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Friday 2 December 2011

Charlton and the interlull



Well it’s been some time since my last blog to you folks, in the  time since my last update we have beaten Nottingham Forests 42 league unbeaten run. We made it to 43, but unfortunately lost to Charlton, in reality thinking back to it, I don’t think anyone was too confident of us beating Arsenals record considering our tough run of games.

Anyway 43 league games unbeaten is a wonderful thing, and something that will be remembered for some time to come. However, the loss to Charlton could be a blessing in disguise. We are no longer the focus of media attention, we no longer have to continue running battles with Adrian Durham and Gabriel Zakauni over twitter; and most importantly we can focus on winning games rather than not losing.
Unfortunately for us, we have a rather long wait before we can attempt to put this right and bounce back, Bournemouth is next on the agenda, and is in my opinion a must-win game. Not only for the 3 points, but to show we have reacted properly to this setback, and to set us up nicely for the forthcoming games.
A mention must go out to the unbeaten run, and it should be commended. We went nearly a year without losing in the league, however we didn’t achieve our ultimate goal of promotion in May, and we still haven’t. We can look back on it with pride, however if we don’t win promotion this season, then it will lose significance. Not losing isn’t everything, winning is what matters, and if any further proof of this was needed, then look no further than Sheffield Wednesday; a side tanked 5-1 by Stevenage but still sitting pretty in second.

Now onto the game itself... I think we dominated the game for large periods, but when the first goal came in I never thought we would get back into. With this Town team it seems possible to gauge their fortunes very early on. Our attacks were repetitive and predictable and our defence failed on two occasions. A goal early on in the second half may have changed it, but as time wore on, and passes were misplaced my hopes of a result dipped. Yes we had much more possession than Charlton, and yes we dominated the second half, but we scored none and conceded two. Not a recipe for success.

 However it was pleasing to see Charlton give us so much respect in the second-half, and credit must be given to them for the result. The first was the result of a fantastic delivery, and their defensive display was nothing short of fantastic. They stood firm, resolute and gave their all, and for that they thoroughly deserved their victory. Perhaps we played the way we did because of the pressure regarding the unbeaten run, and the added intensity of being live on sky, or maybe it was just a bad day at the office. Oh well we move on, one result doesn’t decide the season and we must put it behind us and kick on now. We all remember how strong we were in the second half of the season, and If we do that this season then there is no doubt we will be promoted, so fingers crossed.

On to the signings made, Jon Parkin and Alex Bruce on loan from Cardiff and Leeds respectively. Two very astute signings I think, Parkin is a similar player to Lee, and will probably provide more of a goal threat than the big Irishman. Alex Bruce is a competent defender, and will hopefully provide some stability to the defence, regardless of his family connections. It wasn’t shocking to see Mccombe go to Preston on loan, as I think he has perhaps found himself marginalised after his sending off against Orient. So if Parkin and Bruce fit in, and play to their capabilities the team will be improved, which is all we can ask for.

A special mention must go to Gary Speed, a fantastic footballer, talented young manager and model professional who sadly passed away last weekend. Thoughts must go out to his family and friends at this time. A great shame and a very sad time for the world of football.
RIP Gary Speed

Monday 14 November 2011

England 1-0 Spain

A different topic here for Terrier Blog, but we're all England fans as well, and I felt that this result required special attention. On Saturday at Wembley, one of the worst England teams in recent memory recorded a 1-0 victory against the best team in the world. Before the game the talk from so-called pundits was of how England were going to keep the score down. However 90 plus minutes passed by, and Joe Harts net was not breached once by the Spanish masters. Up the other end however, Englands much maligned captain Frank Lampard headed the winner into an empty net.

Now it would be easy to over-react to this result, as I'm sure many in the media have already done in the past few days, but it is important to remember that we have just beaten the world champions and the hot favourites for the upcoming Euros. The style employed by England during the match was not easy on the eye, it was not satisfying or mind-blowing, but it was damned effective. Over recent years we have seen Barcelona, the only team in the world better than Spain, beaten very rarely. However whenever they have been beaten, the style of play pioneered by Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan has always been used, and so Capello opted for this style himself on Saturday.

