Tactical injury breaks, a breathtaking start, in-form strikers and Bojan’s straight fringe – Notes on Huddersfield Town’s 3-1 win over Mansfield

Huddersfield Town continued their good run of form with a 3-1 win against Mansfield on Saturday. We’ve now won our last three consecutive games after a run of one win in eight games. While it’s probably too soon to be getting carried away, the style of play and the goals we’ve been scoring hint towards the kind of football we all hoped we’d be seeing this season under Lee Grant. 

You could argue that beating Mansfield twice and a woeful Plymouth team shouldn’t be cause to start planning a promotion party for next May, but there is at least a glimmer of what this squad is capable of. What’s even more interesting is that the players most instrumental in this turnaround have been fringe players that have been called upon because of injuries mounting up, alongside some of the expected starters not being able to find any form. 

Here are a few of my thoughts on the game…

A brilliant start

Both teams deserve credit for how they approached this game, with Mansfield actually looking very dangerous in the opening exchanges before Town established dominance with their three goals within 16 minutes of kickoff. The way Town went about their business on their way to scoring those three goals was the best I’ve seen them attack for a long long time. Certainly the most complete example of Lee Grant’s desired style of play, even if he’s had to tweak his approach to get there.

While Town were excellent on the ball, a lot of our early success was down to how aggressive we were off the ball. Mansfield frequently lost the ball in dangerous areas because of the intensity of our pressing. Dion Charles led from the front with his tireless running but was capably backed up by all the players behind him, so Mansfield often couldn’t find a spare man or ran into trouble because they didn’t have the time on the ball they wanted. It’s not a complicated approach but it does need everyone doing their job, which is what happened for Town in this game. 

It has to be said that the foothold that our defending gave us in the game was only useful because we used our possession so well. After weeks and weeks of watching Town look completely lost for ideas when we got close to the final third, we’ve suddenly got runners to pass to and our clever little passing moves are now pulling defences out of shape rather than just all happening in front of them without any impact. And thankfully we converted our positive play into goals. 

I think Bojan Radulovic’s goal was my pick of the bunch, because it looked premeditated and worked perfectly. Miller floated the ball to the back post where Bojan had anticipated it was going to drop and the finish was simple because of his movement to get into position. Though Dion Charles’ goal was a result of an excellent piece of quick attacking play that involved most of our midfield and attack, so it was a nice one to watch too. And of course Sorensen’s heavily deflected effort was his first league goal for Town and was a reward for his persistent running and bravery to dribble in field and try to make something happen.

Competent game management

I’d have liked to see Town go on from 3-0 up to push for six or seven goals but there was an element of pragmatism and game management for the spell before half time and just after it, where we looked to dominate the game without the same kind of penetration we’d had in the early stages. 

If Town had won their last seven or eight games, rather than just two, I think they may have had the confidence and swagger to really go for the jugular, but I can understand why a slightly more cautious approach took hold. We still played well and looked a threat but the fluidity of our possession play reduced slightly, most likely to give us a more solid (biscuit) base when we lost the ball. 

A sloppy goal leads to a period of pressure

I think a mixture of tired legs and tired minds led to their goal, which changed the momentum in the game for a little while. Mansfield did well with their goal but the replay shows that Josh Feeney and Lasse Sorensen could have done better, the former making a weak clearing header and then missing his next header altogether and the latter standing right next to their striker but not making a challenge. 

The spell after the goal was Burton’s best period of the game and they enjoyed a lot more possession and provided us with a tricky test at times. Depending on your perspective, you could see this as a sign things haven’t changed that much at Town. Getting complacent and conceding a silly goal has been a feature of some of our worst games this season but at least in this game we rode out the storm. Glass-half-full fans will see this as evidence of a bit of backbone developing within “The Group” and we eventually wrestled control of the game back and managed the time out professionally. Maybe with a bit too much caution but this was understandable given how fragile confidence can be in football and how easily leads can be thrown away. 

What’s changed?

There has been a noticeable change with Town in their three-game winning streak. Quite a few factors have contributed to this, so I thought it might be interesting to make a list of the shift I’ve seen on the pitch:

