playoffs – Terrier Spirit – Huddersfield Town FC blog

Jun12022 by Terrier Spirit14 Comments

An out of shape ref, dodgy VAR, iffy tactics, subdued fans but something to build upon – Notes on Huddersfield Town’s play-off final defeat

Matches

I’ve been putting off writing this article because I’ve not wanted to dwell on Sunday’s game. Despite thinking before the game that I wasn’t too bothered about the outcome, defeat stung and the manner of the defeat even more so. Huddersfield Town lost the game 1-0 to a Levi Colwilll own goal but the match will be remembered for two penalty decisions that weren’t given to Town in the second half of the game despite VAR being available. VAR, bad decisions and conspiracy theories From my position in the stands I could see the contact when Toffolo went over and was surprised when Moss didn’t give the penalty. Then when the game paused for the review, I was certain we’d be given the penalty and was outraged that the video referee didn’t spot the contact between Colback and Toffo...

May292022 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

5 key battles in today’s play-off final between Huddersfield Town and Nottingham Forest

Matches

The big day is finally here, Hudddersfiedl Town and Nottingham Forest fight it out for a place in the Premier League at half four today. Both teams have proven themselves to be more than capable over the course of the season and it should be a good game. Winning individual battles is a big part of how any game is decided and today is no different. Here are a few of the most important matchups in today’s game and how I think they will go. Lewis O'Brien v James Garner James Garner has all the expectation that comes with being a Manchester United youth player and clearly has potential to be a great in the future. Currently, I’m less convinced by him. He’s got touches of class about him but in the games I’ve seen him play against Town (including when we played Man United’...

May282022 by Terrier Spirit2 Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Nottingham Forest tomorrow

Matches

It’s getting close now! After a very long wait and a lot of fussing about tickets, the playoff final is almost here. After 46 league games and two playoff semi-final matches, everything boils down to tomorrow’s winner-takes-all encounter against Nottingham Forest. Carlos said that he has a virtually fully fit squad to pick from for tomorrow’s game in his pre match press conference. If I’m honest, I’m not sure I believe him and he may just be keeping his cards close to his chest to avoid giving an advantage to Forest. But I’m going to take him at his word for the purposes of this predicted lineup and pick the players I think Carlos will pick if all the main players are fit. Goalkeeper: Lee Nicholls He’s been a hero for Town already this season and the stage is set for him to...

May262022 by Terrier Spirit7 Comments

6 reasons to feel confident about Huddersfield Town’s chances in the playoff final

Matches

It’s not long now until Huddersfield Town and Nottingham Forest take to the field at the national stadium to fight it out for a place in the Premier League. Despite not being too bothered about going up, I do desperately want Town to win the game anyway. I can’t explain these contradictory feelings but have accepted them now. The bookies fancy Nottingham Forest and the national media have focussed mainly on them for their build up. I don’t particularly care about either of these things but I thought I might redress the balance by writing about why I think Town may have a good chance on Sunday. To be clear though, I’m writing this from the perspective of trying to convince myself that we’ll win, not from a position of arrogant expectation. Town are good at making games tight an...

May252022 by Terrier Spirit3 Comments

Town fans beware: Sneaky Forest fans are trying to get tickets in our side of Wembley

News, Opinion

Notthingham Forest have sold out their allocation for the playoff final on Sunday and many of their fans have been left without a ticket. Some of these frustrated fans are living up to their nickname of the Tricky Trees, as they have taken to social media to try and con Huddersfield Town fans into buying them tickets. We have not yet sold out our allocation and tickets are on general sale for anyone who wants one, with one significant caveat. You can only buy a ticket in the Town end if you have previous booking history on the Huddersfield Town system. This measure is there to weed out cheeky Forest fans, though many are trying to circumvent this by getting Town fans to buy them tickets. Why are Forest fans trying to get tickets in the Huddersfield Town end of Wembley? There have...

