Terrier Spirit

Feb122022 by Terrier Spirit3 Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Sheffield United, predictions for the game and thoughts on PNE draw

Matches

Huddersfield Town take on Sheffield United this lunchtime in an early kickoff at the John Smiths’ Stadium. Town are now 13 games into an unbeaten run but come up against an opponent in decent form and will most likely find it a tough test. After an attritional point was earned at Preston on Wednesday night I have a feeling that we may be in for another game where Town fans see our opponent have more of the ball. But when we played Sheffield United earlier in the season they did the same and Levi Colwill scored late on for us to snatch the three points. So I think Town have a chance of taking three points today even if we aren’t the team playing the nicest football. Predicted lineup to take on Sheffield United Many managers would rotate their squad when playing Wednesday nig...

Feb92022 by Terrier Spirit1 Comment

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Preston North End

Matches

Huddersfield Town take on Preston tonight and will be hoping to extend their incredible unbeaten run to 13 games. PNE are always a tough opponent though and it won't be as simple as turning up and collecting three points. While Town won't have it all their own way this evening, we're also a team that other clubs won't relish playing these days. We've got dangerous attackers, a massively improved defence and a goalkeeper that has turned dawdling over a dead ball into an art form. Here's how I think we'll line up. Goalkeeper: Lee Nicholls Jamal Blackman was absolutely fine on his debut against Barnsley but he'll step aside tonight anyway and Nicholls will return. Having two established professionals in the goalkeeping department makes me feel much happier...

Feb92022 by Terrier Spirit5 Comments

Injury updates, praising Holmes, being “self demanding”, Carlos losing his voice – Pre-Preston presser bullet points

Matches, News

In another attempt to expand the kind of thing I write about on the blog, I'm going to put together a summary of the main points from Carlos Corberán's press conference ahead of tonight's game. It's obvious from the views these videos get on YouTube that not every fan watches these conferences but there's usually some useful information in them. Here are the main points: The first half against Barnsley was good but we should have scored more. We lost control of the game in the second half because we couldn't cope with Barnsley changing shape. Carlos praised the backup players that came in last weekend and that some of them are unlucky not to have had more chances. Pipa had a scan yesterday and it was positive news. He's injured for tonight but could feature after the ...

Feb72022 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

Outrageous diving, spurned chances, the Jon Russell love-in, a dodgy ref and cup magic – Notes on Town’s 1-0 win over Barnsley

Matches

Huddersfield Town will face Nottingham Forest away in the next round of the cup after their victory over Barnsley saw them into the last 16. Like most of Town's recent games, against Barnsley there were good bits, bad bits and some key moments that went Town’s way. Town's unbeaten run is now standing at 12 games and it's hard to ignore the fact that this team are pretty good. For all the fears of doom and relegation at the start of the season, if we can beat a team that are currently below us in the league table in the next round we'll be in the quarter finals and one game away from a semi-final at Wembley. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself but surely that's part of the magic of the cup. Anyway, here are a few of my thoughts on the game. A deserved win that coul...

Feb62022 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

“He may not play many more games for Town” – Player ratings for Town’s 1-0 cup win over Barnsley

Matches

Huddersfield Town qualified for the next round of the FA Cup by beating Barnsley 1-0 yesterday. It wasn’t vintage Town but they just about deserved the win and could actually have been more comfortable winners if they had been less wasteful in front of goal. It was a mixed bag in terms of individual performances, with some players really catching the eye and several not looking up to speed. Getting into the hat for the next round was the main objective and Town managed that, so there’s no use complaining too much. Here are my player ratings for the game. Jamal Blackman - 6 out of 10 Barnsley failed to register a single shot on target in the game, so there wasn’t much opportunity for Blackman to show off his shot stopping credentials. He looked good otherwise, with some decen...

Feb52022 by Terrier Spirit1 Comment

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Barnsley in the FA Cup

Matches

Huddersfield Town take on Barnsley in the FA Cup this afternoon. Town’s recent history in the cups has been shocking, so even getting into the fourth round has been an achievement but given Barnsley’s grim recent form and Town’s current unbeaten run, today represents a very good opportunity to progress even further in the cup. As usual, Carlos Corberan has made all the right noises in the build up to the game about respecting the competition and picking a strong side. But we know from history that we can most likely ignore that and expect to see a much changed team this afternoon from the one that played against Derby in midweek. At least Town’s squad this season is big enough to have quality backup in the majority of areas on the pitch and we should still field a decent team. Here’...

Jan242022 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

Wembley hotel booking, our hat-trick hero, unleashing the attack, Reading relegation fodder and a leaky defence – Notes on Reading away

Matches

Huddersfield Town came away victorious from a seven-goal thriller against Reading at the weekend. The game was a hodge podge of great attacking football, woeful defending and a wide range of tactics and formations for each unique part of the game. There are some games where it’s a struggle to think of talking points to fill a blogpost but the opposite is true of this game. There are almost too many things to talk about. So rather than waste time on these introductory paragraphs that most people skip over, I’ll get straight into it. Hat-trick hero The only possible candidate for Man of the Match is Danny Ward, his three goals and incredible graft made this the high point of his return to Town after some fairly dark days in the not-too-distant past. Almost no T...

Jan232022 by Terrier Spirit5 Comments

“Could be the missing piece of the puzzle” Player ratings from Town’s 4-3 win over Reading

Matches

Huddersfield Town came away victorious from a thrilling 4-3 encounter with Reading yesterday afternoon. The quality of football was mixed but the amount of action more than made up for occasional defensive lapses. Town gave away some truly horrendous goals but equally they attacked with verve and deserved to win despite frequent sloppiness at the back. I think this game was a bit of a one off, with the circumstances of the game lending themselves for Town taking an unusually bold, swashbuckling approach to the game. This season has been typified by a more cautious and defensive mindset but our recent inability to hold on to a lead and Reading’s obvious vulnerability meant it was sensible to have a really good go at them even though gifting them a way back into the game so frequently cl...

Jan222022 by Terrier Spirit1 Comment

Teacher’s pet to start – Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Reading

Matches

Huddersfield Town are in Reading today to try to extend their eight-game unbeaten run against a team that are really struggling for form. While we’re regularly reminded that there are no easy games in the Championship, this fixture represents one of the less tricky ones. Though the last time I thought that was when we played Nottingham Forest during their abysmal run and they played us off the park. Town weren’t at their best against Swansea last weekend but managed to cling on for a point against a team that played better than us on the day. Today’s game represents an opportunity for Town to have more of the ball and hopefully to give our attackers a platform to try and win the game. Here’s how I think Town will lineup today: Goalkeeper: Lee Nicholls I thought having on...

Jan172022 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

Poisoned pen programme notes, midfield questions, The Balon b’Ore and tippy tappy tactics – Notes on Town’s draw with Swansea

Matches

Draws can be like those Rorschach tests used by psychologists in films. Rather than an ink blot that looks like a reproductive organ, a draw allows a football fan to project their deep rooted feelings about their team onto it. So if you've got reservations about Huddersfield Town then Saturday’s result was proof we can't hold leads, lack presence in midfield and blew an opportunity to win. If you're on the Carlos promotion party bus then this game was a valuable point against a team that were better than us on the day but weren't able to press home their advantage because we're such tricky Terriers. I'm not sure how I feel about this game but I'll probably work it out by the end of this article. What was the game plan? Our game plan worked in the first half but failed in th...