Terrier Spirit

May272023 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

Takeover wait, retained list, season review, manager rumblings, Tweet mistake & Championship lineup – Huddersfield Town news roundup

News

We're in the deadzone of Town news, where the players are all on holiday, the season is over and nothing much is happening. There are still a few bits and pieces of Town news going on though, so I thought I'd put together a roundup article to summarise my thoughts on the recent Huddersfield Town-related goings on. Here we go… The Nagle takeover waiting game The big thing that Town fans are all waiting on is the final confirmation that Kevin Nagle's takeover is complete and the American can formally take the reins at Huddersfield Town. Nagle is limited in what he can say publicly at the moment but he's confirmed that it's progressing well and it sounds like we're near the final stages of the League's check to approve his purchase. Though I'm not sure anyone but the men with the sh...

May82023 by Terrier Spirit14 Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town lineup, Reading relegation hangover, goodbyes & a big hello – PREVIEW

Matches

What a treat today’s game is going to be. After an absolutely miserable season, we’ve managed to drag ourselves over the line to safety with a game to spare thanks to a remarkable and completely implausible turnaround due, mostly, to Neil Warnock’s excellent management. So instead of a nervy, do-or-die final day nail-biter, we can sit back and relax for today’s game and see it instead as a survival party where we can give Neil Warnock and Dean Hoyle a proper send off, say hello to our new owner and, hopefully, pick up a final win against Reading too. The 90 minutes of football may not be the main focus of the events at the stadium this afternoon, with the prospect of so many goodbyes and a significant taking place, it’s likely that the game won’t produce the same drama as we’ll see aft...

Apr162023 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

Both teams too timid, flight regrets, spark missing, lack of depth – notes on Huddersfield Town’s defeat to Swansea

Matches

Huddersfield Town fell to a 1-0 defeat to Swansea yesterday, in a game where they saw little of the ball but managed to mostly frustrate our opponents and the game’s only goal was only conceded thanks to an unkind deflection that took it away from Vaclik. It sounds like sour grapes to whinge about losing a game where your team only had 25% possession but this was Town’s first defeat in six games and they’ve had similar stats in most of those games too. I don’t think Town’s game plan was to blame for their defeat in this game, it was the execution of it that fell short, as they struggled to cause Swansea enough problems despite having opportunities. Thankfully, results elsewhere were kind to Town and we’re still above the relegation zone but our position is precarious. With four ga...

Apr152023 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

Predicted lineup, passing to death, player to watch, how to win – Swansea v Huddersfield Town PREVIEW

Matches

Huddersfield Town take on Swansea this afternoon, after making the long journey from West Yorkshire to south Wales. It’s likely to be another tricky afternoon for the Terriers, as Swansea are a decent team who like to play possession football. So expect another game where Town see very little of the ball and have to play on the counter. That might actually suit Neil Warnock’s Terriers though, as our recent turn around in fortunes has mostly been built around dogged performances where we let the other team keep the ball and hit them on the counter and with set pieces rather than trying to do anything too fancy ourselves. Town go into the game outside of the relegation zone with just five games to go and this game represents a chance to put some extra space between us and the drop ...

Apr122023 by Terrier Spirit5 Comments

Town break a record, riding our luck, Vaclik saves & Pearson marks drinks break – Notes on Huddersfield Town’s draw with Blackburn

Matches

Huddersfield Town drew 2-2 with Blackburn Rovers on Easter Monday and it was either two points thrown away after holding a 2-0 lead at half time or a valuable point gained after being completely outplayed for the entirety of the 90 minutes, depending on your perspective. While the 90th-minute equaliser from Blackburn was a sickener at the time, I’ve since reflected that it’s a decent outcome for Town and the point could be very valuable in the fight for survival. I’ll cover some of my thoughts on the game in this blogpost. Record breaking Terriers! The nerds at Opta have confirmed that no Championship team have completed fewer passes since they started counting them on their fingers and toes back in 2013. We registered just 63 successful passes over the course of the 90 minut...

