notes – Page 7 – Terrier Spirit – Huddersfield Town FC blog

Apr172022 by Terrier Spirit1 Comment

Wild Chelsea loanee theories, square pegs in round holes, tactical errors, ugly points, pitch invader review and greediness – Notes on Town’s draw with QPR

Matches

The dust has settled on Huddersfield Town’s 2-2 draw with QPR on Good Friday and I’m still feeling disappointed about the result. We’re still in a great position in the league, we’ve passed the 70 point mark, and there are any number of reasons to feel good about Town but I still feel a bit annoyed that a winnable game ended in a draw. Worse than that, Town were probably a bit lucky to escape with a point after QPR had a couple of excellent chances to score a winner in the closing stages. Here are a few of my thoughts from the game. I thought it was a bit of a nothing sort of game and I'd not have a lot to say but somehow it turned into a whopper. Enjoy! Square pegs in round holes I know Carlos has spoken often about how he values having flexible players that can be d...

Mar72022 by Terrier Spirit2 Comments

Easy wins, swagger, playoffs, moaners, Forest overconfidence, no pressure and heavy rotation – Looking back at Peterborough and ahead to Forest

Matches

Playing on a Friday and Monday night doesn’t give much time between games, so I’m going to look back at the Peterborough game and forward to the Forest game at the same time. If the turnaround between games isn’t enough for this blogger to recover then it’s likely the same can be said of the players' legs too, so I suspect we’ll see a significantly changed team against Forest. Anyway, after a weekend of results going very well for Town, we find ourselves sat in the automatic promotion spots and one game away from a mouth-watering fixture against Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter finals. So things are going incredibly well for Town at the moment. Another easy victory Just like the Birmingham game last weekend, the Peterborough game was an easy victory for the Terriers and the ...

Feb282022 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

Deleted tweets, Birmingham poor, comfortable cushions, going up the right way and rotation rewards – Notes on Birmingham away

Matches

Town continued their miraculous unbeaten run by beating Birmingham at the weekend, also giving them their third win in eight days. Beating a relatively poor Birmingham side may not be as attention grabbing as our recent exploits, but it was a professional and disciplined job from the Terriers and further boosted our playoff credentials. Here are a few of my thoughts on the game. A 2-goal cushion makes life more comfortable One of my favourite things about this game was how Town managed to win without being particularly exceptional. They got their noses in front, then got a second goal and after that we looked to be mostly in control. Pot shots from range by Hernandez and Bacuna went close to going in but Nicholls and the woodwork meant we kept our clean sheet. Beyond those two mo...

Feb72022 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

Outrageous diving, spurned chances, the Jon Russell love-in, a dodgy ref and cup magic – Notes on Town’s 1-0 win over Barnsley

Matches

Huddersfield Town will face Nottingham Forest away in the next round of the cup after their victory over Barnsley saw them into the last 16. Like most of Town's recent games, against Barnsley there were good bits, bad bits and some key moments that went Town’s way. Town's unbeaten run is now standing at 12 games and it's hard to ignore the fact that this team are pretty good. For all the fears of doom and relegation at the start of the season, if we can beat a team that are currently below us in the league table in the next round we'll be in the quarter finals and one game away from a semi-final at Wembley. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself but surely that's part of the magic of the cup. Anyway, here are a few of my thoughts on the game. A deserved win that coul...

Jan242022 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

Wembley hotel booking, our hat-trick hero, unleashing the attack, Reading relegation fodder and a leaky defence – Notes on Reading away

Matches

Huddersfield Town came away victorious from a seven-goal thriller against Reading at the weekend. The game was a hodge podge of great attacking football, woeful defending and a wide range of tactics and formations for each unique part of the game. There are some games where it’s a struggle to think of talking points to fill a blogpost but the opposite is true of this game. There are almost too many things to talk about. So rather than waste time on these introductory paragraphs that most people skip over, I’ll get straight into it. Hat-trick hero The only possible candidate for Man of the Match is Danny Ward, his three goals and incredible graft made this the high point of his return to Town after some fairly dark days in the not-too-distant past. Almost no T...

