Huddersfield Town completed their preseason fixtures with a decent 1-1 draw against Sheffield United on Friday night. The first half was impressive and the second half was more of a mixed bag but overall it was a good showing against a team that were in the Premier League last season and will most likely compete at the top end of the Championship in the season to come.
While preseason is often a poor predictor of how a new season is going to pan out, this final game caps off an impressive start to Michael Duff’s first few weeks in charge at Town and he seems to be doing everything right so far. The first proper test will come next weekend against Peterborough at London Road but this draw against Sheffield United was another small step in the right direction and another reason to feel positive about the new season.
A good performance
The game started in the best possible way, with Town going one up within five minutes. Our goal had a very familiar feel to it and I suspect this may be how many of our goals are scored this season. Good pressing from Healey resulted in Sorensen getting in possession high up the pitch and quickly crossing into the box. Wiles arrived into the box at the right time, the sort of Paul Scholes or Frank Lampard run, where he followed in behind the striker to fill a gap and latched on to the cross and finished smartly just under the crossbar.
After taking the lead, Town saw less of the ball than the visitors but used it better, with some neat passing moves and a real intent to keep the ball and use it well when we did manage to get in possession. Off the ball, Town pressed Sheffield United high up the pitch and made it hard for them to find a rhythm and Sheffield United often gave away sloppy possession.
When the Blades managed to get into Town’s half and probed around our goal, we looked mostly OK but there were probably a few too many shots from distance given away even if they were mostly speculative and few required Nicholls to get involved.
The second half saw Town start brightly, pressing high and fighting well but Sheffield United seemed to have a bit more about them. Possibly a half-time roasting from Chris Wilder had given them more a sense of purpose, as they played with more intent both in terms of moving the ball quicker in attack and also with some agricultural tackles when Town had the ball.
Sheffield United equalised early on in the second half from a well-taken free kick, which Nicholls did well to push onto his post at full stretch but could do nothing to stop the ball bouncing out into open play where it was poked home by Sheffield United’s Ahmedhodžić. Nothing could have been done about the excellently struck free kick but this goal was conceded because the attacking player wanted to get on the end of the ball more than the Town defenders wanted to clear it. In a competitive game this one would have stung because it was avoidable.
The goal gave Sheffield United a spring in their step and they dominated the game from then on. Town struggled to have meaningful possession and looked leggy. I don’t know if there was a deliberate change in pressing style or an inability to keep up with the high tempo, but where we were stepping up to the defenders as soon as they got possession in the first half, the pressure on the ball didn’t arrive until Sheffield United strolled into our half in the second half.
But, even in this spell where Sheffield United were dominant, Town did a decent job of keeping their defensive shape and most of the chances we conceded were the result of good play rather than any horrendous errors. Which isn’t too bad when we were up against significantly better opposition.
Town’s subs added a bit of energy late on but didn’t change the overall direction of the game, as Sheffield United pushed for a winner that never came. If it was a game with anything riding on it, we might have seen Town running the ball into the corners and Nicholls taking forever over goal kicks. But as it was only a friendly, we instead just kept our shape and soaked up everything Sheffield United threw at us, with some last-ditch clearances and decent saves helping to preserve a respectable result.
Sheffield United’s uneven performance mirrored the enthusiasm of Huddersfield Town’s pressing
I’ve seen Sheffield United biased reports of this game suggest that the Blades were sub-par in this game, particularly in the early stages. I remember similar reports from opposition teams when Town were managed by Carlos Corberan, magically we seemed to always come up against teams when they were having an off day. This would be good luck if it happened a handful of times but Corberan’s Terriers seemed to force opponents into bad days at the office with such regularity that it was impossible to be a coincidence, it was the relentlessness of that version of Town that forced opponents into playing badly. I have a feeling that was why Sheffield United couldn’t get going for spells in this game too, we made life too difficult for them.
After all the criticism of Neil Warnock’s golf and pub trips in our last preseason (which I think has been overstated) it seems pretty clear that Michael Duff has got the squad in very good shape for the start of this season and intends to use this baseline of fitness as a weapon against opponents by working hard to force opponents into mistakes and press them hard when they are on the ball. It seemed to do the job in this game for long spells and hopefully we’ll be fitter and run for longer than most League One teams too.
Some eye-catching performances
I don’t think any Town players played badly on the night but a few stood out above the rest. Lasse Sorensen was excellent in the opening exchanges and gave Town a real outlet down the right side of the pitch with his energetic running and it was his accurate pass that picked out Wiles’ run for Town’s only goal. Both he and Miller were positioned high up the pitch for much of the game but I think this is more due to their instructions rather than poor positioning and when he was called upon defensively, Sorensen made some good blocks and tackles to reduce threats down his flank, despite having to keep tabs on Gustavo Hamer, who is better than any player we are likely to encounter in the third tier this season.
