Huddersfield (H) Post Match Thread 3 - 0

[FoxInTheBirstallBox]

18 minutes ago, brucey said:

Silva's highlights from today's game

https://streamable.com/bj4p2

My word he's lovely

[Chocolate Teapot]

1 hour ago, Strokes said:

He is overrated on here, he had a very good game today fair enough and he is a fantastic prospect but let’s not pretend he is anywhere near consistent enough to be considered great yet. His first touch and distribution is still closer to poor than good and he has at times been lazy this season.

He's completely overrated, he was decent today against a one man midfield (Moy) but his passing was poor, 2 or 3 times he got the ball and just gave it backwards when there were better options on and put them in trouble.

 

Has nowhere near the control or the passing to be considered great yet.

Edited 1 January 2018 by Abrasive fox

[Bats8711]

Mahrez was amazing from the jump. He’s my MOTM even with going off early and even without the goal. Only player making things happen first half. 

 

First half was really poor but in retrospect it makes sense with all the changes. Vardy not playing changes everything. If anything it makes the turnaround a good sign - has there been another game since Puel where we played better second half?

 

I do think that the goal changed things.  We were looking better after halftime, but not good. Don’t sleep on Albrighton chasing a lost cause to turn a goal kick into a deep throw in. From there we press and they never get the ball out. 

 

Wes has been nothing but great the whole year for me. Don’t get the “he’s done” talk. Hope he’s not too long out. 

 

Silva was on briefly but he was very noticeable end to end. He’ll score 2 in the cup next weekend.

Edited 1 January 2018 by Bats8711

[CosbehFox]

1 hour ago, AylestoneRaider said:

When we played Hudds under Shakey, we were outplayed and very lucky to grab an away point. I felt at the time that our tactics must be wrong if we are being outplayed by sides with less quality in their team/squad than ours. Similar story at Bournemouth.

 

Hopefully, this result is indicative of the fact that we are now playing a style of football, which gives our players the chance to impose themselves against sides who are not as good as us.

 

I hated the “backs to the wall” football under Shakey and I find us much better to watch when we at least try and get our players on the ball. It won’t always come off; and we might be more exposed at the back, but at least we are trying to do the right things. I’m now fairly optimistic about Puel; even though I was underwhelmed by the appointment.

I think that’s overly harsh and a misplaced comment because the difference between Huddersfield today and Huddersfield earlier this season was night and day. And still for 45 minutes, they were better in possession. 

Edited 1 January 2018 by Cardiff_Fox

[Great Boos Up]

Well getting an early goal last week didn't impress CP. It was almost like he said don't concede but please try not to score in the first half. Then at half time he said do whatever you want lads.

Albrighton; probably the Premier League's most underrated player. Still cant believe he was free.

[CosbehFox]

5 minutes ago, Abrasive fox said:

He's completely overrated, he was decent today against a one man midfield (Moy) but his passing was poor, 2 or 3 times he got the ball and just gave it backwards when there were better options on and put them in trouble.

 

Has nowhere near the control or the passing to be considered great yet.

What do you think of his tackling stats and that he’s judged neutrally good enough to be in Sky’s top 100 PL players of 2017. 

 

For as many over rate him, I can’t help but feel he’s subject to far too much criticism as well. 

[Stan]

10 minutes ago, Abrasive fox said:

He's completely overrated, he was decent today against a one man midfield (Moy) but his passing was poor, 2 or 3 times he got the ball and just gave it backwards when there were better options on and put them in trouble.

 

Has nowhere near the control or the passing to be considered great yet.

He is not completely overrated.

 

Most fans accept he is a work in progress, but my word he is fantastic at tackling, breaking up play and generally hindering the opposition. 

[Chocolate Teapot]

9 minutes ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

What do you think of his tackling stats and that he’s judged neutrally good enough to be in Sky’s top 100 PL players of 2017. 

 

For as many over rate him, I can’t help but feel he’s subject to far too much criticism as well. 

