Norwood Joins Huddersfield

Huddersfield Town announce their third signing this afternoon with a deal negotiated with Manchester United for youngster Oliver Norwood. The terriers had to fight off tough competition from Championship rivals Barnsley to get the midfielder's signature.

Oliver Norwood With The New
Huddersfield Town Home Shirt

Norwood has enjoyed spells at Carlisle, Scunthorpe & Coventry and although he never made an appearance for Manchester United, his experience of Championship football will be a welcome addition to the Town squad. Simon Grayson gave his opinion on the midfielder to the official Town website this afternoon;

"I am delighted to have secured the signing of Oliver - he is a brilliant footballer and someone that I believe will do well for the football club. He is an excellent passer of the ball from the centre of the park and shows good composure on it - he will add a different dimension to our midfield. He is a young, full international who is full of desire and has excellent potential."

"He also knows Glynn well from when he was a part the Northern Ireland international coaching team. Oliver turned down a number of other clubs to be a part of our team and with the Championship experience that he will bring; I believe he will be a key player for us. Manchester United offered him a new deal, but he wanted to leave to pursue his career, which says a lot about him."

Norwood spoke about his very first move away from Manchester United and athough it was always his dream to play for the red giants, he is more than happy to start making a career for himself in the blue & white shirt;

"I am over the moon to have become a Huddersfield Town player. I met with the Manager and after speaking to him and the Chairman there was only ever one Club I was going to join. His ambition for the Club matches where I want to take my career and I see this move as the best step for me."

"I had been at Manchester United from the age of seven and I love the Club - it was always my dream to play for United - but there comes a time when you have to be realistic. I want to make a career for myself; I don't want to be constantly going out on loan. I want to settle down at a Club. I think we can have a real go at the Championship this season and, you never know, maybe follow in the footsteps of Norwich and Southampton. Looking at the squad and who the Manager wants to recruit there is no reason why we can't be challenging for promotion."

"I can't wait to get back into training - I was hoping it would start sooner! I was a little bit gutted that I have to wait until the 12 July before I can get going. I am looking forward to meeting the lads - I have heard that they are a great group to be a part of. My first aim now is to come back fit for pre-season, get in the Manager's plans and be in the team from the start of the season. I just want to play football; that was the main reason behind leaving United and I will do everything I can to be a success and help the Club achieve its aims."

New Contract For Tom Clarke

Tom Clarke has today signed a new contract that shall keep him at the club until the end of 2013. Clarke can play in a variety of positions and has been a regular pick for Simon Grayson since he was appointed as manager of the terriers. He has featured 11 times under Grayson which shows that he is favoured by the Town boss who had this to say about Tom;

"Tom is a good member of our playing squad who push hard for a place as we look to make the step up to the Championship. His ability to play in a variety of positions, to a high standard, is invaluable. He is a local lad and someone that has done his Club proud. Myself and the coaching staff were very impressed by his performances during the latter stages of last season."

Over the past seven years, Tom Clarke has made over 100 appearances for the club and although his brother didn't get offered a new contract this year, Clarke was more than delighted to sign once again for the club;

"It is a great to have signed the contract and I am glad to have got everything sorted quickly. I enjoyed a good end to last season and as ever I will train hard during pre-season to try and force my way into the team. Simon will bring players into the squad, but that happens every season and it is good for the Club and the players as it creates competition for places."

"It is going to be a tough season and we need two or three players in each position to make sure that everyone is fighting and playing at the top of their game."




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Rearranged Fixtures

The fixture list today took a revamped look for Huddersfield Town as quite a few of the ties got new days/times to help the police and other parties involved.

Here is a list of the rearranged fixtures that were announced today;

Sheffield Wednesday (A) - Wednesday 19th September (7:45pm)

Leeds United (H) - Saturday 1st December (12:30pm)

Sheffield Wednesday (H) - Saturday 29th December (12:30pm)

Hull City (H) - Saturday 30th March (12:30pm)

Millwall (H) - Saturday 20th April (12:30pm)

That your lot for the time being but all matches have the possibility to be altered at any time. A lot of early matches for Yorkshire derby's to avoid trouble between both sets of fans in the list.




