Huddersfield Town showing signs of life under Carlos Corberán

When Carlos Corberán was announced as the terriers new manager back in July it was seen as an incredibly risky appointment by new owner of the time, Phil Hodgkinson.

They had just staved off relegation under the guidance of the Cowley brothers and the fanbase were left fuming when the club relieved both Danny & Nicky Cowley of their duties. Just four days later, Leeds United’s assistant manager at the time, Carlos Corberán was given the reigns to the West Yorkshire club.

Corberán struggled to make an immediate impact with Huddersfield Town and subsequently led his team to three successive defeats including a first round loss against lower league opposition Rochdale. The Terriers failed to net in all three of their opening fixtures, whilst conceding five at the other end.

Huddersfield lacked confidence and the team that Corberán had inherited was both depleted with injuries and full of players who were searching for a transfer away from the club or were happy to sit and allow their contracts to run their due course.

Yet, as we head into the International break, Corberan has his Huddersfield side sitting mid-table in 13th in the Championship. The Terriers are showing serious signs of life under their new head coach who seems to have installed a team mentality that is pulling both the club & fans back together as one in these difficult times.

After the disappointing start to the season, Carlos Corberán has managed to turn nine games into 14 points which includes impressive away wins against both Swansea (1-2) & Millwall (0-3) whilst also including an unbeaten stretch of four league games.

Adapting a more fluid style of attacking football has seen the Terriers impress over many critics of both the club and Corberán and it’s easy to see what’s trying to be achieved on the pitch and through training.

The signs of Corberán working underneath managers such as Marcelo Bielsa (Leeds United), Unai Emery (Valencia) & Manuel Pellegrini (Valencia) are starting to become clear as Huddersfield are playing with a clear identity to go out onto the field and win games of football in a way that is extremely pleasing to the eyes. Fluid, flexible and clinical attacking football.

Corberán expects 100% from his players at all times when on the field and that energy and effort is being rewarded in the league table. It’s not all coming together just yet as they have failed to capitalise on leads throughout their opening fixtures but things are certainly improving under the guidance of Corberán. At times it’s like watching the early stages of Bielsa football at Leeds United from a couple of seasons ago and that’s reflected even further with the mouth watering football that’s been on display by Huddersfield Town at times this season.

Not only this, Corberán is managing to get the most out of a group of players who have consistently under-performed under previous managers at Huddersfield Town. The likes of Diakhaby, Hamer & Koroma look like totally different players to the ones that were here at the end of last season. Even Huddersfield Town fans are imagining a life in which Mbenza may reach his potential in the blue & white striped shirt.

With a net spend of £22.68m (Transfermarkt) this season, it’s clear that Corberán hasn’t received the financial backing from the club so far but it cannot be understated how shrewd the signings that Corberán and the club have made. Pipa (£630k), Sarr (Free) & Eiting (Loan) are already regular first team starters that have improved Huddersfield on the field and have immediately bought into the tactics & philosophy of Carlos Corberán.

If this is what Corberán can do with little to no investment, it will be interesting to see if the club backs him further come January if they are in contention of returning to the promised land of the Premier League.

Ultimately, Carlos Corberán has started his tenure positively with Huddersfield Town. They are showing signs of promise of a team that could possibly compete at the business end of the Championship table. This in itself is more than what any of their fans could of hoped for after their disappointing last few seasons.

It remains to be seen if the upturn in results can continue as the Championship is as tough as a league you can find across Europe. However, Carlos Corberán is starting to get through to his players and that could equate to a bright future for the West Yorkshire outfit.

 

Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt

[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”59″ heading=”EPL” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”657″ heading=”Huddersfield Town” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[/columns]