Shadow

Blog

6 grumbles about Huddersfield Town’s 2-1 defeat to Derby

6 grumbles about Huddersfield Town’s 2-1 defeat to Derby

Matches
Huddersfield Town were beaten 2-1 by Derby in their opening Championship fixture on Monday night. The defeat came about, in part, because of silly individual errors and poor defensive organisation. The confidence that had been painstakingly built over the course of preseason quickly evaporated. A change of approach at half-time spurred Town onto the front foot and made us more competitive, but it didn’t lead to the goals we were pushing for. Midfield confusion in the first half My impression of the first half was that our midfield was completely overrun by Derby and poor Jonathan Hogg was often left with the impossible job of tracking up to three players, while Mooy and Bacuna both seemed to be positioned far too high up the pitch. Town’s midfield looked almost non-existent at times a...
Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to face Derby

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to face Derby

Matches, Opinion
Here’s is the selection that I think Jan Siewert will go with to take on Debry tonight. I’m usually pretty hopeless at accurately predicting lineups, so I wouldn’t hold too much stock in what you read below. With that disclaimer in mind, here’s my prediction: Goalkeeper: Grabara The massive keeper comes on loan from Liverpool with quite a lot of hype but not a lot of experience. He looked very good in the short amount of time I saw him during preseason and could be a key player for Town this season. Watch out for his kicking, as it’s rumoured he can pick players out accurately deep in the opposition half. If this is true then I suspect we’ll try and use this long, flat kicks to launch counter attacks. Defence: Kongolo, Schindler, Elphick, Hadergjonaj I think I’d prefer to see Kongol...
We’re doomed! A miserable preview of Huddersfield Town’s chances this season

We’re doomed! A miserable preview of Huddersfield Town’s chances this season

Matches
As the season opener approaches for Town I found it hard to write a preview for the year ahead because I can’t make my mind up about the kind of season we should expect as Town fans. Obviously last season was a terrible time for the club but lots has changed since our relegation from the Premier League. In the end, I decided to make two separate and contradictory season previews. One for the optimists and one for the pessimists. This article is going to take a doom and gloom look at the season ahead, for all the negative Nancys out there. If you’d prefer the rose-tinted specs version then click this link. Here are my reasons to feel worried about Town's prospects this year: Jan Siewert is inexperienced and clearly struggled in his first half a season Town were poor towards the end ...
A ridiculously optimistic assessment of Huddersfield Town’s chances this season

A ridiculously optimistic assessment of Huddersfield Town’s chances this season

Matches
As the season opener approaches for Town, I found it hard to preview this season because I can’t make my mind up about the kind of year we should expect as Town fans. Obviously last season was a terrible time for the club but lots has changed since our relegation from the Premier League. In the end, I decided to make two separate and contradictory season previews. One for the optimists and one for the pessimists. I like to look on the bright side, so I’m starting with the positive views first. The negative one will be up on the blog shortly. Here are my reasons I think Town can expect a good year: Jan Siewert has a clear vision about how he wants to play and it suits our squad Siewert has been quite clear about the way he wants Town to play. We’ll mostly lineup 4-3-3 and will play wit...
A theory about tomorrow’s Huddersfield Town announcement

A theory about tomorrow’s Huddersfield Town announcement

Opinion
Sean Jarvis, Huddersfield Town’s Commercial Director, has been hyping up tomorrow (1 August 2019) for the last week without giving any specific details. In this article I’m going to try to predict exactly what this announcement is going to involve. https://twitter.com/SeanMJarvis/status/1156460427439747073 Regular readers of this blog may remember that my article about the Paddy Power shirt sponsorship deal accurately predicted that Town wouldn’t have the bookmaker’s logo on their shirt. Drunk on the success of my previous prediction, I’m going to try and guess what will happen for tomorrow’s announcement. 1st August = 3rd kit reveal It’s widely expected that the announcement tomorrow is going to be the reveal of the third kit that Huddersfield Town will play in next season. Given ...
6 things we’ve learned about Huddersfield Town this preseason