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Jordan Rhodes Saga

The scottish phenomenon, the 40 goal hitman, the prolific goalscorer & one of the most humble players to ever be in a football shirt. We are of course talking about Huddersfield Town striker Jordan Rhodes.
His future is very much still in the balance and where he shall be come the beginning of next season is undecided. Rhodes has always been linked with various other football clubs since joining the terriers and impressing scouts from numerous other clubs with his movement and striker attributes. Yet the season just gone has seen a rise in these clubs interested and rightly so as Rhodes bagged 40 goals in just 45 appearances in all competitions.
Six months ago the Jordan Rhodes saga began with the opening of the January transfer window. Huddersfield Town were flying high up near the top of League One at the time under Lee Clark and the thought of promotion after a disappointing end to last season was on the minds of all the players, including Rhodes. West Ham showed the most interest in January and reports indicated that they had made numerous offers in the region of £4-5 millions pounds and that all of these offers were snubbed by chairman of Huddersfield Town, Dean Hoyle. As speculation continued to circulate linking Rhodes with clubs such as Tottenham, Everton, Villa & West Ham it seemed like Rhodes would no longer be a terrier to all those football fans looking in from the outside. However, those close to Huddersfield Town, such as the fans, all understand the togetherness of the entire squad along with how close Dean Hoyle is to the players and as the January transfer window came to a close, Jordan Rhodes remained a Town player until the end of the season.
No large bids from higher positioned clubs could persuade Dean Hoyle to sell his top scorer but as results failed to impress the chairman and the board of Huddersfield Town, the brave decision to sack Lee Clark was made as the terriers lost their grip on automatic promotion.
As the season drew to a close under new manager Simon Grayson it started to look very unlikely that Town would achieve promotion but that all changed when Jordan Rhodes fired home in the first play off semi final leg away at MK Dons. Rhodes never struggled with the change of managers and seemed to score just as much under Grayson as what he did under Clark. His goal tally was then taken to 40 as he sealed a Wembley date for Huddersfield Town against Sheffield United.
A confident penalty kick from Rhodes in the final was all that was needed from the Scottish international as Huddersfield Town finally managed to gain promotion after 22 penalty kicks and 120 minutes of football. With promotion achieved, the price tag on Rhodes' head has undoubtedly been raised by Huddersfield Town who now hold a place in the second tier of English football.
Rumours have been recently emerging that a near enough done deal has been made with Reading regarding Rhodes which shall see Morrison exchanged along with a lump sum of money and a possibility of another outfield player. In addition to this, Swansea have been thought to be after Jordan's signature and rumours linked him to the club in a deal supposed to be around the £2-4m mark. West Ham are also still very much in the race for the striker that they wanted to sign way back in January and if rumours are to be believed, the premiership new boys have once again made multiple bids for the striker.
As the start of the new season edges closer with every day that goes by, Rhodes remains a Town player but for how long? Dean Hoyle and Nigel Clibbens have both reiterated that they shall only sell if the right offer is made but what's to say a deal has not already been arranged behind closed doors? The saga continues but no matter what happens, Rhodes will always be a legend at The Galpharm and one of the hottest young prospects that the club has ever had in its history.


Update 2/8/12
The deal between Reading and Jordan Rhodes seems to have fallen through as both clubs could not agree on a deal which could of seen Sean Morrison coming to the John Smith's Stadium as Rhodes went the other way. New rumors have just recently surfaced claiming that Huddersfield Town have accepted an offer from fellow Championship club Blackburn Rovers for Jordan Rhodes. The fee is accordingly in the region of £6m and this has indeed met the valuation that the terriers had put on the Scottish striker. If the rumors are to be believed (as reported by Daily Mail) then Blackburn Rovers have been allowed to speak with the striker in order to negotiate a contract that will see him head to Ewood Park.

Update 10/8/12
Blackburn Rovers went public with their bid for Jordan Rhodes before it was rejected by Dean Hoyle at a reported £2m. Blackburn came back with a fresh bid for England's top goalscorer a few days later but today that has been reported to have been rejected by Sky Sports who understands the bid was still around the £2m mark.