May222022 by Terrier Spirit4 Comments

A Wembley myth – Town and Forest’s players have nothing to fear with the pitch

News, Opinion

I can’t count the number of times that I’ve heard people talk about the intimidating size of the Wembley pitch. The energy-sapping nature of covering all that extra ground compared to the piddly size of a regular pitch. How defensive teams struggle to cover the extra space in behind them on the mammoth pitch at Wembley. But it’s just not true. The dimensions of the pitch at Wembley are actually very similar to just about every other pitch at major English football grounds. I find it a bit strange that there’s any latitude at all in pitch dimensions, though it does allow clubs to have even more of a home advantage by customising the size of their pitch to their style of play. While pitch sizes do vary from one ground to the next, Wembley stadium is completely average when compared t...

May202022 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

What is the best way for Town fans to get to Wembley?

News

A week on Sunday, a significant chunk of the population of Huddersfield and the surrounding area will be making their way to London to watch the playoff final at the national stadium. There are plenty of different options for how you can get yourself down there but which is best for you? I’ve gone over the various different possibilities available and given my opinions on which are worth considering and which are either too expensive or impractical to work. Feel free to make your own suggestions in the comments below. Coaches Official club coaches The easiest way to arrange transport is to book a coach ticket through the club, which can be ordered through the main ticketing website. It costs £49 per person and will set off from the stadium at 8.45am. I suspect there will be a ...

May182022 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

A pitch invasion, a funny ref, unlucky Luton, sensational Sorba, nice Nicholls, going to Wembley – Notes on Huddersfield Town’s playoff semi-final triumph

Matches

It would be easy to make the argument that Huddersfield Town didn’t deserve to win their playoff game against Luton Town on Monday night. You could reel off a stream of statistics that prove Luton were the dominant team on the night but one statistic tells you everything you need to know, and that’s goals scored: Huddersfield Town 1-0 Luton Town. So despite needing a string of excellent saves and wasteful finishes to stay in the game, Town came out on top and triggered jubilant scenes as fans and players partied on the pitch after the full time whistle. Here are a few of my thoughts on the game. Luton deserved it The truth is that Luton should have been out of sight before half time. Town had a strangely underwhelming first-half performance and repeatedly allowed Luton t...

May152022 by Terrier Spirit6 Comments

Nathan Jones is a fantasist, Huddersfield Town overcome intial struggles, Sinani shines, prawn sandwich fans and liking Luton – Notes on the first leg of the playoffs

Matches

Huddersfield Town came away from Kenilworth Road with a 1-1 draw that sets up a winner-takes-all game at the John Smith's Stadium on Monday night. It was an evenly balanced game where each team had spells of dominance but a draw was an overall fair reflection of the game. Both sides can feel aggrieved that obvious penalty decisions weren't given but at least the referee's two mistakes canceled each other out. Some other less vital decisions weren't quite right either but thankfully the poor officiating didn't spoil a tense but enjoyable encounter. Here are a few of my thoughts on the game… Town did well to cling on when they were struggling The first half was not always pretty from a Town perspective. We did counter-attack well at times but long stretch...

May132022 by Terrier Spirit1 Comment

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Luton

Matches

It's nearly here! Town secured their place in the playoffs weeks ago, so it’s been a long wait but it's almost time for the playoffs. Town take on Luton at Kenilworth Road tonight in the first leg of their semi-final tie. Town are in good form at the moment and have players coming back from injury but Luton are a tough opponent so it won’t be easy. Here’s who I think Carlos wiil pick for this vital game… Goalkeeper: Nicholls Jamal Blackman did fine last weekend against Bristol City but he wasn’t Nicholls. There wasn’t a lot for the keeper to do in fairness but I missed having that sense of calm and organisation that Nicholls brings to the pitch. I’m not sure Lee Nicholls is the best keeper that I’ve seen in my time supporting Town but he may be the one that I’ve got the most conf...