Huddersfield Town were knocked out of the league Cup by Rochdale in a game that highlighted some of the issues Huddersfield Town currently face. Going out of the cup isn’t the worst thing to happen but the manner of the defeat was disappointingly familiar to Town fans.
It’s too early to write this season off but there were some troubling signs in this match. It now seems obvious that Carlos Corberán has a very difficult job on his hands.
Fragile optimism crushed
Rather than talk about the football I want to start talking about the impact this defeat has on the fans. After seeing some improvements in the style of football in the two friendly games I was cautiously optimistic that the new coaches had a plan that could make a difference, as were many other supporters.
That fragile optimism was crushed for me by the performance and I’m now concerned about how this squad will survive the upcoming season. Obviously there is plenty of time to bring in improvements and the players we already have should improve as they adjust to Corberán’s system. But this was the kind of limp, impotent performance that characterised Town’s previous season under Siewert and Cowley.
Like many Town fans, my feelings about the team are very quick to change. One good win and suddenly they’re world beaters in my eyes. A bad defeat and they should be sold to the glue factory. So the current mood will soon lift if we sign a few players and get something out of the Norwich game. Or if we lose then the club shop should start advertising Htafc branded glue.
What was wrong with Town’s performance?
Carlos was diplomatic in his post match interview and talked about taking positives away from the game but anyone that saw him on the touchline will know he was very unhappy with elements of this performance.
The pressing side of our game was lacking and the players didn’t play with the same energy or freedom as the two friendly games. This allowed Rochdale to have time on the ball without pressure, which felt like a mistake given they wanted to play out from the back and stroke the ball about.
Creativity was a major problem for Town too. We dominated possession for long periods but didn’t create nearly enough clear cut chances. Too often we put balls into the box which didn’t go anywhere near a blue and white shirt. I don’t know if this is a failure of the crosser to pick out players in the box or for the rest of them for not getting into the space where the ball was being played. Either way, we need to improve the quality of balls and our movement within the box (I’ve been dying variations on this for at least three years).
A friendly or a competitive game?
Corberán started his press conference on Friday by saying how much he respects the competition and then went on to detail how he planned to disrespect it by playing unfit players to help them build match fitness.
The game itself was mostly played at a good pace and Rochdale certainly hadn’t come to just get some minutes in their legs. However, Town have only played two friendlies, so still look rusty and are learning about how the new Head Coach wants them to play.
Hogg and Schindler both looked very rusty and made uncharacteristic mistakes throughout the game. Not really their fault when they’ve missed most of preseason but also not that respectful of the competition to pick them to start.
I don’t think Town set up to lose this game but they’re probably not too bothered about going out. The coming season is going to have a lot of fixture congestion as it is, so more midweek games would have made it trickier to navigate.
Maybe this wasn’t the season to start, but I’d like to see Huddersfield Town actually respect cup competitions rather than pay lip service to them. Cup runs are good for lifting the morale of both fans and players, so it would be nice to start playing our best team and going all out to win.
Rochdale deserve credit
I was very impressed with how Rochdale went about their work yesterday. I expect League One teams to play long ball football and to try and make the game a physical battle. Rochdale played some nice, short passing build up play and at times pulled Town’s defence out of shape with smart passing moves.
Rochdale finished last season 18th in the curtailed League One season, so aren’t superstars of that league. This game should be a reminder that League One is a tough league to get out of if you slip down into it.
I hope this game has been a wake up call to the transfer committee, this squad has potential but needs quality that can come straight into the first team. Otherwise we may soon become a League One team ourselves.
Can the kids cut it in the Championship?
Town started the game with three academy players in the lineup, two making their competitive debut. I think nerves may have affected the performance of these lads at times but all three grew into the game as it went along.
Jackson and Crichlow will have learned a lot from this experience as a first taste of playing competitive games for the first team. The speed and intensity of the game is a step up for them but I saw enough from them to think they can cut it in the Championship.
Rowe has already had a few opportunities in the first team but this was his first as a right back. I don’t think he was perfect but neither did he let the side down. With more game time he’ll learn more about when to go forward and when to stay back, which will help with his positioning. Luckily, his amazing speed helps him to recover when he strays too far forward.