Update 9/9/12
Jordan Rhodes has now officially left Huddersfield Town for a record fee of £8m. The striker left for the Lancashire club on the 30th August and has since appeared for Rovers in his debut against Leeds United which ended 3-3. Huddersfield Town were keen to state that once the player asked to speak to the club then the deal was on. The terriers are yet to invest the £8m into new players due to the transfer window closing.

Paul Dixon Snubs Others To Join Town

Huddersfield Town have today announced their second signing of the summer in the form of left back Paul Dixon. He joins on a free after his contract expired at SPL team Dundee United. Dixon has turned down a few other Championship clubs to become a terrier for next season and this is what he had to say;

"When I entered the final year of my contract at Dundee United I thought to myself that this would be my fourth season at the Club and that it was probably time to move on. It has always been an aspiration of mine to test myself in English football and I believe that the Championship, with Huddersfield Town, is the next step on the ladder. I believe I have made a good move."

"I think it is a step-up from football in Scotland and I believe it is the next logical step for my career. I am really looking forward to starting this new challenge - playing against completely different teams and players in different stadiums week in week out."

Simon Grayson was also delighted with the signing of Dixon and admitted he had to fight hard to get the full backs signature;

"Paul turned down a number of other Championship clubs to join us, which I believe speaks volumes about the football club. He is a left-back with lots of games behind him for both Dundee and Dundee United who also has international experience with Scotland. He will be a good addition to our squad for the upcoming season and many beyond."

"On the transfer front matters are progressing nicely; talks are on-going with a number of targets so we are pleased and will continue to work hard to secure them."



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Scannell Happy To Join Terriers

New Huddersfield Town winger/attacker Sean Scannell broke his silence after signing for the terriers and becoming their first transfer in since gaining promotion into the Championship. Scannell joins from Crystal Palace where he was brought through their academy and their reserves until he broke into the first squad a number of years ago.

Scannell spoke to the official club website about his very first transfer from his hometown club. This is what he had to say;

"I am more than happy to have got the deal sorted. Friday was an extremely long day, but I am happy to be here and looking forward to getting started."

"I knew that Huddersfield had looked at me before and they have done really well over the last couple of seasons - and finally got their little bit of luck in the Play-Off Final. I have always liked Huddersfield and when they showed an interest in me it was an easy decision for me to move north."

"I have only ever visited the north for away games, but I am really excited by the new challenge that awaits me! I am willing to come here, be a part of the team and give everything that I have got to help the team be successful. I am looking forward to proving to the Huddersfield fans what I can do on the football field - and hopefully being a success."

"I can play on either wing or upfront and I like to score goals; I haven't scored too many in my career, but I know that I can if provided with the opportunity. I like to do the odd trick and have lots of pace so hopefully I will be able to excite the fans on a match day."

"I think we can do well; there is already a very good squad of players here and with one or two additions we will be a match for anyone."

Sean Scannell will now be in the same squad as Alan Lee who he has already played alongside with earlier in his career at Palace.

"I like Al a lot, he helped me when he was at Palace and I am looking forward to seeing him again."

Scannell joins Huddersfield Town with immediate effect on a three year contract.
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Sean Scannell Joins Town

Huddersfield Town and Simon Grayson have today announced their very first signing of the summer in the shape of Sean Scannell from Crystal Palace. Sean has always played his football at Selhurst Park after developing through their academy and getting his first team breakthrough back in 2007 at the age of just 17. Here are his statistics for his time at Crystal Palace;

Crystal Palace 2007-2012

Appearances - 141

Goals - 13

Sean Scannell Joins Huddersfield Town With Immediate Effect

The transfer to Huddersfield Town is on a three year contract for an undisclosed fee. Here is what Huddersfield boss Simon Grayson had to say on his very first permanent signing since becoming in charge of the terriers;

"We are delighted to welcome Sean to the Club - he is a brilliant addition. We have been working hard on a number of targets and hopefully we will be able to get a few more tied up over the next couple of days." 

"He is an exciting, young, talented footballer who is very adaptable. He can play on either wing or just off the striker - he offers great options. Despite his young age he brings bags of experience at both Championship and International level and hopefully he will be able to fulfil his potential with us. It wasn't that long ago that a lot of top class clubs were taking a look at him so we are delighted to now have him amongst our ranks."

