Blog – Page 61 – Terrier Spirit – Huddersfield Town FC blog

Dec242017 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Southampton 1-1 Huddersfield Town – TerrierSpirit.com player ratings

Matches

Town came from behind to snatch a point against Southampton. It wasn't Town's best performance but there were some excellent moments too. Here are my player ratings from a performance that had a few highs and lows. Lössl - 6/10 Was brave to keep going after the kick in the face and made a few good saves. However, he ballsed up with his kicking twice and could easily have gifted Southampton at a goal or two. Malone - 6/10 He’s a welcome attacking threat but he gets so far forward that we’re exposed at the back. I feel like we’re less solid when he’s on the pitch instead of Löwe. His positional sense isn’t great and he’s not as good a tackler as Löwe. Schindler - 7/10 Stepped out of defence to try to break play up in midfield and got it wrong a couple of times. Otherwise solid and unlu...

Dec242017 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Talking points from the draw at Southampton – A point is better than a kick in the face

Matches

Town fought hard and came back from behind to take a point from their game at Southampton. It wasn’t our best performance so far in the top flight but a mixture of grit, luck, and Southampton’s profligacy in front of goal meant Town avoided defeat. It wasn't as good a performance as Watford last week but it was a good point to take on away from home. The game’s biggest talking point Charlie Austin deliberately kicking Jonas Lössl in the face. The Southampton striker plead his innocence but the slow-motion replay was damning. Somewhat surprisingly, the FA have acted on this injustice and have retrospectively charged Austin with violent conduct. Town’s first undeserved point in the Premier League So far this season Town have had to fight very hard for every single point they’ve earned, ...

Dec222017 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Southampton away preview – tactics, lineups, last meeting & score prediction

Matches

Huddersfield Town head to the south coast for their last away game of the year, taking on Southampton at the Saint Mary’s stadium. Town are currently one place and three points above Southampton in the Premier League table, which few would have bet on at the start of the season. This is the first return fixture in the Premier League for Town, following the 0-0 draw at home with Southampton last August. Newly promoted sides often find it harder in the second half of the season because teams know what to expect when they play again. It’ll be interesting to see if Southampton differ their approach against Town. Who will David Wagner pick to play against Southampton? After such a fine performance against Watford and a full week to rest between games it’s hard to imagine wholesale changes ...

Dec212017 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

BOOK REVIEW: Underdog – The Inside Story of Huddersfield Town’s 2016-17 Promotion Campaign by Raj Bains

Opinion

Underdog is a book that tells the story of Huddersfield Town’s incredible promotion season, where they started tipped for relegation and finished with an incredible playoff final victory and a place in the Premier League. Raj Bains carried out interviews with David Wagner, Dean Hoyle, the players and the backroom staff to get an interesting look at what was going on behind the scenes last season. The access he managed to get, and the insight from the interviews was the standout thing about this book and justified the cost in my eyes. Fresh insight into a well trodden story There’s been a bit of a media circus around Huddersfield Town and the people involved with the club since our promotion to the Premier League, so it’s impressive that Bains managed to get previously unheard informat...

Dec172017 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

The 17 best tweets from the Watford away game

Social media

Social media can be a dispiriting place when Town lose. But after the 4-1 victory over Watford it was a delight to see the tweets roll in. Here are some of my favourite tweets about yeterday's game. Will perfectly reworks Wham's Christmas hit https://twitter.com/W_Parkin/status/942103934465921024 Reece Dinsdale shows how football fandom spans generations https://twitter.com/reece_dinsdale/status/942139095115075586 Kurt could be looking at a noise abatement order soon! https://twitter.com/hudderskurt/status/942055713874108417 Collin Quaner receives a lot of love https://twitter.com/bbc606/status/942097886312935424 https://twitter.com/forevertown/status/942174547981275136 https://twitter.com/JordanHTAFC/status/942060482625761283 https://twitter.com/jess_htfc/status/942077717385809...