Antony Evans put in a battling performance in the middle of the pitch too, often having to fight his way through a few players to earn the right to play but seemingly happy to do the dirty work as well as show some more elegant skills. I liked seeing the way he scans the field and reads the game before using the ball, making smart decisions and thinking more about the wider implications rather than just trying to move the ball quickly along.
Ben Wiles was another midfielder that looked very accomplished. The well-trodden cliche goes that players returning from long injuries are like new signings, but Wiles with a proper preseason and a new coach to get the best from him is equally like a new signing. We didn’t see this version of Ben Wiles in the 23/24 season, he rarely showed his talent in more than brief glimpses last season, but this preseason we’ve season a player chomping at the bit to make an impact. Against Sheffield Wednesday he scored a cracking goal, played a beautiful pass to set Koroma free for what should have been a goal, could have been a penalty but ended up drawing an incredible goal-saving tackle from their defender. He also just generally looks fitter, sharper and happier on the pitch, it’s good to see.
Beyond the three players I’ve mentioned above, Brodie Spencer showed some good pace a few times to help himself and colleagues out when it looked like a break was on, but he also looked sloppy with his passing at times too. Herbie Kane showed some sublime passing and steely tackling at the base of the midfield but also wanted a bit too much time to think about his passes at times and got caught in possession in dangerous areas. Mikel Miller is dangerous but his final ball is like a bullet, which can be a threat but too often beats everyone, including he Town players trying to connect with it, and thunders out of play.
Duff’s selection show where recruitment is needed
With less than a week until the season kicks off, I think there’s still a bit of work to do in the transfer market. I’m not as concerned as I was this time last year, where Town’s lack of a striker was so alarming that it seemed like it was verging on self destruction, but Duff’s team selection showed where his mind is in terms of the squad’s strengths and weaknesses.
The most obvious place to start is defensive midfield. With Jonathan Hogg and David Kasumu as the two players that have played in that position through the majority of the previous preseason games, Duff went for a fairly unusual change by playing Herbie Kane as the furthest back midfielder. He’s not a naturally defensive minded midfielder and played the role more like a deep-lying playmaker rather than a true defensive midfielder who breaks play up and screens the defense. The truth is, Kane isn’t really suited to this role, as he is naturally more attack minded and isn’t particularly mobile.
The problem Friday night’s midfield selection solved was that Duff has three decent options to start in the attacking midfield roles in Wiles, Evans and Kane (four if you include Iorpenda, who has also looked good in that position) but neither Hogg nor Kasumu are the perfect fit for the defensive midfielder role in Duff’s system. Kasumu has the right physical aspects but lacks the technical skills and game reading abilities. Hogg can read the game well, organise and cajole but isn’t mobile enough himself to fill in the gaps vacated by the wingbacks and defenders, so can leave us exposed to pace on the break. So until a new defensive midfielder is found, we may find some more experiments tried in this position. Based on my limited insight into the current squad, I’d like to see Antony Evans given a go at the base of the midfield three, as he seems a bit more willing to roll up his sleeves and battle for the ball than Kane.
The need to sign a new striker was also apparent against Sheffield United, as both Koroma and Healey struggled to get involved for stretches of the game. My preference for this system would be for us to have a big man, little man partnership, where there’s an awkward target man who plays high up the pitch and ties up the central defenders and pushes them back with their heft and a more skillful, pacey player drops off to work in the pockets of space that the bigger player has created. Both Healey and Koroma are little men in the dynamic I described above and too often we lumped it long to one of them and they could do nothing but lose possession against a central defender that towered over them. I suspect we’ll be playing out from the back a lot this season and a target man might not be used all the time but to at least have that option alongside a more cultured approach would give us a different way of playing.
While we’re talking about how we play the ball out from the back, I think it’s pretty clear that we could do with a ball-playing central defender too. Radinio Balker could have been perfect, and when he recovers from his broken ankle he may make a major contribution but it’s probably a safer bet to assume he’s out of the picture and recruit a replacement. Someone that can take the ball out of defence and bring the ball forward would make a big difference. Whether it’s playing a killer long ball, or being comfortable enough on the ball to dribble a bit then pass it short, someone with a bit of footballing ability in that backline would make a difference. Helik and Lees, for all their better qualities, aren’t going to suddenly start playing Total Football overnight and Brodie Spencer, while he did have a go at times, can be a bit of a liability with the ball at his feet at times too. Spencer has the potential to go far in the game but at one point in in Friday night he got a rush of blood and tried to take on the whole of Sheffield United’s team on his own, obviously ran straight into trouble and have thr other team easy possession with a defender badly out of position. He’s still learning and has a lot of good qualities too but recruiting some experience and class will mean we’re not as reliant on someone still developing.
