After an international break that seemed to last forever, Town are finally back in action this afternoon when they take on Stoke in the Potteries. This game represents a tough test for Town but our opponents won’t relish playing us either, after we’ve won our last three games.
It’s still too early to get over excited about Town’s good form lately but there are signs that Town are now much stronger at the back and are able to score goals even in games where there aren’t many clear cut chances.
Carlos Corberan admitted in his prematch press conference that he has a few selection headaches this weekend, so there are going to be some tough choices to make. Here’s how I think we’ll line up.
Goalkeeper: Lee Nicholls
I’ve been very impressed with Nicholls so far despite him not having loads of saves to make in the games he’s played. Today may be the day where we get to see whether he’s able to pull off saves that keep us in matches. Stoke have Fletcher up front as an aerial target, so I suspect we’ll be dealing with lots of balls into the box, which means Nicholls will have to command his area well and make sure he makes the right decision about coming off his line or not.
Defence: Pearson, Lees, Colwill
Central defence is one of those areas where Carlos has a pleasant headache, as Lees, Pearson, Colwill and Sarr have all been reasonably good so far but you can only play a maximum of three of that four at any one time. Sarr missed out against Reading as Lees took his place and we didn’t miss him despite him playing well in previous games. While Sarr is useful for his height at set pieces, Lees has that bit more composure and leadership ability at the back which helps to steady the ship.
Colwill has been away on international duty with England U21s but didn’t play any minutes, so will surely go straight into the lineup today. Matty Pearson will be useful for the physical battles on the pitch and Lees will be able to organise things from the middle of the three.
Midfield: Thomas, Hoggs, O’Brien, Toffolo
If Town play the 3-4-3 system they’ve deployed recently then we’ll most likely not see a lot of the ball in central midfield. Most of our attacking play comes from wide areas in this system, with Hogg sitting deep to protect the defence and O’Brien drifting wide to support the wingbacks and getting forward to link up with the striker.
The cat is out of the bag with Sorba Thomas now. His remarkable stats have put him on other club’s radar from the start of the season but now he’s August’s Championship Player of the Month he will most likely be heavily marked today. Getting special attention from the opposition might make him less effective in the short term but if we learn to switch play quickly it could mean Toffolo on the other side could have more joy because there’s more space on his side of the ptich. It’ll be intriguing to see how Sorba does over the next few games. I expect a dip in form at some point purely because he’s been so incredible up to this point but I hope that doesn’t come today.
Forwards: Holmes, Campbell, Koroma
Duane Holmes has a bit of work still to do to win over fans after a fairly unimpressive return to Town so far but he has contributed well at times. Playing him on the right of the front three will allow him to tuck inside and open up the channel for Thomas to run into and he’s disiplined enough to track back and cover gaps created in the rightback area if needed too. Sinani is a more exciting prospect in this role but he played for his coutnry during the international break, which means he may not be fresh enough to start today. I suspect he’ll be more effective in the Blackpool game too, so I think he’ll be on the bench today.
Another slightly boring choice is to go with Campbell to lead the line instead of Mipo, our most recent arrival from West Ham on loan for the season. Danny Ward seems likely to miss the game after picking up a niggle in training, which is a shame for him as his goal in the Reading game could have been a turning point but instead he now seems to be back in the treatment room. Mipo will most likely play plenty of games for Town this season but he’ll have to be patient to begin with as all new recruits tend to have to go through a few weeks on the bench before they start games (and around half pick up a hamstring injury in the first two weeks of training).
I don’t think Josh Koroma has reached top form yet, which is understandable as he missed some of preseason. He’s still one of our most threatening players but hasn’t been quite as clinical in front of goal as he was last season. The last two weeks may have given him chance to regain some of his sharpness and we could see more from him in the next few games.
Score prediction: Stoke 0-1 Huddersfield Town
I think we’ll see a similar gameplan today as the one we used against Sheffield United, we’ll sit deep, soak up pressure and try to hurt them on the break. Against the Blades we had long periods where we barely touched the ball and couldn’t launch counter attacks effectively until we switched to a front three late in the game. If we play that system from the start today then I think we should be able to hurt Stoke if they commit too many players forward.
Beautiful football may come later in the season but winning ugly can be just as satisfying, particularly if you’re up against a side with better players (on paper). Carlos seems to have embraced pragmatism over idealism this season and is reaping the rewards so far. If we continue to pick up good results I can’t see there being too many complaints that our possession stats have slumped.
Good team selection. You comment on Nicholl’s not having many saves to make so far this season and that will be for a combination of reasons, but good keepers are more than just shot stoppers. Nicholls confidence and ability to collect high balls snuffs out chances at source, and a well marshalled defence helps too. But let’s be honest, central defence was a nightmare last season and the change of formation and new players have made for a much more solid unit.
Fair point about Nicholls. Everything seems a lot calmer at the back since he came in. I think Schofield will eventually be a better keeper than him but he’s not there yet.
The news about the young Man City midfielder loan deal is strange.
Phil said that both clubs were unaware of the agent doing a last minute deal with Hamburg. Surely the parent club has a say where a player is going on loan. Questions such as ‘what kind of football do they play.’ Is it right for the club and player, etc, etc. I can’t believe Man City knew nothing about this.
I agree Allan, very strange. I’d have thought young footballer go where they are told by their club. Also a bit unusual for these details to be made public.
Given the choice, I think I’d probably prefer a year in Hamburg to one in Huddersfield if I was a young footballer.
Welcome back, TS.
I expected to see a lot more commentary about the Chairman’s Q&A session the other day. I found it very revealing. Were we aware of the extent of dissent in the camp? Of course we knew there was the odd player (I can think of 3 immediately) who had serious attitude issues, but from what we now hear, it was over half the entire squad! It’s hard to believe this was true in the first half of last season when Town were winning regularly and playing some decent stuff on occasions. But once the injuries came along and the wheels started to fall off, I can believe that Canalside was not a happy place to visit.
I’m not surprised that PH didn’t name names but it would have made for an interesting listen/read.
All-in-all I was uplifted, if I needed uplifting, by the interview. Weren’t you?
I don’t disagree with your team selection today. I have to smile when you warn us all not to get too excited & upbeat and then predict an away win at Stoke! That surely would be exciting?!
Thanks Simon. I read all of the interview with Phil Hodgkinson and as much as I found all the details interesting I couldn’t help but feel it was a mistake to reveal so much. But then we slate the the club for not being open enough, so they must feel like they can’t win.
I find I often come away from listening to Phil agreeing with everything he says but still finding it hard to like him. I can’t put my finger on why but he makes my skin crawl a bit. Despite the plan to make the club sustainable, paying down debt and backing the manager all being things I agree with I just don’t like him.
So I’ve not written about the Q&A because my thoughts on it are a bit muddled.
It’s pretty obvious what Phil thinks about Mbenza and his agent but you could say was a bit unfair to renew the contract of a player you had no intention of keeping just to sell them on.
I think I was talking to myself more than other fans when I talked about not getting excited. We’ll have to see at 5 o’clock whether it’s time to get excited.