Dec172017 by Terrier Spirit1 Comment

Watford 1-4 Huddersfield Town: TerrierSpirit.com player ratings

Matches

Huddersfield Town beat Watford 4-1 in a memorable encounter. Having not scored away from home since the opening day of the season, Town's drought turned into a flood of goals. Here are how the individual players performed. Lössl - 8 out of 10 Made a couple of key saves in the late stages to stop Watford from getting back in the game. Löwe - 7 out of 10 Was doing well until he had to be subbed due to injury. He looked gutted as he left the field just before half-time. Schindler - 8 out of 10 Not thoroughly tested, but broke up play well in midfield and provided a strong base for Town to build from. Zanka - 8 out of 10 Solid again. Made some good headed clearances to stop Watford from getting chances in the box. Hadergjonaj - 8 out 10 Up against one of the Premier League’s stand...

Dec152017 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Watford v Huddersfield Town preview – Team selection, tactics, opposition info, history & score prediction

Matches

Huddersfield Town head to Vicarage Road on Saturday to play Watford in the Premier League. Town will hope to get back to winning ways, after a 3-1 defeat to Chelsea in midweek. They’ll also want to break their away-from-home losing streak, which stretches back to the 0-0 draw with Burnley. Watford haven’t won in four games, so are struggling for form themselves. However, they’re a quality Premier League team with a young, ambitious manager. It will be a tough test for Town but, unlike against Chelsea, if Town play well they have a good chance of getting something. Predicted tactics against Watford I think that David Wagner will revert to his usual 4-2-3-1 system against Watford. The "deep block" 4-5-1 system we played against Chelsea was scuppered by individual errors and made it hard...

Dec132017 by Terrier Spirit1 Comment

Huddersfield Town 1-3 Chelsea: The inquest (with player ratings)

Matches

Huddersfield Town hosted the current Premier League champions on a cold and rainy night in Yorkshire. Town were outclassed by Chelsea's expensively assembled team and struggled to get a foothold in the game. It’s never nice to see your team lose, but we were playing a team that’s far above the level Town are operating on. There were a few positives from the night, particularly Depoitre’s goal, but it was one of our more disappointing Premier League performances. They can’t all be swashbuckling performances and cup-final atmospheres. Sometimes we’re going to get beaten by a better team. This article will chew over some of the talking points from the game and rate the players. Tactics against the top-six clubs: what can Town do? David Wagner employed the tactics I predicted in my Chels...

Dec112017 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Town v Chelsea predictions – should we go for it or play it safe?

Matches

The 2-0 victory over Brighton wasn’t just three Premier League points in the bag, it was a great team performance from Town too. The style of play, work-rate, and bravery that Town were famous for last season was back in abundance. It was wonderful to see Town play with freedom and attacking intent. When Town have played against top opposition this season we’ve often been reluctant to attack too much for fear of being exposed at the back. This article will try to predict what team David Wagner will pick against Chelsea, the tactics Town will use, and how it’s going to work out for Town. Which system should Town play to beat Chelsea? Town were great against Brighton, playing the 4-2-3-1 system that David Wagner has implemented at his time with the club. It might be tempting for him to...

Dec102017 by Terrier Spirit1 Comment

In support of clappers: noise = success

Opinion

This is a very short post to nail my colours to the mast, and say that I’m a fan of the clappers that Huddersfield Town have been putting out for every home game this season. I’ve seen a lot of snarky comments about them from both Town and opposition fans but I’ve not heard a convincing argument against them. Typically they’re described as tinpot, embarrassing, or plastic. For anyone that’s sampled the atmosphere that’s been created at the John Smith’s Stadium this season, they know that there’s nothing fake about the enthusiasm from the stands, even if the decibel levels are increased with the help of a few thousand bits of folded cardboard. Spine-tingling atmosphere on all four sides of the pitch I understand that the clappers aren’t the only reason there’s a good amount of noise ge...