pne – Terrier Spirit – Huddersfield Town FC blog

Aug112026 by Terrier Spirit12 Comments

“Mentality issues” – Notes on Huddersfield Town’s Carabao Cup exit to Preston North End

Matches, Notes

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, so as a Huddersfield Town fan I had just about put aside the disappointments of last season over the summer and was ready for a fresh start. So it felt like a sucker punch to see Town start their season doing the thing they did so much towards the end of last season: throwing away winning positions in injury time. A penalty defeat to Preston North End in the Carabao Cup is not the end of the world but the manner of the defeat has brought all of last season's frustrations back to the boil. There were positives to draw from the game but mostly from the first half after Preston went down to ten men. The period of the first half when Preston had eleven men and the whole of the second half were poor from a Town perspective and the late equaliser fel...

Aug72026 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Preston North End in the Carabao Cup

Predicted lineups

Huddersfield Town kick off their season on Saturday afternoon with a Carabao Cup game against Preston North End. Ground improvement works at Deepdale mean that the fixture is being played at Goodison Park instead. The Everton men' s team no longer play there since moving to their new stadium but it has continued to be used by the Everton women's team, albeit with a number of the areas of the historic ground no longer in use. Typically, Carabao Cup games mean playing a second-string team to preserve the best players for league games but with this season's opening round falling on a weekend and seven days from the League One opener, I expect Martin Drury will field his strongest possible lineup for this match. Martin Drury's strongest starting eleven is still unknown and probably wo...

Jan102023 by Terrier Spirit12 Comments

Fotheringham’s interview confusion, defensive errors, Ayina subbed before red, misfiring strikers – notes on Huddersfield Town’s defeat to PNE

Matches

Huddersfield Town lost 3-1 to Preston and saw themselves leave the FACup at the third round stage despite taking the lead early in the second half. It was a game that the Terriers probably could have won “on another day” , to borrow a phrase our head coach is fond of using. But rather than looking forward to a fourth round tie against Tottenham Hotspur, like PNE are now doing, we are instead having to rue our missed opportunities and convince ourselves that we wanted to concentrate on the league anyway. What tosh, I’d much rather have a bit of cup glory as a distraction from the drudgery of a relegation scrap. Here are a few of my thoughts from the game… Defensive errors cost Town dearly All three of Preston’s goals looked bad in real time and are even worse when yo...

Jan72023 by Terrier SpiritNo Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on PNE in the FA Cup

Matches

Huddersfield Town take on Preston North End yet again today, this time in the FA Cup third round. Having already played them in the league cup and twice in the league, it's safe to see we've seen enough of Preston. While it's not exactly likely, it is technically possible that we could break some sort of record if we finish in the playoffs and end up playing them twice more in the playoff semi finals. Chuck in an FA Cup third round replay that nobody wants and there's the possibility of playing Preston seven times in one season, realistically though, today should be the final time we face them unless the game ends in a draw, which neither team will want. Predicting today's team is a fool's errand as Mark Fotheringham is almost certain to make wholesale changes to rest his first teamers...

Dec292022 by Terrier Spirit2 Comments

Why was Sorba Thomas dropped?, Diarra the difference maker, the change that improved Rudoni and is Fotheringham actually quite good? – Notes on the win at Preston

Matches

I appreciate this post-Preston game blog is a bit late, given we’re playing Rotherham tonight but I’ve been struck down with the bug that’s going round, so I’ve got behind on things. The win at Preston was huge, not least because it was the first time we’d won there in around 500 years (my zero key got stuck but it feels about right). The three points also mean we can now imagine a world where we’re not stuck at the bottom of the table and things don’t feel quite so miserable. Or at least they don’t for me, because I have an unfathomable tendency towards optimism when it comes to Huddersfield Town, despite years of evidence where events have played out the other way. Anyway, here’s my look back at the Preston game…. if I get the chance I’ll do a team prediction for tonigh...

Aug92022 by Terrier Spirit9 Comments

All change! Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on PNE in the League Cup

Matches

Huddersfield Town take on Preston North End tonight in the Carabao Cup tonight in a match that may previously have seemed fairly meaningless but now has increased importance after Danny Schofield lost his opening two games in the Championship. Away from the glare of the league campaign he's likely to rotate his squad and give the fringe players a run out but he will also be hoping to record his first win as Head Coach. Predicting the team for these games can be very tricky when wholesale changes are likely but it's also quite fun to try and guess which of the players on the first team will be given a chance. Here's how I think we'll line up. Goalkeeper: Chapman If you go off the official club website, Lee Nicholls and Ryan Schofield are the first team goalkeepers so it should be...

Feb122022 by Terrier Spirit3 Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Sheffield United, predictions for the game and thoughts on PNE draw

Matches

Huddersfield Town take on Sheffield United this lunchtime in an early kickoff at the John Smiths’ Stadium. Town are now 13 games into an unbeaten run but come up against an opponent in decent form and will most likely find it a tough test. After an attritional point was earned at Preston on Wednesday night I have a feeling that we may be in for another game where Town fans see our opponent have more of the ball. But when we played Sheffield United earlier in the season they did the same and Levi Colwill scored late on for us to snatch the three points. So I think Town have a chance of taking three points today even if we aren’t the team playing the nicest football. Predicted lineup to take on Sheffield United Many managers would rotate their squad when playing Wednesday nigh...

Feb92022 by Terrier Spirit1 Comment

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Preston North End

Matches

Huddersfield Town take on Preston tonight and will be hoping to extend their incredible unbeaten run to 13 games. PNE are always a tough opponent though and it won't be as simple as turning up and collecting three points. While Town won't have it all their own way this evening, we're also a team that other clubs won't relish playing these days. We've got dangerous attackers, a massively improved defence and a goalkeeper that has turned dawdling over a dead ball into an art form. Here's how I think we'll line up. Goalkeeper: Lee Nicholls Jamal Blackman was absolutely fine on his debut against Barnsley but he'll step aside tonight anyway and Nicholls will return. Having two established professionals in the goalkeeping department makes me feel much happier ...

Aug192021 by Terrier Spirit21 Comments

An awful way to win, no obvious gameplan, touchline antics, a few positives and a look ahead – notes on the PNE win

Matches

This writeup of Town’s win against Preston North End is a bit on the late side. I’ve been busy since the game but I’ve also held back from writing about the game because I’m still not sure how I feel about it. Before the match I’d said getting three points would be good regardless of how we played, even though an improved performance was the ideal. But it doesn’t feel like a victory and I’m almost as glum about Town’s prospects as I was before the game. I keep telling myself that it’s too early in the season to know what’s in store for Town. The psychotically optimistic part of my brain is also desperate to cling to the fact that goal difference (already among the worst in the league) is the only thing keeping us out of the playoff spots in the embryonic league table. But I’m stil...

Aug172021 by Terrier Spirit8 Comments

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on PNE

Matches

Thankfully Town fans don’t have to spend too long feeling sorry for themselves after Saturday’s humbling at the hands of Fulham as they look to bounce back against Preston at the John Smith’s Stadium tonight. Preston have their own problems to deal with, after losing their first two games, so both sides will be desperate to get back to winning ways. The fact that neither side has had a good start to the season so far could make this game resemble two half-blind pigeons squabbling over a cigarette butt, with lots of determination on show but little skill. While Town’s players and coaching staff will be desperate to turn in a performance and a result after Saturday, Preston won’t be pushovers and it could be a war of attrition. Thankfully Carlos has a few players returning ...