This preseason should have set Town up nicely for the season to come
When the game against Sheffield United was announced, I was a bit worried about what Town’s preseason schedule was going to do to them. We were playing a Cypriot team that had been very competitive in European competition last season, a good Bundesliga B team, a team that had just been promoted to Serie A and a team that had just been relegated from the Premier League. By rights we should have lost all three of our Austria tour games and this home friendly, which could have meant we went into the season having lost four games straight and had our confidence in tatters.
Thankfully my pessimistic fears didn’t come true (though after years of supporting Town, pessimism is more often just realism) and this challenging preseason schedule now looks like a great plan. Town have put themselves to the test against high-quality opposition and have come away with a good record. We’ve lost one, won two, drawn one of these challenging fixtures, as well as beating Harrogate, Guiseley and Emley earlier in preseason.
While getting wins or draws from these games wasn’t all that important and they’re more about getting ready for the season, I do think it’s significant that these results showed that we held our own against superior opposition. Only Aris Limossol got the better of us and that was a fairly unique game as Town had done a double training session the day before, trained the morning of the game, the pitch was a bit boggy and their right back had a particularly good game. Most pleasingly, the frailties that were exposed in that game, namely that we were picked off on the break very easily, were tightened up in future games and haven’t been nearly as big an issue since.
So these sequences of games have provided Huddersfield Town with an increasing level of challenge which they’ve been able to use to consistently improve their performance levels throughout preseason until this point where they now seem ready for the start of the competitive games. I doubt we’ll be perfect against Peterborough next Saturday but I think we will give them plenty of problems and having seen how exhausted Sheffield United looked after playing us on Friday, I think every team we play this season will be in for a tough match and, as fans, that’s exactly what we want to see.
A sidenote on the stadium
The final word in this article should go to how great the stadium looked. The extensive work that has been carried out over the summer has the stadium looking lovely. There had been a creeping neglect setting in on the stadium that had been imposed because of the difficult ownership situation but it seems that Kevin Nagle’s dynamism and generosity has overidden these complicating factors to get the place restored to it’s former glories and, if anything, beyond. I can’t remember the place ever looking this good and it’s nice to have a bit of pride about the place, compared the run-down look the stadium had last season.
The new paintwork, branding, traditional names for the stands and murals all combine to create a nicer and more authentically Town feel to the place and it helps to lift the gloom the relegation brings. The ownership of the stadium continues to be close to being resolved (as it always seems to be) but at least the place now feels more like Huddersfield Town’s home and somewhere we can all take pride in.
Thank you, TS, as ever. I’m not sure you and I were at times watching the same match but maybe watching it on the telly detracted from Town’s performance.
The key question is how good are Sheffield United? We don’t really know. All we can say is that on Friday they were certainly a class, maybe even 2 classes, above Town and on another day might have won the match comfortably. If Sheff Utd turn out to be automatic promotion contenders this season, then fair enough; but they may only be mid-tablers which doesn’t bode well for Town who have aspirations of bouncing straight back to the Championship.
You pose the eternal question – does one team have an off-day or is it caused by the opponent? The truth is it’s probably more of the latter than the former. Where it was most evident was in the high press combined with playing out from the back. Sheff Utd weren’t flawless in both skills but they made Town look toothless and, by the end, completely shambolic. It has become a bit like a batsman who doesn’t like facing the short ball – you pepper him. I fear Town defenders are going to be pressed a lot this season.
I don’t wildly disagree with you on individual performances nor on the obvious gaps but will just finish on a more positive note.
I thought Kasumu looked very good when he finally came on. He certainly brought some energy and physicality which Town certainly lacked by 80 minutes and were getting pulled apart at will. I still have hopes for him as the defensive midfielder.
Great to see Helik still there and definitely delighted to see Nicholls still between the sticks. They were stand-out performers; Nicholls in particular pulled off 3 or 4 saves where a lesser keeper would have been beaten. Town will be greatly diminished if either moves on.
Let’s hope Peterborough have an off-day or Town cause one!
Thanks for you comment Simon. Maybe I’ve written this article with my Town-tinted glasses on! I thought Sheffield United had a lot more possession and were obviously the better team in the first half but I didn’t think the gulf in quality was massive. Certainly no more so than many of the games Town had against the better Championship teams last season. And many of those ended up in heavy defeats, so at least in this game it was a draw (though you’re right to point out Nicholls spared our blushes and they could have had more).
Keeping Nicholls and Helik would be a huge boost. Annoyingly, we won’t know if they are staying or not until the season is well under way. The worst possible outcome (and the mistake Town have made in the past) would be to let either go late in the window when it’s too late to bring in a replacement and muddle on with what we have until January.
