We Seem To Be On Fire, And Long May It Continue — Notes for Huddersfield Friday, 6th Dec 2013 12:00 by HarryFromBath HarryfromBath assesses the mood in the opposition camp ahead of Tuesday's game by delving into their forums. "I’m sure Mark Robins will be keeping the team’s feet on the ground, but this little run has to have built some belief within the team", "He will be keeping the lads grounded and focussed only on Ipswich at the weekend." The Terriers will arrive at Portman Road with their tails up, having secured three victories on the spin, 2-1 wins at Sheffield Wednesday and at home to Burnley, followed by a 1-0 win at Bolton on Tuesday night. The team’s outstanding first half display against Burnley last Saturday was singled out for praise by many fans. "It was an utterly fantastic half. We kept and passed the ball and we moved brilliantly off the ball", "We played such a high tempo against Burnley. The first half was a joy to watch." "In the first half we pressed and closed Bolton down well. We moved it around and kept possession well without looking too threatening. After half-time, we took the game to them more, keeping possession well until Norwood hit a screamer." Mark Robins"It’s still early days, but I think Robins is showing all the signs that he is going to be the best manager we have had at this club for a long, long time", "He’s a highly capable manager with a great future", "I hope he’s given the time and patience he deserves." "Over the course of the season, I have really grown to like and respect Robins. He is intelligent and clear-thinking, and I really respect what he is trying to do with the team", "I think that Robins is one of the best things to happen at this club in many a year." "He has built a team and a style of play which is a match for most this season", "It looks like things are starting to drop into place. It takes time for a manager to impose his style of play on the team. Earlier in the season, when the tempo was slower, Robins was still trying to play a passing game." Passing Football"The 3-5-2 formation is the main reason for the performances in the last two games. We are much more creative. We take the game to the opposition, ease the pressure on the defence and settle into the game better", "We are very good at denying space once we lose the ball." "Robins has stated more than once that he would like to see us move the ball more quickly. Our more effective use of the passing game has been a progression and a positive move forward." "The manner in which the lads receive the ball is one area I have seen a marked improvement in. Robins wants players who are confident in receiving and offloading the ball, and the level of precision in that regard is very good." "We play 3-5-2, and we were tearing Burnley a new one. When we switched to four at the back, we looked vulnerable there while losing our fluidity in midfield", "Switching to 4-5-1 was premature and invited pressure", "We should play our natural game to the final whistle. We have nothing to fear." Defence"The centre-halves neither drop away nor get caught on the halfway line. We are defending as far away from our goal as possible", "Until recently, dropping away and defending the box at every given opportunity had been our biggest failing."
In goal, 23-year-old former youth player Alex Smithies has made over 170 appearances for the Terriers. "Smithies won us this game (against Bolton)", "Smithies is playing so well for us at the moment." He is highly praised in matchday threads, but is something of an unsung hero. Former Southend player and team captain Peter Clarke has been side lined for three months with a knee injury. To replace him, the Terriers have found their own Tommy Smith, a 21-year-old former Manchester City youth player, who has made an impressive start at the right of the back three. "Tommy Smith looks very good and composed", "The lad looks more capable than Clarke of moving the ball forward and passing it around the park with the midfield", "He looks very much a first-teamer. He looks comfortable and confident on the ball. He hardly has put a foot wrong." "I love watching Joel Lynch. He wins every single header and brings the ball forward with stealth and composure", "He is a better footballer than Gerrard, and he has a turn of pace. In terms of his actual defending, Lynch is not better than Gerrard and his errors back that up." The 26-year old former Brighton and Forest defender’s pace "is a great asset. Because he has that, he is always likely to get back and clear up. It might be to do with his concentration, but when he’s off his game, he is really off it." "I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we’re dominating play. Smith and Lynch are able to play forward and leave Gerrard at the back. Previously Lynch was the only one capable of that, and this left a defensive imbalance." Anthony Gerrard"Gerrard has missed four games this season and we have lost three of them. We concede fewer goals and get twice as many points when he plays." The 27-year-old former Cardiff man plays at the heart of the defensive trio. "Gerrard should take more credit for Town being a lot more solid."
"There is a good balance at the heart of the defence, with Gerrard flanked by two more mobile players", "Gerrard is no world beater and is slow, but he’s decent enough at this level for now", "Although Vokes dominated him in the air, he isn’t poor there. Far from it, the previous week he won every header against the Owls, who are arguably the biggest side in the league", "We don’t win much in the air, and it’s not just down to Gerrard." Central Midfield"The midfield three doesn’t just play in a line. We have some depth both going forward and defensively." As has been the case with their defence, much of Town’s recent good form has been down to their finding a good complimentary blend of central midfielders. "The last few games have quite plausibly shown why Sir Alex Ferguson wanted to hang on to Oliver Norwood at Manchester United." The 22-year-old Northern Ireland international scored two well taken long range goals in recent games. "Norwood was in a different class against the Clarets." "Oliver Norwood can make both great and shocking passes. He is good at spotting the opportunity. It opens the opposition up when it works, but his diagonal switches are hit and miss", "His passing tends to be five yards square or back, or a 50 yard diagonal ball with nothing in between." "Norwood’s biggest failing is his lack of movement and support play when Town are attacking. He always plays a yard in front of our centre-backs", "Central midfielders must actually enjoy tackling, and not look to avoid it as Norwood does too often", "I think he is too lightweight and immobile." "Hogg was still charging around like a lunatic in the 95th minute. He was single-handedly chasing Burnley down at one point while the rest of the team retreated", "Jonathan Hogg’s control can be poor, but he puts his foot in and wins the ball back." "We closed Bolton down and Hogg was buzzing", "Hogg does well when he presses up the pitch. It stops us getting too deep." The 24-year-old former Watford and Villa player joined Huddersfield this summer and usually is the most advanced midfielder. "(Against Burnley) Hogg was playing further forward than usual and Clayton was deeper than usual. It was very effective, with Hogg hunting players down and Clayton starting attacking movements from deep inside his own half." Adam Clayton"Clayton had the look of Stephen Gerrard today (against Burnley), wanting the ball and moving to receive it", "Clayton is the player in the middle dominating the game", "Plenty of the football I see is being played through Clayton."
