Huddersfield Town play Birmingham City tonight in a game that has potential to define the rest of this season. A positive result could push Town clear of the relegation strugglers and end this poor patch. A defeat will plunge Town right into the mess at the bottom end of the table.
There’s a tendency to overhype games these days but I genuinely believe this game is the most important one of the season so far. I’d be lying if I said I felt confident going into it but this team, for all its flaws, can produce a performance when you least expect it.
Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Birmingham
Goalkeeper: Ryan Schofield
Defence: Edmonds-Green, Keogh, Stearman, Pipa
Midfield: Vallejo, O’Brien, High
Forwards: Mbenza, Phillips, Holmes
I have no idea what selection Carlos will go for tonight. It would seem logical to rest some of the players that are looking badly burnt out like Sarr, Bacuna and Campbell. Continuing to play them when they’re obviously not fit enough leads to lacklustre performances and increased risk of injury but this hasn’t stopped Carlos sticking with his core players in the past, so who knows.
I thought the lineup and formation we started with against Preston was much more effective than we looked after the various changes made during the game, so I would like to see us stick with 4-3-3 with Pipa on the left and REG on the right of the back four.
I’m not completely sure Scott High is ready for this level of competition but he looks busy whenever he comes off the bench and that energy in midfield is desperately needed. Similarly, Philips might not be able to do the busy bee routine that Campbell provides but if he’s the “fox in the box” type of stiker we’ve been promised then we should play him and aim to keep him as close to goal as possible and feed him quality chances.
Edmonds-Green didn’t shine at rightback in his last outing but I’d still persist with him as he provides good cover defensively and means we can afford for Pipa to rampage down the left and the rest of the defence can shuffle over one to cover.
TerrierSpirit.com score prediction: 2-1 to Town
I know there’s no logic in predicting Town to win based on recent form but I still think we can get the result we need tonight. Against Swansea we showed how well we can play when we get the wind in our sails. While Karanka’s Birmingham won’t be anywhere near as open as Swansea, if Town can have one of those 15 minute spells where they play well and then turn positive play into goals, Birmingham will have to come out of their shell to try and get back into the game.
Given our tendency to make several defensive howlers in every game, I think a clean sheet isn’t all that likely, so we’ll need at least two goals to have a chance of winning. The challenge will be to find a way to create chances if Birmingham employ the low block system that we’ve struggled to play against so much this season.
5 key talking points ahead of the game tonight
- 1. Is Carlos drinking in the last chance saloon?
Town sit rock bottom of the form table at the moment and Carlos may be feeling some pressure despite the ink barely being dry on the new contract he signed just before Christmas. We’ve seen in the past that managers can do strange things when they feel the axe hovering above their heads (Matt Crooks at centre back in Mark Robins’ last game springs to mind).
- 2. Can Town beat the low block?
As I mentioned above, Birmingham are likely to sit deep and look to counter against us tonight. This simple tactic has been Town’s cryptonite this season and we’ve yet to find an effective way to play against it. I think the simple truth is that our players aren’t good enough to create chances when space in restricted for them in the final third. Having better players or changing the system seem to be the only options to solve this problem. If I’m right then Town’s whole new philosophy is doomed to fail, so I hope this is the game where Town show they’ve got the creativity, skill and guile to force chances against teams that park the bus.
- 3. How many minutes can Sanogo manage?
Yaya Sanogo gives Town a different way of playing and allows us to go long when tippy tappy passing isn’t working. Sadly he’s not fit enough to start games but it’ll be interesting to see how long we have to wait for him to make an appearance. Half an hour may be the most we can hope to see of him but I’d like him to be given a decent run out so we can get a good look at him. He’s rumoured to have “a good touch for a big man”, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can be a bit more than a battering ram that we launch balls at.
- 4. Can the defence avoid making an embarrassing mistake for a full 90 minutes?
Town are a possession team now, only Norwich have a higher average possession stat than us. I’m not saying this is a positive, as much of that possession has been the stale, tepid, tapping-it-about-at-the-back kind of football. But all this holding of possession means that defensive mistakes are far more likely, particularly when the defenders aren’t equipped with the skills needed to spray balls around with pinpoint accuracy. Even more so when our midfield so regularly don’t give forward passing options to our back line and our keepers have a pathological attachment to playing out from the back regardless of whether men are marked or not. But tonight, in a game that’s likely to be tight and nervy, we need our defenders to not do anything daft.
- 5. Have the players lost faith in Corberán’s methods?