Interview With Lifelong Huddersfield Town Fan Ben Thornes

We recently asked all Huddersfield Town fans on Twitter if they would like to be interviewed by us with the aim of the interview to get a true, lifelong fans opinions on the club past/current issues. Up stepped Ben Thornes and the rest is self explanatory...

Bold - HTFC Hub  Italic - Ben Thornes

Let's start off this 10 question interview with a little bit about yourself and how you came to be a Huddersfield fan.


My 1st memory of watching Town was a Tuesday night game away at Scarborough probably 1992/1 and the flood lights went out! Got into watching town through my dad as I'm sure most others do, he's been going since '71. Me , I'm 25 live with my girlfriend in Dewsbury and I'm a fire alarm service engineer.


Let's kick things off Ben. What a season it has been which ultimately ended in a successful promotion campaign. What's it been like to be a Huddersfield Town fan this season?


Awful!

The season started with the horrific hangover from black Sunday at Old Trafford, disses pointing draws with Bury, Rochdale and the pathetic defensive minded shift we put in at Hartlepool did not help!

I personally at this stage was getting annoyed by Lee Clark and his what I perceived as negative football to preserve the famous " unbeaten run".

We then went on a winning run including a really good performance and 3-0 win at Sheffield United. At that point I think, looking back, it was probably the highlight of the regular season.

However we continued to draw too many games and by the time we won away at Yeovil Clark seemed certain to go to elsewhere.

I never really felt we were going to grab the bull by the horns and get a top 2 finish (talk of 100 points seemed so far away after another poor performance at home to Carlisle new years day).

Eventually I was glad to see the end of the Clark reign but will always try and remember the positives in him, such as the way he never blamed the referee etc etc. unfortunately for him though he failed.

So in came Simon Grayson however the same frustrating feeling seemed to follow us.

We all knew we should/ could be doing better but the performances just weren't there.

More point throwing away at Bury and a defeat to Sheffield Wednesday and promotion was all but over!

No way were that shower showing the guts to go up at the 3rd attempt in the play offs!

And then Ched Evans got sent down. A decent performance on the last day v Yeovil and I was thinking ..... Maybe (again) just maybe!!

Jordan Rhodes banging goals in the semi and we were 90 minuets away (AGAIN)  only this time our opposition were the ones who had "just missed out" and who "didn't have their top scorer available" (all be it for very very different reasons to us 12 months previously)

A tense 90 minuets followed and the rest is history!!

So in a nutshell the season was frustrating and underwhelming.

The play offs were tense, then even more tense then those 11 years of sheer agony were banished with 11 kicks of a football!  It was my 3 rd promotion watching town. The worst season of the 3 but the best feeling of the 3 by far!


The high's and the low's of being a Huddersfield Town fan all summed up in one frustrating yet incredible season! Who, in your opinion was the best player in a blue and white shirt this year?


Ha ha . That's a bit of a dolly that isn't it! The king. The junior Dennis Law! Jordan Rhodes. The man is incredible!

A reason I think we failed last year is because he wasn't played any where near enough. Iv you have s 20 goal season striker he plays. That's if your in la liga or the Sunday alliance Bradford league.

Other than that Lee Novak, Peter Clark, Ian Bennett and Alex Smithies were as good as usual.

Sean Morison was out standing and Callum Woods had a promising start.

Kalum Higgingbothom looked the real deal in the play offs.

Other than that you would struggle, and I doubt if any central midfielder got even 1 vote for player of the season.


Rhodes has had an incredible season for the terriers but with this brings interest in the form of top Championship clubs & Premiership as well. His future is very much undecided with Huddersfield Town who are adamant he is going no where just yet. How do you think his future shall pan out and what shirt shall he be wearing next season?


He said on the BBC " ideally I'll be playing in the championship for Town next season".
I believe him. He's from s football family and his dad will no doubt tell him having maybe even 6 months at Town in the championship won't do any harm.

So hopefully a blue and white one!


