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Tag: player ratings

“It’s impossible to not like him.” Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s win against Blackburn

“It’s impossible to not like him.” Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s win against Blackburn

Matches
I talked about Huddersfield Town being consistently inconsistent before Tuesday night’s game and that was how it proved, when they followed up two pretty dire defeats with a thrilling victory over a high-quality opponent. While it might not have been a perfect performance, there was plenty of effort and a fair amount of quality on display from the Terriers and that was what helped them secure the three points. It’s probably a bit late to be publishing a player ratings article two days after a game but a busy schedule and a desire to linger on a game that could prove significant to Town’s season made me write this article anyway. Lee Nicholls - 8 out of 10 He will have wanted to have done better with the penalty as he managed to get a glove to it but wasn’t able to get enough on t...
“Unplayable” Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 4-0 win over Reading

“Unplayable” Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 4-0 win over Reading

Matches
After a decent performance in the midweek defeat to Everton, I went into this game feeling positive about Town’s prospects but I didn’t see this result coming at all. Town dominated an admittedly poor Reading team from start to finish and fully deserved their emphatic victory. While Sorba Thomas stood out as the star man on the day, several other players were very good too and I can’t think of a single Town player that was under par. With that in mind, expect some high scores to follow… Lee Nicholls - 7 out of 10 Had very little work to do in terms of saving shots, with Reading limited to potshots from outside the box. However, he did come off his line confidently on several occasions, once cutting out a threatening attack with a clever header when he was outside his area. Calm a...
“Sensational” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s last gasp 2-1 win over Sheffield United

“Sensational” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s last gasp 2-1 win over Sheffield United

Matches
What a weird game football can be. Last Saturday I couldn’t have felt lower about Town’s prospects but yesterday afternoon I was going bonkers behind the goal at Bramhall Lane as we secured our second win of the week with an injury-time winner. Suddenly things don’t seem nearly as bleak, even if both our wins came from negative tactics, luck and opponents that couldn’t finish chances. In some ways it feels even better to win when most neutrals would say we didn’t deserve it.  Player ratings are tricky for this kind of game. While the football Town played was poor for at least 70 minutes of the game, they did seem to be executing a game plan that mostly worked. We were solid at the back and kept our shape well for long periods but didn’t offer nearly enough going forward until Carl...
“He just didn’t do enough” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 1-1 draw at Derby

“He just didn’t do enough” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 1-1 draw at Derby

Matches
It was a very strange start to the Championship season for Huddersfield Town. All the talk earlier this week was about how awful Derby would be and how they can’t put together a team, then it transpired that an unknown number of Town players would be ruled out of the game and we were the ones that might struggle to field a team. In reality, both first elevens were not far off Championship quality and once it kicked off it was a decent contest. Derby weren’t as bad as many expected but the weakened Town team did a reasonable job against them. There were good and bad elements to Town’s game and we’ll definitely face tougher opponents in the upcoming weeks but on balance I thought we did OK and a point is a fair reflection on the game.  Here is what I made of each individual perfo...
“Thankfully we weren’t punished for his mistakes” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s victory over Nottingham Forest

“Thankfully we weren’t punished for his mistakes” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s victory over Nottingham Forest

Matches
Huddersfield Town were deserved leaders at half time after Aaron Rowe put them in the lead. After a nervy start, Town became more dominant as the half wore on and it was their opponents that made an error while passing around at  the back which lead to the goal. The win was sealed in the second half when Bacuna's thunderbolt put us two up and ended the game as a contest.  While it was far from a perfect performance, it was a significant improvement on recent outings from Town and we were the better team on the day. While relegation isn't completely avoided with this win but it certainly puts us very close to safety.  Here are my player ratings for the match…  Ryan Schofield - 6 out of 10  A quiet afternoon for the stopper but he did everything asked of...
“He seems to have given up” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s defeat to Bournemouth

“He seems to have given up” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s defeat to Bournemouth

Matches
While defeat was fully expected against Bournemouth, it still hurts to see a team that are literally playing for their livelihoods surrender so meekly as Town did in the first half last night.  The early stages of the second half saw the worst  performing players subbed out and a small but significant improvement was apparent from the rejigged team. Bournemouth were pretty comfortable despite Hogg's headed goal that brought us within a goal of them. For all the improvements in the second half, we couldn't find an equaliser despite some promising play at times.  I have a feeling my view of this game may be out of step with many fans, as I was fairly happy with the second half and even in the first half I thought many players were doing okay. Though a few were diabolically b...
“Sloppy and didn’t create enough” Huddersfield Town player ratings following their dismal draw with Rotherham

“Sloppy and didn’t create enough” Huddersfield Town player ratings following their dismal draw with Rotherham

Matches
Huddersfield Town were incredibly lucky to come away from their game against Rotherham with a point. A couple of sitters were missed, Ryan Schofield made some lovely saves and the ref denied them a clear penalty. While Town haven’t always had their share of luck this season, it may be that we were saving it all up for this game. Town conceded seven fewer goals in this game than on Tuesday night, so that’s some progress but the quality of the football suggests that we may have to be patient as Town slowly inch their way to safety.  Here’s what I made of the individual performances in this game. Ryan Schofield - 8 out of 10 Made at least one excellent save and two or three others that were bordering on excellent too. He also just about did enough to deal with the aerial thr...
“Brilliant but frustrating” Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s win against QPR 

“Brilliant but frustrating” Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s win against QPR 

Matches
Huddersfield Town beat QPR 1-0, ending our long wait for an away win with an assured performance which saw Town surrender possession in favour of staying organised and hitting QPR on the break.  The three points is huge for our survival bid and if we can follow it up with a win against Sheffield Wednesday in midweek then I think our relegation worries can be mostly set aside (providing we don't implode over the remaining games) .  This result came from a strong disciplined, team performance rather than dazzling individual brilliance, so expect to see lots of seven out of tens rather than any huge scores for individuals.  Ryan Schofield - 8 out 10  His save and clearance double movement to deny Kane was superb and kept us in the game. His goal line heroics were as good as scori...
“More than just a carthorse” Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 0-0 draw with Cardiff

“More than just a carthorse” Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 0-0 draw with Cardiff

Matches
After a run of dismal performances from the Terriers it was nice to see plenty more spirit and organisation in last night's draw with Cardiff. The obvious main talking point is Sanogo's penalty miss but my big takeaway was tgay it was the first time I've watched Town since the Swansea game where I've not come away feeling annoyed and frustrated with the team. There were green shoots of better things to come on display in this game even if some of our bad old habits weren't completely eradicated.  The improvement on the pitch can largely be attributed to Carlos switching to a more pragmatic approach that more resembled Danny Cowley's Huddersfield Town rather than Carlosball but we're now at a stage where points on the board matter more than philosophy(which was also true for Cowley...
“Superb” Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 4-1 victory over Swansea (better late than never!)

“Superb” Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 4-1 victory over Swansea (better late than never!)

Matches
Where did that come from?! Huddersfield Town managed their first victory of 2021 in their best performance of the season at a time when they seemed to be in terminal decline. While the three points are incredibly useful, the win could mean even more in the context of this season, as this result should help boost the Terrier's badly dented confidence and provide a template for them to follow in future games.  While some of the ongoing problems at Town were evident in the first half, a breathtaking 10-minute spell at the start of the second half led to Town being comfortable winners even before an unlucky injury reduced the Swans to 10 men for the closing stages. Here are my ratings for Town's players.  Ryan Schofield - 5 out of 10  He was lucky to be bailed out by Sar...