The question was asked by fans on Twitter after the Leicester City match when a couple of injuries (Vaughan, Hammill) & suspensions (Lynch) left Grayson having to put out a somewhat weakened team that on paper looked beaten before they went onto the pitch. Here is our verdict on if certain areas need strengthening for Huddersfield Town;
Goalkeeper;
Alex Smithies currently takes the number one spot at the club after becoming an iconic hero at Wembley back in May. He has made a decent start to life in the Championship and at such a young age he is only going to get better. Ian Bennett serves as an excellent back up goalkeeper and provides the much needed experience that only comes after playing in between the sticks for several years. Ian is a man capable of allowing Smithies to take the limelight yet also step up to the plate when asked to do so by the club. Lloyd Allinson is the U21 goalkeeper at Huddersfield but he also has a promising future. Whether or not this is at the terriers or not is another question entirely but he is a decent third goalkeeper for Town in the present day. In our opinion Grayson does not need to strengthen in this area as he has two goalkeepers who can perform at the current level of football we are playing.
Defence;
Peter Clarke has remained in the Huddersfield Town team not only as captain but also as the number one choice as centre back in defence. Clarke has made the step up to the Championship to the amazement of some fans who doubted if he was really capable of taking his game to the next level. Grayson has shifted out the likes of McCombe , Nathan Clarke & Antony Kay who all could play in the centre back position and has brought in both Joel Lynch & Anthony Gerrard. These two both have Championship experience but also have the attributes to play alongside Peter Clarke in the back four; height, strength, commitment & passion. Lynch has been Grayson's first pick this season alongside Clarke but his suspension, mixed with injury has given way to Gerrard who has taken his opportunity extremely well. The key to any solid defence is also solid full backs especially with how modern day football is played. Jack Hunt has been a pivotal player this season already and at the opposite side of the defence there is Scottish international Paul Dixon. Both thrive at the opportunity to get forward but also have the ability to defend well and stop the opponents wingers getting behind them and causing Town problems. Huddersfield also have strong depth to the full back positions with Calum Woods sat on the bench ready to take his chance. He featured in the game against Birmingham City and looked very strong which empathised just how healthy the terriers are when it comes to quality players in defence. Once again, our opinion is that Grayson does not need to strengthen in the defence area but it may well prove to be beneficial to bring in another centre back just in case injuries/suspensions force our current ones off the team sheet.
Midfield;
The midfield area is one which Grayson has completely turned upside down and started from scratch on. Only one consistent midfield starter remains from Lee Clark's era and that is Danny Ward. Grayson divulged himself in the summer transfer market and brought the players in which he set out to purchase since achieving promotion from League One. Norwood, Scannell, Clayton & Southern all joined the terriers on permanent contracts and on paper they are quite possibly the best midfield in the entire Championship. They have so far lived up to their reputations with only two matches in which the midfield went missing for most of the ninety minutes. In the rest of the terriers league matches they have shown exactly what they are made of and have been vital to ensuring that all three points are gained regardless of who the opposition is. Scannell suffered an injury early on in the season but Ward has come on from the bench and deservedly earned his place in the starting XI which shows just what attitude Grayson is installing into his midfield players. Every single one of them are standing up and being counted whilst taking their chance to shine when given the opportunity. Southern is providing not only his experience of this league, that he has in abundance, but also a backbone to the centre of midfield. He puts his body on the line for the cause and those around him are flourishing from the fact that he does this so well. Norwood has developed ever since he joined from Manchester United and although he plays a totally different game to Southern, he is showing signs of aggression and commitment that is only learned from playing alongside Keith in the middle of the park. Clayton completes the trio of midfielders when he transferred from Leeds United to the terriers for just short of one million pounds. Grayson has given Clayton somewhat of a free role in the middle of the park and Adam has upped his game to thank his manager. Clayton can play either alongside, behind or in front of the midfield and his versatility has already allowed him to start every single Championship game this season. His versatility also enables Grayson a man to fall back on if one player in the midfield gets injured but Clayton can also be a game changer as he has an eye to provide defence splitting passes at any moment in a game. Scott Arfield remains a very decent back-up midfielder on the bench and its unfortunate for him to not be involved heavily in any games this season but he will take his chance once he gets it, we are sure of this. The midfield has proven they can dig in and defend extremely well against teams (Cardiff, Derby & Birmingham) and also provide the support in attacks throughout a game (Blackpool, Burnley, Sheffield Wednesday). All in all its nice to see a midfield working hard and having a presence at Huddersfield Town so we see no reason as to why we need to strengthen the midfield area.
Forwards;
The late sale of Jordan Rhodes in the summer transfer window for eight million pounds to Blackburn Rovers has enabled Grayson to spend money on which ever player he would like at Huddersfield Town. However, Grayson refused to pay over the odds for any striker and instead has captured two very strong strikers on loan. The first of these is James Vaughan who has joined the terriers on a season long loan from Norwich City with no recall clause in the loan contract. Vaughan may be injury prone but when he is fully fit he is a force to be reckoned with. Goals against Blackpool & Ipswich have made a lot of teams sit up and recognise just how dangerous he can be and with a point to prove, Vaughan is ready to set the Championship alight. The second loanee striker is Jermaine Beckford who has joined on an emergency ninety three day loan deal from Leicester City. Beckford has only been with the squad for around two weeks now but already he has netted for the terriers and gained them all three points with a win against Birmingham City. Beckford is playing under former manager Simon Grayson and if past form is to be replayed once again he may well net a fair few more for the terriers before his loan deal comes to an end. Lee Novak is having a great start to the season and has impressed many by making the step up to the Championship from League One look relatively easy. Always hard working and what he lacks in pace he makes up with commitment and dedication to the cause. Novak has proven that he can partner Vaughan well but Beckford's arrival has seen him demoted to the bench. Alongside Novak on the bench is the one and only Alan Lee. The big man has an abundance of experience at this level and after earning himself a one year contract for his performances last season he was finally given a chance to impress yet again in the Championship. Coming on against Watford he scored a beautiful goal with his head that seemed to have got the terriers at least a point but unfortunately this wasn't to be the case. Jimmy Spencer is the final striker at Town and after a good pre-season he caught Grayson's eye but hasn't seen much first team action at all in the Championship and so expect him to be possibly loaned out in the January transfer window. (Spencer has now been loaned out to Brentford) In our opinion, Grayson needs to strengthen in the strikers department as just one injury/suspension can see us struggling to create any sort of threat when going forward. This was proven in the Leicester game as Beckford & Vaughan were sidelined and we just didn't have the quality upfront to threaten their back four and so didn't work their goalkeeper, Kasper Schmeichel, at all. Grayson doesn't need to rush into buying/loaning another striker and waiting until January may well be the best option for him as long as his current strikers can remain fit.
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