One of the fatal stories that always seems to come out of clubs before a manager (or head coach in this instance) is sacked is that they’ve “lost the dressing room”. Usually this is because a squad of players collectively loses faith in their leader. In Town’s case I think it’s a bit different and the problem is more like the players might have lost faith in their own ability to put the head coach’s plans into action.
In the second half against Preston the players looked visibly deflated at times and while Carlos continued to rage on the sidelines, some players seemed either unwilling or incapable of raising their level in response to the Spaniard’s ravings. We’ll see tonight if that was a one-off blip or a worrying trend.
Confidence seems shot, we need a system that concentrates on not conceding even if that means we keep defenders back more to do what it says on he tin…defend. I think we have some good players but the system allows the opposition too much opportunity to counterattack.
there isn’t a duplicate comment!
The only simple prediction to make is that if Town don’t get 3 points tonight, Carlos has to go without delay. The mess we are in isn’t totally down to him but I’m afraid what goes on out on the field is down to him.
Not that getting rid of Carlos will save Town from their fate but it always feels better to have done something rather than nothing.
It has to be a complete clear out of Corberan plus all his coaches. Then unless someone is lined up, who will be caretaker manager? I can think of only one short term candidate in the club with enough footballing experience: Tommy Elphick. Another alternative is the much respected Christopher Schindler or maybe they could work together.
Schindler is respected by most, but – as regular readers of this blog know only too well – not all. And ( importantly) not by this owner who cant tell value – only cheapness.
🤷♂️
I have said this many times before I like watching Town play for about a third of the game, but in the other two-thirds in which the catastrophes and collective loss of confidence occur leads to a sorry mess. Our possession stats allow the opposition far too much time to re-group, creating the defensive set-ups that we find difficult to overcome. Even in the unlikely outcome of three points tonight these issues will still be there. I hope I’m wrong but I fear our fate is already sealed.
3-1 to Town!!!!!!!!!!!
It has to be the last chance saloon for Senor Corberan – a man trying to play champions league football with championship players; he is just not suited to the role of achieving championship survival, whereas the Cowleys obviously were. To me, it’s been a case of the club trying to run before it can walk.
Two players have come in for a lot of unfair criticism this season and I wish to defend them:-
To me , Naby Sarr has been a rock at the heart of the defence, but he is only remembered for for his mistakes; if you balance the books, I believe that the positives far outweigh the negatives. The other is Alex Pritchard; he must be wondering why he has come in for so much criticism from our “fans”. How can you expect him to play to his potential when he has barely been given a start? It seems to me that he has been used as a substitute to take the field for games that are already a lost cause – it’s enough to demoralise anyone. He always gives 100% effort, even though his limited appearances haven’t reaped any reward. We also shouldn’t forget how unfortunate he has been with injuries.
Let’s just hope we get a result tonight – otherwise it looks like curtains and another large compensation pay-out.
I agree with your comment re Sarr, but Pritchard has had more than enough time and opportunities to show what he can do, and he seems to blow the majority of them.
This is awkward. Obviously I want Town to win but if we scrape through just because we are playing a very poor team and after that the losing sequence continues that’s no good. On the other hand if a loss puts the final nail in Corberans coffin and he is shown the door, then it’ll be worth it. That gives a newcomer enough matches to get us out of the s… mire!
Good column again terrier, it’s pretty pointless picking a team which has a few changes in it as we all know it’s going to be same old same old team & system, Birmingham play the low block (park the bus in old money) so we are in for a frustrating evening, I also agree that the players now realise that things need to change in our approach to games it must really annoy them sticking to the system and watching it fold under them, it’s easy to say that they need to take some responsibility but they are trying to implement a plan that they can only do for 10/15mins a game, there has been a lot of managers moved on of late & the first thing the new manager does they go back to basics & shores up the defence, makes them really hard to beat & works from there, we are nearly at this point, I would love us to try something different tonight & have a real go start with Phillips & Sanogo up front start with Pritchard have three centre halves & put lots of attack minded players in front of them anything try something this lot will need breaking down for sure sorry frustrated old Town fan 1-1 tonight
Fans are undoubtedly questioning Carlos after our poor run, there’s even a conspiracy theory now that LUFC have planed him at Town to ensure we implode!!! However, for me he has been brought in to do a job with a squad which struggled a little last term & is weaker on paper this season. So what can we therefore expect? Every club seeks a manager who can make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear & those guys are thin on the ground. Carlos actually has the boys playing some nice stuff …. okay , with a good few banana skins thrown in for good measure – at least it’s rarely dull!!. If we wanted a solid season with some progress then we should have stuck with the guys who kept their end of the bargain in 2019-20 …. but the fact is that our Chairman & advisors decided they would dispense with the Cowleys & surprised most of us in the process. So, if anyone should therefore be departing (given tonight’s performance doesn’t tick the boxes), it’s parachute payment Phil …. UTT
Totally agree that the Cowley’s kept their side of the bargain but I was pleased to see them and their dull as ditchwater tactics depart. I was also pleased to see the more free flowing style of football hat Carlos brought in, but the he has totally lost it and he should also see the exit door. Maybe we shouldn’t have been so hasty with the Cowley’s after all.
