The improvements each Huddersfield Town player needs to make against Middlesbrough tonight

Despite Town turning in arguably their worst performance of the season against Wycombe on Saturday, I don’t think there will be many major changes to the lineup against Middlesbrough tonight. In fact, a completely unchanged team seems quite likely. 

So instead of predicting the team I’m going to look at what each player needs to improve in their game tonight to avoid another debacle like the Wycombe game. 

Ryan Schofield 

All goalkeepers are good shotstoppers, that’s why they’re goalkeepers but Schofield’s ability with reaction saves is far better than the average keeper at this level. He’s not so good at the aspects of the game which come with experience, like commanding his area, decision-making with passing and knowing when to leave his line or not. His distribution can also be a bit hit and miss but in his defence, he doesn’t have much to aim for when going long. 

Pipa 

He was signed as a rampaging, attacking fullback and he’s broadly delivered on that aspect of his game though if he could hit the target with his left foot he’d potentially have scored five or six more goals given how often he cuts inside and shoots wide with his weaker foot. The defensive side of the game is where Pipa needs to get better. He doesn’t have to be the best because our system involves the central defenders covering the fullback areas but he does need to improve in one on one situations. It’s too easy to get a cross in against him or muscle your way past him. 

Richard Keogh 

His individual performances haven’t been too bad since his arrival apart from the loose pass against Stoke that led to the penalty incident. I’d like to see him using his experience more to organise the backline. We desperately need leaders on the pitch at the moment and as a player with many years experience as a captain at this level it would be good to see him trying to galvanise the team when we’re up against it. 

Naby Sarr 

The main priority for him is to not give the ball away when we’re vulnerable to counter attacks. It’s not down to just playing better passes but also picking the times to take a risk and when to play safe. Another simple improvement he can make is to listen to Ryan Schofield when he shouts he’s coming for the ball. Sarr was deservedly clattered by Schofield at the weekend when he ignored his keeper’s shout. This hads happened multiple times this season and points towards the defender either not trusting his keeper or not listening, if it continues then it’s going to cost us goals. 

Lewis O’Brien 

He looked great in the opening stages of the game against Wycombe when he kept driving forward from deep. His performance fell off a cliff when Wycombe started getting forward more and he was completely dominated by their right winger. His tackles didn’t stick, he allowed his man too much room and was far too easy to get past. He’s generally very good at the defensive aspects of the game but the move to left back seemed to have more of an impact than I expected. 

Jonathan Hogg 

Hogg will be disappointed that he gave away the penalty for Wycombe’s equaliser, partly because of his clumsy technique but more because he didn’t need to even attempt the challenge. If another player made the same mistake I’m sure he would have absolutely roasted them. Hogg is known for balling out players if they don’t play to the standards he expects but at the moment we need the leaders to build confidence more than drive standards. I’d like to see him supporting the younger players as well as giving them stick when when they get things wrong. 

Alex Vallejo 

His floated ball to Fraizer Campbell was superb in the build up to out opener last Saturday. When he’s allowed the time to pick a pass the Spaniard has real quality. Unfortunately he, like Eiting before him, wants more thinking time on the ball than Championship teams typically allow you. So he needs to think and move a bit quicker with the ball. Out of possession he needs to move faster too, as it was him standing off his man that gave Wycombe the space to get their opening goal last weekend. 

Juninho Bacuna 

The strengths and weaknesses of Bacuna’s game have been thoroughly discussed in the past, so I’ll not get too deep into it here. Rather than have him reign in his creative tendencies to play a more disciplined role I’d like to see the shackles loosened a bit and him given a free role behind the striker to try and cause some problems. He’s got the talent but rarely produces it on a consistent basis. 

Duane Holmes 

I’ve not got a lot to say about Holmes as he’s only recently arrived but I thought he’s shown at times he can link up play nicely and create opportunities for himself and others. He has gone quiet for spells in games though and could show for the ball more often, particularly when we’re trying to get the ball out of defence and into our opponent’s half. 

Isaac Mbenza 

I’m a bit worried that Mbenza at the moment. He’s had a good season so far but has looked a bit dodgy at times recently. The team’s collective poor form and his expiring contract may be getting into his head and affecting his game. Regardless of whether he stays or not, it’s in everyone’s interests for him to play his best even if it’s just to attract other clubs to him. 

Fraizer Campbell 

I thought Campbell looked back to his best in the first half hour against Wycombe but he struggled to get on the ball after that. So he just needs to replicate the movement and energy that helped create several early chances for Town. It’s better for him if he scores too but nobody really minds him not getting on the scoresheet if his clever movement and tenacity set up teammates. 

Alex Pritchard 

While Pritchard isn’t starting matches it’s worth including him as he nearly always comes off the bench. He just needs to work on the “impact” part of being an impact sub. Too often he just comes on for a light jog while the game happens around him. As our top paid player he should be the one we look to for inspiration and moments of magic. Sadly we’re still waiting for him to show he’s worth even a fraction of what he’s paid. 

Carlos Corberán 

The Head Coach has received some justified criticism lately and needs to improve his in-game management of the team. This means reacting to what the opposition are doing and thinking up changes to outfox the rival coaching team. Rarely do we see a substitution or a tactical switch that turns games in our favour. I believe he’s a great coach and he’s shown this season already that he can get a tune out relatively meagre resources. It’s not worked for him lately but he’s learning on the job and I expect we’ll see a response from him and the players tonight.