Opinion – Terrier Spirit – Huddersfield Town FC blog

Aug82024 by Terrier Spirit21 Comments

We’re doomed! A pessimistic Huddersfield Town season preview

Opinion

I like to split my season previews into two and write a pessimistic and optimsitic version. I've already published the optimistic version, so you can click over and read that one if you were born on the sunny side of the street. Otherwise, if you'd prefer to dwell on the more concerning omens about the season ahead, strap yourself in for my pitch black preview of the coming season. Before I get started, I'd like to say that this year's negative preview has been harder to write than in previous seasons, as my genuine feelings towards Town are pretty positive right now despite our relegation. So while there may be some truth in the ideas expressed below, I'm actually not nearly as negative as this article might suggest. My real feelings are probably a mixture of the positive and negative...

Aug82024 by Terrier Spirit12 Comments

The glass IS half full – A positive season preview for Huddersfield Town

Opinion

As has become a tradition on this blog, I'm dividing my Huddersfield Town season preview into two halves, one dwelling on the negatives and another talking up the positives. It's always impossible to know before a season starts which way things are going to go, so I find splitting myself in two and pouring all my hopes into one article and fears into another makes it easier to write these things. Typically, the pessimistic article is both easier to write and gets around double the clicks from Town fans too. This season might be a bit different though, as personally, I'm not feeling the usual creeping dread about the coming season, instead I've an unusual and unfamiliar feeling, which I think might be a vague sense of optimsim. It's the hope that kills you, as the saying goes! So, here'...

Jul212024 by Terrier Spirit21 Comments

Huddersfield Town’s Austria squad: who are the winners and losers?

Opinion

Photo by Brian de Karma on Pexels.com Huddersfield Town have arrived in Austria for their nine-day pre-season trip to Austria. The club have been keen to emphasise this trip to a spa resort will not be particularly relaxing for the playing staff that are out in the Austrian mountains, as they will be subjecting to a gruelling routine of double training sessions and psychological torment* (*they didn’t actually mention anything about psychological torment, I just inferred that from the context of the article). Michael Duff has made some ruthless decisions in selecting his 27-man squad to take to Austria. In doing so, it’s the first clear indication of which players have impressed him so far in preseason and which ones are unlikely to be in his plans for the coming season. In t...

Jun132024 by Terrier Spirit8 Comments

Jonathan Hogg, his new contract and a jumper that should have gone to the charity shop years ago

Opinion, Transfers

I have a jumper in my wardrobe that has been my favourite for around 12 years now. It fits me nicely, I feel comfortable in it and it works in a variety of situations. To begin with the jumper was unquestionably my best jumper and was my first choice for a number of years. Then after a while it got a bit older, and having been worn a lot and put through the wash plenty of times it started to get a bit bobbly and didn't look as good as it used to. So obviously I got other jumpers. But those jumpers never quite fit the same, or the material would feel cheap, or after a few washes they would shrink and not feel right. So I'd got back to my old jumper, because even though it is past its best, it's still better than all the available alternatives I had in my wardrobe. I really should have sent...

Jun52024 by Terrier Spirit2 Comments

Which League One teams are within a two-hour drive of Huddersfield Town? (And what are the likely ticket allocations?)

Matches, Opinion

It's only a few weeks until the fixtures come out and we can start plotting potential away trips for Huddersfield Town's first season in League One since 2012, following their relegation from the Championship. And while going down is never nice, one of the consolations of dropping down a division is the prospect of some new away trips. Because let's face it, there are so many times you can get excited about the prospect of Stoke or Preston North End away before the sparkle starts to fade off these fixtures. And while League One might not be exactly packed with glamour, in the way the Premier League is, there is a lot of character and fun away days to look forward to. And it'll be nice to play some different clubs too, after so long in the top two tiers of English football. In thi...

May182024 by Terrier Spirit16 Comments

7 things I liked from Michael Duff’s first press conference (and a few things I didn’t like)

Opinion

Michael Duff had his first press conference as Huddersfield Town manager on Thursday and I think he made a very good first impression. He comes across as a straight forward, humble and decent sort of guy that wants to do well and has some ideas about how to do it. I was far less impressed by the man sitting next to him, Sporting Director, Mark Cartwright, who answered all his questions by talking himself up, making excuses and spewing out management speak. So in this article I'm going to cover the things that I found encouraging in the press conference and a few of the things that left me a bit unimpressed. On balance, I felt more positive about Town's situation by the end of it than I did before and I’m feeling pretty good about the upcoming season in League One. https...

May142024 by Terrier Spirit10 Comments

Some thoughts on Michael Duff’s appointment

Opinion

Michael Duff has been announced as Huddersfield Town's new head coach, arriving on a three-year contract as Andre Breitenreiter's replacement. Duff has been linked with the Town job in the past, so his arrival is not a huge shock and his experience at League One level makes him feel like a safe pair of hands for a club going through a turbulent time following relegation and a period chopping and changing managers every few months. In this article, I'll give my opinion on this appointment, which is quite tricky to do before a ball has been kicked in his tenure but, on paper, this seems like a sensible and potentially successful appointment for the club. Who is Michael Duff? Michael Duff's playing career only involved two clubs, starting at Cheltenham Town, where he made 300 ...

Dec162023 by Terrier Spirit21 Comments

Kevin Nagle’s Tweet and 4 other pressures on Darren Moore ahead of Huddersfield Town’s Millwall trip

Matches, Opinion

Today Huddersfield Town will take on Millwall at The Den and while it's never a pleasant place to try and get a result, Darren Moore is likely to feel that the hostility from the Millwall fans is nothing compared to the hostility he is getting from all other directions at the moment. In this article, I'm going to take a look at all the different ways Huddersfield Town's manager is currently being put under pressure. Kevin Nagle and his itchy tweeting finger Kevin Nagle took to Twitter (I can't bring myself to call it X) to address the concerns of fans following our defeat to PNE in midweek. While the performance and result on Tuesday were obviously sub-par, the tone of Kevin's tweet was probably more damning than Moore deserved given it was the team's first defeat in five games and ...

Aug42023 by Terrier Spirit8 Comments

We’re doomed! A pessimistic preview of Huddersfiled Town upcoming season

Opinion

Huddersfield Town’s season starts this Saturday when they travel down to Plymouth, so it feels about right to put together a season preview article. As has now become an annual tradition on this blog, I’m going to divide my thoughts into positive and negative feelings and put them out as two separate articles. I published the positive one earlier today, so you can read that one instead if you'd prefer some positivity in your life. For the curmudgeons and, perhaps, the realists, I’ve put together a preview with all my darkest fears about Huddersfield Town included. And worrying about what lies ahead is fairly familiar territory for most Town fans, particularly those that have been following the club for a while. I know some people will feel like an article that solely looks...

Aug42023 by Terrier Spirit4 Comments

Reasons to feel positive about Huddersfield Town this season

Opinion

As has become an annual tradition in this blog, I've divided my season preview article into two, one full of positives and the other negatives. Because there's already enough negativity about Huddersfield Town, I thought it would be best to start with the more upbeat look at the season ahead. The negative one is also available on the blog now though, if you'd prefer to make yourself feel glum! For those that like to live on the sunny side of the street, here are my reasons to feel positive about Huddersfield Town's chances this season. We’ve got Neil Warnock While Neil Warnock is now 74 years old, he described his achievements at Huddersfield Town as his greatest yet in management, so you could argue that he’s just reaching his prime! And while in the past we’ve favoured a strate...