Terrier Spirit

Apr162022 by Terrier Spirit5 Comments

“He looks miles off the pace” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 2-2 draw with QPR

Matches

Huddersfield Town took the lead twice and were pegged back twice against QPR this evening. It wasn't a vintage performance but at least Town managed to take a point from it. Results elsewhere suited Town and mean they are still in a commanding position in the playoff race without many games left to play. Peformances in this game were a mixed bag, some players struggled in unfamiliar roles, others were OK and a couple were poor without much excuse. Here's what I thought… Lee Nicholls - 7 out of 10 Not at fault for either goal, reliable with his distribution and commanded his area well when coming for crosses. There were very few saves for him to make but he did everything required of him. Oli Turton - 6 out of 10 Didn't get tight enough for several crosses an...

Apr152022 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Predicted lineup, formation, tactics and score for Huddersfield Town v QPR

Matches

Huddersfield Town take on QPR today in yet another televised game, this time with the odd kick off time of 5.30pm. Town come into the game buoyant after their crucial 2-0 win against promotion rivals, Luton Town. Not long ago it would have seemed like playing QPR would have been another game against playoff rivals but a run of five straight defeats has all-but ruled them out of contention for the playoffs and they come into this game in stinking form. I can’t be bothered to go back into the records to check if my hunch is correct, but Town seem to always help opponents end bad runs by losing to them. Most notably this season we played Nottingham Forest at home after a spell when they had been absolutely awful under Chris Hughton but sadly they had sacked their manager and beat us comfo...

Apr132022 by Terrier Spirit1 Comment

A moment of magic, a sloppy wave, a soft penalty and a team that lost their heads – How Town beat Luton 2-0

Matches

Huddersfield Town beat Luton Town on Monday night in a victory that solidifies their position in the top six and leaves them in a commanding position. It was a hard-fought victory that relied on character and grit as well as a moment of exceptional skill and beauty to open the scoring. Town and Luton are both unfashionable teams that find themselves competing at the top end of the table to the surprise of everyone in the football world. Both teams are well-organised, hard-working and tough to play against, so it wasn’t a surprise that things were very tight in the first half. The second half was more of a spectacle as Town took the lead then Luton won a penalty that was missed before Naby Sarr secured the three points with his headed goal towards the end of the 90 minutes. Here are...

Apr112022 by Terrier Spirit4 Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Luton

Matches

It feels like a long time since Town beat Hull a week last Friday, so tonight's match against Luton can't come soon enough for me. It's fourth plays fifth in the league and the winner of tonight's game (if there is one) will feel that they have a very good chance of making the playoffs after a few other promotion chasers dropped points over the weekend. Luton are a tough opponent and will not make things easy for Town. They don't have any superstar players but work incredibly hard and can be tough to break down. It's exactly the kind of team Town typically struggle against and tonight is a test of whether they can break down a stubborn defence without leaving the backdoor open. Here's how I think Town will lineup. Goalkeeper - Nicholls Lee Nicholls seems like...

Mar192022 by Terrier Spirit2 Comments

Predicted lineup, momentum, tactics, form and score prediction for HTAFC v Bournemouth

Matches

Huddersfield Town face Bournemouth today in a game that Town have to win to keep alive even a distant prospect of taking the second automatic promotion slot. While Town are only three points behind today’s visitors in the league, Bournemouth’s three games in hand over us mean it’s almost certain they’ll pull clear of Town unless we beat them today. I’m not sure automatic promotion is a realistic objective anyway but bouncing back from Wednesday’s poor showing against Millwall has to be a priority. Regardless of the result, I’m hoping to see Town looking more competitive today and showing more fight. Predicted Huddersfield Town lineup to take on Bournemouth I don’t think there are going to be big changes to the lineup today, so I’m not going to run through the whole team she...

Mar172022 by Terrier Spirit8 Comments

“He can’t keep starting games if he’s getting the basics wrong.” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s defeat to Millwall

Matches

Huddersfield Town’s unbeaten run came to an end last night when they came up against a Millwall team that outhought and outfought them on the night. It’s hard to get too upset about a defeat when we’ve not lost in the league since November but it’s fair to say that several players were off their best on the night. Despite Town starting the game strongly, Millwall controlled the game well and deserved all three points. While it would be easy to say that Town were awful, I think it was just a slightly jaded performance which wasn’t enough to overcome a team that are usually tough to beat but are also enjoying a good spell of form. Nicholls - 9 out of 10 He made a string of incredible saves over the course of the game as well as a few regulation ones too, the push onto t...

Mar112022 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

West Brom manager Steve Bruce’s awful Striker! novel – listen to it for free

News

Steve Bruce didn't do particualrly well in his time as Huddersfield Town manager but he did, strangely enough, write a series of football themed novels during his time at Town. While the novels lack literary merit they are quite funny to read. The original paperback copies of the novels have become collectors items and have been known to change hands for large sums of money. However, below is an audio version of Striker, Bruce's first novel. Given that Huddersfield Town will face Steve Bruce's West Brom tonight it seemed like a good time to share this intereting piece of footballing history. The reading of the novel was produced by TalkSport a while ago and released as a podcast. The narration is pretty good, with the soft Geordie tones of Bruce well replicated and there are ...

Mar112022 by Terrier Spirit3 Comments

“Replacing O’Brien requires two players” – Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on West Brom

Matches

Huddersfield Town face West Brom tonight at the Hawthorns. The game represents an opportunity for Town to get back to winning ways after losing to Forest in the cup on Monday night. The defeat meant Town no longer have their unbeaten streak in all competitions but remain unbeaten in the league since November. West Bromwich Albion were widely fancied to make a quick return to the Premier League after being relegated this year but like so many teams (including Town) they’ve struggled to adjust to life back in the Championship and have seen their season fizzle out. They are currently on one of the worst runs of form in the league and their fans are seriously unhappy with what they’ve seen so far under new manager Steve Bruce. After rotating his team for the Forest game, tonight w...

Mar72022 by Terrier Spirit2 Comments

Easy wins, swagger, playoffs, moaners, Forest overconfidence, no pressure and heavy rotation – Looking back at Peterborough and ahead to Forest

Matches

Playing on a Friday and Monday night doesn’t give much time between games, so I’m going to look back at the Peterborough game and forward to the Forest game at the same time. If the turnaround between games isn’t enough for this blogger to recover then it’s likely the same can be said of the players' legs too, so I suspect we’ll see a significantly changed team against Forest. Anyway, after a weekend of results going very well for Town, we find ourselves sat in the automatic promotion spots and one game away from a mouth-watering fixture against Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter finals. So things are going incredibly well for Town at the moment. Another easy victory Just like the Birmingham game last weekend, the Peterborough game was an easy victory for the Terriers and the ...

Mar52022 by Terrier Spirit4 Comments

“The Chelsea loanee needs time to adjust” – Player ratings for Town’s 3-0 win over Peterborough

Matches

Huddersfield Town extended their unbeaten run with a comfortable victory over Peterborough United last night. While there were brief moments of fight from the visitors, it was an incredibly one sided game where Town dominated throughout. Incredibly, this win took Town into the automatic promotion places for the night. While Bournemouth’s games in hand mean it’s unlikely to stay that way it is still remarkable. Carlos shuffled the pack with his selection last night and once again managed to field a team that was more than up to the job of dismantling the opposition. I can’t think of a time in recent memory when Town have had as strong a squad available. Even in the promotion season we relied on a core of twelve or thirteen players and the rest were pretty average (sorry Harry Bunn f...