A committed, well drilled, and technically solid display by the Three Lions, and perhaps most pleasing was a clean sheet. Fabregas can have his opinions about who deserved to win, and which side played the football. But lest we forget this has often been the view of Fabregas at Arsenal whenever a team didn't roll over and let them play. If this is the way we have to play to be successful against better teams, then I for one am fine with it. If we can play expansive football against lesser ranked teams and come away with a victory then fantastic, but against better and more technically gifted teams we will have to play like this, and it was very encouraging to see that we could play this way successfully.

This is by no means a marker for the England team, or a hint at their future fortunes at the European Championships, but it is a confidence booster, and gives us hope that if we play to our strengths against better teams, then we can get a result. South Africa 2010 we played the same players, in a rigid 4-4-2 formation and were humiliated in front of the world. Since this Capello has experimented, brought in new players and tried new tactics. If this continues in the European championships, then I am confident that we can progress to the latter stages of the tournament. I don't believe for one second that we will return from Poland and Ukraine with the trophy, but I think if Capello keeps it together we can progress to the latter stages.

42 Unbeaten but cup catastrophe

Hello and welcome back to the Terrier Blog. A few things have changed since the last post, courtesy of a friend with a penchant for design, so hopefully you enjoy the new interface.

Anyway, on to the most important thing of all football. Since the last blog we've equalled Nottingham Forests run of 42 league matches unbeaten (contrary to anything Adrian Durham says), and we've crashed and burned down in Wiltshire.

The record deserves special mention, to equal such a fantastic record is an achievement to be rightly proud of, 7 years ago when Arsenal matched Forests record they were justly praised, and I hope the same happens to us . In the future we will lose a league game, and I hope that the lads are applauded of the pitch afterwards in recognition of what they have done since Southampton. Now onto the game against Walsall, a false result in my opinion. We dominated the game and, had we taken our chances the scoreline would have been very different. However we didn't and we had to settle for a draw, but thankfully we managed to consolidate 2nd position. After the work against Walsall was over, the next task was a tricky looking FA Cup tie away to Swindon Town, for which Lee Clark decided to ring the changes.

Regardless of the changes made by Clark, the team that faced Swindon on Saturday should have been capable of recording a victory, and they didn't. A string of defensive lapses, a blunt attack and a lack of concentration cost us dearly. From the beginning of the second half it was clear to all to see Swindon's game plan, they intended to shut us out and hang out to what they'd got. We just needed a bit of creativity, a bit of imagination and invention, but instead we got misplaced passes and predictable attacks. It was no shock when the Robins broke away and added a third (offside) goal. Another lapse in concentration and a goalkeeping error led to the fourth, which slightly flattered them considering their second-half approach.

A humiliating defeat at the hands of a team the league below us, and a worrying insight into the strength of our squad. However, I don't feel that this is too much of a blow, we have been at the wrong end of embarrassing defeats before under Clark, but thankfully this was not in the league. This was in a cup which we had no chance of winning, and are not reliant upon for income. So yes it is disappointing to lose in this manner, but we have to get over it, regroup and come back stronger in the league. There will be no glamour trips to the Emirates, no poundings at Brunton Park and no 5-1's at Goodison park, but is that really so bad? 29 more cup finals to come, and hopefully they'll see us to where we all want to be, the championship.

Notts county, Charlton and Bournemouth are next up for the Terriers, and they will be massive games, if we can come through them with 7 points, I for one will be delighted, and I'm thoroughly confident that Lee Clark can steer us to the promised land. Until next time.....

Thursday 3 November 2011

Lee Clark stays-fact!!