"Clayton’s passing and vision is excellent. We have nobody who can replace him when he is in this form. The movement of Norwood and especially Hogg are very good", "Clayton likes being a bit deeper where he receives the ball more." The 24-year-old ex-Leeds player "is better at retaining possession under pressure and creating time on the ball, whereas Hogg has the engine to do the simple stuff well", "He has come back a different player since being dropped." Huddersfield have a good support cast of midfielders, all of whom have featured to a greater or lesser extent in recent games. Nineteen-year-old youth product Duane Holmes "will commit defenders and look to find space. He can play a more attacking role." "When he has come on from the bench he has looked very good, but he has looked way out of his depth when given a start" "He hardly got a touch against Leeds, and took some naïve positions when defending", "He needs to work on his physique." "Keith Southern came in for the suspended Clayton against Bolton." The 32-year-old former Blackpool player "can pass and keep it simple. He’s very experienced and ideal to replace Clayton", "Keith is better at pressing, as he cannot retain possession and seriously lacks mobility." Twenty-two-year old former Southampton player Oscar Gobern has featured as a substitute in many recent games. "Gobern gives me heart failure every time he gangles towards the ball, falls on his arse and maybe gets a toe-end on it to another Town player, if we are lucky." "I think that Gobern’s gangly frame taints some fans opinions of him. People assume he is uncoordinated and has poor technique because he has legs up to his armpits. I have been impressed by his passing and ball retention, which are key components of Robins’s philosophy." Wide Midfield"Paul Dixon was my man of the match against Burnley", "His use of the ball, movement quality and consistency of delivery were worth the ticket price alone", "I knew that lad could cross a ball", "He is so attack minded for a defender." The 27-year-old former Dundee United wideman "was the key to our shape and performance. He was playing both left flank positions to enable the three in the centre of midfield to boss the game. The engine on the guy is phenomenal." "He has got to be left wing-back when we play with three at the back. "I’m a big fan of Dixon when we have the ball. I just never feel confident in is defending. He has recently looked so slow out of possession late in games, and doesn’t ever consider sprinting back." "A good number of our goals and chances have come from Adam Hammill’s crosses from the right." The 25-year-old former Wolves player carries the ball forward well and gets up the pitch", "The defensive side of Hammills’ game is not his strongest. He needs to work on this." "Jazz Richards has simply not shown enough attacking flair to play as a right wing back in a 3-5-2." The 22-year-old Welsh international has been a fringe player since coming on loan from Swansea this summer. Strikers"Against Wednesday, Paterson and Vaughan chased their back four when they had possession, and this worked well in the first half. The ball ended up going backwards, and they never got the ball to their wider quicker players before we could reset ourselves." "Vaughan works his socks off and takes a lot of pressure off the team." Many supporters are as quick to praise their front men for the work they do chasing down defenders when out of possession. Former ITFC and Bristol City striker Jon Stead "had a run of games on his own up front with Vaughan suspended. He clearly struggled but there’s no need to write him off", "He’s more effective coming off the bench", "He’s very slow now, and was probably not the best re-signing." "Stead may not be the player he once was, but is an intelligent footballer and will outwit some defenders in this division", "The difference between having Stead up there and Vaughan is massive. We aren’t a one man team, but we need that man to being the best out of the other players." "Martin Paterson has not scored as prolifically as Vaughan, but I think he’s played well, and has done well at linking up with Vaughan", "Pato’s problem is that his best position is in the role Vaughan plays." The 26-year-old former Burnley striker is now finding his feet after a quiet start. James Vaughan"Vaughan transforms us from a team that would be in a relegation fight to one capable of matching the best teams at the top", "He was smart against Burnley. He accepted he wasn’t going to win many aerial balls so he tried to win free kicks when going up for the ball instead."
"Vaughan is a born leader and makes up for the absence of Peter Clarke", "Robins’s thoughts on making him captain is to tone down his nature to get too involved, He can be hot-headed", "He shows great passion but he needs to reel it in a bit." "Vaughan has always had a temper. I resigned myself to the fact that not only was he a little injury prone, but he was also likely to miss games through suspension." The former Budgie was sent off in a 2-1 defeat at Leicester in October and many Terriers are nervous about this part of his game. The 25-year old former Norwich striker has scored 10 Championship goals this season. "I believe that Vaughan will play at a higher level than Rhodes and we will see him in the Premier League", "We held out for £8 million for Rhodes which still is daft money." Terriers’ Views on ITFC and the Game"Mick McCarthy sets up teams that are hard to break down, and then builds to give himself attacking options as well. It would be a good away point for me. Maybe Vaughan will be more up for this with his Norwich past", "He missed a late penalty there last time. It is not a happy hunting ground." Most fans would be happy with a draw. "Ipswich have 11 points from 18. Their only loss in the last six was to Leicester. Huddersfield have 12 points from 18, with two of the four wins coming on the road. This has 0-0 written all over it. I would take that result on Saturday." "Ipswich blow hot and cold, but haven’t dominated any opponents this year. Perhaps the best tactic would be to get in their faces straight away", "They have a strong threat from set pieces and we are due to concede from one soon. Saturday will be a test." WebsitesThe most informed message board is Down At The Mac.
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Alex Smithies
