Huddersfield Town lost 2-1 to Birmingham City last night in a game where they struggled badly in the first half and weren’t able to turn an improved second-half into the goals we needed to get anything from the game. It’s a result that adds pressure onto Danny Schofield, as he’s now lost his opening two games in charge at Town and both performances have been unconvincing at best.
Schofield showed a lot of faith in the team that failed to perform against Burnley last week, only making two changes when far more players could have been dropped. That faith was not repaid, after the same mistakes were repeated in another poor first half performance, with sloppy passing and poor positional play leading to Birmingham dominating the play. Schofield’s post-match comments hinted towards a bad tempered half time team talk which led to an improved second half, which at least shows that Schofield’s may have a bit of steel under the Mr Nice Guy routine.
Anyway, here are my player ratings for the match.
Lee Nicholls – 5 out of 10
There was nothing he could do about the first goal but I thought he probably should have turned the second goal around his post instead of letting it in. It’s one that would have been classed as a good save if he’d have kept it out; he got a hand to the ball but the connection wasn’t quite right and the ball bent around his hand then went in the net. It’s not a mistake and many other keepers would have let the same shot in but based upon the high standards Nicholls has set himself I’m sure he will think he should have kept that goal out. Otherwise he was fine. Let’s hope the rumours connecting him with a move to Leicester are just that and we’ll see him again as we really will be in trouble if we lose him.
Ollie Turton – 6 out of 10
I thought every member of the back four was at fault for the opening goal, Turton’s part was to let Hogan get in front of him and not stop him getting on the end of the cross. Otherwise, I thought he had a pretty steady game and was a willing runner in the adapted system where we switched to wingbacks when we were in possession.
Rarmani Edmonds-Green – 6 out of 10
I thought he showed a great spring in his jump when he went up for headers, making him win a lot more in the air than I expected. He also stood up to the physical battle of grappling with Troy Deeney well when he came up against the old war horse. He was out of position for the opening goal, but so was everyone else in the back four.
Tom Lees – 4 out of 10
Shouldn’t have let Bacuna get his cross in for the opener and made quite a few similar mistakes over the course of the game. Generally looked out of sorts and made uncharacteristic errors. I think it may be down to playing on the left side of central defense as a right footer, so maybe we need either Boyle or Nakayama to come into that role if he’s not comfortable playing on that side.
Josh Ruffels – 4 out of 10
Another poor game for Ruffels, where he was made to look a bit silly on the defensive side of his game. Bacuna kept dropping into his flank and got lots of joy. He lost far too many of his battles and was out of position far too often. He did nearly score in the first half with a lovely long-range effort that Ruddy had to push out for a corner but otherwise it was a poor outing and I think either Ben Jackson or Yuta Nakayama should be given a chance at left back if either plays anything like decent in the league cup on Tuesday.
Jonathan Hogg – 5 out of 10
The system was changed so he could drop into central defense when Town were in possession and the fullbacks then pushed forward. This made Hogg’s life easier but I’m not sure it helped the team and he didn’t have any presence in midfield. It was a reasonable adjustment to make after playing him alongside Russell didn’t work last week but I’m not sure this system worked. I’m wondering whether Hogg brings enough to the team to justify having to change the whole tactical system to accommodate him and his lack of mobility. Based on this outing, probably not.
Jon Russell – 3 out of 10
It may sound like I’m trying to say that Jonathan Hogg is the biggest reason Town’s midfield isn’t working from the above paragraph but actually I think it’s Jon Russell. I know it’s not nice to point fingers but Russell, despite his many fine qualities, is really dragging the team down at times. He is so ponderous on the ball and turns into trouble all the time and asks for the ball despite being surrounded by players. He’s a young player, so dips in form are to be expected but he needs to work on his areas of weakness. I always had faith that Carlos would work with players to help them improve, does the new coaching set up have the same insight and systems in place?
Sorba Thomas – 5 out of 10
Another out of sorts performance, with lots of effort but not a lot of quality. Everything was a hundred miles an hour but there wasn’t enough control or finesse to what he was trying to do. Last season everyone was saying how unbelievable it was that he was playing non-league football so recently, but some of his touches lately have been pretty non-league. He’s blessed with tremendous speed but he would benefit from being told that he doesn’t have to use it 100% of the time, varying his approach will add some guile and unpredictability to his play. Instead he plays football like I play FIFA, with the sprint button held down constantly.
