Friday, 17 November 2017

Should we be impressed by the start Huddersfield have made?

Huddersfield fans will be pleased with gathering 15 points from 11 games in the Premier League. They were written off by many including myself in the summer, not just because they would be new to this level, but because they had only just scraped through the play-offs, by not scoring many goals, had a manager who would be severely tested at the higher level and practically had a new squad with their big summer recruiting.
The Terriers have been running off their leash and are high
up the league, even if they don't travel so well.  
All of that should have been a recipe for a really toxic mix when coming up against the likes of Man Utd and Tottenham Hotspur, etc. But they have even beaten United at the John Smith's stadium and they have been very impressive with their vocal supporters getting right behind David Wagner and his team.

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While 1.3-1.4 points a game would take Huddersfield to a respectable 49-53 points come the end of the season if they can maintain such form, I wonder if we are starting to see a slowdown in their points accumulation? In August they were flying with two wins against Palace and Newcastle and a draw with Southampton. In September though there were defeats to West Ham And Spurs, even if they got draws against Burnley and Leicester, while the Man Utd result stands out in an otherwise barren October. They needed the win against WBA in their last game and hanging on with 10 men was really massive for them. Had they lost that game then they would have been much more apprehensive for their trip to Dean Court.

Still it is an away record that is one of the poorest in the league having amassed three points on the opening day of the season away at Crystal Palace. David Wagner still has not come up with the right ingredients for a more solid team on the road and he will probably need that to ensure Premier League football for the Terriers, as we have seen how close it can get last season with a team like Burnley picking up loads of points at home but virtually nothing in away games.

Eddie Howe will look at Huddersfield's record and will know that they are vulnerable and I expect the Cherries to really try and bombard the opponent's box in the first half hour to see how much pressure they can take. If AFCB can make it an uncomfortable start, we have not see Huddersfield come from behind in too many games.

Huddersfield Away Form
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AFCB Home Form
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1 comment:

  1. You're hardly setting the league on fire yourselves though are you?

    ReplyDelete

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