Rhodes may well be playing football at The Galpharm next season in The Championship but a fair few ex-terriers shall not be. After achieving promotion, Grayson immediately set to work on sorting out his squad for next season and let 7 players go. Cadamarteri, Clarke, Naysmith, Chippendale, Thomas, Roberts & Miller all have left Huddersfield Town. What do you think about this bold move by Grayson?


No just sensible really. Unfortunately as Dean Hoyle him self has said Clark was allowed to bring in far too many players. He offered Danny Cads a contract in the summer and he didn't get on the pitch until new years eve!


Huddersfield Town also failed to keep hold of Damien Johnson who was a major part of the Huddersfield squad and one that a lot of fans wanted to see play in The Championship. What's your thoughts on Damien Johnson and what do you believe was the reason for him not staying at the terriers and also choosing Fleetwood Town?



I wish him the best of luck. One of the few (if only) midfielders to stand up and be counted.
I think he's gone to Fleetwood for financial gain. And I don't blame him for it.
But I wouldn't have offered him a contract. Or only on a pay as you play. He's only played 3/4 of a season out of the 2 he's been with us. Great player. Just always injured!


We also wish Damien Johnson the best of luck at newly promoted Fleetwood Town. Let's talk about transfers and the rumours that have been flying around, the strongest of which are Clayton, Andrews, Green & Peltier. What do you think of these players and also is their any players you personally would bring to Town if in Grayson's shoes?


Messi!

I don't pay much attention to the rumours. I believe it when there on the back page of the examiner with a town shirt on!

I would hope midfielders are high on the shopping list. Sean Morrison would be a must buy for me and a striker as I'm not an Alan lee fan.


Sean Morrison has been a rock at the back for us and so we agree that he should be pretty high on the transfer list. What would you like to see from Huddersfield Town this coming season?


Promotion!

Shankley said "aim for the ceiling and you won't get off the floor. Aim for the sky and you'll get the ceiling"


I certainly don't think we will flirt with relegation.


High expectations from yourself then Ben. With a whole load of new teams to play this coming season in The Championship, who will you be looking forward to meeting the most?


The premier league teams from last year, Wolves, Blackburn, Bolton

Then the derby games like Leeds and Wednesday.

I'm looking forward to the London away games for a few ales on the train.

All of them will be great not to be going up Yeovil, Exeter and the likes.

Plus the home games. There will be away fans for the 1st time in 11 years! I can't wait to be honest. That's why we simply had to go up. I don't know if town fans could have faced another year in league 1 (south)


Some fantastic away and home games awaiting Huddersfield Town next season! Over the past few years Huddersfield Town has changed dramatically and the majority of this has happened because of new chairman Dean Hoyle. How much has he brought to the club?


With out Dean Hoyle, I don't think  I'm exaggerating now, I think we could be non league or lower reaches of league 2.

We were going backwards big time. Ken Davy isn't a football man. He had appointed Andy Ritchie our summer transfer activity was Malvin Kamara on a free because Port Vale had released him. We were a mess!

Every thing the club has achieved both on and off the pitch can be credited to Dean Hoyle. I could probably fill an essay with how much better the feeling round the club is. But I won't. All I need to say ( again) is ; we were an utter mess pre Dean Hoyle. THANK YOU DEANO!


Thankyou very much for doing this interview Ben. Last question, the club has a keen interest in getting close to its fans and has been named family club of the year on numerous occasions. How does this make you feel to be a Huddersfield Town fan & has this club/fan relationship benefited yourself in any way?


Bit of a tricky one!

For lads like me who like to sing and shout the 'family club of the year' award can get a bit 'annoying'. Especially when it was the only thing we had won in 10 years!

However, the club have to cater for all ages to ensure the next generation of fans. And it's hard to not like the way that the club made the trophy so accessible to fans for photographs. Dean Hoyle even took pictures for some fans!

So I'm 50/50 on it. Although I'd love our home atmosphere to be a bit more aggressive to help sour the team on. I appreciate why the club do what they do!

Thanks a lot! UTT

Huddersfield Signings Imminent

Speculation of transfers has been floating around the club ever since the extraordinary promotion victory at Wembley on May 26th but today Grayson has stated that himself and the club are close to getting their first couple of signings in this summer transfer window.

