Town’s wretched 2021 continued with another abject game, where defeat was embraced like a dear friend by a team. We don’t have a losing habit, it’s gone past a that now and into an addiction. The only possible explanation for such consistently disappointing results is a compulsion deep within the players and coaches to throw away games that they’re capable of winning.
I’m genuinely shocked that the optimism I felt after Town’s resounding win against Swansea was only last week. After two defeats and two awful second-half performances it’s now clear last weekend’s win was a false dawn and dark times are still ahead to Town fans.
The good start
In nearly every game of Town’s terrible run in 2021 there have been pockets where Town have played well. Usually it comes at the start of a half, when the coaches words are fresh in the player’s ears, confidence has been puffed up and our opponents not yet acclimatised to Town’s style of play.
Against Preston we looked genuinely good for the opening exchanges. Not good for a team sliding towards relegation but actually good. Pipa, O’Brien and Holmes tormented North End down the left flank with slick pass-and-move sequences that opened up gaps in their defence.
Bacuna and Mbenza looked dangerous on the other flank too. Fraizer Campbell pushed and pulled at their defence with his running. Vallejo pulled strings from deep and showed calmness on the ball to play through Preston’s press. It all looked very nice.
Had we not played like this in many defeats recently I would have concluded that victory was inevitable with Town dominating so much during this good spell. Sadly I knew that good patches at the start of games for Town don’t typically blossom into commanding performances over 90 minutes (with the rare exception of Swansea).
The error that gives away a goal
So I wasn’t surprised when the hard earned stranglehold Town had on the game was casually frittered away by sloppy play at the back.
The highlights don’t show enough of the build up to adequately identify all the individual errors in the build up to the opening goal but Keogh’s positioning and failure to cut out the pass created the space to exploit. Naby Sarr lets his man get goal side of him and then can’t match his pace. Schofield does well to come off his line and block the initial shot but he’s a split second too slow to recover and that means he can’t stop Pott’s follow up shot. Naby Sarr managed to get into the perfect position to block the shot but he couldn’t sort his feet out and his attempted clearances bobbled in.
Four errors, which individually may not have cost us a goal but each opportunity to recover was lost because the initial situation was compounded by another little mistake. Then another. Then another. Pott’s deserved credit for a good finish from a tight angle but the goal felt like it came more as a result of our own shortcomings than their good play.
I laughed when the commentary said, after Preston’s third, that defeat seemed inevitable because most fans knew defeat was confirmed from the 23rd minute. Coming from behind and taking points takes character and it’s something this group is desperately short on.
Confidence ebbs away
We had to wait until the second half for the wheels to properly come off for Town. Instead we saw the tide of the game slowly flow away from Town and into Preston’s hands. Our attacks lost their zip, their defence seemed a bit more solid and the confidence drained from Town despite the good show they had put on prior to the opener.
When Town were relegated from the Premier League we had many games like this. We’d start off well, full of ideas from the training ground about how to exploit our opponent. Then either a moment of quality or a bit of bad luck would lead to our opponent scoring and then it was all over, the fragile confidence was shattered and we couldn’t compete. This was hard to watch even against teams like Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool but against Preston North End it’s a bit galling. I don’t mean this in a “we’re too good to lose to Preston” way, more that we’re genuinely too good to give up on games after going behind after 23 minutes to a well-drilled but hardly flawless opponent. But that’s what seemed to happen.
Confidence is a tricky thing when you’re on a run like this. Nice spells build it a little but every defensive error, even the numerous ones we recover from, shakes the fragile belief the players have. Going behind knocks the stuffing out of us every time and it meant we lost the swagger that helped us create our early chances.
The second half capitulation
You could argue that Town didn’t deserve to go in at half time 1-0 down but there could be no complaints about the outcome after 90 minutes, as Town were dire in the second half and Preston did a great job of picking us off and easily exploiting all our weaknesses.
We saw Preston fall back into the dreaded low block and we yet again completely failed to lay a glove on an opponent that sat deep. To make matters worse, we continually left the back door open and were hopelessly vulnerable to counter attacks.