Tino Anjorin – 6 out of 10
He started the game slowly, barely getting a touch in the early stages but he grew into the game and showed some lovely little touches here and there. He was too high up the pitch and struggled to get involved, I think Schofield’s instructions to the number ten role in this system have them playing too close to the striker as Holmes had the same problem last week. When he was on the ball he looked dangerous and showed a bit of energy. He was instrumental in the build up to Ward’s goal, put in a lovely threaded through ball that nearly created another goal and had a shot from range that he couldn’t keep down. I was frustrated to see him subbed as I thought he was enjoying his best spell of the game, most likely he was also completely exhausted and needed the rest but a few more minutes could have brought him a goal or an assist.
Jack Rudoni – 7 out of 10
Our best player on the night, constantly showed for the ball, moved into intelligent positions to receive the ball and did something positive whenever he was in possession. I like him a lot and I already think he was an excellent signing based on one start and one sub appearance. Doesn’t look overawed by the step up to the Championship and has done enough to secure the left wing position for himself for now.
Danny Ward – 6 out of 10
Took his goal superbly, like prime Michael Owen, ran on to the through ball and finished first time to the far post. If we can give him that kind of service regularly then he’ll be a happy camper. The only problem is that we basically didn’t give him any service at all apart from that chance. So fair play to him for grafting away all game and putting away the one chance he was given but we really do need to find ways of creating more than one chance a game for our striker.
Substitutes
Jordan Rhodes – 5 out of 10
Had a penalty appeal turned down but I think he fell over his own feet. Didn’t do much else.
Josh Koroma – N/A
Appearance fee sub? No idea why else we made a sub in the 89th minute when we were chasing the game unless Rudoni was injured.
Will Boyle – 5 out of 10
Looked very stiff and awkward with his passing. Maybe because he was coming in cold to a game that was already underway and we were trying to get an equaliser but he didn’t look comfortable on the ball.
Duane Holmes – 5 out of 10
Looked lively and like he had a point to prove but I don’t think anything he tried actually came off. One of his tackles also could easily have led to a red card.
Comparing your player assessment to the commentary I was texting to my son (he was abroad), our thoughts are pretty much aligned.
I agree Rudoni was Town’s best player and you’ve made the same comment as I did – Thomas looks like he’s returned to his roots – non-league.
That first half was utterly dreadful. As I did the washing up at half-time, reflecting as one does, I was thinking of the Burnley match and the 45mins I’d just witnessed and I came to a decision – if the second half is as bad as the first half, I will have a season off; I’ll watch nothing but the Premier League; I’ll surely be happier, won’t I? It will be my 58th start-of-season, but this surely has to be one of the most miserable, so why put myself through it? The second 45mins wasn’t great but there was just enough improvement to keep me on board for at least one more match.
It really is a Town team exhibiting very little talent and with no methodology and no identity. Have they forgotten that to win a football match you need to score goals and so you need some clue as to how you’re going to go about scoring them. As Matt Glennon said in his punditry last night, Town don’t look too bad in getting the ball up to the halfway line but then run out of ideas.
A few comments on individuals:-
Ward – yes he took his goal well but apart from that, he showed nothing. His first touch and layoffs are very poor for a central striker, he’s not much in the air and he’s got no great pace. We’ve known this for 2yrs but still he’s there, only challenged by Rhodes who we all know is a shadow of his former self.
Thomas – that shot from around 12 yards that missed the goal by as many yards says it all. He’s a big head. That’s what we used to call players like him when I was at school. Far too cocky, far too ready to castigate his teammates without looking at his own performance.
Russell – like you, I liked the look of him last season; this season he’s becoming a joke. His little spins into trouble are almost laughable.
Holmes – yes he was fortunate not to get a straight red. Did nothing.
Hogg – time to move on from Hogg. If you want to play a back 3/5 (you sometimes can’t tell with Town), then play a proper defender. He’s the most negative midfielder one could imagine.
Both fullbacks look vulnerable and don’t offer much of an attacking threat. Even stalwarts like Nicholls and Lees looked poor last night.
It’s a team going nowhere and destined for a relegation battle. We can all see it, can’t we, so what are those in charge going to do about it?
Thanks Simon. It’s hard to disagree about the prospect of a relegation battle looming apart from to say say we felt similar this time last year and we turned it around. Last season felt like a magic trick now and I’m not sure we can keep pulling rabbits out of hats.
Basically to put all your words into one concise statement: We have, at best, a 1st division set of players with an Academy level coach and a non-league owner.
for once i think i agree with your assessment except the one about Danny Ward i would drop him and bring in young Danny Gray until we get a new striker The sooner the better MR CHAIRMAN
Thanks Frederick, I’ll take any compliments, even the backhanded ones!
I think you’re talking about Danny Grant as a replacement for Ward but he’s more of a winger than a striker. Rhodes or Phillips are the only natural replacements in the squad at the moment and I don’t think either is an improvement. A new signing up front would be nice but I’m not holding my breath.
