are in possession.
It will take a lot of time, and possible a raft of new players, to turn this team into one that can challenge at the top end of the table. The good news is that the management team look like they know where the issues are with the squad and are working hard to get things moving in the right direction. It’s just going to take a bit of time.
Another point to ponder: > £40m signings on the bench (Kongolo, Mbenza, Diakhaby, Hadergjonaj, Mounie). Are they now written-off; is it just a question of how much we can sell them for?