Jan172022 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

Poisoned pen programme notes, midfield questions, The Balon b’Ore and tippy tappy tactics – Notes on Town’s draw with Swansea

Matches

Draws can be like those Rorschach tests used by psychologists in films. Rather than an ink blot that looks like a reproductive organ, a draw allows a football fan to project their deep rooted feelings about their team onto it. So if you've got reservations about Huddersfield Town then Saturday’s result was proof we can't hold leads, lack presence in midfield and blew an opportunity to win. If you're on the Carlos promotion party bus then this game was a valuable point against a team that were better than us on the day but weren't able to press home their advantage because we're such tricky Terriers. I'm not sure how I feel about this game but I'll probably work it out by the end of this article. What was the game plan? Our game plan worked in the first half but failed in th...

Dec312021 by Terrier Spirit20 Comments

Giving Hoyle a “problem”, withstanding a siege, O’Brien class and bold management – Notes on Nottingham Forest away

Matches

Huddersfield Town clung on to a 1-0 lead and emerged from their match against Nottingham Forest with all three points in a gritty performance that also required a hefty slice of luck to see us over the line. While the performance might not have been perfect, the victory leaves Town still in the playoff positions, at least until the teams below us play their games in hand. This game was Town’s third consecutive victory and caps off a fine finish to 2021 after a poor run of form in November and the first half of December. I’m still not convinced about the current Town team and coaching set up if I’m honest but the results don’t lie and Town are, for now at least, genuine playoff contenders. It seems strange to say that but if you’re sixth after more than half the season it seems an incon...

Dec132021 by Terrier Spirit7 Comments

Asking for trouble, stale tactics, lacking ambition, Carlos’ job security and unexpected stats ‐ Notes on the draw with Coventry

Matches, Opinion

Despite getting a draw against one of the league's better teams on Saturday, I was left with a bitter taste after sitting through the game. Despite Town's respectable league position, alarm bells are ringing for many fans and it feels like we're a team on the slide. Coventry played fairly well but most teams would have when their opponent allowed them so much time on the ball and space to get away shots at will. Had Coventry been slightly clinical with their finishing we could have been hammered in this game. Though if Matty Pearson had nodded home his straightforward chance in the second half we would almost certainly have gone on to win, so it's not worth dwelling on hypothetical too much. Here are a few more of my thoughts on the game: Defending a lead badly ...

Sep282021 by Terrier Spirit3 Comments

Predicted Town XI for tonight, being consistently inconsistent, the Sorba slump and the Swansea inquest – Another Huddersfield Town roundup

Matches

Huddersfield Town were beaten 1-0 by Swansea at the weekend, in a game that could easily have been a much heavier loss for the Terriers if it hadn’t been for excellent goalkeeping work from Nicholls and some wasteful finishing from the Swans. Thankfully there isn’t a lot of time to dwell on this defeat as Blackburn will be travelling to the John Smiths’ tonight to give us a chance of arresting the mini slump we’ve entered. Prior to the Forest game the weekend before last, things had been incredibly positive around Huddersfield Town football club but consecutive defeats have brought the doom mongers out from wherever they hide when things are going well. Avoiding defeat tonight is essential to change Town’s momentum and keep them at the right end of the table. Here’s another roundup ...

Sep132021 by Terrier Spirit4 Comments

Plan B, basic mistakes, unknowns and terrace sexism – Notes on Town’s defeat to Stoke

Matches

Huddersfield Town were beaten 2-1 at Stoke in a tight game which was decided by set pieces and individual errors. A draw would have been a fairer result but we can’t really complain after riding our luck in the recent wins against Sheffield United and Preston. The good news is that this wasn’t the kind of defeat that suggests the wheels are falling off for Town. There were obviously things that could have been better but the optimism that came with three consecutive wins has only been slightly dented after another disciplined performance from the Terriers. Here are a few of my thoughts on the game: Town now have a way of playing against better teams Phil Hodgkinson talked in his recent interview about how all the bad eggs have now been weeded out of the club and we’ve got a gr...