Month: December 2024

As Danny Ward hobbled off the pitch shortly after incurring a freak injury instead of putting Town one up, as perhaps he should, Michael Duff turned, no doubt despairingly, to his bench to decide between ineptitude and frailty.

An unenviable Hobson’s choice for the head coach saw him plump for Freddie Ladapo with Bojan Radulovic still coming back from injury and, to all intents and purposes, he reduced his team to ten men.

The disappointing ultimate result against the bottom team in the league can’t all be placed at the journeyman’s feet as this would suggest he had even the slightest impact on events. He was barely involved throughout his 55 minutes on the pitch.

For all of that time, Town struggled to shake off a lethargy which led to far too many passing errors and poor judgement calls as Burton not only coped with the hosts sporadic attempts to exert superiority but also looked the more coherent side and the more likely to add to their 13th minute opener with the Terriers stuttering against their inevitable low block.

Burton’s goal was symptomatic of Town’s sloppiness with Lonwijk not only losing possession in a poor area but then ambling back with little commitment to prevent a ball in to the box which Webster bundled in scruffily but effectively.

An impatient crowd preemptively judged what would happen next, and from bitter experience. The last time the Brewers were in town, they thwarted their Premier League bound opponents with possibly the most cynical smash and grab performance you are ever likely to see. 

The initial response to going a goal down was positive and had Spencer scored a wholly convertible chance on 20 minutes from a Wiles free kick, nerves and anxiety would have been quelled. Instead, Town floundered and struggled to create anything approaching a dangerous chance in a poor first half.

Far too reliant on centre backs attempting to break lines, the physical and mental tiredness inevitable in a relentless schedule for an injury ravaged squad was all too evident and perhaps exacerbated by the psychological impact of conceding the first goal.

Without trying to labour the point, having an almost entirely superfluous centre forward leading the line didn’t help, but the low quality of most of the play was disappointing and change was demanded.

Sacrificing Lees and employing Turton on the right with Spencer joining Helik in the centre of a back 4, Town looked to speed up their attacking threat and, overall, it worked, once Ladapo was replaced by Radulovic.

However, the visitors should have doubled their advantage and almost certainly secure the points, 5 minutes after the break. Another piece of sloppy work by Lonwijk set the impressive Burrell away down Burton’s right and while he slightly overhit his cross, Orsi should have done better than firing straight at Chapman, who, as he had done against Stockport, made a points saving block.

Following that let off, Town failed to take advantage of a Wiles instigated break as Koroma was set free down the left with a perfect ball. Rather than hit the unmarked Marshall in the box with a first time ball, Koroma took an additional and unnecessary touch, sucking all the momentum out of the move. Eventually, Marshall was unable to connect with the ball in.

It did, however, signal the beginning of an onslaught which culminated in a late, deserved, but not particularly satisfying, equaliser 2 minutes from the end.

Radulovic, to his credit, did make a difference and proved far more effective linking play and did, at least, provide some sort of presence. If this is the faintest of praise, it is because that presence didn’t translate in the penalty area where it counts and a weak header when a chance presented itself exposed the sad truth that he isn’t of the standard required either now or in whatever the future holds.

Under increasingly intense pressure, the Brewers rather scraped the bottom of the barrel with time wasting tactics, but let he who is without sin cast the first stone. 

That pressure was more frantic than measured but the visitors were visibly creaking under the bombardment as corner after corner pinned them back. Only a judicious injury to Crocombe eased the barrage and that respite was short lived.

Though it may not have felt like it at the time, an equaliser looked inevitable and having replaced Spenser with Pearson and pushed Helik forward – a tactic which has been long overdue given the absolute state of Town’s striker options – an excellent Wiles cross was buried by the Pole and the unbeaten run continues.

In and amongst the frenetic concluding third, Duff saw red for aggressively retrieving the ball from the away dugout, which seemed a little harsh, and in injury time, Vancooten was shown a second yellow for a lunge on Radulovic when the referee should have played advantage with Lonwijk clear down the left.

Unable to force a winner, Town took a point from a match they were expected to win and failed to take full advantage of some slip ups above them. They remain more likely to compete in the play offs than secure the first automatic promotion since 1983, but resolving, or even just beginning to resolve the dire problems up front could change that destiny.

Happy New Year.

A misty, atmospheric John Smith’s Stadium saw a disciplined, pragmatic Town side overcome a technically superior Stockport County in a fascinating contest only lacking in goalscoring opportunities.

An extremely fortunate own goal by County’s impressive captain Bate, the least deserving of such a fate in retrospect, after just 45 seconds, informed the rest of the game and the Cheshire outfit’s attractive style was pitted against a home defence which has been the bedrock of the Terriers’ expanding unbeaten run.

