At the start of the season, Sheffield United named ex-Sheffield Wednesday player and manager, Danny Wilson as the man to try and lead the team back into the Championship. Eyebrows were raised by all supporters, including myself, as other candidates such as Keith Hill and Roberto Di Matteo had been overlooked. Many will remember the protests at the press conference as Wilson was unveiled, something that didn’t present the club in a positive light at the start of the new era, however very few could have anticipated what a change would be made.
For years, Sheffield United have been seen as a team who get the job done by whatever means possible. Encouraged by Neil Warnock, Kevin Blackwell and Micky Adams, Blades teams of old have played the long ball game but to limited success. Last season, only one of four managers tried to pass the ball to create openings and that was short-term boss Gary Speed. That mentality soon changed once he took up the Wales job and was replaced, firstly by John Carver and then Adams. Danny Wilson fitted the criteria of creating a ‘no fear’ attitude towards playing the ball on the floor which was called for by many fans although his lack of promotions and career statistics were worrying. Owner and Chairman Kevin McCabe stuck to his guns and it has so far worked out better than most could have imagined.
The transformation from the first whistle of the campaign has been phenomenal with United gaining plaudits from several opponents and being able to control the game at crucial times. The atmosphere at matches has also been a positive influence with the crowd finally singing Wilson’s name thanks to a comical chant first heard at The Valley a month ago. The recent performances against Wycombe, Huddersfield and Preston in recent weeks have epitomised Wilson’s passing mentality whilst maintaining the never-say-die attitude of teams of old, more than justifying the chants.
Patience was a key word used by Wilson after the Wycombe game when the Blades were victorious 3-0 after it took 66 minutes to eventually break down the visitors defence. If the same game had been played 12 months ago, the crowd would have been complaining and abusing their own team which would result in long balls pumped into the box at the first opportunity rather than calmly looking for openings and keeping the ball. ‘The opposition can’t score if you’re in possession’ seemed to be the overriding thought following the game with United enjoying 70% of the overall possession.
In the following game away at Huddersfield Town, an early goal from Neil Collins put the Blades on the receiving end of what could have been one of their own performances from last season. After surviving a barrage of crosses and long throw-ins in the first half, the second was a much more open game with Kevin McDonald instrumental in central midfield for the Blades. Both Wilson and McCabe deserve credit for the signature of McDonald who he has been a key part in resurrecting the sinking ship and a candidate for best recruitment. Despite having the most clear cut chances, Huddersfield couldn’t break down the defence, especially Maguire, Collins and with ‘keeper Simonsen on top form. Views after the game suggested Huddersfield may have made life easier if the players had taken a bit of time on the ball. This result ultimately cost Lee Clark his job at Huddersfield and the appointment of Simon Grayson could be just what is needed to calm the players and focus them as they push for second place.
The next match was at home to Graeme Westley’s Preston side who, like Huddersfield, offered yet another physical threat. Just before the half-hour mark, in-form Ched Evans struck a weak penalty and Preston suddenly came into the game for the first time and hit back with a goal ten minutes later. The thoughts from the stands could easily have been to expect a spiritless performance from then on, given last season’s performances from similar situations but Danny Wilson has renewed the player’s confidence, meaning that their performances have given them the freedom to push on and score goals. This meant it was no surprise when Evans struck an equaliser within five minutes of going behind and then the winner ten minutes from time. A major blow from the Preston game was the injury sustained by Kevin McDonald which makes him a doubt for the game against Wednesday.
United go in to the derby as the in-form side and arguably the favourites for the game against their cross-city neighbours. Both managers have gone into the game with different attitudes. Danny Wilson has kept his cards close to his chest whilst commenting on his own squad and putting the focus on the fans rather than his own return to Hillsborough. Gary Megson on the other hand has become more and more frustrated with recent results going against them and has succumb to making rash comments about opposition players and budgets as if readying himself to defend any dropped points.
The 127th steel city derby this Sunday will be a tremendous atmosphere, despite it being played in the third tier of English football. The game will be watched by around 45,000 spectators at both Hillsborough and via a beam-back at Bramall Lane. The league positions, the openness in the title run and the build up has led this game as being dubbed the most important game between the two sides since the 1993 FA Cup semi final at Wembley. Anything can happen in games like this and the red and white half of the city will be hoping Danny Wilson’s calming influence can bring at least a point back to S2 following the game. A United victory could be a massive blow to Wednesday’s automatic promotion hopes thanks to the other contender’s games in hand. Alternatively, a victory for the Owls could open the promotion race up further by going just two points behind second placed United. Either way, the supporters should be in for a derby day that will live long in the memory, hopefully for all the right reasons for the Unitedites.
Huddersfield Town have appointed former Blackpool and Leeds United manager Simon Grayson as successor to the sacked Lee Clark. Grayson was dismissed by Leeds chairman Ken Bates on February 1st, and just nineteen days later has moved down the M62 to the Galpharm Stadium. Of course, due to him being a Leeds lad and fan, some Terriers supporters have reservations about him taking over, but I am not one of those fans; I am delighted with the appointment.
