Huddersfield’s Heartbreak But A Team To Be Proud Of Once Again

This season was never meant to be a promotion push for Huddersfield Town. The goal was to progress, and progress they have.

Prior to the kick-off of the season, the past 48 months for the West Yorkshire outlet haven’t been one of promise. A tale of injuries, poor incomings, necessary outgoings, and a general attempt to steady a ship that was very quickly sinking was the aim.

A club, which upon relegation to the Championship never seemed to pose a threat of being around the promotion picture had seemingly sunk back to its former state, back to relegation battles, and the fairy-tale feel of the Town seemingly sunk back to the depths of the imaginations of those in West Yorkshire.

This season on paper could’ve been another like that. The summer transfer window saw nine new faces into the club, with the return of Jordan Rhodes bringing that number to ten.

The transfer business was often overlooked, but in hindsight could potentially be one of the best Championship transfer windows where no transfer fees have been exchanged, for an incoming permanent signing.

Whilst the club did secure the loan signings of Levi Colwill, Daniel Sinani and the later recalled Mipo Odubeko, the club’s outgoing expenditure was marginal.

It is pivotal to mention that the club approached the window as a rebuild, with nine players also leaving the club, most notably including Juninho Bacuna, Isaac Mbenza, and former club captain Christopher Schindler.

With many expecting a season similar to the past two gone, one of relegation worries, frustration, and disappointment, to say there were little to no expectations on this squad is probably more than fair.

Would this set of players have excelled with the hope of success from the off? Who knows, that being said though they certainly thrived and gelled from the off. The side obviously had its highs and lows, notably the thrashing to Fulham at home and also the rough patch from the end of October to the end of November.

The highs though, have to be said were much higher and much greater than anyone expected, outside of the club and likely inside the club too.

The Terriers went on a 17-game unbeaten streak, before finishing the season on a nine-game unbeaten run, both of which being solely in the league, featuring results such as a 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough at the Riverside and a 2-1 away victory against league Champions Fulham.

The culmination of the season ended in heartbreak for Huddersfield though, a 1-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest at Wembley, which saw the Reds reach the top-flight for the first time this millennium.

The game was not free of controversy with the Terriers arguably denied two penalties, a debate which has not ceased at the time of writing. As of Thursday morning, the club has sent a claim to the PGMOL for an explanation as to why VAR wasn’t consulted, the outcome of which is still up in the air.

At full-time, you could fully see on the pitch what the result meant to the fans, and in the stands, you could see what it meant to the players. Heartbreak at the final hurdle, but it has to be said that it is unlikely that this squad will capitulate as a result.

There will likely be outgoings this summer, with Lewis O’Brien being linked with a move away from HD1 for what feels like the nth successive window in a row.

Yet it has to be said that the side arguably has one of the best foundations to build upon next season, regardless of departures or not.

If the club can keep hold of players such as Lee Nicholls, Sorba Thomas, and Harry Toffolo to name a few, then the foundations are quite strong, with arguably the club needing between five to ten incoming signings, between the loan and permanent markets, something not entirely out of the question.

To further this following the reports regarding Phil Hodgkinson’s financial troubles earlier this season, it is entirely likely that that was the reason why the summer investment was so low.

Thus, implying that there is potential that if the rumoured transferring of the club back to Dean Hoyle this summer goes through smoothly, there may be more investment in the transfer window.

Carlos Corberán has excelled at improving his squad’s ability since his arrival at the club, this is likely due to his prior role with the youth squads at Leeds United. The likes of Josh Koroma and Thomas grew astronomically in confidence and ability, albeit Koroma was unable to hit the same height he may have last season.

Therefore, it isn’t out of the question to state that whatever budget the Spaniard has this season whether that is mainly free transfers or indeed one where money is spent on permanent signings, Corberán can and will improve those players, as he has shown he can in the past few seasons.

The Championship next season is certainly posing to be a difficult division, however, coming off the back of the best second half of the season across any side in the division, losing only twice in 23 games.

It isn’t unlikely that Carlos Corberán’s Terriers could once again be a force to be reckoned with. While the dream of promotion didn’t happen this season. Huddersfield Town fans can be assured that their team, knows what it means.

A team who once again found their Terrier Spirit. A town that once again found its Terrier Spirit. A town that once again believes in, Huddersfield Town. A town, proud of Huddersfield Town.

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