At this point I don’t see this as a must win game. When you consider Sheffield Wednesday play Rotherham tomorrow night, a draw wouldn’t be a disaster.
In response to your 5 questions. Number 1 – he should be drinking in last saloon but probably isn’t because PH will be looking at the short term bank balance/pay off. Number 2 – there is no evidence to suggest Town have got a clue how to deal with the low press. Number 3 – pass, but lumping the ball over the top to Sanogo rather than knitting fog may be the answer to #2. Number 4 – not a chance. Number 5 I don’t think anyone (except Pipa and Vallejo) can understand a word thy Carlos says so I don’t think they players know what is expected of them.
Sometimes the result is more important than the performance, which is just as well because on any other night we would have be hammered again. Thankfully Birmingham were just as bad as Huddersfield. This game will have done nothing to enhance Schofield’s reputation although with Stearman adding some stability we did look generally less suspect at the back. Sarr did what he is supposed to do, and that is defend but his distribution was appalling. Even if he had found his passes then I have no doubt that Mbenza, O’Brien and Holmes would have given back to Birmingham. To be honest those three need to look at themselves in the mirror, although Holmes did contribute in the last 5 minutes. I don’t know if O’Brien wearing the armband is affecting his performances but he was dire from start to finish. Not sure why Scott High was brought on, and Sanogo looked like Bambi on ice. At least we didn’t lose. Answers to your questions. Number 1 – he was already in my last chance saloon before tonight. Number 2 – what a silly question. Number 3 – he didn’t contribute when he was on the pitch. Number 4 – no silly mistakes but some very poor defending. Number 5 -what methods?
So where do we go from here? It was a point but it was woeful.
1. Schofield – hopeless & hapless. Can’t Carlos see there is no confidence in the keeper?
2. Pipa is not a left wingback; he’s a right wingback. You can’t play left anything without a left foot.
3. Edmonds-Green is not a right wingback or right fullback. He’s a centre back who at one point looked promising and if his confidence hasn’t been shot by Bella last night, he might still be.
4. Vallejo was in my view one of Town’s best players last night. True that’s not saying much but why do you take off one of the only players capable of passing the ball to a teammate?
5. Stearman definitely isn’t match fit.
6. Sarr should stick to defending and forget the ‘creative’ passing. He’s good at the former, crap at the latter. Clever tactic from Birmingham just letting him have the ball knowing he’d give them the ball back.
7. O’Brien was…..O’Brien was…..I can’t find the word. Let’s settle on appalling.
8. Holmes did nothing of note.
9. Mbenza was shocking. Every time I see him I can’t help but think how much money we paid for him and wonder if the scout who recommended him is still with the club?!
10. Campbell scored one and gave one away within minutes. Everything either side of those 2 events was forgettable.
11. I’ve left Bacuna until last only because for once he wasn’t the lame duck. He actually looked quite lively and at times even creative.
The manager – Carlos has lost the plot. His craziness from the touch line can’t be helping anyone. He’s now picking people out of position when there are more obvious permutations. Take last night – just because you have an injured left wingback (Toffolo) doesn’t mean that you balance things out by weakening both flanks! Keep your strength of Pipa at right wingback. No, not O’Brien at left back – another of Carlos’s moments of madness. Play Edmonds-Green in his proper position at centre back and move Sarr over one place to left back. You’ll still get the benefit of Sarr’s aerial ability and, on his day, he can tackle. Ok you can’t attack down the left flank but you can’t with Pipa playing there either; all he can do is cut inside and play a square pass.
I have absolutely no idea what Town do from here but for me I’d axe Carlos, hope someone can instil some calmness and some basic good sense. Every match that goes by, we look more & more like a disorganised bunch of poor quality players. I don’t think some of the players are quite as appalling as they now look; hopefully a new coach can instil some belief.
I should add – please can someone tell me ANYTHING positive about Scott High? Carlos keeps bringing him on and I’ve yet to see any positive contribution. What can he do?
Quality comments. 100% agreed.