For me, there were only two candidates for the job; Grayson, and Sean O’Driscoll. Lots of talk circulated around a return for Neil Warnock, who won promotion via the playoffs in 1995 with Town, but I was uncomfortable with him returning. There is an old adage in football – never go back – and I fear that his reputation among Town fans may have been tarnished somewhat if things had gone badly this time around. Also, he has gone on record saying that he will retire at the end of next season. Hardly a long term appointment!
O’Driscoll was always going to be a tricky appointment, if in fact he was ever on Dean Hoyle’s shortlist in the first place. He is currently employed at Nottingham Forest as a first team coach, and therefore compensation would have to have been paid. The likely outcome, therefore, was to go for an unattached manager. Grayson is definitely the best of those managers. There was a rumour that Phil Brown was going to be given the job, but thankfully our chairman has more sense than that!
Why is Grayson the right man for the job? Simple, really. He has won promotion from League One with both clubs that he has managed. In 2007, his Blackpool side overcame Yeovil Town in the playoff final to gain promotion to the Championship. With Leeds, he went one better and achieved automatic promotion in 2010 after finishing second behind Norwich City. He also achieved a near fifty percent win rate while in charge at Elland Road.
Lee Clark’s dismissal was seen as a shock, as was Grayson’s nearly three weeks earlier. Interestingly, both club statements read very similarly: “With x games still to go, we feel that a new manager will be able to get us promoted.” Blah, blah, blah. On BBC Radio Leeds, Hoyle said the fact that Grayson was a Leeds fan didn’t make any difference and that as soon as he kisses the Town badge during his first game, the fans will take to him!
Yes, he’s a Leeds United fan. Yes, he was Leeds United’s manager until very recently. But none of that matters now. He is now Huddersfield Town’s manager, and all Terrier’s fans everywhere need to get behind him and the team, and let’s all hope he can deliver.
Written by James Bartaby, We Are Going Up’s Huddersfield Town blogger
Huddersfield Town have sacked their manager Lee Clark, along with his entire backroom staff. Academy manager Mark Lillis will take control of the first team until a new manager is appointed. This has led to opinion being divided amongst Terriers fans, and most pundits and observers are condemning Town Chairman Dean Hoyle for the decision. Let’s face it, it’s not as if Town are in crisis. Fourth in the league at the time of the dismissal, and looking good for at least a play-off place.
However, this might be the problem. The play-offs. Clark has led Town to a play-off finish for each of the last two seasons, and then seen his side beaten. Hoyle has made it quite clear that promotion is a must this season, and he has ploughed an awful lot of money in for a League One club. As it stands, after defeat to Sheffield United in Clark’s final match in charge, the play-offs now seem the most likely outcome for Town, and Hoyle must feel that Clark doesn’t have what it takes to get a team promoted this way.
The whole situation is a mess. Reading the comments on Twitter and message boards, the rumours are that Hoyle wasn’t even in the country and Clark got sacked in a thirty-second phone call from a board member. If this is true, it is a little shoddy to say the least. Lee Clark has reportedly turned down job offers from higher division clubs, most notably Leicester City, to stay at Town, and then to be treated like this is going to sting. There are also stories circulating that Clark has been applying for jobs without the club’s knowledge, and that this has angered the board. He has been heavily linked with the vacancy at neighbours Leeds United, and the rumour mill suggests that he was blocked from applying for it. Whatever has happened, and more will no doubt be revealed over the coming days, it would appear that relations between Clark and Hoyle have deteriorated rapidly.
According to the official statement on Huddersfield’s website, Dean Hoyle said the following:
“This was a very difficult decision; one not taken lightly or in response to one result. Concerns have been raised over recent weeks.”
This surely means that the club have someone lined up to take the job? Or at least someone in mind? And if he’s been thinking about it for several weeks, why wait until a fortnight after the winter transfer window has closed to pull the trigger? And why let Clark sign three players during said window?! The good thing is that there is time to get a new man in, as Town don’t have a game until February 25th due to the FA Cup.
So, onto the topic of who will replace Clark as manager of Huddersfield Town. Two former Terriers managers, Steve Bruce and Neil Warnock, have been linked, although neither will get it in my opinion. Simon Grayson, Billy Davies, and Phil Brown are also on the shortlist, according to reports, and Sky Sports are running a story on their website linking MK Dons boss Karl Robinson with the job, but I don’t put much credence in that particular rumour.
Out of those listed, Simon Grayson, would be my first choice. I would ideally like Sean O’Driscoll, but I am not too sure he would leave his relatively new post at Nottingham Forest. However, the lure of another chance as a manager might be too good to turn down should it present itself. Grayson, though, would be favourite for me. Yes, he managed our most hated rivals, but he did a magnificent job at Elland Road, taking the club from League One to the higher echelons of the Championship. He was working in difficult circumstances too, with players being sold out from under him and not being given much money to spend. At a forward thinking club with an ambitious young chairman, he might fulfil his potential.
Imagine the headlines: Huddersfield and Leeds swap managers!
