Terrier Spirit

Aug232025 by Terrier Spirit7 Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Stevenage

Stevenage are the guests at the Accu Stadium today, as first in the league comes to take on fifth. I’ve talked in my pre-match talking points article about Stevenage's wins mostly coming against weak League One opposition, so today will be their biggest test of the season. Stevenage's direct and physical approach is likely to be a big test for Town too, so it’ll be an interesting encounter even if the football might be a bit industrial at times (and the tackles potentially agricultural). Lee Grant made me look a bit of an idiot in my previous predictions article, where I only picked out six out of the starting eleven correctly. I’ve been better in my previous predictions but Lee Grant is proving to be a tricky manager to second guess as he likes to shuffle the pack most games, mak...

Aug222025 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

Feeding the strikers, mixing it up, Stevenage’s false position and Town doing half a job – Talking points ahead of Huddersfield Town v Stevenage

Matches, Talking points

Huddersfield Town will take on League One’s form team on Saturday afternoon when they play Stevenage at the Accu Stadium. While Town’s nine points from four games is a good start, Stevenage have gone one better and won four league games in a row before this match. Aside from their good run, Stevenage will also present a physical threat too, with our encounters with them last season being bruising affairs. We’re still in the honeymoon phase of Lee Grant’s time at Huddersfield Town, so we’re still learning exactly what sort of a team we have on our hands this season. The summer transfer business was encouraging, Grant comes across well and there was an attractive, hard-working style of football brought in over preseason. But now we’re into the season proper, there have been some tee...

Aug212025 by Terrier Spirit28 Comments

Whining McCann, why we struggled, how we won and rebranding subs – Notes on Huddersfield Town’s win over Doncaster Rovers

Matches, Notes

Huddersfield Town beat Doncaster Rovers 2-0 with two late goals sealing the win after Town weathered a storm in the first half, during which Doncaster played Town off the park. The game made clear that Doncaster Rovers are a very good team at this level but Town did (just) enough to keep them out and stayed in the game long enough for the quality on our bench to make the difference. This wasn’t a fluent display of attractive football but we did show some nice moments in the second half and the struggles in the first half were at least punctuated by some excellent last-ditch defending and decent stops from Goodman. It's good to be back to winning ways after the defeat to Blackpool but this was a performance that raised more questions than answers about this new-look Town team. H...

Aug202025 by Terrier Spirit21 Comments

“The bench made the difference” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 2-0 win over Doncaster Rovers

Matches, Player ratings

Huddersfield Town beat Doncaster Rovers 2-0 on Tuesday night in a game where they had to cling on for dear life in the early stages before growing into the game in the second half and coming out on top. Our first half struggles were partly down to Doncaster being unexpectedly superb but we also had a lot of issues with getting out of our own half at times too. The strength of Town’s bench made the difference in the end, with Wiles making the breakthrough and Taylor sealing the win after both came on halfway through the second half. Here are my thoughts on each individual performance… Owen Goodman - 6 out of 10 Made a howler by passing directly to their man which was mercifully not punished. Resorted to long, hopeless punts downfield too often that Alfie May had no chance of ...

Aug192025 by Terrier Spirit8 Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Doncaster Rovers

Matches, Predicted lineups

Huddersfield Town take on Doncaster Rovers tonight in a game that now feels more important to Town after their defeat to Blackpool at the weekend. And success feels less likely after Doncaster have started their return to League One in style, picking up seven points from their first three games. Lee Grant will have to decide whether to stick with his players that started against Blackpool or bring in new players to freshen up the lineup. I talked about this dilemma, among other things, in my pre-match talking points article, so read that next if you want to hear more of my thoughts on this match. Otherwise, here's my predicted lineup for tonight…. Goalkeeper: Owen Goodman While Goodman wasn’t to blame for any of the three goals we conceded against Blackpool, I think he c...

