Terrier Spirit

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 the sec...

Jan152022 by Terrier Spirit1 Comment

4 selection headaches for Carlos – Predicted lineup for Swansea at home

Matches

Huddersfield Town take on Swansea today at the John Smiths’ Stadium and everything is looking very rosey for the Terriers right now. The game promises a nearly full stadium thanks to a £5 ticket offer, the team are in the playoff positions, the ownership issues seem to be close to being concluded and there are surprisingly few injury issues to worry about. This doesn’t feel like Town at all. It would be easy to say defeat is virtually guaranteed because things never go this well for long for Town fans but even a beating today wouldn’t take away from the fact Town are far exceeding expectations right now. And Town are unquestionably in with a chance in today’s game because there have been incredibly few games this season where they haven’t at least been competitive. Aside from a handful ...

Jan82022 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

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

Matches

*A note to people clicking through from NewsNow * Some technical gremlins meant this article didn't get picked up by NewsNow until half one despite it being published at 9am. Feel free to read if you like but it's obviously out of date now. Huddersfield Town won the FA Cup in 1922, beating Burnley along the way to lifting the cup. So, among the psychotically optimistic, there is a sense of history repeating itself today when the Terriers take on Burnley at Turf Moor. Realistically, Town’s chances of winning the cup are microscopic but they have a reasonable chance of at least progressing today against a covid-depleted Burnley team that have a recent track record of poor FA Cup performances. Predicting the team for cup games is a hiding to nothing, as despite Carlos’ claims of respec...

Jan22022 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Blackburn

Matches

Huddersfield Town take on Blackburn later today. While Town have won their last three games, their opponents are also currently on a good run of form and will present a tough test for the Terriers. Town produced arguably their best performance of the season in the reverse fixture back in September when they came away 3-2 winners. It will be interesting to see if Town approach this game in the same manner, going toe-to-toe with Blackburn, or if they’ll play more conservatively and try to play more on the counter. The biggest factor on today’s selection will be the availability of the many players that have recently picked up knocks or are returning from longer term injuries. At the time of writing the club haven’t put out any updates on injuries following the Forest game, so I’m going to...

Dec312021 by Terrier Spirit20 Comments

Giving Hoyle a “problem”, withstanding a siege, O’Brien class and bold management – Notes on Nottingham Forest away

Matches

Huddersfield Town clung on to a 1-0 lead and emerged from their match against Nottingham Forest with all three points in a gritty performance that also required a hefty slice of luck to see us over the line. While the performance might not have been perfect, the victory leaves Town still in the playoff positions, at least until the teams below us play their games in hand. This game was Town’s third consecutive victory and caps off a fine finish to 2021 after a poor run of form in November and the first half of December. I’m still not convinced about the current Town team and coaching set up if I’m honest but the results don’t lie and Town are, for now at least, genuine playoff contenders. It seems strange to say that but if you’re sixth after more than half the season it seems an incont...

Dec232021 by Terrier Spirit5 Comments

Sorba Thomas to Watford rumour – A Huddersfield Town fan’s view

Opinion, Transfers

There were reports earlier this week that Watford may be considering a move for Sorba Thomas after his impressive season so far for Huddersfield Town. The stats he's been producing in the Championship, particularly in the first few months of the season, have been amazing and he's also earned his first few call ups to the Welsh national team. It's no huge surprise that the former Boreham Wood player is generating interest from Premier League clubs and it's possible several other clubs are keeping tabs on him. Here are a few of my opinions about Sorba Thomas and this rumour. Sorba's ridiculous start to the season Prior to this season, Huddersfield Town have had a long standing problem with set pieces. Even in our promotion and Premier League survival campaigns we had a tendenc...

Dec192021 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

Coming from behind, Bristol poor, playoff doubts, penalty woes and glimmers of hope – Notes on Town’s away win against Bristol City

Matches

Huddersfield Town won their third away game of the season against Bristol City yesterday, an outcome that seemed incredibly unlikely after we went behind after only a few minutes and then missed a penalty in the immediate aftermath of their goal. Town just about deserved the three points though, showing more attacking ambition than we’ve seen in recent weeks and reaping the rewards for pushing forward with more purpose and intention. Here are a few of my thoughts on the game: Town’s first comeback victory of the season In my last article I commented on how Town have one of the league’s worst records at coming back into games after conceding the first goal. So when Town conceded early on yesterday, I was quick to start grumbling about how we never win from these positions and how t...

Dec132021 by Terrier Spirit7 Comments

Asking for trouble, stale tactics, lacking ambition, Carlos’ job security and unexpected stats ‐ Notes on the draw with Coventry

Matches, Opinion

Despite getting a draw against one of the league's better teams on Saturday, I was left with a bitter taste after sitting through the game. Despite Town's respectable league position, alarm bells are ringing for many fans and it feels like we're a team on the slide. Coventry played fairly well but most teams would have when their opponent allowed them so much time on the ball and space to get away shots at will. Had Coventry been slightly clinical with their finishing we could have been hammered in this game. Though if Matty Pearson had nodded home his straightforward chance in the second half we would almost certainly have gone on to win, so it's not worth dwelling on hypothetical too much. Here are a few more of my thoughts on the game: Defending a lead badly ...

Nov202021 by Terrier Spirit4 Comments

Predicted lineup, Grant’s return, mounting injuries, predictions and ownership issues – A preview of Town v WBA

Matches

This recent international break feels like it was incredibly long, so it’s a treat to get back to watching Town again today. While it was nice to see Emile Smith Rowe do so well for England, I’m otherwise left entirely cold by international football outside of the big tournaments and I’m glad there won’t be another international break until next March. Today’s opponents are West Bromwich Albion, one of the league’s stronger teams but they’re not as good as Fulham and Bournemouth and have dropped a few points away from home in recent times. Looking at the players they have available makes them look to be an intimidating opponent but Town have already shown this season that they can, on their day, match anyone. Sadly they’ve also shown that on a bad day we can be really bad too. Let...

Oct312021 by Terrier Spirit11 Comments

“Gritty” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 1-0 win over Millwall

Matches

Huddersfield Town fought hard and came away with all three points in a fairly stale encounter with Millwall. Maybe it’s my blue and white tinted spectacles, but I think that Town genuinely deserved to win the game even though the ref missed a blatant penalty that could have seen Millwall equalise in the dying moments. Few players played badly yesterday even though the combination of their efforts wasn’t exactly sparkling football. In fact, Town were fairly ordinary for long spells but were organised enough to keep Millwall out and managed to score yet another set piece goal thanks to Sorba Thomas’ delivery. Here are my player ratings: Lee Nicholls - 6 out of 10 Had a horrible moment in the first half where he passed straight to a Millwall attacker but was bailed out by Colwill ...