I was initially shocked and saddened by the sacking, but the right appointment would alleviate any disappointment among Terriers fans. Let’s just hope Dean Hoyle has got this decision right and, more importantly, gets the replacement right.
Written by James Bartaby, We Are Going Up’s Huddersfield Town blogger
As we are a few days into 2012, there’s no better time to reflect on the previous year in the Football League. 2011 served up some memorable moments, with unexpected promotions, great relegation escapes, controversies and goals aplenty.
A resurgent East Anglian outfit upset the odds to claim their second promotion in two seasons and top flight football returned to South Wales for the first time in nearly 30 years. A Premier League legend turned up in Wiltshire to begin his managerial career while two former England managers were hired and fired in the East Midlands.
Plenty more took place in 2011 and this week Toppo’s Top Ten takes a look back at some of the most memorable events of the past twelve months in the Football League.
10: Stevenage are promoted again
Stevenage were promoted to the Football League for the first time in their history in 2010 and made a decent start to life in League Two, hovering around mid-table for the first six months of the campaign. In January the club were sat in 18th place but went on a remarkable run of form in February and March, winning nine out of eleven games to propel themselves into the play-off spots. They may have come to the attention of many for their ‘timewasting’ tactics and the hard work put in by the team on the training field, but Graham Westley’s side were on the up.
They finished sixth and defeated Accrington Stanley 3-0 in the play-off semi-finals, to set up a meeting with Torquay United at Old Trafford in the final. Stevenage had the better of the first-half and made their dominance count four minutes from the break as John Mousinho rifled in a shot from the edge of the area after a fine run from midfield. The goal would prove to be the decider and Stevenage saw out the match to secure a famous double promotion into League One, emulating Exeter’s back-to-back promotions from the Conference into the third tier in 2008 and 2009.
9: Crystal Palace shock Manchester United
Having struggled at the wrong end of the Championship table early in 2011, Crystal Palace made a much better start to the 2011-12 season under manager Dougie Freedman, challenging for the play-offs and having a good run in the Carling Cup.
In the quarter-finals on November 30 they travelled to Old Trafford to face Manchester United, with the home side considered big favourites, despite Sir Alex Ferguson fielding some fringe players. After a dull first half, the game sparked into life when Palace midfielder Darren Ambrose thumped a brilliant 35-yard strike into the top corner at the Stretford End. United equalised thanks to Federico Macheda’s penalty but they could not find another goal, so the match went into extra-time.
Eight minutes into extra-time Palace won a free-kick which Ambrose swung into the penalty area, Glenn Murray escaped the attentions of his marker and nodded the ball into the back of Ben Amos’ net to restore Palace’s lead. The Londoners came under pressure in the closing stages of the game but defended resolutely to seal a last-four spot for the first time in ten years.
8: That Clarke-Di Canio bust-up
Former Sheffield Wednesday and West Ham United striker Paolo Di Canio was appointed manager of Swindon Town in May, not long after the club’s relegation into League Two had been confirmed. The Robins got off to an inconsistent start under the Italian, who was known for his short temper and hot-headed moments as a player. At the end of August we saw this side of Di Canio return as he had a furious bust-up with striker Leon Clarke on the touchline at the County Ground after losing to Southampton in the Carling Cup.
Clarke had an argument with one of the club’s fitness coaches before manager Di Canio stepped in. He asked the striker to leave the field but Clarke refused, Di Canio tugged at his shirt which seemed to wind the striker up more. Eventually the pair headed down the tunnel where the confrontation continued and became more heated with the two having to be pulled apart. Clarke had only joined Swindon from QPR 11 days later, and he was soon heading for the exit – farmed out to Chesterfield on loan.
7: Darren Ferguson returns to Peterborough
In January 2011, fourteen months after leaving the club by mutual consent, Darren Ferguson strolled back into London Road to become Peterborough United boss for a second time. He had just been sacked by Preston North End, who were bottom of the Championship – which was where Ferguson took Peterborough from League Two thanks to successive promotions in 2008 and 2009 during his first stint as manager.
Posh were in the play-off mix when he arrived and he eventually guided them into the end-of-season shootout for a place in the Championship. After overcoming MK Dons in the semi-finals they would face Huddersfield Town at Old Trafford on May 29, where Ferguson began his playing career and where his father Sir Alex, is a club legend. Huddersfield were considered favourites having just been pipped to automatic promotion by Southampton but the game was a tight affair until the late stages.
In the 78th minute Peterborough broke the deadlock when Tommy Rowe headed Grant McCann’s free-kick into the back of the net, before striker Craig Mackail-Smith’s 35th goal of a memorable season made it 2-0. Posh sealed the victory five minutes from the end thanks to a great free-kick from McCann to seal promotion back to the Championship and a remarkable comeback for manager Ferguson.
6: Huddersfield’s unbeaten run
In 2011 Huddersfield Town came close to securing a place in the Championship, being beaten to an automatic promotion spot in League One to Southampton, before losing the play-off final to Peterborough United. Lee Clark’s side were tipped to go one better in the 2011-12 season and pushed for the play-offs again from the start as they carried on a long unbeaten run from the previous season.
