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Why aren't we Huddersfield?

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As I was in Leeds for the Test match this weekend, myself and a couple of friends decided to get tickets for Huddersfield v Southampton in the Premier League on the Saturday afternoon.A few observations:1) The atmosphere was absolutely brilliant. They had a drummer and a couple of guys with megaphones, and the chanting didn''t stop for the entire match. They must have had about 20 different songs, and although there was clearly a ''Barclay'' that made the majority of the noise, you could see people clapping and singing in all stands (although admittedly the much-maligned ''clappers'' were employed).2) The players worked very well as a unit, hunting in packs high up the pitch on occasion, but getting back in position very quickly if the press failed. Communication was excellent, and there seemed to be lots of ''leaders'' on the pitch.3) On several occasions there were two or even three players out on the wings, playing one-twos and/or little triangles to get into space and pull central players out of position. This point and the last point combined fulfil the mantra of making the pitch ''as small as possible when you don''t have the ball, and as big as possible when you do have it''.4) Although perfectly comfortable in possession and content to pass out from the back, there wasn''t an aversion to playing long forward passes from the back - not ''hoofs'', but intelligent balls into space or at least balls floated forward in a way that allows the striker to anticipate the arrival of the ball and protect it. With a quick number 9 such as MouniƩ, this was sometimes reminiscent of the balls that Morgan and Huth would play to Vardy - a useful secondary tactic for relieving pressure and immediately switching the focus of attack.5) In Mooy and Billing, they have an excellent creative/destructive pairing that work extremely well together. When we play 4-1-4-1 Reed looks a bit overwhelmed without enough defensive support, and playing Reed and Tettey as a ''two'' in a 4-2-3-1 would leave us short of creativity. Trying to playing Maddison there is a neat idea, but he doesn''t have the physique or the desire to play this role effectively. I guess Vrancic was intended to fill this role, but he doesn''t look up to it from what I''ve seen so far.Wagner came to Huddersfield with a desire to play attractive football, but he clearly worked out that the idealism of possession football doesn''t work in the Championship without some serious versatility and moderation - and less still in the Premier League, when ceding possession and territory is sometimes necessary in order to compete (a philosophy that Leicester took to its extreme, and achieved astonishing - but unrepeatable - success).Clearly Huddersfield had much lower expectations and are currently ''living the dream'', but whether Farke is the real deal or a busted flush - or, at least, which end of that dichotomy he veers towards - will take more than five league games to ascertain. By all means keep posting the angry rhetoric about what a disgrace this squad/board/management team is, but don''t discount the possibility that the Farke/Webber axis is able to react to its shortcomings and improvise accordingly. Signing Hanley is a positive step in this regard, and if we are able to find a way to rest Husband then I''m sure it would do both him and the team some good for him to be out of the spotlight for a bit.A home game against a Harry Redknapp team next will offer a good opportunity to show that we can be a bit more ''streetwise'', as Harry will no doubt be acutely aware of our soft underbelly.It''s hardly a Parma''s Tactics Masterclass, but I hope it at least provides a springboard for some reasonable discussion.

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Let''s not forget FTW, that this current Huddersfield team has been a work in progress for the past 2 seasons!They were pretty awful in Wagner''s first season there, finishing just 19th and not looking cohesive in the slightest, things finally clicked for them last season, and they''ve built from that and made a good start to what will be a VERY tough season for them in the Prem.We on the other hand, have fans who are already on the backs of Webber, Farke and half the players after a mere FIVE matches (never mind a 2 year progression!), and you wonder why the atmosphere isn''t great either???

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Good post Wolfie. I enjoyed reading that šŸ‘

I don''t think we should copy Huddersfield in anything other than finding a way of playing most suited to the players we have. Anything else would take quite a few transfer Windows.

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Absolutely agree Indy, I know expectations are higher and patience is lower, and to an extent that''s fair enough (although not to the extent that the people who have shat their nappies after five matches should be listened to). But you can''t implement a root-and-branch overhaul with a huge influx of largely untested players and expect it to gel instantly.And Nutty, I agree that we shouldn''t make too many direct comparisons with Huddersfield, but Webber was a constant between the two projects and, more importantly, so was Borussia Dortmund. The club has a distinct footballing philosophy that pervades all youth and reserve teams, and both Wagner and Farke have been indoctrinated in that philosophy. Obviously a degree of individuality is required and desirable in managers, but I can''t imagine someone from the ''Dortmund school'' would be naive enough to steadfastly play exactly the same style and system ''until it works'' (or, more likely, until he gets fired for being unable to adapt).

