8 thoughts on Huddersfield Town’s opening day defeat to Norwich – Fashion choices, squad gaps, positives, mistakes and more

Huddersfield Town lost to Norwich in yesterday’s opening Championship fixture. As a Town fan I’ve become something of a connoisseur of defeat this last couple of years. This was definitely one of the more palatable beating we’ve had. Plenty of positives, bad luck to bemoan and a decent performance. Here are a few of my thoughts about the game, including my thoughts on Carlos Corberán’s sartorial choices.

Early signs of the new approach

This was the first league game under Corberán and I was pleased by how the new system is developing. Managers are excellent at talking about their intention to attack and press the opposition but it often doesn’t materialise. This wasn’t the case yesterday and it was obvious we were doing things differently. The work rate from the players without the ball was ramped up and we stopped Norwich from being able to get into a rhythm by getting in their faces. With the ball we tried to get it forward quickly and committed players forward. The intention was very encouraging but the execution was often not great. This group is adapting to a lot of changes in a short space of time, so I’m not too concerned at the poor execution in the final third. More time on the training pitch and a few quality additions will help to improve the “final action” as Danny Cowley called it.

Diakhaby takes a step towards rehabilitating his Town career

Was this Adama Diakhaby’s best performance in a Town shirt? Maybe not but it was the most disciplined, which in some ways is more encouraging as it’s his positioning and work rate that have let him down in the past. He tracked back superbly yesterday and showed real commitment to the team. I’m stunned to be writing this about a player I’d previously written off but it’s important to acknowledge this change in mentality. One decent performance doesn’t mean I can forget all the times he’s let us down but it’s a step in the right direction and I’m delighted to see him showing the right attitude. Let’s hope he keeps it up.

Lack of attacking threat

I touched on it above but the biggest issue we had yesterday was the cutting edge in the final third. We had quite a few promising positions but couldn’t turn these into clear cut chances to score. Bacuna’s poor showing, Koroma being out of position and Diakhaby having to track back so much meant there were good reasons for the attacking trident to be misfiring. With Ward fit, a new signing to replace Karlan Grant and Koroma in his natural position we can expect a bit more in the final third. Against weaker opposition and with a stronger Town lineup we should see plenty of goals this season. Should. We just don’t know yet and I think fans are going to be nervous until they see some investment in the squad.

Expect more goals from mistakes

Richard Stearman was distraught to have given the ball away for Norwich’s goal but he shouldn’t blame himself too much. Mistakes are likely to be part and parcel of our new approach. Playing out from the back and retaining possession under pressure require taking risks and we don’t currently have the players capable of doing that without messing it up from time to time. The thing that’s difficult to see is that the mistakes, provided they aren’t too often, are an unfortunate but acceptable byproduct of playing a more exciting and productive style of football. The important thing for Town will be to score enough goals for the occasional mishap not to cost us points. Liverpool quite often concede because of silly mistakes but then go up the other end and smash in three or four (see yesterday’s game against Leeds for an example).

We probably would have lost anyway

Town were perhaps unlucky with the goal but had exhausted their luck already after two blatant Norwich penalties were denied (Bacuna’s handball and Schindler’s mistimed challenge). We were also regularly being carved open on the break. So it’s likely that Norwich would have eventually broken through and got a goal. I don’t think we need to worry too much about losing to Norwich by a narrow margin. They have one of best squads in the division and are expected to go straight back up. The fact we matched them for so long is encouraging and suggests we’ll do better against weaker opposition.

We now need to sell Grant and splash the cash

I hope the suits watching the game yesterday will have seen what most fans saw in that game: a Town team that did well but badly lacked quality in the final third. I admire the fact we’re playing hardball over Karlan Grant’s fee but now the season has started we need to speed things up so we can bring in replacements. Spending the next fortnight haggling over the final valuation of Grant could badly scupper us in terms of getting players into the club. We’ve got bitter experience of selling players late in the window and not replacing them properly, so it can’t be allowed to happen again.

What areas do Town need to strengthen?

Sarr and Pipa’s arrivals mean that our defence looks relatively OK now. Pereira and Hamer might not be everyone’s choice for keepers but that’s the direction we’ve gone in and most likely won’t see any additions. So that leaves midfield and attack to sort out. A deep-lying playmaker is a top priority, as that is the position that makes this whole tactical system tick. I’ve repeatedly called for Austerfield to play this role but it seems that Carlos isn’t ready to make him first choice, so investment is needed. I’m not sure if Corberán is happy with his options in the advanced midfield spots. Pritchard hasn’t impressed so far but could improve, Jackson has potential but I can’t see him starting more than 10 games. Daly and O’Brien returning from injury will provide more options in this area of the pitch. O’Brien should start most games and I think he’ll shine in this system with his box-to-box style of play. Goals are the thing we most need for the players in the front three positions. We basically need a Karlan Grant-type but one that is dedicated to the team. These kind of players don’t come cheap and it’s not clear if Phil is willing to pay seven figure transfer fees. With the fees coming in the opposite direction I’d expect us to spend at least some of it on the squad even if the bulk has to go back into the club to cover wages and debt repayments. Even if we get a goal-scoring winger, we may also need a central striker to compete alongside Ward and Campbell. It could be that Harratt and Philips in the academy are seen as good enough cover in this position but I’d feel better with more experience in this part of the pitch.

Carlos on the touchline

It was interesting to see that Carlos dismisses the usual manager clothing choices of the suit or training gear and instead looked like he’d just come from a shoot for the Next catalogue. Is there something deeper to this choice? Is he showing his lack of respect for footballing traditions and his intention to do things his own way? Were those skinny trousers an attempt to unsettle Farke in the opposite dugout? Most likely I’m drawing far too much into it but I thought it worth mentioning Huddersfield Town’s first ever “smart casual” manager after decades of suit managers and tracksuit managers. Corberán’s behaviour on the touchline is also something I took an interest in. The level of animation managers show falls on a spectrum. Andy Ritchie and Mark Robins were at one extreme where they’d spend most of the game leaning on the dugout and looking a bit bored. The opposite end was Lee Clark who almost foamed at the mouth and approached complete mental breakdown if Lee Peltier miscontrolled a pass. Corberán definitely leans closer to Lee Clark than Mark Robins but doesn’t seem quite as psychopathic. Clark was so aggressive from the touchline that it clearly impacted the players and made them scared to take risks. Carlos gives out a lot of instructions and gets very angry when things aren’t going to plan but so far doesn’t look like he’s about to nut Hamer for kicking it long, so he’s not gone full Lee Clark. I’m curious to see what direction Corberán goes here. It could be that he settles down as the players get used to his system. Alternatively he may get even more frustrated with players repeatedly ignoring instructions (looking at you Bacuna) and his rage starts to spill over.

Want to read more?

Check out my 11 favourite tweets about the Norwich game from Town fans.

Alternatively, read my player ratings from the Norwich game, where a former whipping boy finally receives some praise.