After losing in the league to Southampton on December 28th 2010, Huddersfield picked up 24 wins and 18 draws from their next 42 league games to equal Nottingham Forest’s Football League unbeaten streak of 42 matches. In their next game at home to Notts County on the 19th of November, Town would make history as they ran out 2-1 winners thanks to a brace from Jordan Rhodes and make it 43 unbeaten.
In this time they had lost matches in the FA Cup, Carling Cup and most notably, in the League One play-offs, so some felt the record should have been ended much sooner, however it was an impressive feat from the Terriers which came to an end with a 2-0 loss away to leaders Charlton Athletic in their next game.
5: Brighton move to their new home
Fourteen long years after leaving the Goldstone Ground and playing at the Withdean Stadium since 1999, Brighton and Hove Albion finally moved to a new stadium of their own, the impressive Falmer Stadium (named the AMEX Stadium due to sponsorship) which was in construction since 2008.
The move coincided with Gus Poyet’s side winning the League One title last season to be promoted to the Championship and the feel good factor was back amongst the Seagulls and their supporters. Their first competitive match at their new ground was a home league fixture against Doncaster Rovers and it would be a memorable afternoon for the home side. The teams took to the field amid a great atmosphere and the sell-out 20.219 crowd waving flags, but it was Doncaster who threatened to spoil Brighton’s afternoon as they took the lead through Billy Sharp.
Brighton tried to find a goal and finally equalised on 83 minutes as Will Buckley, a summer signing from Watford, hit a shot from the egde of the penalty area after Doncaster had failed to clear a free-kick. Injuries meant there were eight minutes of injury time and in the final minute, Buckley converted an excellent pass from Craig Noone to complete a brilliant turnaround and send the home fans into wild celebration.
4: Fans Reunited
Plymouth Argyle began the season in financial turmoil and had just suffered back-to-back relegations from the Championship into League Two. The club were £13 million in debt and placed in Administration. On the pitch the club’s fortunes continued to slide as the Pilgrims sat bottom of the whole Football League after nine games and manager Peter Reid was sacked.
A ‘fans reunited’ day was organised for Plymouth’s home match against Macclesfield Town on September 24th, led by Brighton and Hove Albion fans, hundreds of well-wishers pledged to descend on Home Park in their own teams’ shirts to support Plymouth’s plight. Albion themselves went through a similar situation in 1997 when they were evicted from the Goldstone Ground, docked points and nearly dropped out of the Football League.
Over 6,000 people attended Plymouth’s match with Macclesfield, with fans from clubs all over the country making the long trip South to be at the game. Argyle’s players responded and ran out 2-0 winners to pick up their first win of a difficult season. Two weeks later a second ‘fans reunited’ day was staged on an International weekend to encourage even more fans to support Plymouth, and the Home Park attendance swelled to over 8,000 as the Pilgrims drew 2-2 with Accrington Stanley.
3: Norwich City reach the Premier League
Norwich City’s rise into the Premier League is remarkable. Defeated 7-1 at Carrow Road by Paul Lambert’s Colchester United on the first day of the League One season in 2009, the club dismissed manager Bryan Gunn and appointed Lambert as the new boss. The Scot galvanised the team as they regained their form and went on to win the League One title later that season, immediately bouncing back into the Championship.
Norwich carried on their winning momentum into the second tier and the club were in and around the play-off spots for most of the season. Thanks to the goals of striker Grant Holt the Canaries were very much in the promotion shake-up and moved into the top two, maintaining consistent form in the process – not losing back-to-back matches all season.
On May 2nd the club went into their penultimate match of the campaign away at Portsmouth needing a win to guarantee promotion. The game was a scrappy affair with neither side fashioning many chances, however in the 50th minute they did find the net. David Fox curled a free-kick into the penalty area and Simeon Jackson met it with a close-range header to give the Canaries a priceless lead.
Norwich held on to secure the win and with it a second consecutive promotion into the Premier League as the players ran towards the travelling supporters to celebrate a remarkable triumph. The club became the first since Manchester City in 2000 to win back-to-back promotions into the top flight.
2: Brendan Rodgers takes Swansea City up
Having narrowly missed out on a Championship play-off place the season before, Swansea City appointed former Watford and Reading boss Brendan Rodgers as manager in the wake of Paolo Sousa’s departure for Leicester City. The Swans developed a reputation for playing attractive, attacking football and this would continue under Rodgers. He moved to bring Scott Sinclair to South Wales for £500,000 from former club Chelsea before the season began and he would be one of the club’s key players throughout the campaign.
After a slow start, Swansea picked up form and were soon in the play-off places, moving into the top two on occasion before falling away to allow Norwich to finish second. They eventually finished third to secure a play-off spot and face Nottingham Forest in the semi-finals. After a goalless first leg at the City Ground, Swansea won the return at the Liberty Stadium 3-1 to reach the Wembley final, where they would face Reading for a place in the Premier League.
