Wild Chelsea loanee theories, square pegs in round holes, tactical errors, ugly points, pitch invader review and greediness – Notes on Town’s draw with QPR

The dust has settled on Huddersfield Town’s 2-2 draw with QPR on Good Friday and I’m still feeling disappointed about the result. We’re still in a great position in the league, we’ve passed the 70 point mark, and there are any number of reasons to feel good about Town but I still feel a bit annoyed that a winnable game ended in a draw. Worse than that, Town were probably a bit lucky to escape with a point after QPR had a couple of excellent chances to score a winner in the closing stages.

Here are a few of my thoughts from the game. I thought it was a bit of a nothing sort of game and I’d not have a lot to say but somehow it turned into a whopper. Enjoy! 

Square pegs in round holes 

I know Carlos has spoken often about how he values having flexible players that can be deployed in multiple roles. His mentor, Macelo Bielsa, had a similar philosophy at Leeds too. However, too many players were played in positions they were not suited to in this game. 

Here’s a quick run through all the players that I noticed in positions that were not their natural role:

• Lewis O’Brien played as a left winger for the first half. 
• Sorba Thomas played all game as a striker of sorts. 
• Jonathan Hogg played as an out and out central defender in the second half. 
• Danel Sinani was technically a striker in the second half when Ward went off injured. 
• Levi Colwill played as a left-back for a while (not a left sided central defender). 
• Toffolo pushed up to be a winger at times (not a wingback). 
• Tino Anjorin didn’t seem to have a set position at all, he just jogged around a bit while the game went on in another area of the pitch (this is harsh and unfair criticism of a young player that’s clearly not fit but I couldn’t help myself) 

Carlos has generally got his tinkering with the positions and roles of players spot on this season but I think he went too far in this game. The biggest errors being Thomas and O’Brien starting the game in positions that limit their chances of doing well.

Thomas and O’Brien could be argued to be our two best outfield players, so it’s bizarre to me that they would both be played in positions they’re not used to. I’ve said this before but surely our best players should be played in their best position and the rest of the team built around them to help them produce their highest quality football. 

Sorba Thomas doesn’t have the close control or ability to stay onside to be an effective striker, he’s better suited to the wide areas where he can get into situations where his pace can be used and he’s got the space to compensate for an occasional heavy touch.
Lewis O’Brien just couldn’t get in the game on the left wing and had to watch while the central midfielders struggled to push Town forward. He was eventually moved infield to an attacking midfielder role and did a bit more but it took far too long to realise he was being wasted in the wide areas.

Carlos got the tactics wrong

It was obvious that Town’s plan for this game was to try and draw QPR out to press the defence and then knock it forward quickly for Wardy and Sorba to try and get in behind them. QPR wised up to this plan within the first ten minutes and we kept losing possession by launching hopeful balls forward rather than trying to build sustained attacks.

QPR came into the game on the back of a five-game losing streak, so allowing them to have so much possession gave them the ability to build a bit of confidence. This was quite frustrating to watch from the stands, as QPR looked pretty ordinary in the early stages. They regularly got into decent positions but fluffed their chances because they looked so out of form. But then eventually, after being allowed lots of possession, they got their act together.

The second half was marginally better despite losing Danny Ward to injury. We dropped Hoggy back into central defence full time, pushed forward the wingbacks and Holmes and O’Brien were deployed as attacking midfielders with Russell anchoring the midfield. But playing a strike partnership of Thomas and Sinani seemed bonkers to me when Jordan Rhodes and Josh Koroma were on the bench.

If I was Jordan Rhodes, I’d be worried about my future at the club if players are being shifted out of position instead of making a straight swap with him and Ward. Particularly when that player is Sinani, who has been really poor lately. 

I think Carlos got the tactics wrong on the day and that was as much a reason for this result as any individual player’s performance. I will say that this is one of the few times where I’ve genuinely felt that he’s judged the game incorrectly. There have been far more times when I’ve questioned a decision he’s made and it’s proven to be an inspired and well-thought-out piece of planning. He’s definitely built up enough good will to try things that don’t work from time to time. 

What’s going on with Tino Anjorin?

We all remember the impact Emile Smith Rowe had on the Town team when he came in on loan in the Danny Cowley era and I’ve been hoping that Anjorin may have been able to bring a bit of magic to Town in the same way. So far it’s not working out that way at all.

