Blog – Page 46 – Terrier Spirit – Huddersfield Town FC blog

Dec122020 by Terrier Spirit28 Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town team to take on Bournemouth – Who will fill the gaps left by injuries to key players?

Matches

It might not be a full blown injury crisis but you could definitely call it an “injury pickle” that we face currently with Hogg, Schindler, Koroma and Stearman all recently succumbing to injuries. I’ve spoken many times before about how thin our squad is this season, so losing key players hits us harder than many other teams as the amount of experience and quality in our backup players is often not great. Carlos is going to be forced to put his faith in some of his fringe players today. How well these players perform is likely to be key to whether we can sustain our recent good form or if we struggle against a strong Bournemouth team. Here’s who I think Carlos should pick today: Goalkeeper: Ben Hamer Town had developed a nasty habit of messing around too much with the ball at the back ...

Dec62020 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

“Playing with a swagger” Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 2-0 victory over QPR

Matches

Huddersfield Town put in one of their best performances of the season in their win over QPR yesterday. It was almost like watching an exhibition of pass and move football for long spells of the game where Town completely dominated an unconvincing QPR side. Unsurprisingly, such a good team performance was a result of several individual players having excellent games and combining well together. Here’s what I thought of each player: Ben Hamer - 7 out of 10 Only had two saves to make and neither tested him but he made up for that lack of activity by playing some excellent passes out from the back. Rather than pass short every single time, he mixed up his passing by booting it long under pressure and when he had time to think about it he chipped some intelligent balls out to the fullback ar...

Dec52020 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on QPR

Matches

After a disappointing defeat to Cardiff on Tuesday night, Town have an opportunity to get back to winning ways against QPR this afternoon. We are up against a team that share many of Huddersfield Town's characteristics such as playing out from the back, trying to play attractive football and often getting it all a bit wrong. Like Town, QPR have both underperformed in some games and over-achieved in others, so the game is particularly hard to predict, much like Carlos Corberán's team selections. Carlos made five changes on Tuesday night in a bit to rest some tired legs and to give some fringe players an opportunity. Unfortunately the new additions to the lineup didn't cover themselves in glory and I suspect the bulk of the changes today will be an effort to get the best available eleven on ...

Dec22020 by Terrier Spirit4 Comments

Lucky chinos, playing out from the back, team changes and miserable Tuesday nights – Notes on Cardiff away

Matches

Huddersfield Town lost 3-0 to Cardiff last night in a game where the Terriers regularly shot themselves in the foot by making silly defensive errors. The attacking side of our game was almost as bad, as wave after wave of attack harmlessly came to nothing and Cardiff managed to dominate the game despite having very little possession. Despite there being five changes to the starting lineup, there was a familiar feel to this game. As we messed around with the ball in our own defensive third, struggled to find openings in the final third and lost too many battles in the middle of the park. Here are a few of my thoughts on the game. Too many changes to the starting eleven Trying to second guess Carlos Corberán's team selection is a fool's errand, as I've found with my predicted lineups thi...

Dec22020 by Terrier Spirit25 Comments

“I’m struggling to think of the thing he’s good at” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 3-0 defeat to Cardiff

Matches

Carlos Corberán made five changes to the starting lineup against Cardiff, showing that he’s willing to shake things up and try something different. The gamble largely failed and Town' turned in a poor performance and were deservedly beaten. Here’s how I rate each individual player from the night: Ben Hamer - 6 out of 10 Despite letting in three goals, he didn't have a particularly poor game. His distribution could be criticised but it's unfair to blame him for passing the ball short so much when it's clearly the explicit instruction from the bench for him to do that regardless of the pressure the defenders are under. Demeaco Duhaney - 4 out of 10 Another unimpressive performance from the right back. I'm struggling to think of the thing that he's good at. Neither attacking nor defendin...

Dec12020 by Terrier Spirit15 Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Cardiff

Matches

Huddersfield Town will play against Cardiff tonight in south Wales. The Terriers will be hoping to build upon their decent win against Middlesbrough at the weekend but face stiff opposition after Cardiff beat Luton 4-0 last Saturday. I can imagine it will be a tough, physical battle against the Bluebirds and Town will most likely have to mix it up a bit before they can play the free-flowing, passing game they aspire to. There are a few tricky choices for Carlos Corberán tonight, mostly around whether to favour youth or experience. I think we'll see broadly the same starting players as at the weekend but Stearman's twanged hamstring guarantees at least one change. Goalkeeper - Ben Hamer Ryan Schofield has done pretty well in his last two starts but I think Hamer should return to the st...

Nov292020 by Terrier Spirit12 Comments

The Carlos Corberán selection that takes Huddersfield Town from 1 point per game to 1.67

Matches

If I told you that a single decision Carlos Corberán makes can change Huddersfield Town’s points per game from 1 to 1.67 then you would probably assume I’m talking about a key player or a particular formation that is changing Huddersfield Town’s fortunes. This selection, however, is more to do with Corberán’s physical appearance than his team selection. After crunching the numbers, it appears to me that Huddersfield Town enjoy a significantly better points tally in the games where he wears his famous cream skinny chinos. Yesterday’s well-earned victory against Middlesborough was the sixth game of the season where Town’s head coach squeezed into these seemingly lucky trousers and was the third time he’d won wearing them. A look at the trouser-related data I’ve been called a sad act for s...

Nov222020 by Terrier Spirit11 Comments

“Not good enough for a player of his experience” – Player ratings from Hudersfield Town’s defeat to Stoke

Matches

Huddersfield Town lost to Stoke in an entertaining game that saw a clash of footballing philosophies where the more direct and physical team won over Town’s possession-based approach. The defeat was mostly the result of silly defensive mistakes and poor decisions in our own third but there were also plenty of positives to take from Town’s attacking play. There were some varied performances yesterday, with some players looking great and others struggling to find a rhythm. Here’s what I made of each individual player. Joel Pereira - 4 out of 10 Not the best debut for a keeper that had a lot to prove before he's even pulled on the shirt after the less than glowing references he received from Hearts fans who watched him last season. Could have done better with at least one but more likely t...

Nov212020 by Terrier Spirit17 Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town lineup to take on Stoke

Matches

Huddersfield Town face a stern test in their first match back after the international break when they head to the Potteries to play Stoke. After the start we’ve had under Carlos Corberán we don’t need to fear any opponent but we will need to be at our best to beat a team with one of the strongest squad’s in the Championship with a canny manager at the helm. Carlos will have a mostly fit squad to pick from though Pritchard and Pipa are both confirmed as being unavailable. He will also have the luxury of picking nine subs and the potential to make five changes during the game, which gives him more opportunity to tinker with his gameplan. Here’s how I think Town are going to lineup: Goalkeeper: Ben Hamer The stopper celebrated his 33rd birthday yesterday and will hope to keep a clean shee...

Nov82020 by Terrier Spirit16 Comments

“Not a happy chap right now” – Player ratings from Huddersfield Town’s 1-1 draw with Luton

Matches

Huddersfield Town shared the points with Luton in a scrappy game that Town might have won with a bit more cutting edge at the top end but equally could have lost had Eiting not managed to score a looping header that was very difficult to score from. So it’s one of those games you can either feel happy to have taken something from or angry about not collecting a win. I’m probably somewhere in between and think a point is about right for a game where we failed to find a rhythm and didn’t do enough to create good quality chances. Here’s how I’d rate each individual performance… Ben Hamer - 6 out of 10 Not at fault for the goal, which was smartly finished by the Luton player. His passing wasn’t always perfect but he was at least trying to be a bit more creative with how he tried to pick ou...