On May 30 the two sets of fans descended on Wembley to witness what would be a pulsating encounter. Swansea took control of the first half as two goals from Scott Sinclair and a strike from Stephen Dobbie saw the Swans go into the half-time break 3-0 ahead. Reading looked out of it but they pulled a goal back when Joe Allen deflected a header into his own net four minutes after the restart, and eight minutes later the Royals got another when Matt Mills headed home from a corner to put Brian McDermott’s side right back in the contest.
Swansea had to see out Reading pressure as they pressed for an equaliser, being denied by the post and some last-ditch defending from Garry Monk, before they were awarded a penalty with ten minutes to go when Fabio Borini was brought down in the Reading penalty area. Sinclair stepped up and converted the spot-kick to complete his hat-trick and send Swansea on their way to promotion. At the final whistle they returned to the top flight after a 28 year absence and became the first Welsh team to reach the Premier League – quite a feat considering the club won promotion from League Two six years before.
1: Barnet’s great escape
On the final day of the 2010-11 League Two season Barnet and Lincoln City were locked in a battle to remain in the Football League. Lincoln were two points ahead of the Londoners with a home game against Aldershot, while Barnet faced Port Vale at Underhill. Barnet began the season with Mark Stimson as manager but he left with the club bottom at New Year and they turned to former boss Paul Fairclough as caretaker manager.
However after 15 points from a possible 48 the club were staring the Conference in the face and Fairclough left, with another former manager, Martin Allen returning as Bees’ manager on an eight game deal. He gave the side the lift they needed as they won two and drew one of his first three matches in charge, before he shocked everyone by agreeing to join managerless Notts County, just 19 days after his return to Underhill.
Giuliano Grazioli, a Barnet legend and assistant manager to Allen was placed in charge until the end of the season. After a win, a draw and two defeats from his first four games as boss, Barnet went into the final day of the season needing a victory whilst hoping Lincoln lost. Three minutes into the second half, Izale McLeod scored from the penalty spot to give Barnet the lead, but it would be meaningless unless Lincoln conceded against Aldershot.
Midway through the second-half at Sincil Bank Aldershot themselves won and converted a penalty to take the lead, with the news gradually filtering through at Underhill amid chants of “We are staying up!” from the Bees’ supporters. Fifteen minutes later Aldershot doubled their lead and the Barnet fans began cheering once more. Aldershot made it 3-0 with five minutes left, while at Underhill there were six minutes of injury time which only added to the tension, but Barnet held on to survive in the Football League, climb up to 22nd place in the table and condemn Lincoln to non-league football.
At the final whistle the Bees fans poured onto the pitch to celebrate with the players and coaching staff. Barnet had saved themselves by the skin of their teeth.
Written by Steven Toplis, We Are Going Up podcast member and blogger
Tweet Steven at @steven_toplis with your suggestions for Toppo’s Top Tens
As a football fan there is no guarantee of success, you can watch your team for years and only experience very fleeting moments of actual joy and a lot of misery or in many cases just many average mid-table finishes that don’t offer either emotion. You might never see your team pick up a trophy or even reach a final and there is little in football that is guaranteed.
However one thing that every football fan will experience is that every once in a while you will witness a player who is simply a cut above the level you are watching.
At the Galpharm stadium we have had the luck to watch a few of these players in recent seasons after many barren seasons, the glorious skill of Anthony Pilkington, the speed and composure of Lee Peltier and most recently and most consistently: the lethal finishing of Jordan Rhodes.
The one thing that all these players have in common is that they have or will leave Huddersfield to play at a higher level, and the prospect of Rhodes leaving will occupy the thoughts of Huddersfield fans for the month of January.
The club have said they won’t sell, and you have to hope that this isn’t just placating the fans now before selling on the last day of the transfer window. I do have full faith in the Huddersfield board and think they will resist any offers that come their way in January, however; I do fear that they will be delaying the inevitable.
This delay is however essential as Rhodes is vital at the moment, and I would personally love to see him finish what he has started at Huddersfield and finish the season earning the club a promotion that he has worked as hard as anyone to achieve.
From day one Rhodes has been a goal-scorer and a match-winner with the predatory ability to finish the single chance he gets in a game. It became obvious very early on that we had made a bargain purchase when we bought Jordan from Ipswich, a decision that I’m sure Roy Keane and Ipswich fans regret, and within minutes of his debut Rhodes had scored.
This was the first of many, and what became obvious very early was not only was this a player with enormous ability but that he was a hardworking lad with an excellent grounding and superb work ethic. He worked hard for the team, took a physical battering from burly league one defenders, and never once did you hear him complain. This was a young man learning the game the old-fashioned way, and honing his craft as a striker.
After two seasons of goal scoring exploits there was a little talk that Crystal Palace were thinking of a bid for him as he had fallen out of favour a little last season due to Lee Clark choosing to play a lone striker.
However he didn’t leave and all the hard work paid off, always dangerous and scoring goals over the previous seasons, he’d suddenly found a different level.