Virtually the same players that looked so dominant at the start of the game couldn’t do a thing right in the second half and we barely troubled their keeper. It was like watching a very low speed car crash, both awful and tedious at the same time.
The worst thing is that I wouldn’t even say such a shocking half of football was close to our worst display this season because there are so many other ones to choose from. Wycombe at home is my own personal low point but I’m sure there have been at least six or seven other games where I’ve been appalled by the level of performance from Town.
Sanogo offers one of the few bright points from the match
Despite only starting training with Town on Thursday this week and not having played competitive football for nearly a year, Yaya Sanogo was the only Town player to emerge from this game with any credit.
He’s got the physical presence that we’ve lacked at the top end of the pitch this season and just by being there as an option to lump it up to he changed the game. I’m not sure we saw a lot of evidence of his ability as a footballer, so he could end up being the French Alan Lee (which wouldn’t be such a bad thing). But the game did change when Sanogo came on and we stopped tapping it about quite so much at the back.
Lumping it up to the big man isn’t exactly the fancy football we were promised for this season but for all the talk of philosophies and free-flowing football, I’d be happy to see us go direct a little more often when we’re chasing games.
Andy Booth was one of the best headers of the ball I’ve ever seen in real life and it used to frustrate me how his skills were often wasted because we didn’t get players around him to win the second balls from his flicks and knock downs. We can’t make this mistake if we use Sanogo as a target man and the rest of the squad need to learn how to get into positions to exploit the opportunities he creates. So as much as Sanogo needs to adapt to our style, the rest of the players need to adapt to his too.
Was this result Corberán’s fault?
I’ve seen some people speculate that Corberán had to win yesterday or he was out of the door. I don’t think it’s at that stage yet but I think the board would be a bit daft if they didn’t have some concerns at the moment. Corberán is a young manager and is still learning but his mistakes are proving costly.
I think Corberán got a lot wrong yesterday. Bringing Rowe on to replace Edmonds-Green made sense as it would give us more attacking threat but I thought Pipa did well on the left yesterday and moving him back to the right nullified his threat when cutting inside. Rowe did fine but could have been deployed on his preferred rightback positon and allowed Pipa to carry on up the left.
Philips entry into the game saw us move to a 4-4-2 shape that will please fans of Mike Basset England Manager but in the context of this game it just meant we lost our control of midfield and after struggling to provide service for one striker, we struggled even more with two to try and provide for. I’m not blaming Philips specifically but this tactical switch led to Preston dominating the game and Town becoming even more toothless.
The decision to take Mbenza off may have been fitness related but to replace him an unproven central midfielder three minutes after going 2-0 behind felt like waving the white flag. I’d guess High was brought on to give us more bodies in the middle of the park to try and get back to dominating possession but it was a negative substitution at a point in the game where we needed a spark of inspiration.
Bringing Sanogo on was the only change we made that had a positive impact upon the game but even then it didn’t actually lead to many goal scoring chances.
The second half of this game had similarities with a preseason friendly from Town. A tepid pace to our attacks, experimental formation changes, bringing players from the bench to get minutes in their legs and not bothering too much about the result. Friendly is a fairly good description of our team too. Far too friendly.
Relegation odds suggest Town are likely to be safe
I find looking at the bookmaker’s odds often provides a more reliable indicator of what’s likely to happen than listening to pundits. The bookies don’t often get it wrong, so you can get a dispassionate view on things by looking at their odds.
Huddersfield Town were twenty five to one to go down around Christmas time, when we were all happy Carlos had agreed a new contract and a boring midtable finish seemed inevitable unless we put together a late charge for a playoff spot. One win in the last nine games has meant things are not so pretty now.
Yet still the bookies consider us to be a four to one shot to get relegated this season. While this means the odds have been slashed since our New Year slump, I find it reassuring that we are considered such outsiders for the drop despite our shocking run of form. Based on what we’re having to watch every game it feels like relegation is a certainty but the objective view of the scalpers is that things aren’t so bad for Town.
