Finally, some football to talk about! Huddersfield Town ran out 2-1 winners in an enjoyable to watch friendly. The first half was a mixed bag, with defensive frailties and attacking intent on display from Town. The second half was the most entertaining, when Town’s academy players showed why they are so highly thought of by the club’s hierarchy.
While it’s important to not get too carried away by a preseason game against League Two opposition, there were some very encouraging signs in this game. Here are a few of my thoughts.
First half – adapting to a new style of play
There was an awkwardness to Town’s play in the first half against Bradford as players adjusted to the new way they are expected to play under Carlos Corberán. The highlight was the sheer numbers of bodies we committed forward when in attack. The downside was how open we looked at the back. If Bradford had been more clinical they could easily have scored three goals before half time.
This was the first glimpse of a change in approach which will take a significant amount of time to bed in but I liked what I saw. The fullbacks played like wingers, the wingers were almost strikers and two of the central midfielders pushed right up when we had possession. This left just the two central defenders and remaining midfielder in deep lying positions. So we had lots of overloads when we built attacks but simple balls forward put Bradford clear through because we were over committed at times. In the first friendly of preseason this is fine but may need addressing before the season starts properly.
“Gerrit forrad” – playing out from the back
One of the most common shouts I’d hear from the stands back when we were allowed into the stadium was “Gerrit forrad”, aimed at any player that dared to pass in any direction other than straight up the field to the striker. It’s clear that Corberán does not want to play direct, longball football as we saw a lot of building possession up from the back yesterday.
The excellent young Austerfield helped with this stage of our game. His incisive passing out from deep meant we weren’t getting trapped at the back but it also relied on movement further up the pitch. Playing this system well relies on being able to get the ball moving and creating openings to exploit. It also needs defenders that are confident on the ball, which was not the case for Richard Stearman in the build up to Bradford’s goal.
When this tactic is played badly we get stuck with the ball on defence and just roll it around among the defenders. Town’s horrendous performance against Luton after the restart saw us have around 70% possession but we never looked a threat. Town were far more attack-minded against Bradford but fans may have to learn to be patient and accepting of the odd mistake if we’re to adapt to a possession focused approach.
The second half – a brilliant performance from the kids
I was tempted to turn the stream off when I saw our second half lineup included 9 changes and all the new ones were from the academy. I’m so glad I didn’t as it was one of the best halves of football I’ve ever seen Town play in a friendly (in fairness, that bar is set fairly low).
The energy, freedom and skill on show during the second half was a breath of fresh air and every single one of those lads did a good job with some of them looking exceptionally good.
Austerfield, after standing out among the first team in the first 45, looked just as composed and clinical with less experienced players around him. Ben Jackson showed a range of passing we’ve not had in midfield since Aaron Mooy left. Romaney Crichlow snuffed out everything that came near him and looked good on the ball too. Daly was a lively presence and scored the winner with a deflected effort. Diarra, who only recently turned 17, stood out for his driving runs from midfield.
Being completely honest, the youngsters played better than their senior counterparts. OK, Bradford were tiring and made three changes in the second half but even accounting for that, our kids looked better than the old pros.
Town still need to make signings
With the current injury problems and lack of depth in the first team, Town couldn’t put together a starting eleven without relying on the academy, with Austerfield and Duhaney required to plug the gaps. Wűe need more experienced players in the first team to help balance out the squad.
A right back, at least one keeper, two midfielders and a replacement for Karlan Grant (if he leaves as expected) are all needed as a minimum in my eyes. The transfer rumour mill continues to spit out names of players linked to Town but things are still moving slowly and we’re getting closer and closer to the start of the season.
While yesterday’s second half performance makes me feel more confident about using academy lads on the first team, the Championship is a major step up in quality for them. It wouldn’t be fair to just chuck a load of them in and ruin their confidence by getting thumped every week. It takes careful and patient planning to gradually introduce youngsters. Look at how long it’s taken Phil Foden to become a regular at Man City despite being one of the country’s most exciting young players.
While I’m excited to see some of these lads break into the first team, I hope its because they’ve earned it rather than because we can’t afford to being in senior players.
Communication from the club
I feel so much more positive about the season ahead after this game but I have one relatively minor grumble about communication from the club. Or, more accurately, the lack of it.
Since confirming that “a small number” at the club had tested positive for coronavirus there has been very little communication from inside the club. Before the game there was a tweet that confirmed several players were carrying knocks but it was not specific about who was missing with what problem. Presumably this was because they didn’t want to disclose who it was that tested positive (though we don’t know for sure any of the players contracted Covid-19, it could have been staff). It’s also possible that the intensive training regime is causing lots of niggling injuries. We just don’t know.
It was also disappointing that Corberán didn’t come out for an interview after the game. Or at least one of the coaches. It was interesting to see two different Town teams try to implement the Head Coach’s vision but I’d have liked to have heard from him about the tactics.
Not a big deal in the scheme of things but I would like to know Corberán’s thoughts about how things are progressing.
TEAM NEWS:
As alluded to in his press conference last week, a number of Carlos Corberán’s squad aren’t being risked today due to injuries or small knocks.#htafc
— Huddersfield Town (@htafc) August 26, 2020
Thought the kids were excellent.
Enjoyed watching them taking players on and passing it around and through players, even if the end product wasn’t always there.
Goalkeeper needs addressing and quickly, and I don’t feel we can have 2 slow centre backs.
Schindler doesn’t gave a great deal of pace and Stearman looks uncomfortable with the ball at his feet and is way too slow. Yesterday he was made to look as though he was running with lead boots on
Can’t argue with any of these points. I think Stearman is good with a physical battle against a burly striker but might struggle to play out from the back. Hopefully Edmonds-Green or Crichlow can make the step up. Goalkeep is an absolute priority but I’m doubtful we’ll get a good one. I suspect we’ll prioritise distribution over shot stopping and that could cost us.
Keep kongolo
Give the kids one or two seasons with Carlos and away we go, i thought Austerfield was excellent and at times with his play and demeanour looked like a very young Franz B (Der Kaiser).
I really liked the look of Austerfield too. Very composed for his age. He could have a big future at Town.
I thought the young players were good against a fair side, the first half was a sign perhaps what was to come if all was right. The team from last season has lost good loan players and have not been replaced. If the missing players were not at the game how are they going to blend into the new style. Umless we strengthen soon then alarm bells are ringing as we on the day, at best were an average league one side, certainly not one to hold their own in a physical fast championship game.
We definitely need to strengthen the squad. Hopefully we’ll see some quality signings before the Norwich game. It’s not ideal they won’t have had the whole preseason at Town but the transfer market is currently very slow.
We are used to Danny Cowley talking to the press at every opportunity. Perhaps the language barrier plays a large part in the lack of communication but it would be nice to have a bit more detail about injuries and who and why players were not available on the day. As to recruitment, it looks like Corberan has been told he has to make do with what he’s got – and we shall see if that’s good enough.
I agree with the comment about the language barrier, we all know that some english words and phrase can be interpreted differently and for a person for whom english is not the home tongue they can say things which some reporters interpret differently to what was intended. I’m not sure about the recruiting comment there is still plenty of time and the market is very slow and certainly deflated, as said wait and see.