Terrier Spirit

Dec282017 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Huddersfield Town 1-1 Stoke City – TerrierSpirit.com Player Ratings

Matches

Town had to share the points with the Potters in their Boxing Day encounter at the John Smith’s Stadium. It was a good Town performance and on another day it could have been a victory. Here are my player ratings from the game: Lössl - 9 out of 10 Pulled off a string of amazing saves to keep Stoke out in the first half. One of those saves was 90% over the line before he managed to dig down and stop it going in. His distribution was good, he didn’t make any mistakes I can remember. One of his best performances for Town. Löwe - 7 out of 10 Will be disappointed that his marker got in front of him for Stoke’s goal, but otherwise had a decent game. He supported van La Parra down the left and provided an option out wide. His corner deliveries continue to be excellent too. Schindler - 8 ou...

Dec272017 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Talking points from Town’s draw with Stoke – The Collin Quaner Show

Matches

Huddersfield Town shared the points in their home game with Stoke, drawing 1-1. It was a hard-fought and well-balanced match which could have gone either way. Given both managers felt their side should have won it after the match, a draw is probably about right. Here are my thoughts on the match... Ince finally scores What a relief! Tom Ince has finally scored for Huddersfield Town. I’ve been tipping him to get off the mark soon since the summer, but the day finally arrived. It was a relatively simple chance, but he held his nerve and guided the ball home. This was the kind of lucky break he needed to get started. Now he’s off the mark I can see him being a new player. His all-round play has been good since arriving at Town, but his confidence has faded over the course of his barren sp...

Dec252017 by Terrier Spirit1 Comment

Huddersfield Town v Stoke – TerrierSpirit.com match preview

Matches

Huddersfield Town take on Stoke in a top-flight Boxing Day clash. Playing Premier League football on Boxing Day is this year’s biggest Christmas present, and we can all be thankful to David Wagner and Dean Hoyle for delivering this wonderful gift. Stoke currently lie 14th in the table, three points and three places below Town. They’ve underacheived under Mark Hughes this season and pressure was starting to mount on the manager. A 3-1 win over West Brom on Saturday brought some relief, but expect chants of “You’re getting sacked in the morning” if Town take the lead at any stage. Huddersfield Town are favourites for once Pundits and bookies have routinely written Town off this season and we get used to being told we’re going to get beaten. It’sp strange to enter a game where we’re fancie...

Dec242017 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Southampton 1-1 Huddersfield Town – TerrierSpirit.com player ratings

Matches

Town came from behind to snatch a point against Southampton. It wasn't Town's best performance but there were some excellent moments too. Here are my player ratings from a performance that had a few highs and lows. Lössl - 6/10 Was brave to keep going after the kick in the face and made a few good saves. However, he ballsed up with his kicking twice and could easily have gifted Southampton at a goal or two. Malone - 6/10 He’s a welcome attacking threat but he gets so far forward that we’re exposed at the back. I feel like we’re less solid when he’s on the pitch instead of Löwe. His positional sense isn’t great and he’s not as good a tackler as Löwe. Schindler - 7/10 Stepped out of defence to try to break play up in midfield and got it wrong a couple of times. Otherwise solid and unlu...

Dec242017 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Talking points from the draw at Southampton – A point is better than a kick in the face

Matches

Town fought hard and came back from behind to take a point from their game at Southampton. It wasn’t our best performance so far in the top flight but a mixture of grit, luck, and Southampton’s profligacy in front of goal meant Town avoided defeat. It wasn't as good a performance as Watford last week but it was a good point to take on away from home. The game’s biggest talking point Charlie Austin deliberately kicking Jonas Lössl in the face. The Southampton striker plead his innocence but the slow-motion replay was damning. Somewhat surprisingly, the FA have acted on this injustice and have retrospectively charged Austin with violent conduct. Town’s first undeserved point in the Premier League So far this season Town have had to fight very hard for every single point they’ve earned, ...

