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Tag: player ratings

“He looks miles off the pace” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 2-2 draw with QPR

“He looks miles off the pace” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 2-2 draw with QPR

Matches
Huddersfield Town took the lead twice and were pegged back twice against QPR this evening. It wasn't a vintage performance but at least Town managed to take a point from it. Results elsewhere suited Town and mean they are still in a commanding position in the playoff race without many games left to play.  Peformances in this game were a mixed bag, some players struggled in unfamiliar roles, others were OK and a couple were poor without much excuse. Here's what I thought…  Lee Nicholls - 7 out of 10 Not at fault for either goal, reliable with his distribution and commanded his area well when coming for crosses. There were very few saves for him to make but he did everything required of him. Oli Turton - 6 out of 10  Didn't get tight enough for several crosses an...
“He can’t keep starting games if he’s getting the basics wrong.” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s defeat to Millwall 

“He can’t keep starting games if he’s getting the basics wrong.” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s defeat to Millwall 

Matches
Huddersfield Town’s unbeaten run came to an end last night when they came up against a Millwall team that outhought and outfought them on the night. It’s hard to get too upset about a defeat when we’ve not lost in the league since November but it’s fair to say that several players were off their best on the night.  Despite Town starting the game strongly, Millwall controlled the game well and deserved all three points. While it would be easy to say that Town were awful, I think it was just a slightly jaded performance which wasn’t enough to overcome a team that are usually tough to beat but are also enjoying a good spell of form.  Nicholls - 9 out of 10 He made a string of incredible saves over the course of the game as well as a few regulation ones too, the push onto t...
“The Chelsea loanee needs time to adjust” – Player ratings for Town’s 3-0 win over Peterborough

“The Chelsea loanee needs time to adjust” – Player ratings for Town’s 3-0 win over Peterborough

Matches
Huddersfield Town extended their unbeaten run with a comfortable victory over Peterborough United last night. While there were brief moments of fight from the visitors, it was an incredibly one sided game where Town dominated throughout. Incredibly, this win took Town into the automatic promotion places for the night. While Bournemouth’s games in hand mean it’s unlikely to stay that way it is still remarkable. Carlos shuffled the pack with his selection last night and once again managed to field a team that was more than up to the job of dismantling the opposition. I can’t think of a time in recent memory when Town have had as strong a squad available. Even in the promotion season we relied on a core of twelve or thirteen players and the rest were pretty average (sorry Harry Bunn f...
“He keeps playing well despite being shunted all over the pitch” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s win over Birmingham

“He keeps playing well despite being shunted all over the pitch” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s win over Birmingham

Matches
Huddersfield Town achieved something incredibly rare yesterday: a straightforward victory. After putting in a defensive masterclass against Fulham and then coming from behind in the final moments of the Cardiff game, this game was far less dramatic with Town getting comfortably ahead in the game and then doing enough to keep their hosts at bay. It’s very rare for Town to win by more than a single goal so I feel like this result represents another step forward for this team. It was also another clean sheet to add to the tally, which the defence deserves credit for after withstanding a lot of Birmingham pressure in the second half. Here are my player ratings. Lee Nicholls - 8 out of 10   There’s a concept called the “hedonic treadmill” which states that whenever you ha...
“His first touch just isn’t good enough for this level” Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s late, late win over Cardiff

“His first touch just isn’t good enough for this level” Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s late, late win over Cardiff

Matches
Huddersfield Town left it late against Cardiff but eventually found a way to win a game that seemed destined to end in frustration for Town fans. Late, late goals from Koroma and Russell meant Town preserved their unbeaten run for another game and solidified their position in the playoffs, rising to fourth in the table. It was far from a perfect Town performance, with Cardiff setting up to defend and Town struggling to break them down and frequently giving the Welsh side opportunities to break against us. This is the kind of game we’ve regularly struggled to win, so even if the football was poor at times, it feels like a huge step forward to have won a game against a team that parked the bus.  Here’s what I made of each player: Lee Nichols - 7 out of 10 Kept us in the gam...
“Last season we had a tribute act and now we’ve got the real thing.” Player ratings for Town’s amazing win against Fulham