After countless days of speculation, misleading tweets (some of them mine) and fretting over potential managers, Lee Clark has ended speculation and has committed himself to the club.
"I want to put an end to this speculation - I am not interested in the Leicester vacancy. All I am interested in is moving forward with the job at hand at Huddersfield Town.”
"My sole focus is on taking Huddersfield Town forward and achieving the goals that we are all so desperate to."
Very encouraging stuff coming from our Geordie manager there and it is nice to see that he has committed himself to the foreseeable future. However I think that there are several factors at play with this recent speculation. I’ll start from the beginning, Leicester’s interest, and the media. I think there would have been no interest for Clark had the unbeaten run been sullied with one defeat. Furthermore, the recent media coverage of this feat has raised the profile of Lee Clark and of the club, increasing speculation in the manager and players alike. Now to the media, and their consistent misinterpretation of the facts, I was sickened by the amount of times I saw Lee Clark portrayed as a ‘talented manager working on a shoe-string budget’. A talented manager he may be, but a shoe-string budget he certainly has not had. And there is the crux of the matter, had there been one loss in the past 41 league games, then I’m almost certain there would have been no interest in Clark, and that he would be portrayed rightly, as a decent manager on a learning curve.
However, I think I’ve been far too morbid and cynical in the earlier part of this blog, so I’ll switch to the positive. We’ve got a manager that has rejected the very appealing lure of championship football and a very healthy pay-packet. We’re second in the league, unbeaten since last year and look very well set indeed to gain promotion at the end of the season. After a fantastic end to last season (barring OT) and a good start this season, it is apparent that we’ve got the right man in charge, and a fantastic chance of achieving our goals this season. It’s fantastic to see that the speculation is over and hopefully it won’t have any effect on the players, and we can record a victory against Walsall this weekend.
As for Leicester it looks likely to be a two-horse race between Mark Hughes and Roy Keane, for their sake I hope they choose the former, although I doubt they’ll be entirely happy with anyone other than Martin O’Neill. So fingers crossed for 3 points at the weekend, ‘till next time...

Monday 31 October 2011

3 points at Yeovil as Clark keeps hiush over foxes job


As I write this in a darkened room, banishing the last remnants of an apocalyptic hangover, the question over Clarks future at our club still remains unanswered. With Leicester City prowling around like an urban fox around a dustbin (you see what I did there), there’s only one thing left to do, wait and see.
However on a positive note, we’ve returned from Yeovil with a vital three points, which has managed to keep us in touch of the leaders, and extend our  unbeaten run to 41 matches, yes 41 matches! It would be safe to say that this match was not the best, but we won the match and that’s what champions do.... I hope. As the game reached its end, the cameraman went crazy, and Anton Robinson steered the ball into the glovers net.  My favourite moment of this match however, was seeing the passion exhibited by Lee Clark when we almost conspired to concede, this to me is not the behaviour of a man on his way. Anyway 3 points done, and in the words of Lee Clark ‘job done’.
Now onto the small matter of Lee Clark and Leicester City... Having lived in Leicester for around two years, and been subject to dogs’ abuse for supporting Town, then seeing Peltier leave this summer, it is another reason behind my burning hatred of the foxes. The word on the street, I am led to believe from my fox-loving friends and family, is that Mark Hughes will be their next manager and not our lord and saviour Lee Clark. However it would seem that the word on the street and the word from the press are a different thing altogether.

“It is understood City held off an approach before Huddersfield's weekend match at Yeovil to avoid unsettling Clark.” Leicester Mercury, 31/10/2011

Now this coupled with the ever-shortening odds at the bookies make for startling reading, and as you well know if you’re a regular reader, I tend to infer a lot from what the bookmakers are saying. Also Clarks rather obtuse response to the questions regarding his future has filled me with great doubt regards our chances of keeping him. Unfortunately all we can do now is wait, and hopefully the board will be making contingency plans if the worst were to happen. I’d love to see Clark stay, but if not we have to act swiftly and intelligently and bring in a manager to carry on our promotion hunt. Mistakes cannot be made, ‘till next time...

