Huddersfield Town are taking on Rochdale tonight in the group stage of the Jersey Mike’s Trophy. Nope, I’d not heard of Jersey Mike’s before either but they’re the sponsor of this competition and, apparently, a sandwich shop. Given this competition lacks credibility at the best of times, constantly changing sponsors from one obscure company to another doesn’t help to build name recognition or prestige.
Anyway, Martin Drury has already made it clear that he intends to give his fringe players a run out in this game, so it should be a chance to have a look at some players that aren’t getting many minutes in the league right now.
Despite not being included in the submitted squad for league games, I believe Herbie Kane would be eligible to play for Town in the trophy games due to their different rules about team selections. It’s all a moot point though, as Kane is injured again so won’t be featuring in my predicted lineup.
Here’s who I think will be playing tonight, with the added caveat that it’s very hard to predict these games where it’s likely that all or nearly all of Saturday’s starting eleven will be rotated out of the team.
Goalkeeper: Alnwick
I’ve not made a secret of my lack of faith in either of our backup keeper options but I still see the logic in giving one of them these cup games to play in (somewhat) competitive games. Given Alnwick has quite a lot of experience under his belt, I’d guess he’s ahead of Tzanev in the pecking order. With increasing doubts about Matty Young in goal, this could be an opportunity to put a marker down for Alnwick, so there’s some incentive for him to play well.
Defenders: Sorensen, Low, Roughan, Sway
I thought Lasse Sorensen looked really good in our last game in this competition against Doncaster but since then he’s still found his opportunities in the league limited. It’s a shame really, as I’d really like to see Max Murray get a run out at right-back as the academy youngster seems like he’s got potential but while we have three senior right-backs ahead of him in the pecking order, he’s not likely to get loads of minutes.
Another player that is the victim of our unusually large squad is Joe Low. He’s not the most elegant player with the ball at his feet but his height and physicality are always useful assets and I’d have liked to have seen more of him this season.
Drury has confirmed that Sean Roughan will continue his rehabilitation from injury by playing in this game, so I’m bound to get at least one of these predictions right! I’ve picked him to play centre back in this game, purely because we don’t have many other options for this position that aren’t already starting in the league. I’ve always felt that Roughan is better defensively than he is going forward, so I think he’s capable of playing in the middle of a back four.
Similarly, Jay Sway is more naturally a winger but he’s done a job as a fullback before and we’re a bit light in the left- back position. After impressing early in the season, he’s gone off the boil a bit in more recent outings, so has something to prove in this game.
Midfielders: Brierley, Harness, Collins
I find it a bit weird that Ethan Brierley is spoken about as “one for the future” when he played over 40 League One games last season for Exeter. With Ledson, Collins and Humphreys ahead of him and Kasumu another option when he’s fit, he’s competing with a lot of players for a central midfield berth. Hopefully, in a low-pressure game and against opposition from the league below we’ll get a chance to see a bit more of him.
I thought Archie Collins might be rested for this game but then I remembered that he’s not been injured, he’s just not had a proper preseason, so more minutes to sharpen up is probably a good thing for him, particularly given he’s played 40+ games in all of the last seven seasons. He had a low-key game against Burton, where he facilitated other people more than taking the limelight himself but I liked the way he protected the back line and moved the ball around.
If Martin Drury plays a proper 4-2-3-1 shape, as I’ve predicted here, then it would provide a relatively rare opportunity for Harness to play in his (in my opinion) best position. As a number ten behind a main striker and with two wingers making runs ahead of him, I think he could be really effective laying on passes and dictating our attacking play. His last few performances have had iffy moments but he’s been pretty reliable since he arrived at Town, so it would make sense to pick him in this game.
Attackers: Gooch, Tovide, Spencer
I’ve spoken already about how overstocked we are with right-backs. With that in mind, and Gooch’s history playing as a winger, I’d like to see him given a go as an out-and-out winger. He’s not the same kind of player as Fernandes but he’s a capable crosser of the ball and has played most of his career at a higher level, so I’d like to see him given a chance to play further up the pitch.
Samson Tovide was unfortunate to introduce himself to Town fans in the worst possible way with his terrible pass that was intercepted in the build up to Bromley’s winner. He’s picked up a minor injury since then but I believe he’s fit again now and Drury has confirmed he’ll play some part in this fixture. With Taylor just back from international duty and Fletcher and Radulovic playing most of Saturday’s game, I’d guess we’ll prefer to use Tovide up top to keep our other strikers fresh for Saturday against Sheffield Wednesday.
Academy youngster Jamie Spencer had the opposite debut experience to Samson Tovide when he came off the bench in our last EFL Trophy game and scored with his literal first touch of the ball. That one brief cameo was enough to convince me that he’s now the future of Huddersfield Town and should start every game. I’m exaggerating but he does seem like an exciting prospect, despite not being old enough to legally buy lottery scratchcards. Martin Drury poured cold water on one interviewers’ suggestion that Spencer might feature in the league for Town but these games are perfect to offer a bit of experience to our promising youngsters and I’m curious to see how he does.