The Huddersfield Town season preview 2023/24 has fans optimistic but others cautious.
While Neil Warnock came into an ailing club with 15 games to go in the Championship and helped them survive, the 74-year-old has an altogether completely different task on his hands at Huddersfield Town. Different skills are now necessary to oversee a rebuild the Terriers are currently undergoing, so retaining him is a risk.
'Keeper Lee Nicholls may bail out his Terriers, but winning matches with 25 to 30 per cent possession tends not to last for a full season in the Championship.
Huddersfield Town season preview 2023/24, the fan's view: Marcus Middleton
Last season was horrendous until Neil Warnock arrived, worked his magic, and we survived with ease.
The big talking point is whether Warnock can reshape his own squad and continue the top-of-the-table form he achieved at the end of last season over a longer period.
This season will be different because we have a proper manager in place, with players who have bought into his ideas. Plus, we have a guaranteed six points from Leeds to look forward to.
Our key player will be Jack Rudoni. The midfielder prospered under Warnock and, if he can add goals to his game, we should show significant improvement.
Our most underrated player is Matty Pearson. The Keighley Cannavaro is adaptable, dependable, whole-hearted – and a goalscorer.
Look out for Pat Jones, a pacy 20-year-old winger who was starting to find his feet when he got injured.
The opposition player I’d love here is Jamie Vardy, even though it would be 12 years too late. Lee Clark decided against signing him when he was playing in the lower leagues.
The opposition player who grinds my gears is Luke Ayling of Leeds. He looks like a Sunday morning pub player and his hair needs a good wash and cut.
Fans think our owner is going to bring his fresh thinking and American ideas (dollars) to the club after taking over in the summer. Welcome, Kevin Nagle.
The one change I’d make would be for the club to purchase one of the closed pubs near the ground and turn it into a fans’ boozer with memorabilia from the club’s history. Remember, we were the first club to win the top division three times in a row.
The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is that he’s the messiah. The fear is that he may not have the stamina for a full season – he turns 75 in December.
If he left, he should be replaced by another established manager who the players respect, rather than someone like Mark Fotheringham, who talks a good game in a job interview but is plainly out of their depth.
We’ll finish 10th. Some stability would do just nicely.
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