Opinion – Page 14 – Terrier Spirit – Huddersfield Town FC blog

Dec62017 by Terrier Spirit3 Comments

6 overreactions after the Everton defeat

When you pay for a ticket for a football game you're also paying for the right to complain if you’re unhappy about what you see. Some fans will support their team regardless of the results, others will see their opportunity to criticise their team as a consumer right that they’ve paid good money for. I personally stand somewhere in the middle of this argument, maybe slightly leaning towards the “enjoy the ride” crowd. While it’s silly to say you should never make a critical comment about your club, it’s important that fans vocally back their team. The success of last season and our remarkable home form in the Premier League is evidence that positivity in the stands spreads out onto the pitch. Anyway, this article isn’t having a go about critical fans in general. It’s about the specific t...

Dec32017 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Everton 2-0 Huddersfield Town – TerrierSpirit.com Player Ratings

Matches, Opinion

Oh no! Another away defeat for Town. Another away game without a goal. While some fans are losing their minds with worry over Town’s recent results, it’s worth bearing in mind that the performances haven’t been that bad. We’re not creating enough chances, and not scoring from the few we do make. But it wasn’t all bad. Here are my player ratings for the 2-0 defeat against Everton. Lössl - 6 out of 10 Seemed unusually cautious when kicking out from the back. Made a good save in the first half and couldn't have saved either goal. Malone - 6 out of 10 Looked nervy at times and was caught out of position. However, he does get forward and provides an outlet down the right. Schindler - 8 out of 10 Typically solid and made some great tackles. He provided cover for Malone and looked assured...

Dec12017 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Everton away predictions – lineup, tactics, and score

Matches, Opinion

Huddersfield Town take a trip to Goodison Park this weekend to play Everton, in a game that would be described as a relegation six pointer. Town and Everton are each on fifteen points in the league, with Everton’s superior goal difference giving them the slight edge. Here’s a look at how I think Town will approach this game and what the outcome could be. David Wagner’s tactics to beat Everton Wagner experimented with a 3-4-2-1 formation on Wednesday night, to match up with Arsenal. Having Cranie come in and play as an extra centre-back made sense but didn’t lead to the water-tight defence we hoped for. I think we’ll revert back to the usual 4-2-3-1 system for Everton. The lack of goals away from home is an issue, so playing with three attackers behind the main striker should give us so...

Nov262017 by Terrier Spirit1 Comment

Huddersfield Town 1-2 Manchester City – TerrierSpirit.com player ratings

Matches, Opinion

Town were unlucky to be defeated 2-1 by the runaway league leaders Manchester City. Ther Terriers produced a spirited and disciplined performance that frustrated City and left them relying on a generous referee and a big slice of luck to get a win. It’s quite tricky to break down the performance into individual scores because it was a great team effort, but I’ll give it a go anyway. Lössl - 8 out of 10 Wasn’t able to play the ball short to the centrebacks as much as he’d have liked because City pressed high up the pitch. However, his distribution was intelligent and mostly well targeted. Made a good safe in the first half but parried the ball into Sterling’s path, thankfully he missed the open goal. Smith - 7 out of 10 A mixed performance in my eyes. At some points he looked to be o...

Nov192017 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

What went wrong in the defeat at Bournemouth?

Opinion

This article isn't a witch hunt or a protracted moan about getting beaten 4-0 by Bournemouth. It's meant to be a look at the factors that led to us suffering a heavy defeat against a team we may have beaten on a different day. Key players were injured, suspended, on paternity leave, or jetlagged Before talking about the specifics of the game, it's worth noting we were missing some key players. Schindler has been our best player this season but was suspended following his red card in the West Brom game. Hogg was unavailable because his wife gave birth the night before (this is a completely acceptable reason to miss a day's work in my opinion, and I'm saddened by some of the comments I've seen about it). While Mooy played 90 minutes, he probably shouldn't have after travelling around t...