After a slow start this season where Lee Novak took the headlines with some early goals, Jordan has found his scoring boots to an incredible degree. All of a sudden, he was scoring goals for fun, and he wasn’t just scoring for Town he was banging them in for Scotland under 21’s too, his hot run of form even earned him a call up for the senior squad.
Against Sheffield Wednesday, he was lethal, proving that this isn’t a flash in the pan, he has scored numerous hat-tricks and has seemingly taken every chance that has come his way.
He is arguably the best striker outside the Premier League currently, and although many clubs will try and tempt him this January, it will be of huge benefit to both the player and the club if he stays.
So often players leave a club in haste, choose the wrong move and then suddenly go from being a sought after player to an expensive benchwarmer. Jordan has a great chance now to score 40 goals in a season and also earn a promotion to put on his CV. In a promotion push, a regular goal scorer can make an enormous amount of difference, and so Huddersfield must bend over backwards to keep him happy this month.
The teams who might want him can wait and Huddersfield will not get many better chances to push for promotion with a striker who is the deadliest in the country right now.
The month is going to be an incredibly long one, but Huddersfield hold all the cards and have a truly special talent on their hands, if they hold firm, and do what so many teams have failed to do before them, they might be celebrating hugely come May.
Football fans are a strange bunch, Charlton Athletic fans included. The club are top of the league, five points clear and quietly confident about their promotion chances this season. In public, when goaded, supporters will gloat. It’s a fan’s nature to gloat – and given that Charlton’s followers have had five or six years of underwhelming teams, managers, transfers and most of all performances, I think we’ve earned the right to be a little bit smug at what the team has achieved so far this season. Not that it counts for anything if they tail off and don’t manage to get promoted of course.
I’ve been putting off writing this piece for about six weeks. A minor blip at Stevenage had led to six wins on the bounce and the team playing some fantastic football. Twenty goals scored and three conceded in six games is title form. So it comes as no surprise to the real fans that, I really didn’t want to write a blog on Charlton Athletic’s fantastic start to the season. Given that their next game is against Huddersfield Town – rightly tipped as one of the favourites for promotion and on a record breaking run of form, as a fan I’ll do anything to avoid a change in circumstances that might just lead to a defeat.
However, the powers that be have compelled me to update you all on just how well Charlton are doing. Looking at the season so far, it is both stunning and obvious why Powell has managed to get a new team playing so well together, so quickly. There are five ingredients to Chris Powell’s cauldron of success – in addition to his own charisma:
1: Bring in young, hungry players and ship out the journeymen and deadwood.
2: Supplement this with smatterings of experience, level headedness and non-egos.
3: Get the signings in early – let them bed in.
4: Install a mentality of family – each player will play for the man next to him.
5: Bring back the fun.
It sounds too simple, but perhaps Powell’s fresh take on management has just about brought the art of football management back to its roots. In all honesty it’s too early to tell, but the one thing for sure is that the Addicks are playing better football than anything witnessed under the club’s previous four managers.
If you’re not a Charlton fan, then reading this you may well feel that Powell’s influence is being overstated. It isn’t. You cannot underestimate the difference the man has on the club, the team, and most of all the fans. Having Powell back at Charlton and in charge no less, is like spaghetti and meatballs. It just works.
Whilst it’s fair to attribute a lot of the success so far this season to Powell – and his almost clairvoyant abilities, bringing in left winger Hogan Ephraim a few days before Johnnie Jackson picks up a hamstring injury – credit also has to go to the players. Powell has shown that if they are playing well, they will play. If a player manages to break into the team, they will stay there as long as they deserve a place.
No player has benefited from this more than Andy Hughes. Whilst he may not be the most skilled, there is not a single man on the pitch who works harder. He allows the two full backs Chris Solly and Rhoys Wiggins to push forward more as he’s always there to cover. It is no surprise that, following the introduction of Hughes into the team, Wiggins has got more assists than anyone else in that period.
Add all of that to the threat and power of Yann Kermogant, plus the deadly form of Bradley Wright-Phillips and there is a Championship challenging team. If, however, Charlton go off of the boil and lose against Huddersfield, then please don’t blame me – I wanted to wait until after the game (and the next one!)
Written by Sunny Seabrooke, We Are Going Up’s Charlton Athletic blogger
Over the last few weeks, Huddersfield Town fans have endured media and press reports linking manager Lee Clark with the managerial vacancy at Leicester City. Thankfully, nothing came of it and Clark remains at The Galpharm. However stories are now emerging linking Scottish international striker Jordan Rhodes with a move away from the club. While on one hand it is nice to have other clubs covet Town players and the manager as it shows they are doing something right, it isn’t half annoying!
Lee Clark has recently said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph that he had talks with Leicester City, but opted to stay at Huddersfield as he has unfinished business. He also said that he owed a lot to club owner Dean Hoyle, who could easily have got rid of him after a second failed promotion attempt. Currently, Clark has overseen a phenomenal unbeaten run of forty two regular league games, equalling the great Nottingham Forest side of the late seventies under the legendary Brian Clough. In fact, Clark has delivered a better run, as he has 24 wins and 18 draws, while Forest got 21 wins and 21 draws.