6 things we’ve learned about Huddersfield Town this preseason

Opinion, Transfers
Town completed their preseason friendlies with a 1-1 draw with Montpellier FSV in a game that wasn’t all that exciting but contained some interesting moments. Clear cut chances were in short supply, but Grant made the most of the single opportunity he was given but Diakhaby and Hadergjonaj both spurned Town’s two best other chances. It’s important not to draw too much from preseason friendlies, but here are a few things I’ve picked up from the things I’ve seen so far... Lewis O’Brien is ready for the first team After a season on loan at Bradford City, the Town youngster has returned looking like a seasoned pro and has turned in some eye-catching performances this preseason. He has mostly played as one of the two more advanced midfielders but could be equally effective in the deeper, J...
A theory about Huddersfield Town’s ‘hen do’ Paddy Power kit

A theory about Huddersfield Town’s ‘hen do’ Paddy Power kit

News
Huddersfield Town unveiled their new shirt earlier this week and it has caused quite a stir. New sponsors, Paddy Power, have their logo splashed extravagantly across the front, taking up so much room that it breaks the FA's rules on sponsor sizes. It's widely thought to be a prank of some sort, and an alternative kit is waiting in the wings to be unveiled. However, the kit was released two days ago and the club haven't clarified what's going on. In this article I'm going to put forward my theory about what's going to happen with the club's shirt, and what Huddersfield Town will be playing in next season. The problem Huddersfield Town and Paddy Power now have While many football fans have seen the new kit as an outrage against decency and a humiliation for the club, others have called ...
Squad report – Do Huddersfield Town have two players for every position?

Squad report – Do Huddersfield Town have two players for every position?

Matches
In the Q&A with new Chairman, Phil Hodgkinson, it was made clear that Town now have a full squad and will only bring new players in as a result of other players leaving. He also said that our star players would only leave if we received “very big bids”, so it’s possible that the core of the current squad will be in tact when the transfer window closes in a few weeks time. So here’s a look at the squad as it stands, looking specifically at whether we have two players for every position in Siewert’s preferred 4-3-3 system. Goalkeepers - Grabara, Schofield and Coleman It’s widely reported that the big Premier League teams only loan their youth players out with assurances that they will play a decent percentage of games, so it’s very likely Grabara will be our first choice keeper. I k...
4 standout performances in the Town v Hamburger SV friendly

4 standout performances in the Town v Hamburger SV friendly

Matches
I don’t particularly like friendlies, but I still found myself tuning in to watch Town play Hamberger SV on the club’s official live stream. Town ran out 1-0 winners in a solid but unexciting performance against a decent second-tier German team. Here are a few of the players that caught my eye during the game. It’s worth remembering that preseason doesn’t count for a great deal, but until the season starts it’s all we have to go off. Lewis O’Brien I was very impressed by O’Brien’s work rate and composure in his first-half performance (the entire XI was switched at half-time). He aggressively pressed the opposition, made some smart tackles and looked comfortable in possession. The year on loan at Bradford must have done him a lot of good, as he looks like a professional footballer o...
5 reasons for Town fans to be optimistic

5 reasons for Town fans to be optimistic

Opinion
Huddersfield Town will return to the Championship in a few weeks time, following their relegation from the Premier League. The 2018/19 season was a dismal one for Town fans, with just three victories to celebrate all season and some embarrassing low points along the way. While some fans may see relegation to the Championship as a terrible thing, I’m feeling positive about the forthcoming campaign. Here’s a list of reasons why I think we’re going to have a good season. More games where we’ve got a good chance of winning While it was nice to have a couple of years in the top-flight of English football, the last season was awful to watch for the majority of the time. While it would be daft to think Town are going to be competing at the top end of the Championship, it’s almost certain we’...