“Last season we had a tribute act and now we’ve got the real thing.” Player ratings for Town’s amazing win against Fulham

Matches
It seemed certain that Town's unbeaten run would come to an end at Fulham but after Town put in their best defensive performance of the season they extended the run to 15 games without defeat. Talk of a playoff push sounded fanciful around the New Year but Town now look like genuine contenders for the top six and have proven in the last two games that they can get results against the best teams in the league.  The win against Fulham was a result of an all round team performance, where every player committed to the game plan and executed it with 100% energy. Every player deserves a good score after putting in such a massive shift so don't be surprised to see high numbers on these ratings.  Lee Nicholls - 8 out 10  He made some decent saves but I most enjoyed his shenanigans when r...
“It’s clear why he’s not starting many games” Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s draw with Sheffield United 

“It’s clear why he’s not starting many games” Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s draw with Sheffield United 

Matches
Wednesday's 0-0 with Preston North End was a tedious affair but yesterday's goalless draw with Sheffield United was actually an entertaining game and both sides played some nice football. I think Sheffield United were just about the better of the two teams but Town had a perfectly good goal ruled out and a few penalty shouts waved away so both teams can be happy with the point.  Even though Town didn't score, I thought we played some lovely football at times and the tactical tweaks made before the game meant Town were a different proposition and several players were able to put in excellent shifts.  Lee Nicholls - 8 out of 10 Pulled off an unbelievable fingertip save to push the ball onto the post and then somehow cleared with his feet as he was falling to guide the bal...
“He may not play many more games for Town” – Player ratings for Town’s 1-0 cup win over Barnsley

“He may not play many more games for Town” – Player ratings for Town’s 1-0 cup win over Barnsley

Matches
Huddersfield Town qualified for the next round of the FA Cup by beating Barnsley 1-0 yesterday. It wasn’t vintage Town but they just about deserved the win and could actually have been more comfortable winners if they had been less wasteful in front of goal.  It was a mixed bag in terms of individual performances, with some players really catching the eye and several not looking up to speed. Getting into the hat for the next round was the main objective and Town managed that, so there’s no use complaining too much.  Here are my player ratings for the game. Jamal Blackman - 6 out of 10 Barnsley failed to register a single shot on target in the game, so there wasn’t much opportunity for Blackman to show off his shot stopping credentials. He looked good otherwise, with some decen...
“Could be the missing piece of the puzzle” Player ratings from Town’s 4-3 win over Reading

“Could be the missing piece of the puzzle” Player ratings from Town’s 4-3 win over Reading

Matches
Huddersfield Town came away victorious from a thrilling 4-3 encounter with Reading yesterday afternoon. The quality of football was mixed but the amount of action more than made up for occasional defensive lapses. Town gave away some truly horrendous goals but equally they attacked with verve and deserved to win despite frequent sloppiness at the back. I think this game was a bit of a one off, with the circumstances of the game lending themselves for Town taking an unusually bold, swashbuckling approach to the game. This season has been typified by a more cautious and defensive mindset but our recent inability to hold on to a lead and Reading’s obvious vulnerability meant it was sensible to have a really good go at them even though gifting them a way back into the game so frequently cl...
“Gritty” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 1-0 win over Millwall

“Gritty” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 1-0 win over Millwall

Matches
Huddersfield Town fought hard and came away with all three points in a fairly stale encounter with Millwall. Maybe it’s my blue and white tinted spectacles, but I think that Town genuinely deserved to win the game even though the ref missed a blatant penalty that could have seen Millwall equalise in the dying moments. Few players played badly yesterday even though the combination of their efforts wasn’t exactly sparkling football. In fact, Town were fairly ordinary for long spells but were organised enough to keep Millwall out and managed to score yet another set piece goal thanks to Sorba Thomas’ delivery. Here are my player ratings: Lee Nicholls - 6 out of 10 Had a horrible moment in the first half where he passed straight to a Millwall attacker but was bailed out by Colwill...