Nov42017 by Terrier Spirit15 Comments

Huddersfield Town 1-0 West Brom: TerrierSpirit.com Player ratings

Matches, Opinion

Huddersfield Town managed to cling on to a 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion at the John Smith’s Stadium. A red card for Christopher Schindler meant Town had to play 30 minutes with ten men. It was another excellent team performance and yet another memorable game for the fans. Here are my ratings for each of Town’s players. Nobody had a bad game, and some of them were superb. Lössl - 8 out of 10 Made two vital saves late on to secure the win. Rarely tested otherwise but his distribution was excellent and he commanded his box well. Malone 8 out of 10 Played very high up the pitch and made some great runs. He's more of a threat going forward than Löwe and added something extra to our attacks. I don't know if it was injury or fitness that saw him subbed late on, but it's the secon...

Oct292017 by Terrier Spirit19 Comments

Liverpool 3-0 Huddersfield Town – TerrierSpirit.com player ratings

Matches, Opinion

Huddersfield Town were comprehensively beaten by Liverpool at Anfield, by three goals to nil. Town managed to contain and frustrate in the first half, but Liverpool found another gear in the second, which allowed them to run out well-deserved winners. Town played an unusually negative game, parking the proverbial bus until the first goal went in. Once they trailed they had to try to get back into the game, which only gave Liverpool more space to attack and allowed them to extend their lead. It wasn't a terrible performance by Town but there was a distinct lack of creativity and drive. Lössl - 7 out of 10 Couldn't do much about the goals, and made a couple of good saves, including a great penalty save. He also didn't make any silly mistakes, so it looks like he's cut that out of his ga...

Oct222017 by Terrier Spirit9 Comments

Huddersfield Town 2-1 Manchester United – TerrierSpirit.com Player ratings

Matches, Opinion

Huddersfield Town recorded a historic 2-1 victory over Manchester United. It was an incredible occasion that I don't think I'll ever forget. While Manchester United were having an 0ff day, Town were at their best and worthy winners. It's unsurprising then that such a great result has led to some high player ratings. It was a wonderful team performance, with every player doing their bit to help achieve a win that will be talked about for a long time. Lössl - 8 out of 10 His kicking was great, with one punt upfield leading directly to Depoitre’s goal. Also made a good save late on to help us hold onto the lead. Had a couple of iffy moments coming out for crosses he didn't collect. The ref blew for one and his teammates cleared the loose ball on the other. I'm used to Town keepers being...

Oct212017 by Terrier Spirit1 Comment

Why the academy downgrade could be a positive move for Town

Opinion

Huddersfield Town recently announced their plan to downgrade their academy from grade two to grade four. The decision has been met with hostility from some fans and media critics. I can understand the anger and frustration, particularly for those connected to the kids that have been let go. However, I also think the club have made the right move and I’ll explain why I think that in this article. What’s actually happening to Town’s academy It was occasionally reported as the club closing down the academy but that’s not true. The teams for under 16s and downwards are being disbanded but the under 18s and under 23s will continue in a slightly altered fashion. This means that Town will bring in players who are in their late teens to join the youth setup, rather than recruiting younger la...

Oct182017 by Terrier Spirit9 Comments

6 reasons to feel positive after the Swansea defeat

Opinion

The dust has settled from Town’s 2-0 defeat to Swansea, and even though the performance wasn’t great there’s still lots to be positive about Town right now. There’s been a fair bit of negativity in response to the Swansea result, so I thought I’d write my six reasons to not get too upset just yet. Town didn’t play that badly against Swansea Reading some of the reaction to the game from fans on Facebook, Twitter and Down at the Mac would make you think Town were beaten 10-0 and completely humiliated against Swansea. We weren’t great, but it wasn’t an awful performance. When you play well and win it’s hard to remember moments of bad luck or decisions going the wrong way because you won. In defeat these moments stick in your mind. Here are some things that could have gone differently and...