Anjorin is still a young player and is recovering from long-term injury but if he’s being deemed fit enough to come on as a substitute then he should be able to offer more than he has so far. I have a few theories about what we’ve seen from him so far:

• Loan small print conspiracy theory – I speculated in my player ratings article that we may have agreed to a clause in his loan agreement that means he must play a certain number of games or minutes or else we’ll be forced to pay a fine. Such agreements aren’t unheard of and I can imagine we’ll want to keep Chelsea sweet after the likes of Chalobah and Colwill have thrived at Huddersfield. It may mean he’s getting minutes off the bench despite not being the best option.
• He’s not fit – He looked to be blowing after less than ten minutes on the pitch, his closing down was unenthusiastic at best and he has no turn of pace about him whatsoever. While he seems to have recovered from injury it doesn’t mean he’s achieved match fitness yet. This is even more true when you consider the murderball training sessions that may well be taking their toll.
• He’s trying too hard – I’ve noticed that Anjorin tends to run straight into trouble almost every time he gets on the ball. I suspect this is partly because he wants to be a hero by beating four men and smashing it into the top corner whenever the ball comes to him. The Championship isn’t like that though and he’d be better served to try and help his teammates more and work opportunities through clever link up play rather than attempting to do it all himself.
• He needs to build confidence – Anjorin’s chances at Town have been limited to far and when he has been on the pitch the ball hasn’t bounced kindly for him. The Championship is a frantic league and you don’t get the kind of thinking time you get in youth football, so he has not been able to build his confidence by playing his way into games. 

Whatever the reason, I’m not writing him off just yet. So far he’s looked a bit too rusty to be getting minutes but he’s highly rated and could still do a job before the season is out. However, with only four regular season games and the potential playoff fixtures to come, he will have to produce the goods soon.

Ugly points are good points 

I came away from the game feeling quite flat on Friday evening. We’d been ahead twice in the game, QPR had looked fairly ordinary yet we still allowed them to equalise twice and had to settle for the point. But on a more optimistic note, this was a pretty poor Town performance and we still came away with a point. 

It’s nice to smash teams and win easily but if you can’t play beautiful football you need to find a way to get points anyway. One thing that our team has managed this season is to grind out results in tight games.

Town are high up in the table this season because they’ve been able to keep most of their games fairly tight and more often than not have been able to edge games even if they haven’t been the best footballing team. That’s a valuable skill to have and could be even more valuable in an unpredictable contest like the playoffs. Nobody cares if you play gorgeous flowing football in those games, you just have to get over the line and Town have been doing that in games all season.

Ward’s injury exposes a weakness in the squad 

One major worry is the half-time withdrawal of Danny Ward. Carlos confirmed that he planned to rest him on Monday anyway, so he’ll definitely not feature against Middlesbrough but we’ll have to wait to find out if it’s anything more serious.

Aside from Nicholls, Ward is probably the most specialist player in our squad and we don’t have a like-for-like replacement we can just drop in. Jordan Rhodes will most likely lead the line on Monday but he’s not able to get through the same workrate that Danny Ward can. Frazier Campbell can do the running and harrying but isn’t strong in the air and doesn’t finish as well as Ward when chances come his way. 

Like every transfer window since time began, Town are surely going to be looking for another striker in the summer. Campbell’s contract will most likely be allowed to expire (or converted into a coaching role) and we’ve needed another option in that area of the pitch for a while. Finding the kind of player that can put in the work Carlos requires of that position and also remain a threat in front of goal is tough but we can’t rely on Ward to be fit all season at his age.

Wrapping up the playoff spot early 

I think Town’s unexpected success this season has made me greedy. While I don’t realistically think automatic promotion is a possibility now, I am keen for us to secure a playoff place as soon as possible. If Town can pick up the points they need in the next couple of games it will allow them to relax, rest players ahead of the playoff games and be fully prepared for what’s to come.

My dad still complains to this day about the Birmingham away game at the end of our promotion season where David Wagner changed almost the entire team to rest his best eleven. We lost that game but it meant we didn’t pick up any injuries or suspensions and our top players played Sheffield Wednesday in the semifinals with fresh legs. I’d like us to be able to do the same this season. 

Positive results against Middlesbrough and Barnley in the next week should leave us almost certain of a top-six finish and allow for rotation in the Coventry and Bristol games. My dad won’t be happy but it will be nice to see some of the fringe players in those final games and allow our key players a bit of rest and relaxation.

A short review of the pitch invader

The celebration of Harry Toffolo’s goal involved a plucky (and most likely well-oiled) Town fan charging his way onto the pitch. I liked his initial energy and the adrenaline from Toffolo’s lovely header clearly helped give him a burst of speed. His energy faded fast but it was probably the right thing, in the context of pitch invasions, to take of his shift and roar to the crowd.

A solid start to his invasion was let down by a lacklustre finish. By the time he reached the centre circle he’d clearly run out of ideas and didn’t know what to do with himself. The two stewards closing in on him could have been used for a car and mouse chase scenario but our invader’s race was run by this stage and he surrendered all too easily to the authorities. The stewards seemed chuffed they’d not had to break a sweat and I’m pretty sure they were chatting amiably with the pitch invader as they all sauntered off the pitch.

5/10 – A solid start quickly fizzled out into a disappointing finish.

In all seriousness, pitch invasions are neither big nor clever. If you want to look like an idiot in front of 20,000 people you can sign up for the dizzy penalties at half time and avoid interrupting the game.