Monday 24 October 2011

Phil Browns Perma-tan and Jordan Rhodes

 Two weeks exactly since the last Terrier Blog came bulldozing into your computers, and an awful lot has happened with HTAFC since that last blog. In the month so far, our league form reads P 4 W4 F 13 A 2. That is impressive reading, augmented by the fact that we have beaten some pretty decent teams during this mini-run, and that in doing so we have maintained our unbeaten run, which now stands at a staggering 39 games; 3 of Forests record.
Anyway, on to the match down at St James’ Park against an out of form Exeter City, a game which I expected us to win in, but could equally see it causing us a few problems. However two goals either side of half-time, including a superb hat-trick from the talismanic Jordan Rhodes ensured all three points, even Alan Lee scored!!! An emphatic victory for Town which propelled us up to 2nd in the table, and a truly enjoyable weekend all round.  The two recent away victories to Exeter and Brentford have reminded me of Southampton’s form last season, when they simply brushed off sides with ease. Now, I wouldn’t be a Town fan if I was inclined to get so easily carried away, and I am indeed very wary of a catastrophic loss of form. Perhaps a loss of form could be precipitated by the ending of our phenomenal unbeaten record, which I thought may have been in jeopardy against Preston. But then I remembered that they’re under the stewardship of a tactically inept, sickeningly orange C U Next Tuesday, and I was suddenly re-invigorated with confidence! Then on to the match, and an early mistake was pounced upon by who else, but Jordan Rhodes. A second was to follow from the head of our top goal scorer, leading to a flood of #heplayshescores trends on Twitter. After the break it almost seemed inevitable that JR would complete his third hat-trick for club and country in recent work, and that he did, with a calm cool and calculated finish. Although the result was slightly tarnished with a consolation goal from Preston, the points were in the bag, and the result was emphatic. Our recent form, and publicity has sent shockwaves out amongst league 1, and has seen us installed as favourites for the league with many bookies, Paddypower placing us as 2/1 favourites for the championship! The bookies don’t often get it wrong, and I have often used their odds as a barometer of our hopes and ambitions, so let’s hope their right!
Scunthorpe and Yeovil on the cards next for the in-form Terriers, and hopefully we can return from these two games with at least 4 points. The Yeovil game is distinctly winnable, whereas the Scunthorpe game poses much more of a threat. We all know they’re capable of playing very good football, and perhaps later in the season they’ll climb much further up the league, so we’ll have to be at our best. It’s good to see Jordan Rhodes says he’s focusing on the Scunthorpe game more than extending his spectacular goal haul. I for one would love another few hat-tricks from Jordan over the next two games though. ‘Till next time...

Monday 10 October 2011

Battered Bees, buoyant Bantams and 'shakegate'