Huddersfield Town have been linked with a fair few players in the last couple of weeks including Paul Green, Keith Andrews, Lee Peltier & Snodgrass. Grayson spoke about transfers to the Examiner and this is what he had to say;

"We are making inroads towards our first couple of signings and hopefully others will follow after that. A lot of work is going on behind the scenes and we are trying to get things sorted, but it's not always as easy as people might think."

"We will see how things go, but hopefully we might get something concluded quite quickly. You can never get carried away because sometimes you think you've got a deal done and it all falls apart, but we've been doing some good work and we'd like to announce something quickly to give our fans a new name to talk about."

"We will never rush into a deal for the sake of it and we always want the right people, but we haven't lost out on anyone we are interested in at this stage and we'll hopefully have some new soon."
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Grayson On The Fixtures

The fixture list was today released to football fans across the nation and its a special year for the terriers who are now in The Championship. Simon Grayson caught up with the official website to speak about the fixture list as well today and this is what he had to say;

"The fixture release is a special day for everyone, no matter what League you are in - but it feels even more special following our promotion. We're looking forward to every fixture this season. We have a lot of former Premier League clubs in the Championship this season and a lot of Yorkshire derbies."

"All the fixtures will be tough this term, but it makes all the work that has gone into getting promoted at this Club worthwhile and that's what it's all about. I would have liked a home game first up for our supporters, but you could have picked any opponent in this division and it would be a great prospect. Cardiff have been up in the Play-Offs for the last three or four seasons now and it will be a great game to start the season with."

"As a manager, you always look at the busy periods such as Christmas where you have back to back games and hope they are all within a good travelling distance. Our Christmas schedule looks fairly good this season, with home games on Boxing Day and 29 December and Leicester is not too far away on New Year's Day. It's so exciting for everyone. There are some big games in this division and we can't wait to get started."
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2012/13 Fixture List

The long awaited Championship fixtures have today been released for the 2012/13 season which will see Huddersfield Town play their first season in the second tier of English football for eleven long years.

August
Sat 18 15:00 (A) Cardiff City     
Tue 21 19:45 (H) Nottm Forest    
Sat 25 15:00 (H) Burnley
     
September
Sat 1 15:00 (A) Ipswich Town    
Sat 15 15:00 (H) Derby County     
Tue 18 19:45 (A) Sheffield Wed     
Sat 22 15:00 (A) Blackpool
Sat 29 15:00 (H) Watford
     
October
Tue 2 19:45 (H) Leicester City
Sat 6 15:00 (A) Birmingham  
Sat 20 15:00 (H) Wolves
Tue 23 19:45 (A) Peterborough
Sat 27 15:00 (A) Millwall
    
November
Sat 3 15:00 (H) Bristol City
Tue 6 19:45 (H) Blackburn
Sat 10 15:00 (A) Barnsley
Sat 17 15:00 (H) Brighton
Sat 24 15:00 (A) Charlton
Tue 27 19:45 (A) Middlesbrough
     
December
Sat 1 15:00 (H) Leeds United
Sat 8 15:00 (H) Bolton
Sat 15 15:00 (A) Hull City     
Sat 22 15:00 (A) Crystal Palace     
Wed 26 15:00 (H) Blackpool
Sat 29 15:00 (H) Sheffield Wed  
   
January
Tue 1 15:00 (A) Leicester City   
Sat 12 15:00 (H) Birmingham   
Sat 19 15:00 (A) Watford
Sat 26 15:00 (H) Crystal Palace  
   
February
Sat 2 15:00 (A) Derby County   
Sat 9 15:00 (H) Cardiff City
Sat 16 15:00 (A) Burnley
Tue 19 19:45 (A) Nottm Forest    
Sat 23 15:00 (H) Ipswich Town
    
March
Sat 2 15:00 (A) Brighton
Tue 5 19:45 (H) Middlesbrough     
Sat 9 15:00 (H) Charlton
Sat 16 15:00 (A) Leeds United     
Sat 30 15:00 (H) Hull City

April
Mon 1 19:45 (A) Bolton
Sat 6 15:00 (H) Peterborough    
Sat 13 15:00 (A) Wolves
Wed 17 19:45 (A) Blackburn  
Sat 20 15:00 (H) Millwall
Sat 27 15:00 (A) Bristol City
  
May
Sat 4 15:00 (H) Barnsley
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Grayson Closing In On Transfer Targets

Simon Grayson spoke earlier about how he is already closing in on potential Huddersfield Town players in the transfer window. Grayson revelaed that he has spoken to two players on a face-to-face basis and has submitted his targets to both Dean Hoyle and Nigel Clibbens.