I think it largely depends what you do with the ball when you get it.

 

See what Silva did in the corner today? Maintained control of the ball and won a free kick. Ever seen Ndidi do that? I haven't.

 

He wins tackles but it's rarely cleanly or is he in control of the ball after and he gives away a lot of fouls. Yes hes very good at tackling but that as a stat doesn't really tell you anything IMO.

 

He gets criticism because he's often hailed as the messiah and we paid 16m for him. 

[Chocolate Teapot]

7 minutes ago, Stan said:

He is not completely overrated.

 

Most fans accept he is a work in progress, but my word he is fantastic at tackling, breaking up play and generally hindering the opposition. 

Yeah he is, still think he's got a long way to improve though, and unless he improves his general play on the ball I don't think he'll be considered great.

[AlloverthefloorYesNdidi]

2 minutes ago, Abrasive fox said:

Yeah he is, still think he's got a long way to improve though, and unless he improves his general play on the ball I don't think he'll be considered great.

I think him and Silva could be a ridiculously good CM pairing which will see him flourish even more. He picked up loads when Iborra started playing. If Silva is as good as we expect him to be then Ndidi could benefit massively

[Col city fan]

I am now starting to dread if we ever lose Mahrez. He's absolutely the talisman and our best player by a country mile.

[CosbehFox]

1 minute ago, Abrasive fox said:

I think it largely depends what you do with the ball when you get it.

 

See what Silva did in the corner today? Maintained control of the ball and won a free kick. Ever seen Ndidi do that? I haven't.

 

He wins tackles but it's rarely cleanly or is he in control of the ball after and he gives away a lot of fouls. Yes hes very good at tackling but that as a stat doesn't really tell you anything IMO.

 

He gets criticism because he's often hailed as the messiah and we paid 16m for him. 

Fair enough but I see a 21 year old kid who thrives on confidence. Having someone alongside Silva should help him so much in improving his ball retention.

 

He’s apparently averaging 75% pass completion for season and today he was City’s second highest for completed passes (88%) after Shinji (he also had the second highest touches).

 

Against Liverpool, our second highest pass percentage (87%) and second highest touches.

 

A lot lower against Watford (mid 60’s) but second highest touches again. 

 

Man United - 78% pass completion and most touches. 

 

Im hoping this is the Puel effect on him. 

 

[Babylon]

N'didi is what you expect from 22 year old, hit and miss. He's got some fantastic natural assets, his ball winning is world class, no doubt about it. 

 

Yes he absolutely needs to work on what he does with it afterwards as his use of the ball can be poor, but he's only going to get better.

[Batfink77]

Albrighton you big nosed beauty! That guy is simply superb. Running tackling and balls into the box. Oh and he scores the odd one or two. He's my favourite so there!..

[Carl the Llama]

1 hour ago, brucey said:

Silva's highlights from today's game

https://streamable.com/bj4p2

The cheers every time he touches the ball  

[Gerard]

1 hour ago, brucey said:

Silva's highlights from today's game

https://streamable.com/bj4p2

 

That Kante type tackle on 90 mins 

[Chico1958]

I stopped looking for a stream at half time cos someone reported the game was crap.

 

Sounds like the second half was much better, anyway in my world all's fine

 

10 points from safety, 8th in the league, only 4 points behind Burnley, 3 points above Everton and Silva got on the pitch.

 

Not forgetting Slim scored, yet somehow we still seem to be focusing on the negatives.

 

Let's see where we are after Watford, Everton and Swansea and our massive shock win at Man City   

 

 

Ps: I didn't miss Chelsea out, just don't see us winning that one but I can dream

 

[Babylon]

4 hours ago, Milo said:

 James looked like a bad Andy King, unfortunately. 

Baffling, I don't think King has influenced a game like James did today since about 2010.

[Babylon]

20 minutes ago, Batfink77 said:

Albrighton you big nosed beauty! That guy is simply superb. Running tackling and balls into the box. Oh and he scores the odd one or two. He's my favourite so there!..