The unbeaten run continues!!!! In the league... a feat which has got us notable recognition across the footballing world... Well, across some platforms have taken notice, ‘The football ramble’, and the Guardians ‘football weekly’ were just a few of the podcasts covering our unbeaten run. Better still, The Sun lead with a headline in their pullout of, ‘played 36, lost NONE’. Anyway I was mightily pleased to see us dismantle Brentford down at their place, and then return home to edge out Stevenage.
The only downside was that during the week we were beaten by Bradford City, albeit on penalties, but a defeat is a defeat nonetheless. So, onto Griffin Park, a game which I looked on with trepidation, and would definitely have settled for a point beforehand. However that was not the case, as our talisman Rhodes returned, and wreaked havoc on his former club, a fantastic three points and a brilliant performance by the team. To beat Brentford away from home is an achievement, but to come away with a clean sheet and four goals is really impressive. Post match Uwe Rosler had good things to say about us.
“ They  are clever, they know what it takes, and they targeted players, and did their homework."
Hearing this from an opposition manager is encouraging, as it shows we are thoroughly examining the opposition prior to games, and that now we are managing to exploit opponent’s weaknesses. Anyway, following the victory down south, I was in euphoric mood regarding all things Town related, and I’ll be honest, I wrote the Bradford match of as an easy fixture and a guaranteed win. How very wrong I was. We came up against a side playing with a lot of desire and commitment, make no mistake, this game was massive for the Bantams.
"I think it just summed it up for me towards the end of normal time when a shot came in and both Andrew Davies and Guy Branston flung themselves at the ball to block it.
These comments from Phil Parkinson, emphasise the commitment, passion and desire of the Bradford players to get one over on us. They fought for everything, and in the end we cannot begrudge them their victory, however much it pains us to admit it. But that’s it, the JPT is over for another season (hopefully the last), and the Wembley dream is shattered, however it’s not the end of the world. Last season we played around 60 games in all competitions, and hopefully a swift exit from the JPT this time around will aid our push for promotion.
After the midweek derby against Bradford, it was on the grind of the league, and we welcomed Stevenage Borough to the Galpharm. A team not renowned for their passing ability, but more their capacity to win games by any means possible. This threw up a challenge for the squad, as our home form so far this season (and towards the end of last), hasn’t been totally convincing. After Robbo had fired us into a half-time lead, it seemed to feel inevitable that Stevenage would equalise, and I was the picture of rage when Scott Lairds cross-come shot nestled in the bottom corner. The response was not was I was expecting, I’ve grown all too accustomed in recent times to us conceding an equaliser, and then becoming blunt and sterile up front. I’m delighted to say I was wrong, and Super Novak then tapped in the equaliser from close range. Even then we still conspired to nearly f*ck things up, when a raking long ball caused confusion, and culminated in Anthony Kay conceding a penalty. “There we go, we’ve thrown away another f*cking lead at home, whyyyyyyyyyyy!?!”, I found myself saying. However, John Mousinho’s penalty was fired high into orbit, and is probably circling around a Russian space station as we speak. On the face of it, we got a well-earned victory against a tricky side, in reality we scraped past them by the skin of our teeth, but I’ll take it! Then at the final whistle, Lee Clark hurtled over to the Stevenage bench, theatrically rotated his arms, shook Westley’s hand, and then failed to secure a handshake of his assistant. Now this whole business about shaking hands really does my head in, managers should shake each other’s hands, and that’s it in my opinion. There’s no need to shake everyone’s hand, otherwise it would resemble David Cameron shaking hands with the unemployed :p. A melee ensued, and there was lots of ‘evil eyes’ and ‘lingering stares’, but nothing substantial really occurred. Hopefully we can use this whole forgettable issue as some sort of a mobilising force, and perhaps create a siege mentality, that will fire us on to the 100 point marker....
Anyway, a very eventful week or so for Huddersfield Town, a resounding victory away, a nail-biting loss to our rivals, and a win marred by controversy. Oh well, it’s all part and parcel of supporting this team, and I think there will be plenty more twists and turns before the seasons up. Exeter, Preston, Scunthorpe and Yeovil up next, should be interesting if nothing else, till then.

Monday 26 September 2011

Sqaundered oppotunites


Well, well, well, the last tie Terrier Blog came to you, we’d just dispatched of Sheffield United in emphatic style, and surely the good times would continue to roll, right? But in a fashion befitting of Huddersfield Town, we conspired to turn two winning positions into draws. But at least we’re unbeaten, and we’re still in touch, just, with the top of the table.

Anyway onto the game down in Milton Keynes, a game I eagerly anticipated, and because of this, I decided to take my Dad (a spurs fan), along to try and convert him to the religion of HTAFC. But a flowing game, and an advert for league 1 football, it certainly was not. There seemed to be inevitability about the game from the moment Danny Wards thunderous volley crashed off the crossbar and evaded Novak. The first half was possibly the most dominant I have seen us in a long time, however a blunt attack spearheaded by Novak and Lee failed to capitalize on our superiority. The second half came, and we seemed to play with an air of complacency, which was confirmed when the vibrantly ginger Dean Lewington hit home from a corner. Although we huffed and puffed from then on, but for me, we rarely looked like scoring.  However with four minutes remaining, MK Dons seemed to hand us the 3 points on a plate, when Mackenzie took a disliking to Alan Lee, a cardinal sin! Now I must make special mention of what I believe was some excellent refereeing here, all too often we have seen incidents like this go unpunished. Cast your minds back to St James Park in August, when referee Peter Walton inexplicably failed to give Arsenal a penalty when Joey Barton dragged Gervinho up by his head. Anyway, saviour this moment because it’s highly unlikely I’ll be bigging up anymore officials this season.
The penalty was missed, and we failed to get the three points, however 4 points from 2 very difficult fixtures is an admirable return, and in honesty we would have probably settled for that before the games, a thought echoed by Lee Clark. However, it did irk somewhat that we drew a match, which I think we dominated. Oh well, 4 points gained and a fairly routine home game around the corner, things were looking very rosy indeed.
So the game against the O’s seemed to be fairly routine, and things were indeed looking rosy. Jack Hunt scored a screamer, and even the big man Alan Lee got him on the scoresheet, things couldn’t get much sweeter! But, then it happened, boom boom saw red, both literally and metaphorically, and we somehow managed to let a two goal lead against Orient slip for the second time this year. A crushing and horrible feeling descended on every Town fan when Ben Chorley (BEN F*CKING CHORLEY) steered in an equaliser. In my personal opinion, the sending off represents a great deal of indiscipline from Jamie Mccombe, and is even more disappointing considering what happened and Stadium:MK a week prior. Something Lee Clark seems to agree with,
“When you have indiscipline in your group that’s what happens. He has killed us. He will be fined the maximum and I think 100 per cent he will struggle to get his place back in the team now,”
However I think it’s slightly harsh  to lay all the blame at his door for our loss of points, as any decent team with 10 men, a 2 goal advantage and ten minutes remaining, should be able to hold on against the basement boys. But that seems to be the way of our club over recent times. With every dropped point the promotion dream seems to become just that, a dream, but hope springs eternal.

