Blog – Page 36 – Terrier Spirit – Huddersfield Town FC blog

Sep112021 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Stoke

Matches

After an international break that seemed to last forever, Town are finally back in action this afternoon when they take on Stoke in the Potteries. This game represents a tough test for Town but our opponents won’t relish playing us either, after we’ve won our last three games. It’s still too early to get over excited about Town’s good form lately but there are signs that Town are now much stronger at the back and are able to score goals even in games where there aren’t many clear cut chances. Carlos Corberan admitted in his prematch press conference that he has a few selection headaches this weekend, so there are going to be some tough choices to make. Here’s how I think we’ll line up. Goalkeeper: Lee Nicholls I’ve been very impressed with Nicholls so far despite him not ...

Aug292021 by Terrier Spirit7 Comments

“Unplayable” Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 4-0 win over Reading

Matches

After a decent performance in the midweek defeat to Everton, I went into this game feeling positive about Town’s prospects but I didn’t see this result coming at all. Town dominated an admittedly poor Reading team from start to finish and fully deserved their emphatic victory. While Sorba Thomas stood out as the star man on the day, several other players were very good too and I can’t think of a single Town player that was under par. With that in mind, expect some high scores to follow… Lee Nicholls - 7 out of 10 Had very little work to do in terms of saving shots, with Reading limited to potshots from outside the box. However, he did come off his line confidently on several occasions, once cutting out a threatening attack with a clever header when he was outside his area. Calm an...

Aug282021 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Reading

Matches

Town are back in action again this afternoon when they face Reading. Unusually for Town, we go into this game feeling pretty positive after back-to-back wins in the league followed by a respectable 2-1 defeat to Everton where we were unlucky to not at least go to penalties. I wasn’t able to find time to write a full article about the Everton game but it was unusual to enjoy a game involving Town so much. Maybe it was the freedom that comes with playing in a relatively unimportant cup fixture but the players seemed to express themselves more going forward and it was the best Town have played in a long time despite fielding a supposedly weakened team. The players that came into the starting lineup on Tuesday have now given Carlos a few selection headaches for this afternoon. Here’s how...

Aug272021 by Terrier Spirit14 Comments

Huddersfield Town transfer rumour roundup

Transfers

The transfer window closes next week and usually things would be starting to heat up around now but so far things are relatively quiet for Huddersfield Town. The whole transfer market seems to be moving a lot more slowly this time around, with fewer clubs willing to spend and others not wanting to lose prize assets. Town also managed to do much of their business early in the window, which was the right thing to do but means there’s less to speculate about. Newspapers have column inches to fill regardless of whether transfers are happening or not, so there are still a few rumours knocking around. Here I’ll try to summarise the most likely comings and goings from Huddersfield Town before the window shuts. The tug of love over Lewis O'Brien continues Harry Kane’s failed attempt to or...

Aug242021 by Terrier Spirit7 Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Everton

Matches

Huddersfield Town play Everton at the John Smith’s Stadium tonight in the second round of the league cup. After winning our first cup game in a very long time against Sheffield Wednesday in a penalty shootout three weeks ago we have been rewarded with the chance to host a Premier League club in our stadium for the first time since relegation. Both teams are likely to rotate their teams considerably tonight, so trying to predict Town’s lineup is a bit like trying to guess the lottery numbers. While it makes sense to rest players that aren’t fully fit, I only hope that the team we put out is one that at least has a chance of competing against Everton’s second string - which could include the likes of James Rodriguez. Here’s how I think we’ll line up. Goalkeeper: Lee Nich...

Aug232021 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

Limbs, super subs, soaking up pressure, concerns, optimism and formation switches – Notes on Huddersfield Town’s last-gasp victory over Sheffield United

Matches

Huddersfield Town bounced back from their 5-1 thumping against Fulham by winning two games in a week and completely reversing the narrative. The win against Preston was one of the ugliest I've seen while following Town but Saturday's 2-1 victory over Sheffield United felt less the result of luck and more the reward for sticking to a game plan and frustrating an out of sorts but talented opponent. While it would be nice to watch Town play beautiful, flowing football, watching them grind out narrow victories has its own appeal and it felt like a role reversal to see the Blades dominate possession but struggle to break down our defensive unit. Here are a few of my thoughts on the game now there's been time to let the dust settle. The atmosphere in the away end I ...

Aug222021 by Terrier Spirit5 Comments

“Sensational” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s last gasp 2-1 win over Sheffield United

Matches

What a weird game football can be. Last Saturday I couldn’t have felt lower about Town’s prospects but yesterday afternoon I was going bonkers behind the goal at Bramhall Lane as we secured our second win of the week with an injury-time winner. Suddenly things don’t seem nearly as bleak, even if both our wins came from negative tactics, luck and opponents that couldn’t finish chances. In some ways it feels even better to win when most neutrals would say we didn’t deserve it. Player ratings are tricky for this kind of game. While the football Town played was poor for at least 70 minutes of the game, they did seem to be executing a game plan that mostly worked. We were solid at the back and kept our shape well for long periods but didn’t offer nearly enough going forward until Carlo...

Aug212021 by Terrier Spirit1 Comment

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Sheffield United

Matches

Town travel to South Yorkshire today to take on Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. It’s possibly the best time to be facing the former Premier League side as they have yet to score in their last three games and on Wednesday night they were thumped by West Brom. This is Huddersfield Town though, so it’s never quite that easy. We will have to overcome our own demons before we can even think about exploiting the weaknesses of another team. I’ve already written about how Tuesday’s 1-0 victory over Preston has done little to settle my concerns about Town. However, the result should have given the players a little confidence boost and if nothing else, takes the pressure off the need to accumulate points for a little while. Here’s how I think Town will line up this afternoon: ...

Aug192021 by Terrier Spirit8 Comments

A Huddersfield Town fan’s view on Juninho Bacuna’s move to Glasgow Rangers

Transfers

Juninho Bacuna has left Huddersfield Town to join Rangers. The Curacao international has been on the sidelines at Huddersfield Town since it emerged the club wanted to move him on and he has had to train with the academy rather than with the first team. I have a feeling he’ll do well at Rangers and it could be one of those transfers that we later regret. On the other hand, Bacuna has been frustrating to watch at times, so reasons I’ll delve into later. Here’s my view on Bacuna’s move to Rangers in more detail: What is Juninho Bacuna good at? Bacuna, or Bacca as he is often called, is an attack-minded central midfielder that is capable of covering a variety of other positions. He's one of those players that can produce a moment of magic in a boring game and mak...

Aug192021 by Terrier Spirit21 Comments

An awful way to win, no obvious gameplan, touchline antics, a few positives and a look ahead – notes on the PNE win

Matches

This writeup of Town’s win against Preston North End is a bit on the late side. I’ve been busy since the game but I’ve also held back from writing about the game because I’m still not sure how I feel about it. Before the match I’d said getting three points would be good regardless of how we played, even though an improved performance was the ideal. But it doesn’t feel like a victory and I’m almost as glum about Town’s prospects as I was before the game. I keep telling myself that it’s too early in the season to know what’s in store for Town. The psychotically optimistic part of my brain is also desperate to cling to the fact that goal difference (already among the worst in the league) is the only thing keeping us out of the playoff spots in the embryonic league table. But I’m stil...