Wounded animals, winning runs, stinky fans, and extra rest – 6 talking points ahead of Huddersfield Town’s trip to Blackpool

The games are coming thick and fast now the new season is properly underway and Town have a trip to the seaside to take on Blackpool on Saturday afternoon. The game follows quickly in the wake of Town’s impressive penalties victory over Leicester in the League Cup on Wednesday night but Lee Grant will want to make sure there’s no hangover for this game. 

Huddersfield Town fans are less likely to be avoiding hangovers, as a boozy do on the coast is almost certain for many in the sold out away end. With Town winning their opening three games of the season and Blackpool losing all three of theirs, the omens look good on paper but the reality is likely to be different. 

Here are a few of the main talking points ahead of this fixture…

Can Town keep their winning start going?

Momentum counts for an awful lot in football and Lee Grant has certainly accumulated some with his first three games in charge. Repeating that trick is going to be harder with each passing game, as we continue to face new challenges. Blackpool are tricky opponents on paper and Steve Bruce proved last season that he is a canny operator at this level, beating us at the John Smiths, as it was known then,  and going 2-0 up in their home fixture before Joe Taylor and Brodie Spencer goals allowed Town to share the points. 

Steve Bruce worked out how weak Town were in the fullback areas last season and relentlessly exploited this vulnerability with balls in behind our wingbacks for their wingers to chase down. Lee Grant may have to show some tactical flexibility in this game if he wants to come out on top, as the same tactic could work against us again if we continue to play with a very advanced right-back, though our whole defensive unit looks a bit better set up this season than it was last. 

Being top of the league, with two wins, plenty of goals scored and no goals conceded is a lovely position to be in and while I know we can’t go on like this forever, I hope we can stretch this winning start for at least this game. I’m still bitter about the way Steve Bruce left Town over 20 years ago and would love to see us beat the dinner lady lookalike. 

How will this new-look Town team respond to adversity? 

Town came back from behind twice in their midweek game against Leicester, so arguably have proven that they can get themselves out of a hole already but I suspect we’ll have to show a bit of grit in the game against Blackpool too. While football is often decided by who plays the best football, another huge factor is which team shows the most desire. 

Up to now, Town have looked pretty motivated and had a strong mentality but that’s a lot easier when things are going your way. In a tough fixture like this one, I would like to see how we cope with getting a bloody nose, metaphorically speaking.

Whether it’s going behind, picking up a red card or getting on the wrong end of bad decisions, I’ll believe in the potential of this squad a lot more when they show they can battle through a bit of adversity. We’ve specifically recruited players with character this season, not tough guys or jokers but players that have a bit of steel about them and know what it takes to be successful in football. That should mean we’re naturally more robust if things turn against us but it will be reassuring when we see this in action. 

It would be lovely to win every game two or three goals to nil but realistically we’re going to struggle in games at some point, so winning or at least drawing after struggling will prove to me that this team is capable of doing well this season. 

Should Ashia start?

I’ll post my predicted lineup early on Saturday morning but the most interesting selection question is: Will Ashia start in this game? After scoring two beauties in his last two games and showing some decent bits in general play too, he’s made a strong case to be included in the starting lineup. But on the other hand, he’s still inexperienced and as recently as a few months ago he was unable to break into Torquay United’s team when he went there on loan last season. 

Bringing through young players the right way can often involve frustration from a fan’s perspective because it seems logical to keep playing anyone that is regularly scoring, particularly if the goals they are getting are spectacular. But youth players blow hot and cold, so putting too much pressure on too early can be detrimental. 

There’s also an argument that Aisha is a tool best deployed as a game changing substitute, when his relentless running and skill on the ball can be deployed against tired defenses. Not to mention that Town have the likes of Alfie May, Marcus Harness, Joe Taylor and Ruben Roosken who can play out wide and have far more experience in the game. 

So playing Aisha from the start wouldn’t be a bad choice, the smarter move might be to keep him on the bench as a not-so-secret weapon to bring on in the closing stages. 

Are Blackpool more dangerous after their losing start?

How many times have Town come up against teams on a stinking run of form and then they’ve suddenly turned it on when they play against us? The “And He Takes That Chance” podcast referred to Town as Charity FC multiple times last season because of our generosity in helping teams break their losing streaks against us. But this season’s Town team have already proven themselves to be a bit different.

It’s worth bearing in mind that Blackpool aren’t likely to be at the bottom end of the table by the end of the season and their slow start is most likely a short term blip, but that’s not to say we can’t help extend this run by one more game. The key will be to make sure that we don’t underestimate them or let them dictate the game. 

Blackpool’s poor start will no doubt have put their fans on edge, after being widely tipped to do well this season before a ball was kicked. If we can make sure we don’t give their fans anything to cheer in the early stages then they will more than likely turn on their team and the home advantage can quickly become a disadvantage. We experienced this plenty ourselves last season when our players seemingly froze up under the pressure to perform at home which led to frequently being booed off the pitch. 

Town have produced their best football in the second half of their three games so far this season. Coming out of the blocks fast against Blackpool and trying to dominate the game could be a good plan given the circumstances. Allowing an out of form team the time and space to play themselves back into form and build confidence would be a mistake. Thankfully, Lee Grant has tended towards a positive approach so far, so I expect to see us play on the front foot in this game and stifle Blackpool before they can get into a rhythm. 

Will the extra day of preparation help Blackpool? 

One slightly nerdy and technical issue about this game is that Blackpool played their cup match on Tuesday whereas Town played on Wednesday. This might seem like a minor detail but the day less of preparation time could cost Town. Lee Grant has already said how the day after a game would usually be a day off for players but they were all in on Thursday because of the tight turnaround. 

There were nine changes to the lineup for the Leicester game but plenty of the subs that came on will feature against Blackpool and only a handful of players will have had no involvement in the game. Town have shown impressive fitness in their games so far but this day less to prepare may put additional strain on a few bodies. 

Lee Grant has shown a willingness to rotate his squad and make full use of his five subs to freshen up the lineup, so that may offset some of the tired legs. The intensity that is expected in every game means that the whole squad is going to be needed to navigate these hectic spells. 

Will the weather be a factor?

The forecast is for a scorching day by the sea on Saturday afternoon, so my final talking point is a public service announcement to travelling fans. Among the sold out away end will no doubt be plenty of Town fans that are planning on getting sloshed and having a laugh at the seaside. To those revellers, I would give you three pieces of advice:

1. Try to drink the odd pint of water in between the pints of whatever else you’re drinking. Being drunk at a football game might be fun for some (even if it’s never appealed to me) but booze and sunshine are a bad combination and keeping hydrated can make a big difference.
2. Wear sun cream and take a hat. The weather might not be quite as hot as it was earlier in the week but it’ll still be hot enough to burn and covering your head will reduce your chances of getting sun stroke. Hey Dude gave away thousands of free hats the other day, so there’s no excuse for not covering your head.
3. Have a wash. This shouldn’t need saying but if you’ve been sweating in the sun lately, make sure you don’t stink before you cram yourself in with thousands of other fellow Town fans. The support from Town fans at the Leicester game was great on Wednesday night but the smell in some sections was not. It’s most likely only a stinky minority but please show some consideration for your fellow fan.

Sorry for the boring and obvious advice but I thought I’d put it out there as I’ve seen too many sunburned, boozed up and fragrant Town fans at away games to assume that this advice isn’t needed. Though I suppose those are perhaps not the sort of fans that typically read this blog. I could be wrong, but I always assume the people who read these articles tend to be the more sensible and nicer smelling fans.