Thursday 15 September 2011

Sean Bean, Paul Heaton, Danny Wilson, your boys took one hell of a beating!

 An ever-growing unbeaten run and an away trip to our table-topping rivals Sheffield United filled me with trepidation. Could this be the Manchester United to our Arsenal? Could the unbeaten run come crashing down around our ears? These questions were answered emphatically by Lee Novak, Oscar Gobern and co. “£28, you’re having a laugh!”, was the sound frequently echoing around Brammall Lane, in between bouts of “United” and “SHIT!”. But I bet all the Town fans that forked out for that trip will consider it 28 British pounds spent very wisely indeed.
Now onto the match itself, as I sat down in my living room and plugged in ‘Town player’, I strangely felt no nerves at all, whether this was down to the 5 pints I had previously consumed, or the strength of our team, we will never know! However as the game went on, and Oggy’s voice pitched and wavered, we grew into the game, and even began to dominate. The goals came thick and fast, first a brace from Novak and then a powerful header from newbie Oscar Gobern. At any other club, we would think that’s it, done and dusted, the game is over. However as we all know, with Huddersfield Town, things are never straight forward, so I sat there nervously for another half, refusing to celebrate three points until the very end of the match. But there were no mess-ups from Town this time, no lapses in concentration, just solid defending and cut-throat attacking, the only thing that was missing was a goal for big Alan!
Although this result was monumental and fantastic, I don’t think we can celebrate it vigorously until we’ve gone down to Milton Keynes and returned unscathed. However important this victory may have been, it will lose significance if we go down to Stadium:MK (eurgh) and lose. This game however, fills me with more confidence than you might think, as I believe if we play 4-5-1, we have the perfect formation to stop MK Dons and beat them. If we do as we did last year, shut them out and hit them on the break, then I think we’ll be on to something, hopefully....
Now, in all the furore of the Sheffield United game, it can nearly be forgotten that we played Tranmere Rovers at the weekend. Who, lest we not forget are always a very stubborn opponent, especially on our own patch. We rode our luck at times, especially with the penalty claim, but we came through with two fantastic strikes from Roberts and Arfield, showing the quality of our squad. If we cast our minds back to last year, then we can remember how many times we had no game-changers on the bench, fast-forward a year though, and the strength of our squad means that, if things aren’t going particularly well, we can always bring on fresh-faces and change a game.
The 2-0 victory as oppose to the feared 0-0 greatly pleased me last weekend, and is further proof of something I have been rambling on about for quite some time. That we have finally learnt to overcome stubborn teams, who come to the Galpharm with one sole aim, to frustrate us. As my twitter followers (of which there are so many) will have seen me say, we should be beating any team with Lucas Akins in it! And we did, which was then augmented by the result on Tuesday night, hopefully we can make it a very successful 7 days, by dispatching Franchise FC down at their place on Saturday.
Anyway that’s all for this week, hope you all enjoy the trip on Saturday, I’ll see you down there!

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Bad defending, but the run continues....

