6 reasons to feel confident about Huddersfield Town’s chances in the playoff final 

It’s not long now until Huddersfield Town and Nottingham Forest take to the field at the national stadium to fight it out for a place in the Premier League. Despite not being too bothered about going up, I do desperately want Town to win the game anyway. I can’t explain these contradictory feelings but have accepted them now. 

The bookies fancy Nottingham Forest and the national media have focussed mainly on them for their build up. I don’t particularly care about either of these things but I thought I might redress the balance by writing about why I think Town may have a good chance on Sunday. To be clear though, I’m writing this from the perspective of trying to convince myself that we’ll win, not from a position of arrogant expectation.

Town are good at making games tight and getting over the line 

You could argue that this whole season has been excellent preparation for a playoff final game. Huddersfield Town have consistently made their league games play out a bit like high-stakes one-off matches like a playoff final. Rather than play teams off the park, our biggest successes have come from dragging teams down to our level and edging out on top of a scrappy game.

That could be the tactic that’s most effective against Forest. They like to attack teams and play free-flowing football but we don’t have to let that happen. There are no prizes for the team that plays the prettiest football, so it could be that Town instead frustrate their opponent, dig in and rely on quick counters and set pieces for chances. 

Numerous opposition fans have accused Town of being lucky this season but if that’s been the case over a 46-game season and a two-legged playoff semi final then maybe it’s not just luck. Maybe this team has the knack for keeping games tight and finding the little advantages they need to get results. 

Nottingham struggled against Sheffield United 

For all the hype about Forest’s attacking prowess, they looked pretty poor in their second leg of the playoff final. Whether it was nerves, tired legs or Sheffield United sussing them out, it was only a fantastic late save by Brice Samba that helped them get to the penalty shootout.

There have been games this season where Nottingham Forest have hit their stride and looked superb but if they had done that consistently they would have finished above us in the league. Like all the other teams outside of the top two, Forest are far from perfect and have weaknesses that Town can exploit.

Carlos is a canny operator 

It was a very tricky start to Carlos’ time at Huddersfield Town. He took over during the pandemic, started well but then had an abysmal second half to last season. Most fans wouldn’t have batted an eye lid if he had been given the sack this time last year after barely winning a match after Christmas. But this season he has repaid the faith in him by managing to wring more than anyone could reasonably expect from his squad. 

While there are individual players that have excelled for Town this season, the way the squad operates collectively has been the reason for our success. Carlos has been a huge part of that, as he has been able to find multiple ways to win games by adapting his squad and his tactics to different challenges.

One of the greatest compliments other managers have given Carlos this season has been when they’ve said they struggle to research Town tactically because we change from game to game. This unpredictable approach keeps opponents guessing and means we can adjust things on the fly.

We can expect more guessing games ahead of Sunday with Carlos likely to pick a formation, lineup and tactical approach that’s completely unique to the occasion. He’ll also change it as soon as he sees things aren’t working. While Steve Cooper has rightly received plaudits for the job he’s done at Forest this season, our head coach has shown that he’s capable of outfoxing his opposite number on many occasions this season.

Forest fans’ nerves could transfer onto their players 

Given that Hogg is the only player to remain from Town’s 2017 playoff triumph, I’m not convinced that our record in previous playoffs makes a big difference to the players. Equally, the fact Forest haven’t played at Wembley for so long probably isn’t as much of a hindrance to their players as many think. 

But it’s relevant to the fans. Huddersfield Town fans know that these playoff games are often nerve shredding afffairs and those nerves can translate from the crowd onto the pitch. So the fact that Town fans have been here before, coupled with the fact many of us aren’t all that bothered about promotion and the atmosphere in our end of Wembley is going to be less charged than Forest’s end. 

Fans do have an impact on games, both negatively and positively. If things are tight and the game goes down to the wire it could be that the nerves of Forest fans transmit onto the pitch and affect their players. That certainly seemed to happen at times in their semi-final match.

We’ve got players that can win games

There are some great players in this Town squad and plenty that are capable of stepping up and being match winners on their day. Sorba Thomas is the most obvious candidate to sprinkle some magic dust over Town’s performance. His set piece delivery and his ability to find space in behind are both potential ways to create an opening.

Then there’s the likes of Sinani and Holmes that can both score goals from distance or put in a killer ball on their day. Whether it’s Rhodes or Ward up front, both are able to put away chances if given service. Plus Toffolo has become absurdly dangerous in the opposition box in recent months. Then at set pieces we’ve got plenty of players capable of heading the ball in the net. 

If none of that happens then there’s Tino Anjorin. He still doesn’t look like he’s shown his full potential but could come off the bench and turn the game for us. Anyone that’s seen his highlight reel from youth football knows he’s got the ability and he’s finally close to full fitness, so maybe this game will be the one where we see him put it all together.

We have a song ready to celebrate victory!

On a lighter note, Town need to win on Sunday so we can all sing along to this absolute banger that has been made by a Town fan that appeared on a TV talent show a while ago. 

While the reaction in the comments on YouTube hasn’t been universally favourable, it’s a pretty catchy song. I wasn’t hugely in favour of it when I first heard it but since then I have been humming along to it throughout the day. It’s now stuck on a permanent loop in my head and I can’t dislodge it, so you have been warned!