Huddersfield Town are back in action today against Bolton Wanderers. And there may even be a fresh face up front for the Terriers.
In this blog post, I’m going to talk about Town’s new signing, the laundry list of injury updates that came in the pre-match presser, I’ll summarise a few of Michael Duff’s other comments ahead of the Bolton game and try to predict the lineup. Here you go…
Freddie Ladapo arrives
We’ve signed a striker! Maybe Ladapo isn’t quite of the same calibre as Alfie May or Joe Taylor, who we’ve previously tried to sign, but he’s also not the kind of panic buy we’ve been guilty of in the past after the window has closed. I’d be surprised if he’s lumped in with Yaya Sonogo and Oumar Niasse as free agent signings that failed to make an impact. My general feeling is that clubs that have to resort to the free agent market are doing so because they got something badly wrong in the transfer window and are having the rummage in the bargain bin as a result. But to keep with the supermarket theme, Ladapo has a goal return of around one in three at League One level rather than the every-other-game ratio of the top tier strikers, so he’s like an own brand label rather than a premium brand. And at the moment we’re looking at either value brands or empty cupboards, so it’s a sensible aquisition.
Freddie Ladapa has unquestionable experience of getting out of League One, with an impressive list of previous promotions under his belt already with various former clubs and a pretty consistent scoring record. His recent history record isn’t red hot but his goal return over the course of his career has been decent and in League One it’s pretty clear that he can consistently get goals, with him notching 67 goals in 215 career appearances at this level.
Hearing Ladapo speak in the press conference for the Bolton game gave me more confidence about him, as he seems like a very articulate and well-spoken guy. Not that debating skills are all that important on a football field but he fits the bill of being a good character to have in the dressing room and will bring good qualities to the squad. I think it also speaks well of his character that he didn’t just sit out the last year of his contract at Ipswich and instead dropped down to a level where he could get more game time.
I do wonder if the two-year contract might be something we regret with this deal though, as it feels like a signing we’ve made to deal with a short term shortage up front. I can imagine the second year was a something the player wanted more than the club and was required to get the deal done but we might regret having a play that will be 32 next year clogging up the wage bill. Having said that, if he’s good for us, that extra year may mean next year we don’t have the usual clamour to sign a striker in the summer transfer window. Only joking, of course we’ll all be demanding we sign a striker, it’s out annual tradition as Town fans.
Injury updates
There are so many injuries it deserves it’s own section. I’ll do it in bullet points to speed it up:
- Bojan Radulovic is getting close to fitness. He’s back with the group and training but can’t start games just yet. He could, however, play 20-30 minutes if he was needed. (Though with Ladapo, Marshall and Koroma available, he may not even make the bench for Botlon)
- It’s not so good news for Rhys Healey, who is still out and it seems like there could be something nerve related that’s keeping him out and that’s something to do with his old ACL injury. There are investigations ongoing but the general theme of Duff’s update was that there’s uncertainty about what’s going on with him and without knowing exactly what the problem is, I’m guessing they won’t know how to get him right. Which can be a problem for players coming back from bad injuries.
- Brodie Spencer is in the early stages of returning to training, so not ready yet but not far away.
- Herbie Kane and David Kasumu were both described as being “closer” which sounds like they’ll be in contention in the near future but not this weekend.
- Obviously Radinio Balker is miles off as his ankle remains broken.
- Chris Maxwell has had a virus that has had some implications on his heart, which sounds worrying but Duff didn’t seem unduly concerned beyond it ruling him out for the weekend.
- Of the returning internationals, all have returned fit and healthy but Josh Koroma has traveled a lot after representing Sierra Leone.
- Not really a fitness update as such, but Freddie Ladapo himself said that he probably wasn’t as fit as the other players in the squad and Duff referenced how he hadn’t played many games lately, so it may be that he’s not in the right physical condition to start at the weekend. Or if he does he may struggle to play for a long period if the strikers press from the front as they are usually expected to do
Some of Michael Duffs other thoughts from the pre-Bolton press conference
Duff believes Bolton will be a difficult opponent despite their indifferent recent form, however, the deciding factor should be how we implement our gameplan on them. This suggests that Michael Duff sees the best approach to this game being trying to outplay them rather than conceding possession and looking to hit them on the break. Given we’ve been quite poor on the ball but decent at pressing teams who overplay at the back, I’d personally not be disappointed if we took a more pragmatic approach to this game.
This game will see Duff serve his one-match ban for his shenanigans at Rotherham. He doesn’t see it as a problem though, Martin Paterson typically watches the games from the stands, so they’ll just swap places. Maybe the biggest risk is that Paterson will do a better job from the touchline and upstage his boss but I’m sure that’s a risk worth taking. And as Duff can access the changing room and communicate with the bench from the stands, it’s a fairly mild punishment for his harranguing off the referee at Rotherham.