Apr92023 by Terrier Spirit5 Comments

Watford = talent without passion, Rudoni and Harrat goals, counterattacking masterclass, Warnock tribute – Notes on Watford away

Matches

During Mark Fotheringham’s time as Town manager he often talked about how “on another day” things would have gone differently. Unfortunately for him, those days never seemed to come. However, under Neil Warnock, we seem to be having quite a few of those days, where things go our way. It happened again for Town against Watford, where we went behind but then scored three goals and won the game. It isn’t good luck that’s led to Town recent upturn in results, it’s, as Neil Warnock pointed out to the club’s media team, having a good manager. We’ve now got a boss that knows how to use the players we have in such a way that gives us a chance of getting results like these. Rather than bemoaning our bad luck, we’re actually making our opponents curse their luck instead. It’s not always pretty, ...

Apr72023 by Terrier Spirit11 Comments

Team prediction, Watford lowdown, Wilder v Warnock – Watford v Huddersfield Town PREVIEW

Matches

Huddersfield Town take on Watford today in a match that could see them end the day outside the relegation zone for the first time since... well, actually, I think we’ve been in the relegation zone forever. I don’t remember a time before Town being in the relegation zone, there was the bit at the start of the season where the league table was arranged alphabetically but other than that we’ve been there or thereabouts. But, thanks to some gritty and characterful performances from Neil Warnock’s Terriers, we’ve dragged ourselves back into contention and have a real chance of staying up now. Watford will be hoping to get their playoff push back on track today though, and have a squad of Premier League-quality talent, so won’t be pushovers despite the form table suggesting they’re there for...

Feb62023 by Terrier Spirit12 Comments

Fotheringham gets it wrong, QPR bad, the triple sub lift and old hands falter – notes on Huddersfield Town’s draw with QPR

Matches

Huddersfield Town drew with QPR on Saturday in a game which saw Town look absolutely abysmal in the first half but actually finished the game on the front foot and were pushing for the victory. It will depend on your perspective on Town (and maybe life in general) whether there was enough to satisfy you in Town's good moments to offset how bad they were at their worst in this game. We really stank when we were bad but once Knockaert came on in the closing stages we suddenly looked like we could attack with purpose and creativity. Judging from the boos at the end of the game, many fans remain unconvinced but I think there was enough to encourage the optimistic Town fan. Team selection and tactics all wrong I think a lot of Town's difficulties in the first half of this ...

Feb12023 by Terrier Spirit7 Comments

My thoughts on the 22 ins and outs at Huddersfield Town in the January transfer window

Transfers

Huddersfield Town’s January transfer window was certainly busier than most fans expected when Mark Fotheringham said there wouldn’t be any activity this month. Whether that was him playing mind games with the board, other teams or he was just talking rubbish is hard to say but, in fairness to the club's hierarchy, they have been very active in the January market. On a more critical note, the activity at this stage looks like a confused mess of bargain bucket purchases and weird decisions with the odd promising acquisition thrown in. With all the loan players being recalled and sent out again, I’ve genuinely lost track of all the movement in and out of the squad this month. So, to get some clarity in my own mind, I’m going to go through all the transfers the club have made this month. T...

Jan292023 by Terrier Spirit13 Comments

A tepid defence of Fotheringham, dour Huddersfield, inept tactics, Hungbo’s promise & bad passsing – Notes on Coventry away

Matches

Huddersfield Town lost to Coventry yesterday. Defeat is a familiar feeling to Town fans this season but this one was a particularly hard one to take, as it was a poor performance, with inept management from the sidelines and hinted towards worrying signs for the rest of the season. While Town are still within touching distance of safety in the league table, their inability to create decent chances against a Coventry team that were low on confidence and there for the taking is deeply concerning. The lack of ideas, both on and off the field meant there was little to feel positive about after the game. Here are some of my thoughts on the game: Hamer and Gyokeres the difference between the two teams I thought this game was fairly evenly matched for long periods. Town had the majo...