I gave up doing player ratings a few seasons ago but thought I’d bring this format out of retirement for this new era of Huddersfield Town. There are problems with trying to boil down 16 different performances into numbers between one and ten, it’s too blunt an instrument to really capture what happened and every single fan watching a game has different opinions. However, it’s an excuse to talk about the various players involved in a game, so I’m not going to over think it.
This article covers Huddersfield Town’s 3-0 win over Leyton Orient on Saturday and looking back I’ve probably gone a bit overboard with my scores here. Town outplayed Leyton Orient and deserved to win but it wasn’t exactly a fluent or completely dominant performance. On the other hand, context matters and the starting eleven had eight debutantes and it was the manager’s first game in charge, so to win with an emphatic scoreline was impressive and very encouraging.
Here are my scores…
Goodman – 7 out of 10
Made a crucial reaction save from close range to keep it 1-0 but didn’t have much else to stop of any difficulty. I like how he carried himself though, after previously being concerned he might be a bit erratic. His passing was really impressive and his ambition to dink medium distance balls to the full backs helped us start off attacks. He takes more risks with his distribution than many fans will be comfortable with but he’s clearly been instructed to play this way. The hope must be that he’ll contribute to more goals playing his way than he will concede through errors. A high risk – high reward approach is something that we’ll hopefully see of under Lee Grant as being brave usually pays off more than it doesn’t in football.
Lynden Gooch – 7
Deservedly booked early for a rash challenge but behaved himself after the caution. The yellow card didn’t stop him getting stuck in though and he looked pretty solid defensively. He provided a useful outlet down the right when we attacked too and looked like he’d given everything when he was subbed off for Lasse Sorensen.
Joe Low – 8 out of 10
Scored off his shoulder but his desire warranted a goal even if the connection wasn’t perfect. Seeing him standing next to his teammates showed how much of a unit he is, both in terms of being tall and muscular. He was a commanding presence in both boxes and looked comfortable defending one-on-one. While Alfie May’s arrival is the signing that has caught the most attention at Town, getting Low on a free* may end up being our best bit of business this summer.
*OK, he wasn’t exactly free because his young age means we’ll have to pay compensation to Wycombe but it will be relatively little compared to what he’s actually worth in the transfer market.
Jack Whatmough – 7 out of 10
He made a mistake with his passing that led to Connelly hitting the post early on but he settled into the game after that. He looked solid and picked out some nice passes, particularly his targeted long balls into the channels. After years of seeing Matty Pearson’s mindless hoofs down field, I’m pleased to see us thinking a bit more about where to put long balls when we play with short strikers.
Sean Roughan – 6 out of 10
Doing ok until he picked up an injury. It looked bad on the replay, but they always tend to. His leg collapsed under him after making what looked like a decent tackle. He played on but didn’t look comfortable before being subbed. He played every game for Lincoln last season but now looks certain to have a spell on the sidelines. Lee Grant played it down as an impact injury and I’d guess more like a week or two out rather than months.
Herbie Kane – 7 out of 10
He put in a lovely free kick for the goal, which curled into the perfect area for Low to attack. He also did a lot of short passing to keep our attacking play ticking over. It’s often in the early stages of build up, so doesn’t grab attention but most of our best build up play involved him being part of a triangle of passing and moving. With good options available in midfield, Kane will have to be in good form to keep his starting position. Based on this performance, Kasumu and McGuane will have to wait to get a start.
Ryan Ledson – 8 out of 10
A very impressive outing for our new captain. Didn’t seem daunted by the huge shoes he has to fill. He won the foul that led to the opener because he nicked the ball when pressing and drew a challenge as result. I liked how willing he was to get stuck in and he set the tempo of our game at times. It’s going to be hard to avoid comparing him to Hoggy but on this performance he seems like he can do the Hogg stuff but also a few things Hoggy typically didn’t do, particularly in his later years.
Marcus Harness – 8 out of 10
Showed for the ball over and over and took up good positions. He linked up well and pulled the strings when Town went forward. Like all creative players, not everything came off for him but he was a handful and showed some intelligence when making decisions when we were attacking. He went off after an hour after taking a knock, hopefully nothing serious.
Ben Wiles – 8 out of 10
Struck the bar early on with a decent shot. Drew great saves from their keeper on the half an hour mark and shortly after half time. Showed quick thinking and good skill to move the ball away and draw the foul that led to the penalty. He seemed to benefit from the way Alfie May’s presence on the pitch sucked defenders towards him and made space for Wiles to drift into. His runs and his position on the field was closer to a striker than an attacking midfielder which he looked more than comfortable with.