Michael Duff also told the press pack that he’s not too worried about the three losses in a row that came before the international break, he explained them away as the result of fielding weaker teams in the cups and being done by a decision in the Rotherham game after a poor performance on the day. I can see his point, even if I’m a bit more concerned about the general direction of Town’s performances. Duff’s main point was to call for patience due to the size of the job he’s undertaking, as he tries to shift the style of play and mentality with mostly the same bunch of losers that stank the place out last season. Though he didn’t put it quite so bluntly.
When asked about Kevin Nagle’s critical tweet after Town’s Bristol Street Motors Cup defeat to Doncaster, Duff chose his words carefully and said very little. Basically, Nagle can tweet what he likes, they talk regularly, social media isn’t something Duff is involved in but he’s aware of it’s influence and Duff personally understands the context for losing against Doncaster and isn’t too worried about it. I have a lot more I could say about Kevin Nagle’s use of social media, both good and bad, but there’s not time to get into it in this article. Some of our owner’s communication is excellent online but at other times it’s not. Regardless he’s entitled to do it but maybe in time he might learn that just because he can doesn’t mean he should. The issue, as I see it, is that he’s a fan of the club and is passionate but sometimes tweets without thinking he’s also the person in charge and the man who is representing the club. Town fielded several young debutants in that game, I don’t think they deserved to check their phones after the game and find the owner of the club making critical tweets of them.
Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Bolton
Here’s how I think Town will lineup today:
Goalkeeper: Nicholls
No surprises in goals, as Nicholls did not attract any late bids and remains a terrier until at least January. He already pulled off some excellent saves and will be worth several additional points over the season if he keeps up his current form. There will be a change on the bench in term of our backup keeper, as a bug has left Chris Maxwell with a heart issue and Jacob Chapman is likely to step in as our backup stopper.
Defence: Lees, Helik, Lonwijk
Is this THE back three? Maybe Brodie Spencer could come in for one of Lees or Lonwijk if he gets back to fitness and is in good form (he wasn’t playing well at the point he had his shoulder sat on, which ruled him out for this current spell). A left footer such as Ruffels would make sense but his recent outings have been very mixed in terms of quality, with some notable mishaps. For now, I think this might be the best trio we can field until Radinio Balker returns to fitness and it may be worth giving them a run of games so they can build an understanding and work together.
Midfield: Sorensen, Evans, Hogg, Hodge, Miller
The wingbacks have both had minor dips in form after blistering starts to their Town careers but not enough to question their selection. The central midfield does feel like it needs a shake up though and any of the the Hogg-Wiles-Evans triumvirate could easily be dropped for this game to make way for Hodge since his arrival on loan from Aston Villa. I think it will be Wiles who will make way in this particular game, as Hogg and Evans are better at thr grafting side of the game, which we’re likely to need today but in the long term I think Hodge is most likely to take Hogg’s place.
Forwards: Koroma, Marshall
Ward’s suspension, Healey’s continuing investigations into his injury and Radulovic’s return from his knock mean the choice upfront is between Koroma, Marshall and Ladapo. Both Duff and Ladapo admitted that our new signing lacks match fitness despite completing a full preseason at Ipswich, so I’d expect him to not play from the start but the lack of alternatives suggests he’ll get minutes in the second half, particularly as Josh Koroma will be weary from his travels representing his country.
Thanks for the interesting thoughts, TS. Since you didn’t take the opportunity to note the departure of Pat Jones, I might as well do so. He had a few brief moments in the sun, and I had foolishly thought he’d eventually make a significant contribution to Town’s attack. (Of course I was also initially enthusiastic about Fotheringham being hired…) Dunno what happened, but I’m very curious to see what happens to him at his new club.
I always though he was going to be the next big thing if he could just stay fit. But then it never seemed to happen for him. I’m surprised we didn’t send him out on loan but perhaps the repeated injuries have taken too much out of him and he’ll not live up to his early potential. Or he will and we’ll look silly for letting a talent slip through our fingers. Over the years it’s been fairly rare for youngsters that leave the club to go on to bigger and better things. There are a few but not many. Hopefully we’ll have a sell-on clause which protects us in case his next move is to Real Madrid for £80m.
Poor Pat Jones is out for up to 4 months at Exeter after damaging his hamstring, had some injuries for a young player.
I think (with regret), that we now start looking for a replacement for Hoggy, I don’t think he should be a automatic pick, let’s try something different.
What a shame for Pat Jones. I was hoping he’d kick on for them. Given it’s always his hamstrings that go, I’m not sure he’ll be able to keep fit.
Wasn’t on the team sheet today. I wonder if he is injured already? Neither Harratt or Hudlin started today either. Ultimately none of them were good enough, albeit Jones was in my opinion, the best of the three.