Crushing inferior opposition such as Cambridge is fun and a necessary trait in a successful campaign in League One, but you suspect that this infinitely more streaky 3 points will satisfy Duff more. There were periods in this game where Stockport seemed to be finding ways to exploit weakness in their injury ravaged hosts, but Duff kept making tactical changes to thwart them.

The rightly lauded and now recalled Barry was effectively subdued by Town’s man of the match, Spencer, while the immutable Lees, a very strong contender for the accolade, marshalled a defensive performance which restricted the visitors to very few chances. 

Ironically, the nearest the promotion rivals came to an equaliser was when Helik, who remains less than assured this season, sliced an attempted clearance on to the post and was lucky not to gift what would have been a deserved leveller.

Early in the second half, Jacob Chapman thwarted Collar when Stockport capitalised on midfield indecision by Kane and set him free, one on one, with the young Aussie who positioned himself excellently to block to follow up a more routine save made from a Barry effort before the break.

Not long after, another, rather more fortuitous, break was wasted by County but this proved to be the last real threat, if not the end of Town’s anxiety with the visitors continuing to dominate the ball. 

Stockport’s failure to produce more than a weak header at Chapman, which may well have been ruled out for climbing anyway, was as much down to Duff’s increasingly influential tactical tweaks and substitutions as the flawed opposition – make no mistake, it was his victory over Challinor which delivered these 3 points.

It should also be noted that Town should have been awarded a penalty after just 10 minutes when Koroma was pushed over in the box. Yet again, a basic refereeing decision went against Duff’s men though the over theatrical fall slightly mitigated another egregious call.

The extremely hard working Marshall, whose run behind and cross had created the circumstances leading up to the own goal, also flashed a cross towards Ladapo near the end which, characteristically, he couldn’t make contact with. At least it prevented a crowd invasion.

The beleaguered back up striker, who appears to lack even the most basic of attributes, has been so woeful that the crowd has now adopted the old Depoitre song to try and encourage something approaching a performance. Lest we forget, the Belgian scored in a victory over Manchester United and on that famous night at Stamford Bridge, so there may be a touch of irony, which, at least, is better than booing his arrival.

On much brighter notes, Kasumu’s form remains excellent and he had to make up for the subdued efforts of Wiles and Kane either side of him, the defensive substitutions worked very well with Turton and Pearson delivering Duff’s tactical changes seamlessly and Marshall looks back to his energetic best with a lot of headroom for improvement.

There is nothing quite like a home Boxing Day fixture, with the whole day having an air of community and reunion throughout the stands. A loud away support was often challenged by the home fans, and despite the absence of goalmouth excitement, the game kept the crowd interested throughout.

It seems unlikely that Burton will have the equipment to slow Town’s impressive run as they keep pace with the 3 front runners, but there will have been many a gnarly Huddersfield Town fan in attendance yesterday who would scoff at the notion that their team aren’t vulnerable to such a shock. The not so gnarly will likely agree.

However, we can find comfort in the increasingly impressive management of this depleted squad by Duff. 

It has taken a while for the Town support to warm to him and their hesitancy is entirely reasonable given the horrendous managerial appointments littering Town’s recent history, coupled with the ridiculous decisions taken with Neil Warnock. 

Duff has faced continuous challenges in his short tenure. 

A squad infected with loser mentalities, a disastrous transfer window in the summer (not entirely anyone’s fault) which followed awful decision making in the previous one (definitely someone’s fault) leaving him without a functioning forward line and, more recently, an unenviable injury list.

To be still in contention for automatic promotion represents real achievements and it is to be hoped that he is properly supported in the New Year.

A creditable comeback by Town after a quite dreadful first half performance nevertheless failed to banish the doubts which are never too far away from this squad.

An unbeaten run of 10 games, including 7 wins, should be generating far more excitement and praise but supporters remain suspicious of both the overall quality of football being produced and the standard of the competition in League One.

Town lined up with Turton and Ruffles charged with providing width and forward momentum. The good recent form of Turton justified his inclusion, and while Ruffles has rarely excelled in a Town shirt, Headley has gone backwards alarmingly this season and would have been a strange starter.

As a result, however, so easily were they stifled in any attempt to get forward, Town’s shape looked rigid and old fashioned while Lincoln’s comfort in possession saw them dominate the opening half and their passing and movement created enough opportunity to render their 2 goal half time lead a little modest but fully deserved.

Lethargic and wasteful, too many Town players were anonymous at best and negligent at worst. None carried any threat.

Lincoln took the lead 15 minutes in after establishing a control over the game with controlled aggression and a refreshingly positive approach. The goal, a smart header by House from an excellent cross, was at the end of an impressive passage of possession which dragged the hosts around the pitch before creating space down the right to exploit.

