Sunshine and kittens! A positive preview for Huddersfield Town’s 2025/26 season

It’s been a long running tradition on this blog to split my season preview articles into two sections, with all the positivity poured into one and the dark, negative feelings contained in the other. To quote John Cooper Clarke, it makes me feel like I’ve got “a dual personality, I hate both of them” (swear filters stop me from sharing the name of the poem this line comes from). 

This is the happy look ahead to the 2025/26 season, which you may think Town fans will flock towards compared to the miserable version. Sadly, year after year, the stats show that Town fans are drawn to negativity far more than positivity. So if you chose to click on this article then you have my permission to get your felt tips and sticky back plastic out to make yourself a “happy clapper” badge that you can wear with pride. 

So here are my reasons to feel positive about the upcoming season (the doom and gloom version will follow soon is here if you want it).    

Lee Grant seems like a good appointment (so far)

While Lee Grant has never managed before, there are a lot of positive indicators that he’s going to be a good manager for Huddersfield Town. The way he’s spoken about by the people that have spent time with him, even in these first few weeks, suggests that he’s an impressive person who is serious about the job and has a clear vision about what he wants. 

Town have experimented with brand new managers a lot in the last ten years or so, sometimes with amazing results and at other times… less so. The Wagner and Corberan seasons are among my favourite seasons of supporting Town and both managers had a similar intensity and attention to detail that Lee Grant seems to have (from admittedly limited evidence). 

When you compare Wagner and Corberan to the failed first-time managers* we’ve had (Siewert, Schofield, Fotheringham) there was a difference beyond just the results they were able to get. Wagner and Corberan had vision, intensity and focus, the others didn’t have that X factor. 

The football we’ve seen in preseason from Grant also has some encouraging signs in it. The emphasis on pressing high, moving the ball forward quickly and kicking lumps out of the opposition are all qualities that suit League One and most Huddersfield Town fans. While it would be nice to see Town playing like Barcelona, the vision Lee Grant has for Town feels more grounded in reality and is suited to the players that we can attract at this level.

*For the pedants, I accept that Corberan had managed in some obscure European backwaters before coming to Town and Wagner was in charge of Dortmund B but Town was their first proper job in charge at a decent level.

Out transfer business has been impressive

It’s hard to keep track of all the signings Town have made this summer but the 11 new arrivals all individually seem like decent business and should make us very competitive at this level. Here’s a quick run down of who we’ve signed with a few thoughts on each one:

• Ryan Ledson (free transfer) – Our new captain is a combative central midfielder who is nearly ten years younger than Jonathan Hogg but has similar qualities. Though on evidence from friendlies, he seems to be a decent passer of the ball and can get forward too. He’s mostly played at Championship level, so stepping down to League One should make him look even better.
• Marcus Harness (free transfer) – Capable of playing on either wing or as a number ten, Harness worked under Lee Grant at Ipswich and has impressed in preseason. Not lightning quick or full of tricks but his movement and touch suggests a classy, intelligent player that will add a lot to our attacking play.
• Sean Roughan (Out of contract but compensation due to Lincoln because he’s only 22) – Capable of playing left back or central defence, he’s got a lot of experience for his age and looks very assured on the ball. Seems like he’s been brought in to play left back in Grant’s system but with a more defensive-minded brief.
• Joe Low – (Out of contract but compensation due to Wycombe because of his age) – Part of a successful Wycombe team last season and an absolute unit. His size will have appealed to Town after a stated ambition to beef up our squad over the summer. He’s missed quite a few friendlies in preseason but the bits I’ve seen of him have been quietly impressive. The amount of interest from other clubs in signing him, suggests we’ve pulled off a coup in bringing him to Town.
• Josh Feeney (season-long loan) – This Aston Villa youth player is 20 years old but looks no older than 12. Despite his innocent looking face, he’s equipped himself well in preseason, standing up well to physical tests and showing an ability on the ball that explains why he’s in a Premier League academy. 
• Murray Wallace (free transfer) – This former Town player is a different beast to the one that left all those years ago. He’s bigger, stronger and even slower than he was before. But the vast experience he’s picked up at Millwall over the years shows in how he carries himself on the pitch and he’s a good character to have in the dressing room. Might not play loads of games but decent backup.
• Owen Goodman (season-long loan) – Goalkeeper was one of the few positions I didn’t think needed fixing but Goodman was impressive on loan at Wimbledon last season, helping them to promotion. The Crystal Palace youngster has great stats from League Two and gives us something a bit different to Nicholls and Chapman.
• Jack Whatmough (signed from Preston North End – no idea on the fee but probably not a lot) – After an unsuccessful spell at Preston, Whatmough joins Town with something to prove. He’s experienced at Championship level and has been promoted from League One with Wigan. Has looked very solid in preseason.
• Lynden Gooch (signed from Stoke – I’d guess low six figures for the undisclosed fee) – Despite his surname leading to an awkward conversation with my dad, this looks like a great signing. He’s an attack minded fullback who can also play on the wings, so a bit like a better version of Lasse Sorensen.
• Alfie May (signed from Birmingham for a rumoured £1.2m) – It hurt when we missed out on him last season, so it’s great we’ve got our man this summer. You can question his age and the length of the contract we gave him, you can’t argue with his goals at League One level over a consistent period of time at a variety of clubs. No player guarantees you goals but Alfie May is the closest you can get to a sure thing at this level.
• Marcus McGuane (signed from Bristol City – undisclosed but I’d take a wild guess at half a million) – A former Arsenal academy product that played for Barcelona too (mostly their B team but he did feature for the first team). He was highly thought of at Bristol City judging by their fans’ puzzlement at his departure. Another defensive midfielder but with a bit more passing ability by the sounds of it.

