Last night saw Huddersfield Town draw against Coventry in a hard fought but unspectacular game which isn’t likely to be a highlight of either side’s season.
I have very few strong feelings about this game. The point is useful but it could have been all three if we’d have taken our chances but we may have lost if it wasn’t for some goal-line heroics from Edmonds-Green.
Here’s what I made of each player.
Ryan Schofield – 7 out of 10
Some of the pot shots coming from Coventry suggested they wanted to test our young keeper and their analysts may have identified him as a weak link. If so, Schofield proved them wrong with every goal bound effort easily saved. His distribution was good too, with common sense used to decide whether to go short or not. Given the potato field of a pitch it made sense to err of the side of caution because passes were regularly bobbling up off the surface unexpectedly. I’d like to see him keep the gloves for Watford at the weekend but it’s likely he’ll make way for Hamer.
Harry Toffolo – 4 out of 10
Not a great performance generally but his most notable moment came when he dithered in his own box and got caught in possession. Luck and help from his team mates are the only reasons his blunder didn’t cost us the draw. Going forward he made the usual runs we’re used to seeing from him but he struggled to win his individual battles and his crossing seemed off.
Toffolo has played more minutes than any other Town player this season and is starting to show signs of fatigue. Carlos said after the game that mistakes are often due to tiredness, so maybe a rest at the weekend would help Toffolo recover some of his sparkle he had earlier in the season.
Naby Sarr – 5 out of 10
Looked to be trying really hard to not make any mistakes that cost us goals but still almost contrived to lose the ball and allow Coventry clean through, which he only avoided with cumbersome but effective use of his long legs. It’s hard to rate Sarr because he does such a lot of lovely work but scuppers it by being too confident with the ball at his feet.
I think he’s the type of player that you have to take the rough with the smooth but I sense some fans have their knives out for him now. He could become one of those players that get stick regardless of how well they play. Richard Stearman was the designated scapegoat for many fans earlier this season, Sarr may be being lined up for the same kind of treatment.
Rarmani Edmonds-Green – 7 out of 10
Unquestionably saved Town a point with his last-ditch clearance when the ball was close to going in. Alongside that key moment he looked like a class act, comfortable on the ball and mobile when tracking back. Played almost like a rightback because Pipa was so far forward but didn’t seem phased. I hoped he may break into the team this season but I’m delighted at how well he’s taken to Championship football as we have so few other options.
Pipa – 7 out of 10
While it doesn’t always get him very far, I love watching him showboating and driving forward. He made several forward runs which on another night might have bounced right for him and led to goalscoring opportunities. Played even further up than usual and provided some width.
Jonathan Hogg – 7 out of 10
Added that steel to midfield that we needed and did his usual thing. Dropped into the back line to shore up the defence at times but still managed to break up play in midfield. I’ve not checked the stats but it seems to me that Hoggy is trying a bit more with his passing and spreading it about more, which helped to start off a few attacks.
Lewis O’Brien – 6 out of 10
He’s received a bit of stick in the comments of the team prediction article for last night’s performance but I didn’t think he was too bad. His passing is still too loose at times and those driving runs from midfield don’t seem to be quite as effective this season as they were last season. He still does a lot of good work in the middle of the park and puts in a lot of yards every single game. I’d like to see more from him but even below parr he’s useful to the team.
Carel Eiting – 4 out of 10
I absolutely love watching Eiting on the ball, playing those remarkable passes he’s capable of doing but we didn’t see very much of him at all last night. He just didn’t seem to be able to impose himself on the game and I forgot he was playing for long spells.
Interestingly, Matt Glennon said on the commentary that Carlos spent a lot of the game giving very specific instructions to Eiting to try and get him into the action. While this personalised coaching didn’t seem to have the desired effect, it shows that Carlos wasn’t happy with what he saw. My suspicion is that Bacuna’s positioning meant Eiting had to play a slightly different role and it didn’t quite gel.
Juninho Bacuna – 4 out of 10
Was he playing as a number ten? A false nine? A free-role? Whatever he was told to do it didn’t add up to anything that made much of an impact on the game. He seemed to be trying to play two positions at once but didn’t do a great job at either. Still slowing down attacks by over-elaborating on the ball and isn’t showing enough of those magical moments he’s capable of producing. Carlos clearly likes him as he keeps picking him but, like many other fans, my patience is wearing thin with him.