Loosing the first two games can never be good but the way in which Town preformed is a big worry almost clueless tactically to move the ball quickly decisively into attacking areas of the pitch was virtually nonexistent and that is down to the coaching . Relegation battle at the of the season unless everyone at the club and I mean everyone gives maximum thought and physical adjustment on how to I improve this and other parts of their game
I didn’t see the game, but I gather the same mistakes were happening as in the first one. I’m sorry, but Russell has to be dropped. Hogg, the midfield enforcer is a shadow of his former self. There is absolutely no cover for the defense, when Schofield was in goal shredding everyones nerves, decent players were made to look bad. The same is happening now because of the midfield, and that includes Thomas. Praise players when they do well, but tell them when they are poor and if need be drop them. Not even sure why Koroma was in the squad, he needs loaning out for a season.
I agree with you about Koroma. Some talk about loss of form; no, what we’ve seen over the last 12 months is his ‘normal’; he had a purple patch of goalscoring but defences quickly worked out that he has no left foot.
We all know (including Corberan) that Town flattered to deceive last season, bolstered by the extraordinary form of Nicholls in goal. He’s already shown this season that he is human and is capable of ordinariness.
I’m at a loss to provide the answer. Is Danny Schofield, an inexperienced manager, part of the problem? I tend to think not. You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear and, with very few exceptions, the squad at present represents a pig’s hearing organ.
Corberan did manage the “silk purse out of a sow’s ear” thing but he knew it was unlikely that he would be able to do it again. A few weeks into the transfer window it became obvious that once again, penny pinching Hoyle, would not invest in the team so he left whilst his prestige was high. It is also likely that his move to Olympiacos was already set up after his holiday or why would his assistant coach leave at the same time unless he too had a job offer.
Who is Jack Boyle. Maybe his brother Will plays better.
“He’s really dragging the team down”. Apart from the new signings you can describe everyone this way including the coach and mostly the owner who is not fit for purpose.
Ah, fair point, I’ve updated it to Will. Thanks.
I think you’re right about how many players are letting the side down. You can maybe afford one or two passengers but not when it’s most of the team.
It strikes me something dodgy has happened with the departure of Corberan why are we left with an unproven manager who was never a top performer when playing Corberan wanted players who Dean hoyle would not pay the money for.Town fans must feel short changed because we have a chairman who is both unambitious and and not prepared to spend the money to give a top coach like Corberan the team Town fans yearn for.All Dean Hoyle is interested in is recouping the money he lent to the club.League One beckons how disappointing
I think Corberan was going to continue working in the same vein this season, working his magic turning average players into above average players. He must have had an offer he could not refuse from the “alleged” match fixing, referee bribing, drug dealing chairman Marinakis. Dean Hoyle stated that Corberan’s resignation came as a complete shock and while he was on holiday ?. This would indicate that an offer was already on the table and not a difference of opinion between parties in what direction the club was going as stated in the media. This was cemented in the fact that Corberan did not have the decency to discuss the situation with his Chairman first (also stated that a compensation fee was wavered…..why ?).The whole playoff final to me was corrupt and surreal, the ultimate salt in the wound was losing two players to Forest and a coach and player to Olympiacos. It’s well know that football is a corrupt sport, take the World Cup in Qatar for instance. This aside we are now left with a chairman who’s heart is no longer in it, does not want the club and who is simply protecting his investment. This is until a suitable offer comes along. We now enter our third season without an out and out striker. It beggars belief that two games into the new season we have only managed to recruit a non league striker who subsequently went out on loan. Had Hodgekinson still been in charge (I know he had his critics) I doubt that we would be in this position and quite possibly would have been playing premier league football. I watched the game on iFollow last night and after the performance decided that I will not pay to view again until a significant improvement is made. Rest assured I will still go to home games as always as it’s in my blood. UTT.
Outclassed by the better team I’m afraid. They were well organised 100% better in the first half all over the pitch. They have a tactically intelligent manager who knows what he’s doing. Where is we May as well have one of the Tweenies or a Teletubby as manager because this guy knows absolutely nothing. We also have a very ageing squad yes they did it last year Think about it they burnt out now they can’t maintain that at their age and the season is come around fast. A few young players that we have Don’t have no any clue what they doing they’re just not good enough yet.
I can see this being relegation.
I saw the headline “He’s really dragging the team down” and was curious who you referred to… I actually thought you meant Hogg, but Russell is fair. Could also have been Ruffels, Holmes, Koroma and Schofield. Maybe even Thomas, Lees, Turton, Ward, Rhodes and Nicholls on Friday’s showing ☹️