You'd win the league with 11 players of his skill and application (not saying which league) 

[st albans fox]

7 minutes ago, Babylon said:

Baffling, I don't think King has influenced a game like James did today since about 2010.

I was also confused by that post - James was great today (but not up against much) 

[Milo]

15 minutes ago, Babylon said:

4 hours ago, Milo said:

 James looked like a bad Andy King, unfortunately. 

Baffling, I don't think King has influenced a game like James did today since about 2010.

Yeah - looks like I'm in the minority here. Lots of posts saying he was excellent. 

 

Didn't see it myself.

 

Happy with the result, which is what matters...onwards and upwards 

 

[jim5000]

4 hours ago, Blue ROI said:

Better for us and himself if there's no pressure for a call up maybe.

 

The obsession over a call up for England could result in a lot more focus and a slump would hit him hard.

 

Cant fault the man that much. Even when things go bad for us he always gives 110% to the cause.

I would say Albrighton has been one of our best ever buys. A free transfer from Villa when we first got promoted and he has been instrumental in our most successful ever period, unfairly overshadowed by the likes of Vardy, Mahrez and Kante

[chris_lcfc_85]

Really struggling to understand some of the negative comments about ndidi. This guy is only 21 and god knows how much work he gets through in every game, superb athlete. A lot to learn still to improve but rarely has a bad game and actually thought he was better on the ball today. 

 

Special mention to matty James as well, I was convinced he was done here after his last injury and puel coming in but played very well today. Yes you can argue that the opposition was hardly the best but even so, looked very fit, composed and made us tick second half. If iborra had of played like him today you'd probably be raving about his performance so think credit where its due 

[Babylon]

10 minutes ago, Milo said:

Yeah - looks like I'm in the minority here. Lots of posts saying he was excellent. 

 

Didn't see it myself.

 

Happy with the result, which is what matters...onwards and upwards 

 

I thought he had a quiet spell after a good start, but honestly thought he used the ball very well and got better and better. Some lovely link up play.

 

Would he struggle against good teams who attack quickly through the middle, probably as he's not up to speed yet and may never be as quick as he used to be around the pitch, but he's a useful player to have about.

[MC Prussian]

First half was a chore. Huddersfield pressed well, limiting us to crossing the halfway line, and we couldn't really penetrate their defense because we managed to give the ball away so easily. I thought the visitors were close to starting to dominate us and was a bit skeptical when Morgan had to be replaced by Dragovic, wondering whether it'd prove to be our weak link in defense. But he was a worthy replacement and did a great job alongside Maguire, whom had a bit of a shocker of a first half with too many silly fouls given away and being caught out of position again, losing battles left and right.

 

James did a wonderful job replacing a rather anonymous King, especially in the first 30 minutes or so, before fading somewhat into obscurity.

 

Huddersfield paid the price for the wasted effort and energy as we entered the second half and Mahrez' early and spectacular goal definitely took the sail out of their wings, we were on top from thereon and never looked like letting that lead slip away.

 

I have been critical of our inability to double a lead, so I'm happy to say today the team showed true class and determination. Lovely through ball by Mahrez - who's my MOTM - to his fellow Algerian Slimani who did a really good job at replacing Vardy, although he also went through the motions in the first half, only to come out more rejuvenated and agile in the second.

 

3-0 is a fair result. Should've probably have Ndidi score before Albrighton finished the game off, but can't complain about that type of performance at the start of the new year, certainly gave me a boost, too. Also great to see Silva finally making his first appearance for his new club after a four-month waiting period.

 

The only sour note is our injury situation with Simpson and now Morgan out, but I'm confident that both Amartey and Dragovic will be able to replace them just fine.

Looking forward to the FA Cup game against Fleetwood, with a Jamie Vardy back in the lineup and ready to make a glorious return to his former footballing home.

 

 

Edited 1 January 2018 by MC Prussian