• Switching to 4-4-2 – If it’s good enough for Mike Bassett, England Manager, then it’s good enough for Town. The formation switch really only involves pushing the number ten a bit further up the field and picking a striker rather than a midfielder for that role. However, that small change facilitates a lot of the broader improvements I’m going to detail below.
• Bojan and Charles – By playing with two strikers, we’ve been able to see a genuine partnership develop between Radulovic and Charles, with Bojan being able to drop deep and link up play at times while Charles pushes forward and terrorises defences with his pressing. Both have complementary qualities and there are signs of an understanding developing between the two. I’d be interested to see May partner either of the two to see if that adds something to the dynamic but for now it’s impossible to drop either to make space for May.
• Getting the ball out of defence more easily – I really get bored of watching Town tapping the ball along their backline trying to draw out the opposition so they can get the ball forward. Invariably, once we get stuck in this part of the pitch there will be a mistake pretty soon that will allow our opponent a chance. Balker’s addition to the backline has fundamentally altered the way we defend. He’s much more  comfortable defending space behind him, so we’re playing with a much higher defensive line, which makes it much easier for the midfield and attack to link up with each other, as the space up the field is compressed and they’re standing closer to each other. Added to this, Balker is a superb passer, so can pick out players in space to get attacks started quickly. He’s also fond of charging up field with the ball himself, which is pretty handy. 
• Marcus Harness and Ryan Ledson’s passing forwards – Harness was signed as a winger and has played in that role up until a few weeks ago but three games into his spell in central midfield and it’s hard to see him going back to his old position. He’s much more able to influence the game further back and his range of passing has been excellent. More surprising has been how willingly he’s fought to win the ball back in defence. Ryan Ledson has also had some excellent performances with Harness as his partner, so he seems to be bringing the best out on him.
• Miller’s return – I can talk at length about tactics and systems but in football it’s usually the team with the best players that wins the game. Mickel Miller is better in the left wing position than any of the other players that have played that role and it’s understandably made our all-round attacking play better. 
• Pressing high – I’ve mentioned it elsewhere in this article but we’re pressing with a lot more enthusiasm and that’s unsettling the opposition when they’re on the ball as well as giving us possession in good areas. Will we be able to keep up this intensity during this hectic few weeks of fixtures? That’s not clear but it’s getting results, so hopefully we can keep up this energy.
• Playing with confidence – Going into a game after only winning one of your last eight outings is bound to play on the minds of the players. So now we’re playing better, that breeds confidence that encourages even better play. Another factor is that the players look to be enjoying their work more. Unsurprisingly, there are more smiles, the crowd are backing them more and everything feels a bit happier. The dark clouds were circling over Huddersfield not long ago but the outlook looks a lot sunnier right now.

Could Town have four good strikers?

My final thought was about the strikers we currently have available. Bojan Radulovic and Dion Charles weren’t even close to starting league games until Alfie May’s red card and Joe Taylor’s dip in form. Now they’ve turned it on in these last few games, May and Taylor will have to work hard to get back into the starting eleven. 

This got me wondering whether we might get to a point where we’ve got four fit and in form strikers. With Town now playing with two strikers, there is space in the matchday squad for all four and it’s possible we could have a pretty potent and varied strikeforce. 

I could be misremembering, but the last time I can remember us having four decent strikers to choose from was back in the Lee Clark days when we had Jordan Rhodes, Lee Novak, Robbie Simpson and Theo Robinson. Those days are so far back I can’t remember if all four were in form at once at any point but that would be the ambition with Town’s current selection of strikers. Maybe I’m just being greedy.

Any other business

Goodman’s tactical injuries – Normally I’m all for a bit of gamesmanship, when it’s Town players doing it but I’m a bit fed up with our tactical goalkeeper injuries. Town aren’t the only club to do it but in my eyes it’s a form of cheating and will no doubt lead to a rule change down the road. Because goalkeepers are the only players that don’t have to leave the field after receiving injury treatment, keepers can fake an injury to kill the opposition’s momentum and give the coaches time to get some messages onto the pitch. While Goodman’s non-injury did help Town out of a tricky patch, it doesn’t sit well to see such unsporting behaviour. The fact this is my biggest gripe after this game shows just how well Town played!

A shabby stadium – It’s easy to take for granted how lovely the Accu Stadium really is. The unobstructed views thanks to the banana trusses, the woodland background on the Kilner Bank and the modern feel of the place. Mansfield’s ground, Field Mill, is in a shabby state. One of their stands was newly opened at the start of this season according to Wikipedia but they’ve been plagued by issues from concrete to local planning stipulations. It makes me feel glad to have the stadium we have.

Bojan’s straight fringe – I’ve been very complimentary about Bojan Radulovic’s footballing ability but I wanted to add some balance by slating his hair do. I’ve not seen such a straight fringe since the days on bowl cuts back in the 90s. While I’m sure Bojan isn’t getting his missus to snip around the kitchen mixing bowl, the effect is remarkably similar. Not that I’d suggest he change it any time soon, while things are working so well for him on the pitch, he should not change anything. Footballers are a superstitious bunch and it’s better not to tempt fate.

The games are coming so thick and fast that I’ve had to publish my preview of the Luton game tonight at the same time as my write-up of Saturday’s game. Forget the players, I’m questioning my own stamina to keep up with Town playing Saturday-Tuesday for weeks on end. Click here to read my preview and predicted lineup for the away trip to Luton tonight.