Terrier Spirit

Aug302020 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

7 thoughts about Huddersfield Town’s draw with Manchester United U23s

Matches, Opinion

Thoughts about Huddersfield Town's draw with Manchester United U23s Huddersfield Town participated in a high-scoring friendly against Manchester United Under 23s yesterday afternoon. It was the second and final preseason friendly for the team before their first competitive game next Saturday. Here are some of my thoughts on the game and what it means for Huddersfield Town. Another enjoyable friendly After a series of tense but stale games during lockdown it’s been refreshing to watch Town play with more freedom and less pressure. This isn’t an attempt to diminish the achievements of Danny Cowley to guide Town to survival but the friendlies this week have hinted towards the new vision at Huddersfield Town and its much better to watch. It’s no surprise that Town have failed to keep clea...

Aug292020 by Terrier Spirit2 Comments

Huddersfield Town 3-3 Manchester United U23s – Player ratings

Matches

Huddersfield Town played out an entertaining draw with Manchester United youth team this afternoon. Town only fielded seven of their senior players, so it was another chance to see some of our exciting academy products in action. Here are my ratings for the players this afternoon. Before reading it’s important to note that most players didn’t play the full 90 minutes, it’s only a friendly and I was watching on a fairly blurry YouTube stream so might have missed a lot. With that in mind, take all these ratings with a pinch of salt. Hamer - 4 out of 10 Made a huge error for the opening goal and looked nervy for a good while after. I’ve watched the goal several times to try and work out what he did wrong. He knew the Man United player was coming but turned his back on him anyway and took f...

Aug292020 by Terrier Spirit16 Comments

5 reasons why I’ve just renewed my Huddersfield Town season ticket

Matches, Opinion

The new league season starts two weeks today and Town fans have until next Friday to renew their season tickets. There's still some uncertainty over exactly when and how fans will return to the John Smith's Stadium but it's expected a limited number will return from the start of October. While I can understand why some fans will be reluctant to renew with so much uncertainty I feel like the club are still offering a good deal based on the circumstances we find ourselves in. Here are the reasons I renewed my season card last night. Getting back into the stadium Like most Town fans, I've hugely missed going to the stadium to watch Town play. I don't understand those football fans that literally never watch their team inside a stadium. Watching football on TV is good but nothing compares t...

Aug282020 by Terrier Spirit4 Comments

What’s changed with Huddersfield Town’s tactics under Carlos Corberán?

Matches, Tactics

Huddersfield Town have only played one friendly under their new manager, Carlos Corberán, so it's a bit early to draw too many conclusions about the tactics he's going to use. Having said that, Leigh Bromby has made it clear that we're moving towards a new "identity" built around a 433 shape which will be attack-minded and involve high tempo pressing. There were signs in the Bradford friendly that things have changed with the way Town were setting up and players were being asked to do things differently. Here's a look at each area of the pitch and how the positions have changed under Carlos' new system. Goalkeeper - playing out from the back The big difference with the goalkeeper position on Wednesday was how much we played the ball out from the back. Whenever the keeper had the ball h...

Aug272020 by Terrier Spirit9 Comments

5 thoughts about Huddersfield Town’s 2-1 victory over Bradford

Matches, Opinion

Finally, some football to talk about! Huddersfield Town ran out 2-1 winners in an enjoyable to watch friendly. The first half was a mixed bag, with defensive frailties and attacking intent on display from Town. The second half was the most entertaining, when Town's academy players showed why they are so highly thought of by the club's hierarchy. While it's important to not get too carried away by a preseason game against League Two opposition, there were some very encouraging signs in this game. Here are a few of my thoughts. First half - adapting to a new style of play There was an awkwardness to Town's play in the first half against Bradford as players adjusted to the new way they are expected to play under Carlos Corberán. The highlight was the sheer numbers of bodies we committed fo...

Aug262020 by Terrier Spirit5 Comments

What do Huddersfield Town’s squad numbers tell us about Carlos Corberán’s plans?

Matches

Last night Huddersfield Town confirmed the squad numbers for the upcoming season. While they don't always mean a great deal, I think there are a few hints at Carlos Corberán's plans this season. Here's what we can work out. Ben Hamer is our number 1 I'd say the shirt number that holds the most significance is the number 1 because getting this number is a clear sign from the hierarchy that you are the first choice between the sticks. Ben Hamer has been given that honour which sparked outrage online last night when it was announced. It seems that part of the club's new direction is to make the most of our existing assets and that means we may have to accept Hamer as our keeper. He made a series of howlers when he last played for Town and didn't do much better while on loan at Derby last ...

Aug212020 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Huddersfield Town fixture opinions – who do we play, when and what could it all mean?

Matches, Opinion

Huddersfield Town's fixtures for next season have now been released. I usually look forward to this day as its a chance to think about the season ahead and plot out potential away trips. It feels a bit hollow this time, as the season is certain to start behind closed doors and could well end with away fans not being allowed in. While it's not the greatest hardship for football fans, when considered against the wider context of coronavirus, it takes a lot of fun out of supporting a team (when there's or been much fun lately at the best of times). Anyway, after that whinge, here are some of the highlights of the fixture list… A tough start - Norwich (h), Brentford (a), Nottingham Forest (h) Town look to have a tricky start to season ahead of them with an opening game against Norwich, wh...

Aug202020 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

HTAFC transfer opinions – Ward’s arrival, Brown’s departure, contract news, Arsenal snap up our youngster and Sohbi saga continues…

Matches, Opinion

Everything still feels like it’s happening at a very slow pace behind the scenes at Huddersfield Town. By this stage, I would have hoped that the majority of Town’s business would be concluded and Corberán would be given time to get his ideas over to the whole squad in advance of the season starting. But as it stands we’ve only one deal in done and only rumours of more to follow. Here’s a roundup of some of the business that has happened and what I think about them all. Danny Ward’s arrival - solid but uninspiring business I'm neither under or overwhelmed by this signing. It's not a stunning piece of business or an awful one. It's the exact kind of signing we need. While it won't set pulses racing, its not likely to blow up in our faces either. The fact he's arrived on a free is obviou...

Aug152020 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

The best Huddersfield Town XI currently available to Carlos Corberán

Matches, Opinion

We all know that Huddersfield Town’s current squad is likely to be very different to the one we have when the transfer window closes in October. However, I thought it might be interesting to look at the best starting eleven that could be put together based on the current squad. I’ve used the 4-3-3 system, as the club has been very vocal about playing attacking football using this system. It does make it hard to fit players like Alex Pritchard into the system but he’s going to have to adjust if he wants to get game time at the club. Goalkeeper: Schofield This is an area that we are likely to strengthen but, as it stands, I’d like to see Ryan Schofield given a shot at the number one spot. We don’t know much about him but he’s always highly spoken of by coaches that he’s worked with. Hamer...

Aug132020 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Who was missing from Huddersfield Town’s first day of training video?

Matches, Opinion

An annual ritual for Huddersfield Town is to put out a video of the first day of preseason training. They aren't the most interesting things to watch but given the complete lack of Town related news lately, I watched it anyway. I know it’s a bit sad to then check off which players were and weren’t training but I did it, so here we are. Criticise me all you like but I did it find interesting seeing which players weren’t in the video. Quite a few of the first team squad didn't feature. This may be for innocuous reasons but you look at the list it seems to correlate with players that could be leaving Town this transfer window. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2RyDAp9kkc Which players didn't feature in the video? Here's a list of the players I couldn't see: Elphick - No huge surprise that...