Terrier Spirit

Sep152020 by Terrier Spirit11 Comments

How many new signings do Huddersfield Town need?

Matches, Transfers

Huddersfield Town’s squad is worryingly thin at the moment. Everyone knows that new players are needed but which positions are most desperately in need of being filled? To answer this question, I’m going to take a look at every position on the pitch and look at what options Town currently have. Some areas look well-stocked whereas other parts of the pitch are severely lacking. Goalkeeper - options but too many monkeys on too many backs Ben Hamer Joel Pereira Ryan Schofield This is an area of the pitch where we could have issues this season. Ben Hamer has struggled for form all the time he's been at Town (including while on loan at Derby). His understudy, Pereira had an even worse time of it last season at Hearts. It's not clear where Schofield falls in the pecking order ...

Sep142020 by Terrier Spirit4 Comments

6 revealing stats from Huddersfield Town’s defeat to Norwich

Opinion, Tactics

There is a wealth of data that comes out of every football game played these days. Trying to make sense of all the stats can be tricky, so I've cherry picked six statistics from Town's defeat to Norwich to try and make sense of the game and the problems Town currently face. Only 1 out of 12 crosses found a Town player Whipping balls into the box from wide positions seems to a major part of our new attacking strategy. Despite Town having relatively few chances to attack in this game we still managed to get twelve crosses off. The problem is that only one of them found a man. There were always plenty of Town players getting forward when we attacked but we consistently failed to find them in good positions. This suggests the quality of the balls in weren't good enough or the players in the...

Sep132020 by Terrier Spirit4 Comments

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

Matches, Opinion, Transfers

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 ...

Sep132020 by Terrier Spirit16 Comments

“A great performance from a player I’ve spent a lot of time slagging off.” Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 1-0 defeat to Norwich

Matches, Opinion

Huddersfield Town lost to Norwich in a game of few chances that was decided by a mistake from Richard Stearman, made shortly after being elbowed in the face by a Norwich player. It was an unfortunate way to lose a game but there were lots of positives to take away. While it’s never nice to lose, this felt like one of the more acceptable losses we’ve had lately. We were up against quality opposition, we were a bit unlucky and there were signs of the new style starting to take effect. Which hopefully explains why these scores may seem high for a defeat. Ben Hamer - 7 out of 10 No blunders! He made a good save in the second half but clumsily spilt the ball into danger but Stearman swept in to save his blushes. Otherwise this was a pretty good Hamer performance, his distribution was pretty ...

Sep122020 by Terrier Spirit8 Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Norwich

Matches, Opinion

Carlos Corberán will lead Huddersfield Town for his first Championship game as Head coach later today, when we take on newly-relegated Norwich. Last weekend's Cup defeat to Rochdale and the two friendlies before saw Corberán introduce some of Town's academy players into the first team. Players returning from injury mean that we don't need to rely on the kids but some may have forced their way into the team anyway. Here's how I think Town will line up for the curtain raiser. Goalkeeper: Hamer I think Pereira would have started against Rochdale last week if he was going to be our first choice keeper in the league. Hamer's struggles at Town have been well documented but he's been given a new start under Carlos and will hopefully turn over a new leaf. I'm worried about his confidence bein...

Sep112020 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

Sunshine and kittens! The happy clapper preview of HTAFC’s chances this season

Matches, Opinion

This is the second part of a two-part season preview. The first looked at all the reasons to be miserable about Town's chances this season. This article will focus on things to make Town fans feel positive about for the forthcoming season. So pop on your blue and white tinted spectacles and let's get try generate some warm fuzzy feelings. There's a chance for the academy lads to shine Matt Busby famously said "If you're good enough, you're old enough." and that will be how Corberán approaches his team selection this season. He was brought in, at least in part, because he's proven at improving young players and getting them playing first team football. There will be opportunities for our academy players to get into the first team this season and it's exciting to see how they do. Just fr...

Sep102020 by Terrier Spirit25 Comments

Announce relegation! A miserable preview of Huddersfield Town’s chances this season

Matches, Opinion

This is the first of a two part series of articles. Rather than produce a balanced preview of Huddersfield Town's chances in the coming season, I've separated the positive and the negative. And because I'm a Town fan, I'm going to start with the negative. This article will look at the reasons why Town fans can feel gloomy about the season ahead. I'll be posting the article with reasons to feel positive soon, so keep your eyes peeled. Corberán is inexperienced The fact Corberán is managing in the Championship for the first time means he’s an unknown quantity. It's possible he'll be brilliant but he could also be rubbish. He has some experience abroad and as a number two in the Championship but neither will have fully prepare him for what lies ahead this season. There are good...

Sep92020 by Terrier Spirit15 Comments

Mounié leaves a wholesome farewell message to fans as he leaves HTAFC with a tear in his eye

Transfers

Steve Mounié left Huddersfield Town today, transferring to Brest in France for an undisclosed fee. The much-loved striker left a heart-warming farewell message on his Instagram account, saying he had been welling up when looking back at pictures and videos of his highlights at Huddersfield Town. Steve Mounié's message to Town fans Not everyone is on Instagram, so here's his message in full. Im Getting emotional while Im looking at all these pictures and videos. I would like to thank every people who works at the club. You gave me a warm welcome from day 1 until the end so thank you very much. 🚨 Special mention for the FANS I can’t thank you enough for all this years, you have been nothing but amazing towards me. I seriously got tears knowing that I’m leaving you and that I won’t hea...

Sep92020 by Terrier Spirit2 Comments

Championship league predictions – Huddersfield Town to narrowly escape the drop

Matches, Opinion

The Championship season is due to start on Saturday, following one of the shortest ever post-season breaks (despite it feeling like a very long time since Town were beaten by Millwall and the Cowley brothers were sacked less than 48 hours later). As we embark upon a new season, I have decided to put together my predictions for the Championship this season. Any regular readers of the blog will know my predictions are often wayward and I expect this will be no different. Feel free to bookmark this page and come back to it in May to tell me how deluded my opinions were. Automatic spots - Brentford to win it and Watford to finish 2nd It feels like Brentford have been creeping closer to promotion every season for a number of years and I think this could be their time to shine. Despite the li...

Sep82020 by Terrier Spirit7 Comments

What do Espanyol fans think about Pipa leaving for Huddersfield Town?

Transfers

Late last night Huddersfield Town made me look silly by announcing a new signing despite the article I wrote yesterday confidently predicting that we only announce signings between 12pm and 8pm. Nevertheless, Town announced the signing of Pipa from Espanyol. The Spanish U21 player has arrived in Huddersfield and has helped lift the increasingly tense mood among Town fans frustrated by the lack of transfer activity. But how do Espanyol fans feel about this player leaving? With some help from Google Translate, I've put together some of the responses from their fans. Most fans were sorry to see him go It's reassuring to see that the bulk of comments about Pipa are positive and Espanyol fans are sad to see a former youth team player leave before he reached his full potential with them. ...