Unbeaten run aside though, it is surprising he was apparently Leicester City’s first choice as Sven’s replacement. He has only been a manager for three years, having been appointed at The Galpharm in December 2008. He has failed to win promotion in his two full seasons in charge and his only real achievement so far is that unbeaten run. Impressive though the run is, does that mean he should be favourite for a club pushing for promotion to the Premier League? Don’t get me wrong, I am a massive Clark fan and hope he stays for years to come, but it did surprise me just how much he was linked with The Foxes.
He definitely made the right decision in terms of his career though. Had he had gone to Leicester and failed to get them promoted, he would undoubtedly have been shown the door, and that could have had a huge detrimental effect on his fledgling managerial career. There is no guarantee that Hoyle will dispense with him if Town don’t achieve promotion.
There is no surprise Jordan Rhodes is being linked with a January move after his recent form and Town fans everywhere will be praying he does not leave. He has recently become a full Scottish international, making his debut as a substitute in their away game to Cyprus last week. He has also become the Under-21′s joint all-time top scorer this season, netting six times.
The big worry about the stories linking Rhodes with a move surround the fee. Certain reports have said he has a release clause in his contract of just £2million. Town have refuted those claims, with Lee Clark telling the Daily Record that amount wouldn’t even buy Rhodes’ socks! It is easy to agree with Clark on that one, Rhodes has to be worth a lot more than that fee, especially if he scores the goals to fire Town into the Championship. Ironically, perhaps both manager and player’s futures at Huddersfield depend on the goals Rhodes scores between now and the end of the season.
Written by James Bartaby, We Are Going Up’s Huddersfield Town blogger
He is Huddersfield Town’s main man, the Terriers’ biggest goal threat who recently notched his 50th goal for the club. Now Jordan Rhodes has announced himself on the international stage with his first goals for the Scotland Under 21′s.. He has now played five times for the U21′s with five goals to his name. All five strikes have come in his last two appearances – a hat-trick in a 5-1 win in Luxembourg and both goals in a 2-2 draw with Austria.
It’s a cracking return for the 21-year-old Oldham born striker and he must now be on the verge of a call up to the full national team. In fact there is a train of thought that if the U21 games had been last week, he could easily have been on the plane to Spain with the senior Scottish team.
It is reward for a superb career at Huddersfield during which time he has scored 51 times in just over two seasons. Lee Clark had chased Rhodes, then at Ipswich Town, throughout summer 2009 before finally persuading Roy Keane to part with the player for the now obligatory “undisclosed fee” and what a signing he has been for the club. With an almost one-in-two strikerate, he is easily the most prolific striker at the club, and one of the most prolific in the Football League.
This season he has scored six times in ten appearances but funnily enough all of them have been braces, against Colchester United and Brentford in League One – plus a double against Cardiff City in the Carling Cup. Rhodes’ first against Brentford was his fiftieth for the club, and came against a team he had a loan spell at from Ipswich in 2009. During his time at Griffin Park, he netted seven goals in fourteen games. Again, an impressive strikerate of one in two.
He is certainly destined to play at a much higher level, and whether that is with Huddersfield Town remains to be seen. If the club don’t get promotion this season it will be extremely hard to keep hold of him and even if they go up, Lee Clark is sure to be fending off potential suitors during the summer. He is a top-quality striker who can definitely rise up the divisions and keep banging the goals in.
As for international honours, he must be in with a great chance of a full Scotland call up sooner rather than later. The current squad has includes Craig Mackail-Smith, a striker who was capped whilst a frequent goalscorer in League One for Peterborough United. Rhodes has to fancy his chances of breaking into the squad in the next couple of years, I just hope he’s a Terrier when he does!
Written by James Bartaby, We Are Going Up’s Huddersfield Town blogger
As an exiled Terrier living in Greater London, I don’t get to too many Town matches, but I did make my seasonal trip to Griffin Park recently to see Lee Clark’s boys dismantle Uwe Rosler’s Brentford, running out comfortable 4-0 winners. This result extended the club’s record unbeaten run to 36 league games. Some fans dispute it because of the playoff final defeat last season, but it doesn’t count as it was a cup game! There were no points on offer, so it can’t be brought into the equation when talking about this feat. Otherwise, you would be able to say that the unbeaten run ended with defeat at Cardiff in the Carling Cup, a competition which is also run by the Football League. Anyway, I digress!
They are ten matches away from going a full season’s worth of league games without losing, a remarkable feat if they pull it off. I want to take a look at the run in more detail and offer up some comparisons between this season and last. In the 36 games, there have been twenty wins and sixteen draws, totalling 76 points taken. Most Town fans have said that the team have drawn too many games during the run and that stat seems to back the claim up. However, if you look at the League One table after 36 games last season, Town had 63 points, some thirteen less than they have taken while on this epic run.