Greetings from Crete, TS. Thank you for your excellent summary. Topped up my holiday reading. I’ve seen a lot of Mbappe replica shirts hanging in the bargain basement shops (to continue your comparison); strangely no blue & white stripes with ‘Ward’ on the back. 🤔
If that team performs to its full potential, with Freddie coming off the bench, we can win a lot of games. The problem has been the inexplicable dip in form across the midfield. Both wingbacks have been lukewarm after hot start; both Wiles and Evans have been very poor after more than promising starts; and Hogg of late has been looking his age and more but we’ve been here before with him; so who knows?
I’ll of course be checking progress on my phone.
PS I don’t live that far from Ipswich so I know a number of their supporters and all felt Ladapo was decent a few seasons ago which is borne out by the stats. Whether he’s still got it, we’ll know soon enough.
Thanks Simon. Enjoy your break. While I doubt there’s much call for dodgy Town on the market stalls, I’m always surprised how many Town shirts you see when travelling abroad. We get around.
As for the midfield, I’m most frustrated that we started so well and then tailed off. If it had been a bumpy start followed by steady improvement then that would be logical with new players, manager and style of play bedding in. But to start off so well and then fade doesn’t make sense beyond the players slipping into old habits and forgetting the instructions they had hammered into them in preseason. Hopefully the international break was a chance to get that department ticking over nicely again.
I think Ladapo is probably going to be like many of our strikers, he has potential to be decent but has a qualifying statement afterwards. For him it’s the fact his biggest successes were a few seasons ago and were relatively modest. But he’s got the kind of experience at this level we currently lack and was the stand out option from the free agents on the market.
We have the players there now to do very well in this league, it’s still early days in putting the pieces of the jig saw together and finding the right combination but when Duff does then we’ll be up there.
All clubs suffer injuries and we are no different but we now have a large enough squad with higher quality players to overcome the challenges this brings.
COME ON TERRIERS!
I’m always struck by the respect that Michael Duff receives from rival managers and fans at this level. Bolton are very wary of him and expect us to give them a tough game this weekend because he’s in charge. So while we have quite a few injuries and are bedding in a new style of play, I think he knows how to set up teams so they can get results at this level.
I think you’re right about the squad quality too. It’s a bit of an adjustment after being in the Championship for so long but the standard is different at this level and our squad looks like it’s good enough on the whole, based on what we’ve seen so far.
Agree with your line up, TS.
The midfield definitely needs a shake up this game, such a shame Kane is out. I think there is an argument to be made for any of Hogg, Evans or Wiles to be the issue the last few games but perhaps it is the combination not working and a slightly more running all round player (Hodge) will allow either Wiles or Evans to take up the more attacking role and spaces. I think Wiles was going to be the bench option before his excellent pre season and first few performances, he seems a bot of a confidence player maybe but he certainly has it in him somewhere.
Be interesting if Bolton target behind Sorenson again today – I would! – and if he can cope a bit better.
After the training break mostly I’d like to see a more cohesive performance today and think a point would be a decent enough result whilst obviously hoping for the win.
I’m hoping the time in the training pitch during the international break will have benefited the midfield regardless of the lineup that plays today, as it wasn’t working well before the international break. And hopefully Kane will be fully fit in the next few weeks and being a bit of quality to that area.
Sorensen was a worry against Rotherham but I think Wilks was particularly good at exploiting that area too. Hopefully he just had an off day but you may have a point that the area behind the wingbacks is our Achilles heel.
Still realing from not signing a good striker in the tfer window. Mr Nagle said we needed one (and do we ever) but tfer windows come and go and nothing happens. This is a false economy if we are put off by the fee or wages given we would not be looking at ridiculous amounts of money. We are not in the Haaland stratosphere, we just need a youngish striker who plays in England and has a good recent record of scoring goals. Getting promotion this season would pay dividends and I hoped Mr Nagle’s ambition would be translated into taking a bit of gamble in terms of costs.
I would love to be proved wrong but Lapado doesn’t really fit the criteria of what we should be seeking. If we don’t correct this in January then the hierarchy at Town need replacing as Michael Duff needs support not failure.
I did think that the talk of only signing players that are better than what we have rings hollow with this signing.
Hope you know someone who can take over the club.? Don’t think there was a queue forming when we were in the prem never mind now. Be careful what you wish for, Nagle actually saved the terriers and there employees.
Saved the terriers? He bought a championship club and sat back and watched it fail. No sign yet that he has plans to remedy that. Whatever he hopes to achieve here remains to be seen but championship status doesn’t seem to be high on his list. And his three year plan to reach the prem always did sound a load of nonsense.
The one sure thing is he will leave us when his aims have either been achieved or scuppered It’s almost certain he will leave us lower down the league than he found us.
Best not say that to the employee s at the canalside Gavin who didn’t know if they would been in a job before Nagle took over.
I see your post was made at 2.38, any more comments after the win ?