I suppose I can see why we’re not favourites. There are some other equally poor teams in the league this season and we have the benefit of already having points on the board. If we can manage four wins and a couple of draws in the next 13 games then we’ll most likely be safe. Even just three wins could be enough if the teams below us fail to turn themselves around. So while it’s a distinct possibility we will “do a Hull” the likelihood is that we can at least scrape together enough points to limp over the line and retain our status in the league for one more season.
Tuesday’s game against Birmingham is huge
Every game is likely to be significant from now on as Town look to pull clear of the relegation fight but Birmingham is a “6 pointer”. I know some people hate that expression because there are only three points up for grabs but beating Birmingham would m give us the bit of breathing space between us and the five or so teams that might also go down. That can relieve some of the pressure on the players and coaches and if we notch a few more positive results a boring midtable finish may be possible (though admittedly unlikely).
Conversely, if we lose on Tuesday night we’re really in the thick of the relegation scrap. Birmingham will leapfrog us in the table and if the bottom three pick up points from their games in hand we could end up hovering directly above the drop zone.
It’s been pointed out recently that Town are currently involved in their seventh relegation battle out of the last eight seasons. I worry that our current squad is the least equipped for such a fight than any of those previous Town teams. We lack leadership, character and grit throughout the team. There’s clearly some ability in the team but only really Hoggy that tenacity that you need when you’re fighting for survival and things are going against you. The rest are too willing to resign themselves to defeat after defeat.
The expression that springs to mind when I think of this current Town team is “too many hot dinners”. I sincerely hope they prove me wrong.
In almost total agreement with 2 caveats:-
1. Schofield was “a split second too slow”. Sorry but he even turned the wrong way around, lost his bearings completely, looked all at sea which is the standard of his goalkeeping.
2. I can’t comment beyond 2-0 so never saw the introduction of Sanogo. As you rightly say, at 1-0 we diehards knew it was going to be another defeat but we cling optimistically to a defensive error that will let us back in the game; but at 2-0 you know that last glimmer of hope has been extinguished. Might as well go and watch the build-up to Wales v England. So I’ve not seen the third goal and wonder who was at fault for that one. The second goal was shocking – what on earth was Mbenza thinking about? In fairness to the defenders, when you get idiot attackers like Campbell in the previous match and now Mbenza in this one, what can defenders realistically do?
Yesterday afternoon was another deep low in this miserable season.
Unfortunately when you want all your defenders up the other end attacking and the attackers back defending, this is the unavoidable consequence.
We were in a similar position at the beginning of last season, lack of points, lack of confidence and lack of quality players and I could not see a way out of it. However the Cowleys came in and did a remarkable job and kept us up. However, the Cowleys had the experience, a winning mentality and man man management skills.
I like your point about the substitutions. Too many times this season we have seen the substitutions make the performance even worsre. They just tend to lead to weaker and /or inexperienced players coming into a game that effectively waves the white flag in surrender. It still begs the question, can anyone tell what CC is tellig them to do???
As you point out with marvellous alacrity this team is a constant source of material: a little of the good; a lot more of the bad but mainly the comical. You highlight all aspects!
If we can’t score when in command we lose; if we can score we still probably lose. Our main skill is in ensuring the opponent scores whilst producing error after error, which is all to frequent. Sadly I’m not re-assured by your bookmaker comment; as you yourself point out, wins are needed – seemingly an increasingly unlikely event.
I thought Mbenza was taken off as punishment for his wretched pass that lead to Preston’s second goal.
Regardless of relegation or not this group of players and/or the coach are failing regularly after relative success How is this going to change in the near or far future? Wholesale changes in the summer will necessitate pressing the restart button with no guarantee of success or even improved performance.
I am increasingly of the opinion that a change of voice is required……………..and urgently.
The calls for Carlos to be sacked deflects from the real problem at the club. Poor leadership and management, financial culpability (dishonesty), lack of ambition, conservatism with a small ‘c’ – running the club on the cheap. We got lucky with Wagner.