10 minutes later, smart interchanges in the box saw Cadamarteri’s shot turned into his own net by Lonwijk for a fully deserved 2 goal lead.

Things didn’t get better against the weirdly garbed visitors, who sported a shiny black effort with the sponsor disguised for some reason, and a single, weak Ward effort was the Terriers’ only notable effort on goal.

A combination of Lincoln’s enterprise, a revert by Duff to his tactical comfort zone and an evident lack of energy produced a stale first half performance which should, perhaps, have been punished more heavily by the Imps.

To his credit, the manager metaphorically held his hands up and replaced the glaringly obvious weaknesses in the team – Turton and Ruffles, who simply didn’t convince as wing backs, to say the least. 

With Pearson succumbing to illness, which explained a baffling and bizarre performance from him, and Lees absent through presumably the same bug, there were some mitigations for Duff’s selections given Headley’s erratic nature and Sorensen’s recent comeback from injury, but the impact of playing unsuitable wing backs was felt throughout the team.

Ward and Koroma were barely involved and ineffective when roused, while Wiles and Kane looked confused when not totally anonymous.

Halftime thankfully arrived and brought to a close one of the worst 45 minutes of the season which, perhaps inevitably, came close on the heels of a wretched display at Bolton – the competition in which they were competing may have lacked importance to many, but that couldn’t hide the paper thin quality of this squad.

Sorensen and Marshall came on to replace Turton and Ruffles, to absolutely nobody’s surprise, and the new shape changed the complexion of the game. In particular, Koroma was free to express himself in his best role on the left and Kane and Wiles finally joined in playing with the impressive Kasumu who had been the sole shining light in that dismal first half.

For their part, Lincoln’s adventurous formation and play inexplicably disappeared, perhaps as a result of Town reducing the arrears very quickly after the break.

The unshackled Karoma took on the visitors’ right side and as they fell away as if taken by complete surprise he dinked a ball into the box which Spencer did very well to steer into the net.

While Town’s performance improved, and ultimately their pressure deserved the equaliser when it came late on, it was hardly a sparkling revival and far too few chances were created given the dominance.

The unfortunate Sorensen had to come off after barely 25 minutes with a recurrence of hamstring trouble, which brought Headley on to the pitch. His first contribution was a stirring run at the Lincoln defence which brought no reward but, sadly, the rest of his performance was not as encouraging, including slipping twice and nearly letting Lincoln in.

Things may have worked out differently if an entirely obvious foul on Wiles in the box had been appropriately punished but a hesitant referee sought confirmation from his assistant, and none came, outrageously. It’s a mere 7 days since another jaw dropping non-decision could have cost us points at Mansfield, with their keeper being reprieved of an automatic red card.

The penalty, assuming we converted it- and it’s a larger assumption than it should be – would have given Town more time in the ascendancy to go and win the game as Lincoln’s players began to visibly fade. 

As it was, the leveller came late and as a result of a kind bounce or two before Marshall finished nicely. It is to be hoped this will give the youngster some confidence to add to his undoubted hard work.

Having already played a part in altering the destiny of the game with their astonishing interpretation of what constitutes a penalty worthy challenge, the officials then proceeded to confirm and rubber stamp their incompetence in the 8 minutes of injury time.

At a corner for Lincoln, who had belatedly decided to take the game to the hosts again, Helik was clearly elbowed in the face by one Lincoln player then abused either verbally or with added moisture by another.

Normally calm and level headed, the Pole reacted furiously to the double assault, and the clueless referee who had missed both incidents very possibly ignored the fact that around half of the injury time had been eaten up without play to blow up and reduce the temperature. He failed in that objective as the furious Town captain railed long and hard after the final whistle and even had to be persuaded to leave the tunnel and return to the dressing room.

Lee Nicholls also got embroiled with a Lincoln player near the dug outs and the return fixture at Sincil Bank on April Fool’s Day will be interesting.

A rescued point and the expanding of the unbeaten league run couldn’t mask some worrying, though far from new, problems. Duff currently doesn’t have the personnel to play his favourite system and it is a concern that he reverted to an overly defensive approach which suited a surprisingly enterprising Lincoln playing 3 forwards.

In his defence, injuries, illness and the inability of some to complete 90 minutes meant the appearance of a player with, apparently, no future at the club and, in Freddie Ladapo, an alleged striker who managed two touches and a throw in during a 25 minute cameo of no discernible value.

It would be churlish not to acknowledge that the first recovery from 2 goals down since 2015, coupled with a gritty display at Field Mill, suggests an improving mentality and we can but hope that ridiculous officiating will even out and that Town will strengthen the obvious weaknesses in January, though it is difficult to attach much conviction to either of those hopes.

Merry Christmas everyone.