Isaac Mbenza – 7 out of 10
Played a winger/striker hybrid role and looked reasonably threatening. It would have been a very different night if he’d have found the open goal in front of him in the opening stages. It was probably a trickier finish than it looked as he was moving at pace and the angle was tight but it felt like our biggest opportunity of the night. He did, however, force a decent save from their keeper and looked to be our biggest threat.
Frazier Campbell – 5 out of 10
Did that thing where he charges really fast at defenders when they have the ball and then can’t stop himself and fouls them. Otherwise I can’t remember him doing much more.
Substitutes
Alex Pritchard – 7 out of 10
Came close to a memorable winner but was denied by the keeper. Was lively when he came on and looked much more creative than Bacuna in the same role. If we persevere with this slightly odd formation then I’d like to see Pritchard given the free role instead of Bacuna.
Better late than never! Some of us have already mentally pressed the ‘delete’ button for last night’s highly unmemorable match.
I rarely argue with you and I’m not going to this evening in the light of your scores for Eiting & Campbell. Too many try to defend the indefensible but you haven’t and I don’t. People say Eiting has that touch of class, can open up defences, etc; well in the Championship most weeks he goes missing, and last night was one of those. And the headless chicken, Campbell, well your comment about his performance last night was spot on.
The Schofield debate is an interesting one. I’m conflicted about him. I feel extremely anxious about him; I feel there’s a real clanger lurking just around the corner. He doesn’t inspire confidence. But on the other hand, he didn’t do a lot wrong last night. He had some tricky half-volley saves to make which could have easily been spilled but to his credit his handling was faultless. It was only some of his distribution that let him down. Would I keep him over Hamer? Personally I wouldn’t but it’s a close call. I think Hamer, with his greater experience, has learned a lot this season having established himself as the No 1 keeper. His handling & distribution has undoubtedly improved as the season has gone on, a few clean sheets to boost his confidence, so now he does look and act a bit more like he’s got the shirt and is going to keep it.
So we move on. I’m going to be interested to see who you pick for Saturday’s starting XI. To be honest, with the injuries as they are, it’s not going to be too difficult. We can debate the keeper but otherwise the team virtually picks itself. I really would like to see Carlos try somebody different as the central striker; we lose very little by putting Campbell on the bench. If Kieran Phillips is fit, try him.
I pretty much agree with your comments except for Bacuna; Carlos seems to play him in a different position position pretty much every game, which can’t be good for him or the team, he’s not a utility player but he has skills that are not being utilised, getting into a fantastic position to score the opening goal was one example of that.
Regardless of his efficiency in clearing what I thought was a certain goal, Edmonds-Green was the star of the show, we haven’t had a right-sided central defender who can defend, is comfortable on the ball, has pace and can pass for a long long time.
I get fed up with saying it, but although our passing stats on paper look good it is very worrying the number of simple passes that go astray, OK if we’re trying to be creative but on too many occasions gifting the opposition creates unnecessary pressure.
Campbell covers an enormous amount of ground pressing but does little else except foul and there’s another criticism which includes a few others running/tackling into the backs of the opposition gifts possession and reduces pressure.
The next four games look tough if we can get 4/5 points from them I’ll be very happy, but if we lose another central defender I’ll be ecstatic.
Bacuna would have scored if Mbenza hadn’t been greedy. It would have been a different match. Coventry would have to chase the game and Town would have scored more. So that small decision would have changed the whole mood and everyones rating would have been higher as it always is when we win and the blog and comments would have been totally different.
Hard to disagree with an ‘if only’ scenario, John, because we’ll never know. Some events in a match are shown, with the benefit of hindsight, to have been crucial and I wouldn’t disagree that the Mbenza ‘miss’ or ‘failure to square the ball’ would have changed the shape of the match. A moment to forget.
Bacuna needs to be used of the bench. He has the ability to change the game, but never a starter for me.
I agree Steve, some of his best moments have been when he’s come on as a sub. I think annoying him helps too, like he needs to have a point to prove brings out the best in him.
Agree totally. Start Pritchard and use Bacunha as a (hopefully) sup-sub.