Dec222017 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Southampton away preview – tactics, lineups, last meeting & score prediction

Matches

Huddersfield Town head to the south coast for their last away game of the year, taking on Southampton at the Saint Mary’s stadium. Town are currently one place and three points above Southampton in the Premier League table, which few would have bet on at the start of the season. This is the first return fixture in the Premier League for Town, following the 0-0 draw at home with Southampton last August. Newly promoted sides often find it harder in the second half of the season because teams know what to expect when they play again. It’ll be interesting to see if Southampton differ their approach against Town. Who will David Wagner pick to play against Southampton? After such a fine performance against Watford and a full week to rest between games it’s hard to imagine wholesale changes ...

Dec212017 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

BOOK REVIEW: Underdog – The Inside Story of Huddersfield Town’s 2016-17 Promotion Campaign by Raj Bains

Opinion

Underdog is a book that tells the story of Huddersfield Town’s incredible promotion season, where they started tipped for relegation and finished with an incredible playoff final victory and a place in the Premier League. Raj Bains carried out interviews with David Wagner, Dean Hoyle, the players and the backroom staff to get an interesting look at what was going on behind the scenes last season. The access he managed to get, and the insight from the interviews was the standout thing about this book and justified the cost in my eyes. Fresh insight into a well trodden story There’s been a bit of a media circus around Huddersfield Town and the people involved with the club since our promotion to the Premier League, so it’s impressive that Bains managed to get previously unheard informat...

Dec172017 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

The 17 best tweets from the Watford away game

Social media

Social media can be a dispiriting place when Town lose. But after the 4-1 victory over Watford it was a delight to see the tweets roll in. Here are some of my favourite tweets about yeterday's game. Will perfectly reworks Wham's Christmas hit https://twitter.com/W_Parkin/status/942103934465921024 Reece Dinsdale shows how football fandom spans generations https://twitter.com/reece_dinsdale/status/942139095115075586 Kurt could be looking at a noise abatement order soon! https://twitter.com/hudderskurt/status/942055713874108417 Collin Quaner receives a lot of love https://twitter.com/bbc606/status/942097886312935424 https://twitter.com/forevertown/status/942174547981275136 https://twitter.com/JordanHTAFC/status/942060482625761283 https://twitter.com/jess_htfc/status/942077717385809...

Dec172017 by Terrier Spirit1 Comment

Watford 1-4 Huddersfield Town: TerrierSpirit.com player ratings

Matches

Huddersfield Town beat Watford 4-1 in a memorable encounter. Having not scored away from home since the opening day of the season, Town's drought turned into a flood of goals. Here are how the individual players performed. Lössl - 8 out of 10 Made a couple of key saves in the late stages to stop Watford from getting back in the game. Löwe - 7 out of 10 Was doing well until he had to be subbed due to injury. He looked gutted as he left the field just before half-time. Schindler - 8 out of 10 Not thoroughly tested, but broke up play well in midfield and provided a strong base for Town to build from. Zanka - 8 out of 10 Solid again. Made some good headed clearances to stop Watford from getting chances in the box. Hadergjonaj - 8 out 10 Up against one of the Premier League’s stand...

Dec152017 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Watford v Huddersfield Town preview – Team selection, tactics, opposition info, history & score prediction

Matches

Huddersfield Town head to Vicarage Road on Saturday to play Watford in the Premier League. Town will hope to get back to winning ways, after a 3-1 defeat to Chelsea in midweek. They’ll also want to break their away-from-home losing streak, which stretches back to the 0-0 draw with Burnley. Watford haven’t won in four games, so are struggling for form themselves. However, they’re a quality Premier League team with a young, ambitious manager. It will be a tough test for Town but, unlike against Chelsea, if Town play well they have a good chance of getting something. Predicted tactics against Watford I think that David Wagner will revert to his usual 4-2-3-1 system against Watford. The "deep block" 4-5-1 system we played against Chelsea was scuppered by individual errors and made it hard...