Bold - HTFC Hub Italic - Ben Thornes
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
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