Huddersfield Town - Fixing The Terriers

[TheMaestro]

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Throw it back to just a few months ago and Huddersfield Town were 90 minutes away from Premier League football again. However, a controversial 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in the play-off final, which I'm sure many Huddersfield fans are still bitter about, saw them remain in the Championship division for at least another season. However, as of right now, and the club are at the wrong end of the table. They sit rock bottom of the Championship, having played 20 games, and are now fighting to stay in the division rather than to get out of it.

Despite this complete contrast of fortunes in a short space of time, it has not exactly come as a total shock that it has happened. They sold off two of their best players to Nottingham Forest, with both Harry Toffolo and Lewis O'Brien leaving for Premier League football. The signings they have made have not necessarily been awful, but they could not be called inspirational either. It seems that previous manager Carlos Corberan, who got them all the way to the play-off final, knew exactly what he was doing when he stepped down from his managerial role in the summer.

Simply put, the finances are not in place to sustain promotion challenges, and, as a result, the club has risked being left behind others in the division.

With that said, I've stepped into the role with the aim of fixing just that. There is the potential for this side to be in a better place than they are currently, and, although it will not be easy to restore some of the problems that exist within the club, I'm willing to take on the challenge.​

 

[TheMaestro]

Chapter 2: An Overview

Simply put, the squad has lost a lot of the quality and depth that was available to them last season. It's not too hard to see how they've found themselves in a relegation scrap so far this season in real life.

The board's main vision is to maintain a steady financial status whilst bringing in younger players. It'll be difficult to balance because we do want quality experience to be at the club, whilst also ensuring with have youthful exuberance as well.

The supporters want to see us stay afloat in the Championship this season, which is a reasonable enough goal without being particularly ambitious.

Although I spoke about losing a lot of key players, one who has stuck around is the versatile Sorba Thomas. The Welshman was a key source of goals for the Terriers last campaign, finishing the regular season with 12 assists to his name. His ability to provide and set up chances will be an important fixture in our system.

Jack Rudoni is an extremely bright young prospect who has come in from AFC Wimbledon in the summer. He looks a great player already who has the potential to become even better, being just 21 years of age.

Goalkeeper Lee Nicholls will also be a key member of our squad. He is an accomplished goalkeeper for this level and one of the better ones in the division. His shot stopping ability will be a vital part of our defensive structure.

A wing-play with a back five is not a tactic I'd normally go with. It seems suitable, though, to the personnel we have, and, as a result, I'm willing to give it a go before implementing some of my more regularly used styles should this fail to succeed.​