Kasumu did add some bit to midfield, which we needed at that stage of the game. Steven Chicken’s write-up said he played in defensive midfield but I thought Kane carried on as the deepest midfielder and Kasumu played higher up. It doesn’t make a huge difference but I’m just wondering if Duff sees Kasumu as a different option for the advanced midfield spots rather than as a defensive midfielder now. So he can use his energy to charge around the pitch.
have watched and enjoyed most of Town’s preseason there has been much to admire, including the first 50 or so minutes against the Blades. Some of the passing sequences have been very effective, indeed eye-catching at times.
But ultimately, we were slightly fortunate to draw as we didn’t handle the pressure exerted on us by the better side for much of the second half, sadly a regular scenario in recent seasons. Sorensen having looked impressive all preseason had a torrid final period apart from a late block, he wasn’t alone in being less effective.
I would say that Nicholls is a fantastic keeper as he demonstrated throughout the game, except for his glaring weakness, when the ball is at his feet he all too frequently, didn’t have the wit or ability to relieve that pressure, simply putting fellow defenders into difficult circumstances or lumping the ball forward to no-one in particular, the opposition accept the gifts gleefully then continuing to exert even more pressure.
Is it fair to blame him, the rest of the team or both for not giving him realistic options? Nicholls’ distribution and accuracy are faults that have unfortunately been obvious in the past and were there in abundance again during the latter stages. Maxwell is much more confident and reliable in these situations, if not as good in others.
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I’m not sure Nicholls kicking would have been seen as a weakness all that long ago, its just that expectations of what keepers need to do have shot up and he’s not at that level. It was made worse because every time he kicked long it came straight back to us.
I’m not too worried about the leggy finish to this game. The rest of the squad played a behind-closed-doors friendly with Middlesbrough earlier in the day, so we were limited with how we could use subs.
Let me get the elephant out of the way . We are
Short of at least 3 possibly 4 players in key positions. A striker , defensive Midfielder,
Number 10 , plus possibly a Central Defender.
We are praying 🙏 that Know one comes in for Nicoholls and Helik . Saying this , pre season as proceeded better than we could have wished for. We still have 4 players on the fringe team who need loaning out or selling . High , hudlin, austerfield , Ay na , possibly Harratt .
U T T
I agree with three out of four of your suggested signings that we need. But I think the formation were playing uses two attacking midfielders rather than an out and out number 10. With Ben Wiles getting better and Tom Iorpenda having an impressive preseason, I think we’ve got good options in attacking midfield.
On the otherhand, with Jackson, Eccleston and Thomas leaving and Turton and Spencer only ever deployed in central defence, we’re currently without proper cover for Sorensen at right wingback. Pat Jones has been thrown in there occasionally but I think he’s not really able to do the defensive side of that role (and has hamstrings made of wet cardboard). If Sorensen got injured we’d be left short in that area.
A busy couple of weeks in the transfer market could set us up nicely but if we don’t make these additions we might find ourselves lacking again. Unlike last season, it’s not really a lack of numbers it’s more a lack of the required quality. But if we want to be competing at the top end of the table we need to give Duff the tools to achieve that goal.
So, do we have the same failings of seasons gone by? Goalscorer, mid-field playmaker and mobile defensive players?
Trying to be a bit more glass half full, Evans and Kane seem like potential solutions to our midfield creativity issue that we failed to solve since Mooy left. But a mobile defensive player and a goalscorer are definitely on my wish list of players I’d like to see us sign. Though I genuinely don’t remember a single transfer window where we’ve not needed to sign a striker. At least we have Healey, who looks like he can score if he stays fit.
With the Huddersfield squad at present . We should be in, with a shout of the play offs . Fingers crossed . Unless we require at least 2 quality signings . Defensive Midfielder and a big Goal scoring Striker . Happy to sign a goal scoring striker, either one please . Without the signings i have mentioned , the odds staying in league 1 next season are fairly strong . This is assuming all the players stay at Huddersfield from the previous year . U T T
I think you’re probably right that we’re a couple of quality signings short of being likely promotion candidates. If the rumour mill is correct, we’re close with Joe Taylor from Luton who scored 21 goals across his two loan spells last season. And we’re still getting linked with Hodge from Wolves to fill the defensive midfield gap. These rumours could very easily just be some bored 14 year old making them up in his bedroom and tweeting them out though, so we’ll have to wait and see.
Regarding a striker, we have needed one for a long time. Town staff need to look at the stats, goals for, goals against. This tells a story.
We always need a new striker, every single transfer window. It’s a Town tradition! I thought getting Healey and Radulovic last January might solve that problem but only one of them looks any good, so we’re now back to the drawing board. On a positive note, Evans and Kane can both chip in from midfield, as can Wiles, so it might not be down to just the strikers to score this season but regardless, we should at least be trying to sign a striker with potential to be scoring close to 20.