Well after a lack of internet and a stay in the emerald Isle we’re back with this week’s ‘Terrier blog’. A lot has happened since the last blog, the first of which was the Northampton game in the JPT.
One can imagine how foolish I must have felt with 15 minutes or so remaining on the clock and Northampton getting closer and closer to a goal. However all was saved by the hero of the day Lee Novak, whom fired in after fantastic work from Woods and Roberts. So we won the game and my blushes were spared. However it was not an easy game and it was certainly not easy watching. I, as I suspect along with many other Town fans was slightly perturbed at the amount of times that a league 2 side seemed to get at us, and cause us problems.
But as is said seemingly over and over again by ‘qualified’ pundits across the country, ‘a wins a win’, and that’s exactly what we got.
Now onto the game against Oldham, which genuinely worried me on Friday, and worried me even more when Shefki Kuqi dived into the air and plummeted like a stunned Rhino? Thankfully, the comeback was swift and effective, Anthony Kay connecting with a corner (oh the memories) and steering the ball into the Latics goal. ‘Build on this’ I thought, and so it seemed we would as the Oldham goal came under serious pressure from Town. Unfortunately it was a case of ‘same old story’ for Town this season, they were unable to capitalize on their dominance of a game, and were let down AGAIN by defensive frailties. A thought echoed by stand-in captain Anthony Kay.
"The defending wasn't good enough for the first goal and we are all aware of that - we need to go onto the training ground and improve on certain areas."
This would seem glaringly obvious to all involved with Town, and we must hope that the players and staff act it. Now I know we haven’t just travelled to our nearest rivals and shipped 8 goals, but the constant bemoaning of the defending from players and staff reminds me somewhat of the Gunners. Short of bringing in a 6 foot 6 German international, I do not see how we can immediately rectify our defensive problems. However I have more confidence in Lee Clark to sort out our defence than I do in Arsene Wenger to sort out the gunners problems.
In contrast to some fans though, I am not worried about our team, and I think that we will be successful this season. Why? I hear you call in shock and disbelief. Because Mr Clark seems to have a knack of ‘gelling’ players slowly, and I think that once this team has ‘gelled’, then we will go on a similar, if not better run than last season... Fingers crossed!

Anyway the weekend brings the visit of surprise outfit Tranmere Rovers, which will undoubtedly be a difficult game, as I can envisage them coming to park the bus, or even some sort of plane. But if we can break them down, and I think we will, then I suspect we will take all 3 points, and things will once again be rosy in West Yorkshire. Until next week, take care and enjoy the Tranmere game.

Tuesday 30 August 2011

4-5-1, Alan Lee & Cobblers



Well, well, well... Who would have expected that? A 3-0 home win over Wycombe marking a second consecutive Saturday home win, and a brace from the big man himself, Alan, Alan Lee! I, like many of you I was ecstatic when the ball looped in over the Wycombe keeper, and Alan Lee wheeled away in jubilation. What a moment that was for the Town number 19, who then went on to score a second. Had he followed up with a third he would have equalled his goals tally for the whole of last season! The fans were truly fantastic as well throughout the match, and there is no other chant I want to hear reverberating around the Galpharm, more than ‘Alan, Alan Lee’. However I did find it slightly perplexing to hear a small group of fans singing ‘Alan Lee for England’, at the Republic of Ireland international... Here’s what the big man had to say about the fans himself...
“I was bursting with pride when I heard them singing my name and I would like to thank them all for that.”
This could be clearly seen in his post-match celebrations; however the match was, for me about much more than just Alan Lee. I feel as though it marked a new moment for us, an epiphany and perhaps a crucial moment for the rest of the season. We came up against a side playing a very rigid 4-51, with little to no ambition, and yet we won, and scored three goals! This for me was a monumental achievement, as we have so often struggled in the past to break these sorts of teams down. Praise must be given also to Lee Clark, for remaining solid in his beliefs, and making the game-winning substitutions.
The match on the whole was extremely positive, and will no doubt be a day that will live long in the memory of the future England international Alan Lee...oh wait! However I do have one gripe and that is to do with the people that were sat around me. Upon the start of the second-half, I was accosted by a fellow bald gentleman, who sought to bring luck to the team by kissing my head, rather seductively I might add! I was treated to this ritual after every goal, and was left near the end praying we wouldn’t score a fourth! Also, I was unfortunate enough to be sat near another gentleman who seemed to think he was a tactical genius, and revelled in shouting “Blue ball”, and “focus” at Town players in an absurdly high-pitched voice. Oh well, the ups and downs of following Huddersfield Town I suppose! In all seriousness though, the fans in the South stand were a great credit to the club and the result was fantastic.
Now onto tonight’s game against the Cobblers... This is a game I would fully expect us to win, and I expect we will do just that. However I feel that we cannot underestimate Northampton, as we have seen their cup pedigree in recent seasons. This is a perfect opportunity for us to go one better and get to Wembley, a view shared by Huddersfield manager Lee Clark.
“We’ll be fielding a team tomorrow that I believe can win us the tie and go on and get to Wembley and be successful.”
But lest we forget, the last time we heard a similarly bold claim by the manager, it was coming from the lardy mouth of Stan Turnip, and we then went on to lose to Darlington... However I don’t think this will be the case tonight. I think we’ll go with a changed team from the weekend, probably in a 4-51 ish formation, but still a strong-enough team to see of Northampton.
Anyway that’s it from this week’s TerrierBlog, as I’m about to set off to Sixfields now, in the hope of erasing the terrible memory of a late Adebayo Akinfewa equaliser some time ago. Until then, goodbye!