Mickel Miller – 7 out of 10
Enjoyed the extra freedom of playing further forward until Roughan was subbed off and Miller took his place at left back. Had to pick and choose when to attack after that change but still linked up well with Roosken.
Alfie May – 7 out of 10
Unlucky to have his shot cleared off the line in the first half. Worked hard and showed constant threat. Took his penalty with complete composure, despite most Town fans losing hope that we’d ever score a home penalty again. Could have had another but for a good save stopping his looping header. I’ve not given him a higher score because his finishing was a little off but I’ve probably been a bit harsh. Interestingly, when Taylor came on, May played the Harness role with Taylor being furthest forward, so that seems to be the way to get both playing at the same time.
Substitutes
Ruben Roosken – 7 out of 10
Did lots of running, and showed some good skill at times but looked a bit raw at others. Noticeably dithered when a simple square ball would have put May clear through on goal. Made up for it by latching on to Taylor’s shot and guiding it home to make it 3-0. The finish was easy enough but it was deserved because he was following the shot in despite it being stoppage time and Town being 2-0 up. Exactly the kind of effort and commitment that fans love to see.
Joe Taylor – 7 out of 10
Looks happier and thinner than last season and more dangerous as a result. Worked the channels well and had a few decent opportunities. The best chance led to a scuffed shot that span wide to the onrushing Roosken for the third goal. Some strikers could be worried about Alfie May arriving and upsetting the pecking order but Taylor strikes me as a supremely confident player, so it will hopefully just push him to be at his best.
Dion Charles – 7 out of 10
Played deeper and slightly to the right and put in his usual high work rate. Drew a good save from their keeper with a curling shot from range which could have gone in if their keeper wasn’t having a great afternoon. Still waiting for his first goal but his commitment and effort make me believe he’ll come good once he gets that monkey off his back.
Lasse Sorensen – 7 out of 10
Looked bright down the right side and attacked well. Combined skillfully with Charles to set up the final goal. Had his trademark rant at the officials, which I guess he does to get himself fired up but makes him look like a whinger. He seemed to play with more of a smile on his face when he first arrived but last season brought out an angry side to him. It’ll be a test of Lee Grant’s man management to see if he can get Sorenene back to his best.
David Kasumu – 6 out of 10
Added bite and energy to midfield when we needed to see the game out. While he may not have the quality on the ball of Kane or Ledson, his running and tenacity make him a good option to have on the bench.
Individually and collectively an unrecognisable Town team – thankfully. It was nice to start the season with a win. I realised early in the second half that it was even nicer not to spend far too much time complaining about certain players not being able to pass, run, tackle or generally play football worth watching.
I thought we were riskily adventurous, occasionally unsuccessfully and stupidly in or around the edge of the penalty area, but at other times turning and evading a marker in mid-field. Even the easily recognisable substitutes managed some useful game time without resorting to last season’s form.
Kane, Roosken, Wiles and May were the standout performers for me but importantly there were no passengers.
I thought Richie Wellens was a little mean in his assessment of his team’s performance, I thought they were industrious and skilful.
The result, although fully deserved, flattered us a little.
There were quite a lot of mistakes on Saturday but fewer if those unforced five-yard passes going astray. Instead it tended to be we lost the ball because of trying to do something and it not quite coming off. I’d much rather see that.
I suspect Wellens’ comments after the game was a deliberate ploy to give his players a kick and demand more from them. He strikes me as a canny manager and I think they’ll look a much better team when we play the reverse fixutre.
Just shows what happens when we challenge and win midfield balls. Previous seasons we lost those duels. Good passing mostly as well as players running into space. At times it seemed like the grass was too long, making interceptions easier. Overall a good performance, but up a gear as the season progresses.
Oh, I didn’t notice about the grass but I’ll check that out at the Leicester game. I remember in the Premier League days the league set strict rules on the length of grass all clubs need, presumably to stop a poor team levelling the playing field. I sometimes wonder if we over water the pitch at times, which would also stop the ball from carrying as far as it should. The idea of using the sprinklers so much is to make it a slick passing surface but too much and there are visible puddles.
I loved it but do agree Beck Lane that the scoreline was slightly flattering and that Orient were better than Wellens said.
Standout performers for me:-
Low & Whatmough at the centre of defence.
May (always looked dangerous) and Taylor (sharp and quick) upfront.
But my number one was Harness – all over the pitch linking up the play.
Looking forward to the weekend.
It’s nice to have so many standout individual performances in one game. From initial impressions, it looks like we’ve improved the overall quality within the squad a lot over the summer. It’s also nice to genuinely look forward to watching Town. Last season it often felt like a trip to the dentist, something to get out of the way with the potential for pain.