I’ve returned! I apologize for taking this sudden hiatus. I returned to blogging about Town in November after taking a break to focus on a novel. I will now resume my normal, if not more frequent, service. Therefore, the drama will be created by the action on the football field, with Huddersfield Town serving as the protagonists, the story twists arising from the goals, and the referees—probably—acting as the antagonists.
Over the next few weeks I’m going to be experimenting with a few new article formats using a similar principle to throwing mud at the wall and seeing what sticks. So in advance of tomorrow’s game against Bristol City, I thought it might be interesting to look at what big talking points there are ahead of this game, from a Town perspective. Feel free to chip in with your comments below.
Will Town be able to dominate possession against a weaker opponent?
Our recent run of games against Southampton, Sunderland and Swansea has seen us not just playing teams beginning with the letter S but also coming up against teams that like to keep hold of the ball and tap it about more than your typical Championship side. Darren Moore has instructed his Town team to allow this to happen, to a certain extent, providing it happens in areas of the pitch where it doesn’t hurt us and Town keep their defensive shape.
For the stats-hungry readers out there, Bristol are 15th in the league in terms of average possession, with just 47.8% possession over the course of this season. Southampton are the top, with 64.5%, Sunderland third with 59.3 and Swansea 10th with 52.7%. And, you might be surprised to read that Town actually aren’t the worst in the league for average possession. That’s Rotherham, with 35.6% but we are second from bottom with 37.3%. Which perhaps explains why it’s felt dismal to watch Town at times this season, despite the fact we’re only a couple of wins away from being nestled in midtable.
Town’s average possession has been pulled down by their recent run of games, where we’ve had 23% against Swansea, 24% against Sunderland and 22% against Southampton. To have emerged from those three games without defeat is miraculous but it’s a type of football that isn’t sustainable in the long-term as we’ve basically approached them like FA Cup minnows up against a team many leagues up the pyramid. Against Bristol City, with home advantage, surely we should not be going into the game with that same conservative approach?
Will Town try to play a bit more football or stick to what’s been working?
My next talking point, flows on from the above point about possession really, should Town look to play a bit more football in this game or should they stick with the approach of keeping things tight and playing on the counter? The Leeds and Cardiff games are still recent memories and the improvements that Town have made in their results since then have all been built around a solid defensive base (whenever anyone talks about “defensive bases” I immediately start thinking about biscuit bases and want a cheesecake) so switching to a more expansive style may be tricky.
My concern is that the personnel available at the moment is suited to the brutal, attritional football that we’ve been playing lately and opening up to nicer, prettier football may not play to their strengths and has the possibility of making us vulnerable to soft goals. Not to mention the fact that our attacking strengths seem to mostly come from counter-attacking, s
I think there’s a strength that comes in knowing what you are, being able to play to your strengths and maximise your positives while covering up your biggest flaws. (It was my basic approach to securing romantic partners prior to settling down with Mrs TerrierSpirit.) So I wonder if it may be a bit too risky to completely throw out the system that has been delivering (modest) results these last few weeks.
My preference would be for a modified version of the style Town have been playing. The same basic shape, similar lineup of players but try to push everyone a bit further up the field, keep the ball better in our opponent’s half and try to create more chances in open play. A gradual shift in tactics over time to something more attacking will give us more threat in games hopefully but still keep that defensive (biscuity) base.
Can Darren Moore win over the Town fans?
When Darren Moore was first announced as Huddersfield Town’s new manager, I went online and had a look at what fans thought of him at the previous clubs he has managed. There was almost universal love for him from Wednesday, Derby and Doncaster fans. Not all of them liked his tactics or results that he achieved as their manager but I don’t think I saw a single criticism of him as a person. In fact, the universal affection for him seemed almost odd given that football fans are typically such a prickly and fickle bunch. But, you have to say that Darren Moore is a very well-liked man. But that hasn’t happened for him yet at Town.
While social media can be a poor barometer for public opinion, because it tends to only promote the most extreme opinions, Town fans online are either unsure or not keen on Darren Moore at this point in his Town tenure. Admittedly he’s had a mediocre, at best, start to his time at Town, with just two wins in his first 12 games. However, he has only lost four and drawn the other six, so he’s still hitting the magic one-point-a-game ratio. Given he’s achieved this through his initial bedding-in period and following that, a rotten run of injuries, I think the lack of love for Moore is a little harsh.