Wednesday 24 August 2011

Welcome to the Terrier blog!!

Hello and welcome all to the inaugaral 'Terrier blog', which will hopefully be the first of many! Through this blog I'll try to sum up the weeks events, in one bitesize and humorous chunk!
The first matter that I feel needs discussing, is the Colchester game that has just gone, now before I start echoing the thoughts of many and bemoaning the defending, I'll just remind you all that we did indeed win the match. Hopefully this match can prove to be the catalyst for our season, and perhaps see us take off on a winning run as oppose to an unbeaten run. However, I think the chances of a 29 match winning run are about as likely as Peter Clarke and Jamie McCombe becoming olympic sprinters! The pleasing aspect, for me from Saturday was the way that we responded in the second-half, this gave me hope for the next few games.
So a 3-2 victory, a shocking miss from the once FA Cup semi-finalist Kayode Odejayi and a brace from Jordan Rhodes, a pretty routine day all round, well done Town.

Now to the matter of last nights match against European giants Cardiff City. I unfortunately decided to opt out of this game, as I'm not enthralled with the idea of watching Town in Europe. What a humongous mistake I thought when I heard Oggy praising the comeback which saw Town come from 2 goals down to lead the sheepsh*ggers 3-2. However, the same old frailties that have plagued this club throughout the years soon returned to rear their ugly heads. Somehow we managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. A 5-3 reversal, almost suicidal defending and an abysmal miss from my favourite joker, Alan Lee, a pretty routine day all round, bloody hell Town!


“Obviously we have got to defend a lot better at times. If you score three away from home you should really be winning the game.

“Having said that, I thought we showed we could match a team like Cardiff, and it is at big grounds and in front of passionate fans that our players should be aiming to play every week.”


Here we have a snippet of the views disembowed by Lee Clark after last nights reversal, the striking thing here is the juxtoposition of his comments. It is obvious that we cannot defend very well at the moment, I as many of you am at a loss to explain this, the only obvious causes it would seem;would be that the whole defense is on LSD, or have been cloned and swapped for pub players .(see the curious case of Alan Lee) . Then in the second half of the quote, Lee goes on to explain that we can compete with teams like Cardiff, which in a funny kind of way gives me more hope for the season.
If we fix our defense, then I honestly feel that we will have a very succesful season, however if we do not, I fear more inconsistency and an upswing in heart-attacks at the Galpharm over the coming months.

Thoughts for last nights game; well done Town good effort, apart from the defense, who deserved to be bludgeoned to death by wild dwarves for their crimes against HTFC, too harsh?

Oh well, another 'oh so nearly' moment for the Terriers, but you know what they say, onwards and upwards....towards Wycombe.

Ands that's that until next week, try and enjoy the Wycombe game.