It’s clear to me that there are some very talented players in our academy and they need opportunities to build experience playing proper, league football. However, if we play too many of them all at once we’ll do them a disservice, as we’ll be pulled apart by more experienced teams and it will knock their confidence.
This game proves Town need to strengthen before next Saturday
This game showed that we are seriously short on first-team quality players. When Mounié and Grant inevitably leave we will have lost our two most prolific goalscorers. If we don’t replace them properly then it’s hard to see how we’ll avoid next season being another long slog.
The pressure is now on Phil Hodgkinson to make money available for transfer fees and the transfer committee to bring in quality additions. On paper, Pipa, the Spanish U21 right back, seems like the right kind of deal. Experienced at a high level of football but young and ambitious. Also likely to fit with Corberán’s tactical system.
While I’ve heard a lot of criticism of Town’s recruitment team, there must be a reason they survived the backroom clear out that followed Danny Cowley’s dismissal. Hopefully it’s because they’ve already identified the players Town need to have a successful season. We’ll only know when the transfer window closes and the new players have learned our way of playing. Past transfer windows don’t fill me with confidence but we’ll have to wait and see.
Talk about young players . Rochdale had a bench full of school boys. Noble is 21 years old.
Rowe as had premier Experience.
Jackson ok. Austerfield I really like the look of. Some more to come in
From injuries. Others , fingers crossed . On transfer deals. Obviously players leaving. Fact in football.
Move on. My main concern, we will be playing catch up as the previous season . Huddersfield know the targets they require. All we hear , one out one in. Odds on KG and mounie were leaving. Plus Sohbi
And haza by gone . Over 35 million Pounds worth of footballer.
So why this ludicrous drivelling
Rubbish coming from the powers that be . 😭😭😭
ianmckay2@yahoo.co.uk
All too familiar, we have a history of selling our best players. Denis Law, Trevor Cherry, Marcus Stewart, the list goes on and on. I know we need to raise money and cut wages and I just hope some of the talented youngsters come through and hang around long enough to make a difference.
Jordan Rhodes and Philip Billing could also go on that list (not that Billing is particularly missed).
The difficulty is that clubs have few options if a players wants a move. It’s either cash in now or have an unhappy player, slowly decreasing in value as their contract runs down.
I’ve no problem with Grant and Mounié being sold. I’m not even expecting half of the transfer fees to be reinvested but at least some of the money received needs to go into strengthening the squad.
They stayed up last season because of Grants goals and the Cowleys who did wonders with a better set of players than this season. At the moment this is a League 1 side – and a poor one at that. At the start of the transfer window most people said that Town needed up to 10 players and that’s still the case. Ward is well past his best and the new goalkeeper doesn’t get good reviews so we haven’t progressed at all. The young players are just not ready for the first team. With no fans through the gate it looks like the transfer money received will go straight to running the club. I can only see a bleak future and I want to be wrong.
I worry we’ll look back and wonder why we sacked a management team that did well to stabilise the club and had a plan to climb the table. I’m liking the sound of Corberán but I’d still rather we stuck with the Cowleys.
It’s probably best to wait until the transfer window closes before judging the squad but it’s a concern that so few players have arrived. Hopefully a few leaving in the next week will kick start incoming signings too.
I was pessimistic at best when the Cowley’s were sacked, then after the reasons were unveiled why they brought Corberan in (attractive football, youth development etc). I decided that maybe this was a bold but intelligent move. There’s still time, obviously, for it to be successful, but it’s a mammoth task even for an experienced manager, no offence to Carlos, but being number 2 to someone in the Championship isn’t the same as being the man. He needs support from the transfer team to bring him some experienced players who can help these young players develop quickly. And like others have said, no matter how good a coach he is, we need to replace Grants 20 goals, we currently don’t have that player, less than a goal a game again isn’t going to cut it.
The tricky thing about replacing Grant is that every club wants a 20-goal striker. We’ll either need to spend or pluck an unknown gem from somewhere. I’m not sure we’re likely to do either.