Perhaps some of those frosty feelings towards Darren Moore are starting to thaw a little after this recent upturn in results as Town are currently unbeaten in three. However, I get the feeling that there is a fairly significant section of Town fans that remain unconvinced about him. These are the ones that go quiet when we’re doing OK but sharpen their knives the second results turn.
So it will be interesting to gauge the general mood in the stadium towards Darren Moore, to see if he’s starting to win over those that sit in between the happy clappers and the miserablists. If he’s doing enough to keep the bulk of fans on side then that goes a long way to keeping him in a job. When popular opinion turns against managers, it can become very difficult for owners to keep faith.
For what it’s worth, I still don’t know about Darren Moore. The results so far are about what you would expect from the team we have. His hands are tied in terms of not being able to implement the style of football he wants because he doesn’t have the players available to do it. So it’s probably going to be hard to know if he’s the right man for the job until he’s had a good run with a squad that he’s had a bit of time to mould in his image. Though, thinking about it, if that means needing a couple of transfer windows and a preseason, plus a bit of time to bed in a philosophy it could be this time next year before he’s had the right amount of time to properly get his feet under the table. When do managers ever get that kind of time in football?
So, I think he has to be a pragmatist for the short term, get the results he needs to stay in a job long enough to be able to build the team that will get him to where he wants to be long term. Then we’ll see if he actually does have an idea about what he wants to do.
Perhaps some of those frosty feelings towards Darren Moore are starting to thaw a little after this recent upturn in results as Town are currently unbeaten in three. However, I get the feeling that there is a fairly significant section of Town fans that remain unconvinced about him. These are the ones that go quiet when we’re doing OK but sharpen their knives the second results turn.
So it will be interesting to gauge the general mood in the stadium towards Darren Moore, to see if he’s starting to win over those that sit in between the happy clappers and the miserablists. If he’s doing enough to keep the bulk of fans on side then that goes a long way to keeping him in a job. When popular opinion turns against managers, it can become very difficult for owners to keep faith.
For what it’s worth, I still don’t know about Darren Moore. The results so far are about what you would expect from the team we have. His hands are tied in terms of not being able to implement the style of football he wants because he doesn’t have the players available to do it. So it’s probably going to be hard to know if he’s the right man for the job until he’s had a good run with a squad that he’s had a bit of time to mould in his image. Though, thinking about it, if that means needing a couple of transfer windows and a preseason, plus a bit of time to bed in a philosophy it could be this time next year before he’s had the right amount of time to properly get his feet under the table. When do managers ever get that kind of time in football?
So, I think he has to be a pragmatist for the short term, get the results he needs to stay in a job long enough to be able to build the team that will get him to where he wants to be long term. Then we’ll see if he actually does have an idea about what he wants to do.
Perhaps some of those frosty feelings towards Darren Moore are starting to thaw a little after this recent upturn in results as Town are currently unbeaten in three. However, I get the feeling that there is a fairly significant section of Town fans that remain unconvinced about him. These are the ones that go quiet when we’re doing OK but sharpen their knives the second results turn.
So it will be interesting to gauge the general mood in the stadium towards Darren Moore, to see if he’s starting to win over those that sit in between the happy clappers and the miserablists. If he’s doing enough to keep the bulk of fans on side then that goes a long way to keeping him in a job. When popular opinion turns against managers, it can become very difficult for owners to keep faith.
For what it’s worth, I still don’t know about Darren Moore. The results so far are about what you would expect from the team we have. His hands are tied in terms of not being able to implement the style of football he wants because he doesn’t have the players available to do it. So it’s probably going to be hard to know if he’s the right man for the job until he’s had a good run with a squad that he’s had a bit of time to mould in his image. Though, thinking about it, if that means needing a couple of transfer windows and a preseason, plus a bit of time to bed in a philosophy it could be this time next year before he’s had the right amount of time to properly get his feet under the table. When do managers ever get that kind of time in football?
So, I think he has to be a pragmatist for the short term, get the results he needs to stay in a job long enough to be able to build the team that will get him to where he wants to be long term. Then we’ll see if he actually does have an idea about what he wants to do.
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