The pressure on CC takes the heat off PH, DH and the other Directors. The Paddy Power shambles, no shirt sponsors, selling/allowing our better players to leave and expecting youth club players to be able to replace them highlights the mess the club is in. Don’t be fooled by the Covid excuse given by PH. He has no money to spend on a football club. We can’t even afford to have banners and flags in the ground like other clubs, but that’s an issue for another day.
Sexy, free flowing, play out from the back football doesn’t cut it in the Championship, unless you have good players all around the pitch. Pragmatism, seasoned professionals and a sprinkling of good younger players are required to be successful.
The Cowley’s knew that and should have been given the opportunity to move the club forward. What PH didn’t like about that approach was that it would cost money so he went for a ‘rebranding’ and did it on the cheap.
I could go on. I hope CC does keep us in the Championship but if he did get the sack he would be replaced by another cheap option. This squad is about good enough for mid table League 1 under the current management style. A more pragmatic approach may see us stay in the Championship – just.
I despair for the future of the club and having been a supporter for over 50 years I’ve seen it all. Yes, I will probably renew my season ticket through loyalty and love for the club but even during the dark days of administration and the efforts of David Taylor and others to save the club, I have never felt as let down as much as I do now.
A telling final comment. When Ben Hamer left he said he was joining a club ‘on the up’. Nothing more to add.
Good column again terrier you say a lot of what I think, where are we going to get our 4 wins from at the moment I don’t know, even the six pointer with Birmingham I’m not over confident them coming of a good win, us another lose plus the fact you can read town like a book it doesn’t bold well, we can bleat on & on about the chairman past & present and what’s gone on but it’s not going to get us results it’s down to CC and his team to get the best out of the team, he is so inexperienced in the role especially at this level, it’s brutal, his inexperience is showing through massively with his team selections (players playing in wrong positions), system & tactics (unwillingness to change) & subs (just throwing young kids on) he needs help someone to come in as a advisor who knows the league, someone to sit in the stand & let him know what is going on, I’m sorry but I feel he is out of his depth it is a little unfair to put this all on CC he hasn’t exactly been given backing but the playing side stops with him
Well said Tony. Voice of reason. You’ve put your finger exactly on the cause of our demise. If by some miracle we manage to survive this year all the evidence points to our squad being even worse next.
Hodgkinson has made 4 crucial mistakes. The first was to “buy” a club which he could not afford. The second was to sack the Cowleys after they did a brilliant job to guide the club to safety last season. The third was to employee a cheap trainee manager/coach. The fourth was not to back the managers financially. So the connecting thread in all of the above is money. They are probably still paying off the Cowleys contract. If Corberan and his team are sacked that’ll cost as well. A new manager will cost money. The summer transfer window will cost money whichever league we’re in if we are to rebuild. The lack of supporters due to Covid costs money. Lack of a sponsorship costs money. Reduced season cards next year will cost money. To get out of this it is the same answer, money and where is that going to come from? Step forward Mr Hoyle, that renowned Huddersfield Town Supporter.
There’s nothing strange with Hoyle selling the club and wanting to get money for it. The weird thing about that deal is that Hodgkinson in effect bought the club not for his own money, but for the club’s money! That’s a bit shady to me and not dissimilar to doing things like selling a stadium and buying it back at half the price. The end result is the same: draining the club of funds.
Certainly Covid has strained the club’s finances (and PH’s own), but it can’t have any part in explaining the results – after all, all the other clubs (and owners) are in the same situation.
I agree that sacking Corberán wouldn’t solve the basic problems. And in any case the calls to sack Corberán seem both a bit unfair and misguided.
Unfair when comparing him to the Cowleys: If I’ve counted correctly, 19 of the senior players that Cowley had available have left the club (worth at least £30 M). Add the injuries to that and Carlo’s situation really is completely different.
The sacking calls are also misguided since quite clearly Hodkinson gambled when bringing Corberán in: PH wanted a new approach/rebuilding and thought it was worth risking doing that rebuilding in League One next year. PH, CC and Lee Bromby must surely have discussed that from the start, with Carlos being promised that the plan was long-term, regardless of the level.