Huddersfield Town will kick start their season with an away tie against Preston in the newly named Capital One Cup and Grayson believes that travelling fans shall be seeing a very different Blue & White squad with a few new name players. The strongest rumours are those of Republic Of Ireland internatial duo Keith Andrews & Paul Green but they are also a few others including Adam Clayton (Leeds) and Simon Gillett (Doncaster).

This is what terriers boss Simon Grayson had to say about the transfer situation of newly promoted Huddersfield Town;

"After talks with both Dean Hoyle and Nigel Clibbens, I've drawn up a list which is realistic within our budget. We're working hard to bring in those concerned and I have already had face-to-face talks with two players and a number of agents."

"We're still at that stage where the market is relatively slow, but I'd like to get as many of the deals done as soon as I can in order to have the bulk of the squad together for pre-season."

Grayson also mentioned that new contracts have been offered to Bennett, Lee & Clarke and that their situations are still to be decided in the very near future.

"Obviously the players need some time to think things over, but we won't let things drag on too long because we need to know where we are."
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Rhodes Fighting For London 2012 Spot

Jordan Rhodes has reportedly made it to the first cut of the 2012 British Olympic football team. Stuart Pearce is getting closer to announcing his 18 man squad for the London games and prolific goalscorer Rhodes, who has scored 40 goals for Huddersfield Town this season, may well just be included.
Stuart Pearce has already submitted his 35 man shortlist to FIFA but this is yet to be announced to the public. Earlier on in the season, Pearce saw hitman Rhodes put a very impressive five past Wycombe Wanderers as scouts from numerous premiership & championship clubs kept tabs on the Scottish international. The question now is will he manage to make the final squad and feature for Britain in the Olympics on behalf of Huddersfield Town?

There is no reason why Rhodes won't make the cut seen as though he finished the top goalscorer in the whole of England with a massive 40 goals in all competitions.
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Update On Sean Morrison

Sean Morrison Loves It At Htafc

Sean Morrison is a favorite among Town players & fans but the centre back who came to the terriers on loan last season from Reading still does now know where his future lies. Huddersfield Town coach Glynn Snodin has mentioned that the club are keeping its eyes on the situation regarding Morrison;

“Sean has made it clear he loves it here and would like to play for us in the Championship and we certainly love him, so we’ll see what happens. In the first instance it’s very much down to what Brian McDermott, the Reading manager, wants to do." 

 “Does he want to keep Sean for the top-flight campaign, does he want to sell him or is he prepared to loan him out again? Until we know the answer to those questions then we can’t really progress anything, but we know Brian very well, he is a smashing fellow and we know there won’t be any problems, he will just let us know honestly exactly where he stands."

Damien Johnson Not Returning To Huddersfield

Former loanee Damien Johnson will not be with the terriers for their season in the Championship after promotion at Wembley. The former Northern Ireland international midfielder has appeared 39 times for Town in his two loan spells and played a massive part in this season's successful promotion campaign. Unfortunately though, Johnson and the club could not come to a contract agreement together and so he will not be playing in the blue & white stripes next season.

Chief Executive of Huddersfield Town, Nigel Clibbens, thanked Damien for his role that he has played in getting the terriers into the Championship;

"The Club would like to place its thanks on record to Damien for the contribution he made in Town's promotion to the Championship. When he returned to the team late in the season he made a really big difference."

"Damien has been a model professional during his time as a Huddersfield Town player; the dedication and focus he showed in battling his injury was inspirational. When we needed his experience and desire he stepped up and made a difference and for that we are all very grateful."