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The Suffolk socialists are the weakest link.

Apart from McNasty (who to a large extent was forced on them by impending administration in the autumn 2009) the Suffolk socialists have always looked to appoint directorial colleagues or football managers whom they feel comfortable working with rather than who would be the best man or woman for the job.

They had a chance to appoint Bruce or Warnock in 1998, but went for Rioch instead.

Even though it would be the best thing that could happen to the club right now, could you imagine Delia appointing an Allardyce or a Pulis or a Warnock (still going strong)?

The club has a soft underbelly from the top down. If everyone agrees with one another and there are no challengers, it explains why serious defects (no defence) go unnoticed year after year at Board level.

The Yes-Men will not challenge: Doomcaster, Munby, Cullen, Blarneymeister, Rioch, Grant, Roeder, Gunn, Worthy, Adams, Hughton, Neil, Webber-Farke.

And to those on here who have said that Vinny Tan was a no good foreign owner, who''s going to have the last laugh now, eh? In appointing Warnock, it shows it is not so much about the money, but actually having at least two half brain cells to rub together to get to that appointment in the first place. And then rubbing them together again to get Sol Bamba.

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I think that the more pertinent to comparison would be Huddersfield to us 6 years ago. Back then we were a team on the up that were competing well in the top flight, with a squad full of young hungry players and a manger with links to Dortmund. If Huddersfield find themselves where we currently do in 5 or 6 years time, after competing in the top flight for a few years, I can guarantee you that there will be an entirely different atmosphere at the McAlpine (or whatever it''s called nowadays).However, I agree with Indy that 5 games is far too short a time for the new manager to be given. That said if we find ourselves in 19th come the end of the season, that will be completely unacceptable. This season we need to win more games than we lose and a mid-table finish should be the least fans should be accepting. If we see good performances against Birmingham and Burton and, dare I say it, keep a clean sheet (or two) and then show an improvement on last weekend (admittedly not that difficult) when we travel to Bramall Lane then I think the knives will be put away. Any less than 4-6 points from the next three games and I expect the proverbial will hit the fan.

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There are times in football where things just '' click''. The whole Huddersfield fairytale didn''t start off too well and I''m sure most of their fans were scratching their heads at the end of last season. However with no real expectation, the club gathered momentum and the rest is history. We have achieved promotion to the premier league three times and have failed to seize an opportunity to really nail our colours to the premier league mast. Of course no club has a divine right to be there but we''ve had three cracks at it. I would love for this new regime to work and was always going to give it 10 -12 games to see where we were. The signs are pretty abysmal, having shipped 4 at Villa, it doesn''t say a lot about the training, tactics, teamtalks,etc to then concede 4 more in your next away game, especially at millwall. Did the team need this mass overhaul? A couple or three proven defenders and replace Howson and Dorrans.

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[quote user="shaunieboy77"]There are times in football where things just '' click''. The whole Huddersfield fairytale didn''t start off too well and I''m sure most of their fans were scratching their heads at the end of last season. However with no real expectation, the club gathered momentum and the rest is history. We have achieved promotion to the premier league three times and have failed to seize an opportunity to really nail our colours to the premier league mast. Of course no club has a divine right to be there but we''ve had three cracks at it. I would love for this new regime to work and was always going to give it 10 -12 games to see where we were. The signs are pretty abysmal, having shipped 4 at Villa, it doesn''t say a lot about the training, tactics, teamtalks,etc to then concede 4 more in your next away game, especially at millwall. Did the team need this mass overhaul? A couple or three proven defenders and replace Howson and Dorrans.[/quote]I think it was clear that an overhaul was needed - our squad was full of players who had failed in the top flight and were carrying top-flight wages. A root-and-branch overhaul to instil a completely new footballing philosophy was the bravest move the club has made in years, and they''re not going to give up on it easily. Sticking with Hughton, appointing Adams, sticking with Neil, appointing Moxey... Lee Darnbrough... Joe Royle for three weeks... compared to all the turmoil since Lambert left, a bit of patience with this new formula is the best chance of developing a sustainable model for this football club.And for what it''s worth, I am concerned about the majority shareholding being passed down to an inexperienced civil servant with no wealth or experience, but while the Smith dynasty is in charge of the club, this is about the best setup we can hope for.

