The Scout Report: Huddersfield Town
Newcastle United approach their first home fixture of the season on the back of a 1-0 opening day defeat at Fulham. Their opponents this weekend, Huddersfield Town, have already gained three points courtesy of a late 2-1 victory over Brentford at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Huddersfield Town – A Factfile
Founded : 1908 (108 years ago)
Nickname : The Terriers
Stadium : John Smith’s Stadium – 24,500 capacity
Head Coach : David Wagner
2015-16 : Championship, 19th
Major Honours : First Division (1923-24, 1924-25, 1925-26)
FA Cup (1922)
Nickname : The Terriers
Stadium : John Smith’s Stadium – 24,500 capacity
Head Coach : David Wagner
2015-16 : Championship, 19th
Major Honours : First Division (1923-24, 1924-25, 1925-26)
FA Cup (1922)
2016-17 Scout Report
Notable Signings
– Chris Lowe – LB – Former Borussia Dortmund fringe player before going on to make over 100 appearances for German 2.Bundesliga side 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
– Christopher Schindler – CB – Club record signing at £1.8m after coming through the youth ranks at 1860 Munich where he made over 150 league appearances in the centre of defence. Standing at 6ft 2in, the former Germany U21 international is an imposing figure.
– Rajiv van La Parra – RW – Endured mixed spells in England at Wolves then on loan at Brighton and Huddersfield before signing permanently for The Terriers this summer. Explosive winger with pace to threaten in counter-attacking moves.
– Danny Ward (loan) – GK – 23-year old Welshman with not a great deal of first team experience, having only made 29 senior league appearances over a number of loan spells and just two at parent club Liverpool. However, he did feature at Euro 2016 for Wales in their opening victory against Slovakia.
– Kasey Palmer (loan) – AM – Scoring Huddersfield’s winning goal with only his second touch in professional football was a good way to introduce himself to the North Stand Loyal. Palmer was a key player in Chelsea’s FA Youth Cup, UEFA Youth League and U21 Premier League triumphs over the past number of seasons, as well as competing in England U21’s Toulon Tournament victory this summer.
Notable Departures
– Joel Lynch – CB – Experienced centre-back and Huddersfield stalwart since 2012, Lynch departed the John Smith’s Stadium this summer to Championship rivals QPR in a deal believed to total around £1.5m. Lynch and current club captain Mark Hudson had forged a terrific partnership in the centre of defence over the past few seasons, therefore losing such an integral part of the defence means that Huddersfield’s German additions must step up to the plate.
– Jamie Paterson – CF – English forward Paterson left Huddersfield at the end of the season following the expiry of his loan deal. While at the John Smith’s Stadium, Paterson scored on 8 occasions during 36 outings for the club, and will be a considerable miss in attack after striking up an integral partnership with 2015-16 top scorer Nahki Wells in his 22 league starts.
– Emyr Huws – CM – Another loanee returning to their parent club was Welsh youngster Emyr Huws who featured in the vast majority of Huddersfield’s league games last season, pitching in with 5 league goals from the centre of midfield. Filling the void left by such an athletic player will most likely fall upon the head of Aaron Mooy.
Key Players
– Elias Kachunga (loan) – ST – Slight but powerful forward on loan from Bundesliga team FC Ingolstadt 04. Kachunga hit the ground running by scoring the opening goal for Huddersfield on his debut against Brentford last weekend, before adding to his tally with a goal in their cup defeat during midweek.
– Aaron Mooy (loan) – CM – Highly rated Australian international on loan from Manchester City, signed after an impressive number of seasons at Melbourne City in the Australian A-League. Adept at scoring goals and surging forward from a central midfield role.
– Mark Hudson (C) – CB – Club Captain Hudson is an experienced central defender and at 34 years of age, has seen his fair share of league football, including two seasons in the Premier League with Crystal Palace and Cardiff City. Hudson has been a mainstay in the heart of Huddersfield’s defence over the past two seasons and marshals the back four with vigour and using his leadership qualities.
2016-17 Results (to date)
Huddersfield Town 2-1 Brentford – 6/8/16 – EFL Championship Gameweek 1
Shrewsbury 2-1 Huddersfield Town – 9/8/16 – EFL Cup Round 1
Top Scorer (all competitions) – Elias Kachunga (2)
Head Coach: David Wagner
44-year old German head coach David Wagner’s first foray into football management came with Huddersfield Town last November, taking over the reigns of a club battling relegation.
Six months laterHuddersfield only retained their Championship status by 11 points, finishing in 19th place, however that was achieved with a squad Wagner inherited from previous boss Chris Powell. During the off-season Wagner has added a whole host of new faces, many of whom he has came across previously in his capacity as Borussia Dortmund youth team manager where he spent almost five years under ‘gegenpressing’ disciple and current Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.
Wagner is building a squad which is very European and progressive by Championship standards, which could either backfire with the strains of the 46-game schedule getting the better of his young team, or pay dividends in Huddersfield Town finishing higher up in the table than previous years of battling relegation and dismal displays.
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