So I just can’t see Corberán getting sacked – and I’d argue it would be a bad move in any case: CC has a lot of nice ideas and could still turn this around. But if he doesn’t, nobody should be surprised: before the season, Town were heavy relegation favourites, so it’s a bit strange to bash Carlos now for the team having done surprisingly well during the fall…
CC Has to go now hes out of his Depth in the Championship Keogh is one of the worst central defenders ive ever seen in a Town shirt too slow his legs have gone Baccuna has to be dropped out of the squad never looks interested and obrien is hot and cold CC tactics are very strange to say the least Schofield will omly ever maje a back up keeper his positioning is Dire PH has to consider his future as well Dean Hoyle is no Town Fan Sheep In Wolves Clothing what sort of Chairman wants everypenny back he put into the club ive got a feeling PH could turn out to be another Carl Oysten theres one way out of this if he doesant get rid of his side kick LB and he doesant sack CC for Gods Sake boycot the club and dont Renew your season Cards what happend to the money from 11.000 season cards this season and all the money from sale of players Dean Hoyle and Now PH Undisclosed we have had enough of our club being run by people who see an easy oppertunity to sell us as supporters down the River
Don’t think firing CC is the answer, different players, coaches , managers and we are still the same jinxed town. The club is rudderless at the moment no one putting their foot on the ball and actually pointing us in the right direction. Devlin ,Bromby etc not fit for purpose, don’t know where we go from here , everyone we bring in seems to take us backwards, how come Preston can get Anthony Gordon on loan , and we have to put up with a washed up centre half and a bloke who arrives in February cos no one else wants him . Let’s hope Birmingham have a bad day, but even then it is papering over the cracks.
Totally agree with many of the comments on here.
I said it before but the Cowley’s will have gone to Phils office after the West Brom game with a shopping list for this season. It would have cost a few quid but their steady leadership would have kept us mid to top half of the table.When they joined the club we were told that it would take three transfer windows to sort things out (Phils words). Anyway he no doubt he said no chance and the rest is history.
Wagner and the Cowley’s were people persons. DC let Bacuna visit his son for a few days last season during a busy time. He came back and scored a couple of goals. Siewart lost the changing room, different style and so has CC but don’t know if this is the real problem.
So approx nine players injured. Some we rate and some we don’t but I do think that the likes of Chris Schindler and Jonny Hogg kept the ship steady. I would like to see right now where we would be if we had a fully fit squad.
Player recruitment crucial, and has to be done right. We should not be in this situation running round panic buying. It doesn’t bode well. Look at who we want at the club, if we can’t agree terms then have a contingency plan. Having an Under 23 academy coach as you Director of football who is inexperienced once again isn’t going to get you far.
CC right now has limited players to pick. No depth to the squad due to lack of recruitment and a lack of funds for recruiting players. You get what you pay for.
Big Phil wanted a head coach not a manager.
Somethings got to change or if we don’t go down this season we will next year.
Sad times, but the problem is this club is now been ran by amateurs.
Exactly. Spot on. PH took a big risk when he sacked the Cowleys and appointed Corberan and I am not sue it has worked. Also, I believe any of the injuries are caused my murderball.
No I think Hodgkinson was led down the garden path by the alleged footballing experts advising him such as Bromby. The Cowleys only came to the club if they were to be the managers and as such they would pick the players they wanted. Hodgkinsons only role was to provide the money. Then, towards the end of the season, the Cowleys said what they wanted and suddenly the realisation hit that they actually wanted to manage transfers etc. and horrors , they wanted money. I can see it now. Bromby and Co said, look we don’t need managers, we can do that. All we need is a coach and there’s one at Leeds who will jump at the chance. We’ll get the Bielsa style of play and he’ll be cheap. We don’t have to spend much money and he’ll get much more out of the players than the Cowleys ever could and we won’t have to spend anything on players.
And it came to pass and darkness covered the land!
Good comment. Spot on.