"Unfortunately we could not negotiate a deal for next season that both parties saw as mutually beneficial. We wish Damien all the best and he will always receive a warm welcome here."
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Glynn Snodin on Rhodes

Huddersfield Town coach Glynn Snodin has today expressed his positivity about keeping Scotsman Jordan Rhodes with the terriers for at least another season in the Championship. Rhodes who scored 40 goals for Town last season including two in the play-off semi finals is being closely followed by a group of teams including Celtic, West Ham, Fulham & Reading.

"It was fantastic for Jordan to sign off with Wembley and then get two goals for the Under 21s before leaving for a family holiday. Scoring goals is what Jordan does best and, with regard to his future, nothing will be finalised until he comes back from having a well-earned rest."

"Jordan has got a lot to run on his contract, he loves playing for Huddersfield Town and we love him, so hopefully when he comes back everything will be hunky dory. Jordan is such a gentleman that we know everything will be done with dignity,"

"I am sure he will sit down with his agent, the chairman (Dean Hoyle) and chief executive (Nigel Clibbens) and sort things out as necessary – but we want him and Jordan wants to stay."
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Dream Come True For Smithies

Alex Smithies is the latest Huddersfield Town hero and he spoke to the Examiner earlier today about the final at Wembley along with his future at the terriers. Smithies only got into the squad after goalkeeper Ian Bennett suffered a hand injury in the second semi-final leg against MK Dons but after his own season long injuries, Alex rose to the occassion and impressed every single Huddersfield Town fan out there. Smithies described the whole Wembley experience as 'unbelievable' and 'fantastic' and something he 'shall never forget'.

“It’s all been a dream come true, really, especially for someone like me who was born in Golcar, has been raised in Huddersfield and supported the club all my life. I had so many of my friends and family down at Wembley and they were all there again for the parade to the Civic Reception at the Town Hall, and I’m just glad I’ve been able to make them feel so proud." “The whole club deserves to be on the up though, and especially our brilliant supporters, who we can’t thank enough for their backing. No-one deserves it more than the chairman, though, who should take enormous credit for what has been achieved. He was exactly what the club needed when he took over, to help Town get to the next level and, now it’s been achieved, I’m sure he is just as proud as the rest of us. What we want to do now is take it a little bit further, but let’s move forward one step at a time and see where it takes us.”

“Penalties are a lottery and you just have to do your best. You might know the way a player usually shoots, but they can always change their mind, so you just have to back yourself to go the right way and make a stop when you can." “I had a list on the bottom of my drinks bottle of who their takers were and where they shoot, but it only went to six or seven and I had to face 11!" “Fortunately it was us who came through and, while it was hard on Steve Simonsen, this club deserves to be in the Championship and now we are.” “I can tell everyone that the players are so grateful for all the support we have had, not only at Wembley and for the homecoming, but throughout the season. We are really thankful that we’ve been able to reach the Championship, that we can look forward to a great season and that we’ve been able to give them what the deserve. We really appreciate everything the fans do for us.”

Peter Clarke Still Buzzing From Promotion

Skipper Peter Clarke is still on a high after achieving promotion on Saturday at Wembley. The strong centre back played all 120 minutes in the final against Sheffield United and the captain also cooly slid his penalty in to turn the penalty shoot-out around.  This is what he had to say 6 days after the drama that ended up with Huddersfield Town sealing Championship football next season;

"I can't really put it into words! It's an amazing feeling - the complete polar opposite of last year. That feeling hung around for far too long, but I don't want this feeling to end. For the most part I enjoyed the game - although I suppose it was a little bit nervy towards the end! Thankfully things went our way.

Peter Clarke enjoys the moment with manager Simon Grayson

"We had one or two opportunities and perhaps on the whole we felt we deserved to win in normal time, but I thought Steve Simonsen had a terrific game. He ultimately missed the penalty that decided the tie and although I don't know exactly how he felt, I have a very good idea."

Clarke won the coin toss at Wembley and sent the penalty kicks over to the Town fauthful which he claimed was a big part in the Sheffield United penalty misses;

"After the first three I think we were wondering! I was fortunate enough to win the toss and we immediately decided we wanted to take the penalties at our end. I think the fans did everything they possibly could to put the Sheffield United players off."