Aug192025 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

Pearson’s revenge, almost a derby, shuffling the pack and bouncing back – 4 talking points ahead of Huddersfield Town v Doncaster Rovers

Matches, Talking points

Huddersfield Town take on Doncaster Rovers tonight, where they'll be hoping to shake off Saturday's defeat against Blackpool. Doncaster Rovers come to the Accu Stadium in good form, unbeaten in their opening three games and a point ahead of Town in the embryonic league table (which no longer interests me now Town aren't top). After a positive start to the season, the loss at Blackpool and the struggle to break down ten men didn't feel like it was part of the Huddersfield Town script. Tonight's game should be a chance for Town to return to their pre-Blackpool way of doing things. Though Doncaster will not be an easy opponent. Can Town brush off the Blackpool performance? After seeing a less pleasant side to this new Huddersfield Town team on Saturday, it feels vitally important to ...

Aug182025 by Terrier Spirit2 Comments

Toothless – Notes on Huddersfield Town’s defeat to Blackpool

Matches, Notes

Huddersfield Town lost their first game of the season against Blackpool on Saturday afternoon. It was a game of three distinct parts, with Town dominating the opening stages, then losing their heads for a spell where they conceded three goals, and after pulling a goal back and a Blackpool red card, the game settled into a dismal attack and defence training exercise where Town repeatedly failed to find a way through Blackpool's defence. While Town's toothless attacking play was a concern, the three quick goals they conceded is just as worrying. After talking so much about how things feel different at Town, this game was eerily similar to the type of football we saw last season. A blistering opening The first few minutes of this game were brilliant to watch from a Town p...

Aug172025 by Terrier Spirit17 Comments

“Got a lot wrong” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 3-2 defeat to Blackpool

Matches, Player ratings

Huddersfield Town tasted defeat for the first time this season after losing 3-2 to Blackpool despite playing against ten men for the best part of an hour. A calamitous period in the middle of the first half saw Town go from 1-0 up to 3-1 down and the red card that ended Blackpool's period of dominance led to an unpleasant finish for Town as they huffed and puffed but couldn't break down Blackpool's impressive defence. This defeat may be useful to bring down the skyrocketing expectations that our first three wins brought (including my own) but will hopefully only be a blip rather than anything more concerning. Here's what I made of each performance… Owen Goodman - 5 out of 10 Looked like he should have done better with the first goal, even accounting for the deflection. Th...

Aug162025 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Blackpool

Matches, Predicted lineups

Huddersfield Town take on Blackpool later today in a game that sees Town, with a record so far this season of three wins in three, take on Blackpool with the opposite form to Town, having lost all three of their games. It's possibly a good time to take on Steve Bruce's team before they've properly hit their stride but Lee Grant warned in his pre-match press conference that they could be more dangerous because of their bad start. Here's how I think Town will line up… Goalkeeper: Owen Goodman Lee Nicholls was the penalty shootout hero on Wednesday night but his kicking was noticeably more reserved than Goodman's has been, which often put Town on the back foot when building up from the back. Goodman has looked like an accident waiting to happen so far but has yet to co...

Aug152025 by Terrier Spirit2 Comments

Wounded animals, winning runs, stinky fans, and extra rest – 6 talking points ahead of Huddersfield Town’s trip to Blackpool

Matches, Talking points

The games are coming thick and fast now the new season is properly underway and Town have a trip to the seaside to take on Blackpool on Saturday afternoon. The game follows quickly in the wake of Town’s impressive penalties victory over Leicester in the League Cup on Wednesday night but Lee Grant will want to make sure there’s no hangover for this game. Huddersfield Town fans are less likely to be avoiding hangovers, as a boozy do on the coast is almost certain for many in the sold out away end. With Town winning their opening three games of the season and Blackpool losing all three of theirs, the omens look good on paper but the reality is likely to be different. Here are a few of the main talking points ahead of this fixture… Can Town keep their winning start going? ...