Of course, statistics can be used to prove any point, and I don’t see the world through Blue and White tinted glasses. Town have drawn a lot away from home because in a number of those draws they were one or two goals ahead and ended up throwing the points away. The first game in the run was away to Carlisle United where the Terriers drew 2-2 after being two goals up. It has happened so often, it is starting to become routine!
Comparing the league table after 36 games last season with the current run is somewhat erroneous, as the two overlap, but it was only to serve as an indication. If you look at the tables from this and last season at this point, it makes for interesting reading. Last season after eleven games, Brighton were already top with 22 points, whereas this year Charlton have 27 at the summit. As for Town, this season they currently sit fifth with 21 points from eleven matches, four points and one place better off than last season. Further proof to back up the claim Town have drawn too many games comes thanks to Sheffield Wednesday, who are currently one place and one point above. They have lost three games already this season but are where they are thanks to winning all their home games.
Looking ahead to Huddersfield’s next ten games, what are the chances of maintaining this run? There are only two obvious games where you would maybe expect us them to come unstuck – away games at Charlton Athletic and Sheffield Wednesday and a tricky home match against Preston North End. Of course all games are difficult, but there are home games against Stevenage, Walsall, Notts County and Bournemouth, which are all winnable. Trips to Exeter, Yeovil and Scunthorpe complete the next ten, and if Lee Clark’s men could get seven wins and a draw, they would be right on track.
Last season, Huddersfield accrued 87 points, which would have sealed automatic promotion for each of the seventeen previous seasons, but for Southampton’s excellent form. That same total should be enough to achieve at least second place this time around. Whether Town can reach that target is another matter. I believed at the start of the season that there wasn’t going to be a team that would run away with the league and I stand by that even though Charlton have opened up a five point gap. Instead, there is a lot more strength in depth this year than in previous seasons and at least six clubs in with a genuine shout of automatic promotion, funnily enough they are all in the top six already. It could go right to the final day of the season.
As for Huddersfield Town, most fans expect this to be Lee Clark’s last attempt at promotion before chairman Dean Hoyle decides he has to try something new. Clark has done well, improving the club’s position each season, but two successive play-off heartbreaks have piled the pressure on this season. Whether he and his team can finally deliver on their potential remains to be seen.
Written by James Bartaby, We Are Going Up’s Huddersfield Town blogger
At six minutes past three on Saturday Boundary Park witnessed the infamous Shefki Kuqi ‘swallow dive’ goal celebration for what will hopefully be the first of many times. Although his early header was not enough to win the game, it did go towards securing a very respectable draw with Trans Pennine rivals Huddersfield Town, who extended their unbeaten league run (minus the play-off final) to an impressive 31 games dating back to December last year. The Latics had been at something of a low ebb in the past week, the 4-1 hammering at Colchester last Saturday taking the wind out of the sails of the club’s recent resurgence. However the late arrival of Kuqi on deadline day has caught the imagination of the Boundary Park faithful.
Kuqi’s arrival is certainly something of a coup. The experienced front man was plying his trade in the Premier League with Newcastle United last season, after previously speaking to Dickov about a move to Oldham during the January transfer window. When the Toon’s interest became clear Kuqi gave Dickov his word that should he later drop into the lower divisions Boundary Park would be his first port of call. He proved true to his word as despite better offers from Championship and League One clubs, he joined up with his old Blackburn team mate to try to provide the firepower that has been sorely missed in Oldham since the departure of Pawel Abbott at the end of the 2009/10 season.
It is not just goals that Kuqi will bring to the club. He is a respected professional who is willing to give all he can to the game. Despite having no club Kuqi has done a full pre-season at former club Crystal Palace and, upon confirming his move to Oldham on Wednesday evening, he immediately set off up north, driving through the night in order to train on Thursday morning ahead of Saturday’s game. It is this professionalism that Dickov hopes will rub off on his young squad, who have until now been lacking a more experienced figure to look up to.
It is the forward line that one hopes Kuqi can contribute to most. The young strikers that have started the season as the first choice pairing, Reuben Reid and Matt Smith, are both lads of a similar build to Kuqi who will surely benefit from training with someone who can pass on the dark arts of the bustling centre forward.
The next challenge for Dickov’s men is the visit of Stevenage to Boundary Park for the inaugural meeting of the two clubs. In their adopted role of League One gate-keeper Latics have an impressive history of acting the jolly hostess; Yeovil Town, Rushden & Dagenham all leaving Boundary Park with points on their first visit in recent years.
With this idiosyncrasy discounted however, Latics must surely be confident of a win as Dickov’s team gradually takes shape. Under his stewardship chances have always been created, so with Kuqi now on board some of those chances should lead to goals. The defence, having looked shaky during the first few games, also now appears to have settled, with summer signing Zander Diamond leading from the back having taken the captaincy in the absence of Dean Furman. The midfield is the main unknown for now, with loan signing Tom Adeyemi looking to make Furman’s position his own. Having performed solidly against Huddersfield on Saturday he will be looking to grow in influence over the coming weeks as Latics face clubs expected to occupy a similar position to themselves come the end of the season.
Written by Christopher Platt, We Are Going Up’s Oldham Athletic Blogger
