What are Huddersfield Town fans expecting this season?
On Sunday I ran a fairly unscientific Twitter poll to gauge the expectations of Huddersfield Town fans for the forthcoming season. I think it’s interesting to see the different levels of optimism, pessimism, realism and delusion among the fan base.
Before we get into the details, it’s worth stating that 232 people answered the poll and the respondents are likely to be my followers, so not necessarily representative of all Town fans.
Here’s what the poll shows.
Mid-table mediocrity
The most popular answer by a significant margin was that Town will finish comfortably in the middle of the table. Nearly half of respondents (48%) think we’re not likely to be close to either going up or down this year.
It feels like every season contains some drama for Town fans, whether it’s promotion or relegation battles, so it might be nice to have a season where we are slap bang in the middle of the pack.
While you could draw the conclusion that this shows most Town fans lack ambition, I think most are just realistic about what this squad is capable of.
After battling relegation right up until the penultimate game of last season, it will be a sign of steady progress if we can avoid that mess this time around. Particularly if we’ve also used the season to change to a new style of play and bedded in some of the youngsters from the academy.
Surviving by the skin of our teeth
The second most common response to the poll was that Town will be fighting relegation again but ultimately survive (34%).
This is how we ended up last season, so it’s reasonable to think we’ll have a similar campaign this year. The Championship is a very competitive league and the changes we’re making this season may take time to come to fruition.
If we find ourselves flirting with the bottom three I will be interested to see what happens. Will the board still back the manager or will they get rid as soon as the pressure is on? Will Carlos stick to his philosophy even when it fails to gain points? Are Town fans willing to give the club the benefit of the doubt? These are the questions we’ll find the answers to if we struggle this season.
Going down
One in ten of the survey respondents think that Town are going to go down this season. In fairness, I thought this answer would be higher given all the doom and gloom I’ve seen on social media lately.
We’ve lost a large chunk of last year’s squad without adequately replacing them, we’ve got an inexperienced manager, we’re hoping academy kids can step up to Championship level despite most of them never playing even close to this level, we have a chairman who sacks managers at the first sign of difficulties (or after hitting their only target in the Cowleys case). I’m trying to stay positive about this season but it’s easy to see why some fans are concerned we could go down.
Our saving grace could be that other teams around us could have bigger problems. Points deductions and financial limitations could mean that Town are saved from League One even if our performances on the pitch deserve relegation.
A top six finish
There were about 15 people (7%) who responded to the survey by saying they think Town will finish in the top six this season. I love these fans. Whether they were having a laugh, we’re off their medication or genuinely expect Town to finish in the playoff places I don’t know.
It would be lovely to see Town do this well but I’m struggling to imagine it. Maybe Carlos Corberán is so good he can have Town pushing for promotion with a weaker squad than the one the Cowleys could only get to 18th last season. That would be close to a miracle in my eyes. Perhaps our hotshot recruitment team have some gems lined up for this transfer window but this seems even less likely.
I suspect that some of the fans that expect a top six finish will be those that are constantly angry about Town’s under achievement and lack of ambition. The people that will be tweeting #CarlosOut as soon as we lose a few games. There’s a small subset of fans that have a distorted view of where Huddersfield Town are in the pecking order of things and are constantly incensed that Town don’t live up to their delusional expectations.
Terrierspirit.com opinion on Huddersfield Town’s chances this season
I wasn’t allowed to vote in the Twitter poll because I started it. Had I been able to cast my vote I think I’d probably say I expect Town to finish just above the bottom three.
I think a mid table finish is possible if things go our way but another relegation battle feels more likely. I’m encouraged by the early signs of how Carlos wants Town to play but the current injury list and lack of depth in the squad worry me a bit.
I also think that Karlan Grant is likely to leave and that will mean we have to find someone to score the goals. He managed 18 for Town last season, more than double the next nearest in the scoring charts. I can’t see any of the current squad stepping up to his level and I doubt we’ll spend enough to bring in a proven goalscorer.
The exciting thing about Huddersfield Town’s upcoming season is how hard it is to predict what will happen. Relegation is a possibility but if everything clicks into place we could easily find ourselves at the other end of the table. We’ll have to wait and see.
Very persuasive and realistic account. I had you down as being more delusional than that.
I always start a season fearing the worst while hoping for the best. Sometimes that leads to great delight as per Wagner’s first two seasons. Sometimes it leads to surprise and great relief like last year. I will admit I’m even less hopeful this year than I was last year when Siewert was in charge. Here’s hoping for more surprise and blessed relief by the end of this coming season.
If, by November, we find ourselves in a similar position to where we were the same time last year, even the Cowley’s couldn’t save us!
I wouldn’t say I’m delusional, but I try to be as positive as possible. I think low expectations are absolutely key when supporting Town. Otherwise you’re certain to be disappointed sooner or later.