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[quote user="Iwans Big Toe"]However, I agree with Indy that 5 games is far too short a time for the new manager to be given. That said if we find ourselves in 19th come the end of the season, that will be completely unacceptable. This season we need to win more games than we lose and a mid-table finish should be the least fans should be accepting.[/quote]Got to agree with that as well IBT.We have a better squad than Huddersfield did in Wagner''s first season by quite some way IMHO, and mid-table should be the absolute bare minimum we should accept, despite the intensity and overall impact our restructure is having.But then, that''s one of the key points of the new structure, if after a period of time it appears that Farke can''t do the job required, we look to bring in another coach much like how Soton did moving from Poch, to Koeman, to Puel and now to Pellegrino.

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[quote user="Making Plans"]Simple, despite trying to be Huddersfield we aren''t Huddersfield because lighten never strikes twice[/quote]I don''t know about ''lighten'' MP, but I know that Lightning DOES, and frequently has struck twice, in fact often far more than that in some cases.The WVAH TV tower in St. Albans USA, has been struck no less than FIFTY times in recent years...

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[quote user="Indy_Bones"][quote user="Making Plans"]Simple, despite trying to be Huddersfield we aren''t Huddersfield because lighten never strikes twice[/quote]I don''t know about ''lighten'' MP, but I know that Lightning DOES, and frequently has struck twice, in fact often far more than that in some cases.The WVAH TV tower in St. Albans USA, has been struck no less than FIFTY times in recent years...[/quote]Google Casey Wagner (no relation to David)

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[quote user="nutty nigel"]Good post Wolfie. I enjoyed reading that šŸ‘

I don''t think we should copy Huddersfield in anything other than finding a way of playing most suited to the players we have. Anything else would take quite a few transfer Windows.[/quote][Y] Agreed, nn - that''s why I suggest the 4-4-2 here: [url]http://services.pinkun.com/forums/pinkun-forums/cs/forums/3554594/ShowPost.aspx[/url]I''m not saying it should be permanent, but we need points and performances now, hence the nurturing of player confidence in order to adapt to Farke''s German system of intelligent design.Fannying around with the 4-1-4-1, 3-5-1-1 or Alex Neil''s and Indy''s failed & favourite, 4-3-2-1, are not the way to go right now -- Later, after January, when the correct personnel with the correct mindset come into fruition .

Softly, softly, catchee monkey...

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I''d suggest the squad we have is actually much better suited to 4-2-3-1 or the sort of 3-4-3 that Chelsea play than 4-4-2 to be honest. When Howson and Jacob were here then I could see a 4-4-2 kind of working but not with most of these players.

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[quote user="king canary"]I''d suggest the squad we have is actually much better suited to 4-2-3-1 or the sort of 3-4-3 that Chelsea play than 4-4-2 to be honest. When Howson and Jacob were here then I could see a 4-4-2 kind of working but not with most of these players.[/quote]

It doesn''t overly matter what the system is it''s the approach that''s wrong forget the possession stats play with a bit of pace

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[quote user="king canary"]I''d suggest the squad we have is actually much better suited to 4-2-3-1 or the sort of 3-4-3 that Chelsea play than 4-4-2 to be honest. When Howson and Jacob were here then I could see a 4-4-2 kind of working but not with most of these players.[/quote]If the flat four with out & out wingers and two DM''s isn''t working it''s easy to revert to a diamond midfield with wing-backs and we definitely have the players for that, Kc.

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[quote user="FenwayFrank"]We can''t play 442 now Dorrans has gone, who would play left midfield?[/quote]He was the best left-winger we ever had - made Darren Eadie look like a slouch.       [;)]

                                                                     

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[quote user="FenwayFrank"]Rangers have stupidly been playing him in the centre of midfield, clearly unaware of his best position[/quote][:D][Y]

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