There’s a lot of Championship experience in the above list and those that haven’t played at that level are at least top-end League One performers. After gambling on the managerial appointment, it feels like we’ve gone for sure things in the transfer market. 

Even the bookies fancy us

Town being underestimated by the bookies has been a feature of our most successful times but this season it seems like the bookmakers can see something happening at Huddersfield Town. The odds of Town winning the league have shortened over the summer as we’ve continued to add quality players to our squad. Luton are the favourites at the moment (understandably given they are still getting parachute money from the Premier League) but Town are now second favourites to go up at 9/4. 

It’s well known that bookmakers’ odds reflect betting trends more than being an accurate reflection of what will happen but even this is a good sign. Clearly people outside of Huddersfield Town can see potential in our team to do well and are backing us. That’s a strange feeling after years of feeling overlooked and underestimated. 

While it would be better to be the most fancied team to go up, there are two automatic promotion places up for grabs and I’d happily accept second place, which is basically what the odds suggest will happen at this point in time. 

Northern football sounds like fun

I want Town to do well but I also want to enjoy watching them play too. While these two things are connected, the style of play does have an impact on how enjoyable it is to sit through Town games. Think back to last season’s 16-game unbeaten run, we were picking up results but playing poorly in many of those games. It was nice to win but not pleasant to watch. 

It’s not clear at this stage whether “Northern Football” will be successful but it sounds like the kind of football that is enjoyable to watch (to northerners at least). From what I’ve seen so far, it will involve playing at a fast tempo, being aggressive, pressing the opposition, moving the ball forward quickly and playing with maximum effort. It feels like David Wagner’s style with a bit of spit and polish applied, which is no bad thing in my eyes. 

While it may require a more nuanced tactical approach if we get back to the Championship, this style should be perfect for League One and if we stick to these principles it should lead to plenty of memorable games and have us competing at the top end of the table.

There’s nobody to fear in this league

This might come back to haunt me, but I don’t think this season’s League One is nearly as strong as last year’s. Birmingham spent so heavily last summer that it would have been a scandal for them to finish with less than 100 points. No team has “done a Birmingham” in League One this summer, though other clubs’ fans have accused us of doing the same, despite most of our acquisitions being cheap or free. 

The teams relegated from the Championship will be decent but will have to make the same adjustment Town did last season. We know from bitter experience that players that failed in the Championship don’t suddenly become brilliant when they play in League One. It’s reasonable to expect at least one of Plymouth, Cardiff and Luton to fail to adjust to their new environment,

I don’t want to sound over-confident or like I’m expecting Town to walk the league but my point is more that Town should be able to go into every game knowing they can win. At this stage, I don’t think there’s another League One team that I’d want to swap squads with.

Want to bring yourself down to Earth after all this positivity? Read my pessimistic season preview.