Anxiety Affecting Huddersfield Players

Simon Grayson believes that anxiety may well be part of the reason as to why his players are not picking up the results which they were doing at the beginning of the season. Huddersfield Town went yet another game without a win in the Championship after failing to get all three points against Birmingham City on Saturday at The John Smiths Stadium. This 1-1 draw has taken the terriers to eleven straight league games without a victory but Grayson remains upbeat about his team.

Danns Looking To Push The Terriers Up The Table

Danns has joined the terriers on loan until the
end of the current 12/13 season

Neil Danns has assured Huddersfield Town fans that the club can still compete for a play-off spot this season despite a poor run of form which has seen them slip down the Championship league table. The terriers have recently gone ten games without a win before battling hard to defeat Charlton by one goal to nil and Danns knows exactly what is needed in this league to pick up vital points.

Scannell Remains Confident In The Squad

Scannell confident in squads future/ability

New boy Sean Scannell is one of the players which has impressed in pretty much every pre-season friendly the terriers have been part of this season. His performances have seen him being called up to the U21 Ireland team and although the results may not have been the best, Scannell is confident that the entire squad will be ready come their first competitive match;

The pre-season games could have gone better, obviously, but we have a fairly new team here including a few new players and we are gelling together gradually. I know a lot of changes are made in pre-season games, but we are all good players and you have to get used to it. Things will keep coming together and hopefully by the start of the season we’ll be ready to push on; we’ll be ready and raring to go."

“We still have two more friendlies, and one of them is Barcelona – we know they’ll be all about the possession! There is plenty of time for us to build up some more confidence and see where we are."

Scannell has taken on an entire life change after he joined the terriers from his hometown club of Crystal Palace but the youngster is enjoying the new experience and looking forward to his future with the club;

“I’ve been here for a short while now and I’m enjoying it; the lads are great. I’m just looking forward to the season now. I’m living in Lindley at the moment and I’m settled in; it helps that Oscar is up there too as I don’t drive at the moment. Hopefully I’ll keep my accent though!” 

Scannell's call up to the international U21 squad will unfortunately mean he will miss the Capital One Cup Round One tie against Preston North End and he spoke about his international football with an extreme passion;

"That’s football isn’t it – you just have to do it. It’s great to get the call up, but at the same time it’s very frustrating to miss the Preston game. It’s quite a while since my last call-up though, so it’s definitely good to be back involved. I’ll go there, but then I’ll come back and focus on the Cardiff game. 

“I’d love to force my way into the senior Irish squad, but let’s just see how this season goes first. I’ll worry about my club football first because if I do well for Huddersfield, international football should follow.  I can’t wait to get going! Last year I played against Cardiff in the League Cup semi-final and that’s a game I remember well, so perhaps I have a point to prove against them!”

Sean is also a vastly experienced Championship player despite his young age and this is shown with him currently having 130 caps in the second tier of English football. Scannell knows what this division is like and this is one of the big factors which would have caught Grayson's eye;

"It’s a good League – but very hard too. You have teams like Cardiff, Blackburn and Bolton in there and in the Championship you really never know where you will finish – you see teams starting the season and looking like the worst in the division, but then come the end of the season they are promoted. We’ve got to take it game by game and see how we do."

Interview With Performance Analyst Chris Markham

We were privileged enough to get the opportunity to interview Chris Markham who is the performance analyst at Huddersfield Town. Many of you will indeed be following Chris on Twitter (@boulet_6) so we thought we would get to know his opinions, thoughts and his personal career a little bit better;

Grayson Delighted With Scotland Tour

Simon Grayson has given his own opinion on how he thought the pre-season friendlies against Kilmarnock & Hibernian went. The Huddersfield Town boss may still be without a pre-season win but he has said how delighted he is with the outcome of the Scotland tour. The terriers drew both of their games, the latest being a 2-2 draw at Eastern Road against Hibernian where Novak & Scannell netted;

"It was a good game. I thought in the first half that we played some very good stuff rounded off with two excellent goals. In terms of the general organisation and shape of the team, I was impressed and it is good to see our fitness levels improving match by match. We were up against a team up who start their League campaign next week so there were plenty of positives to take from the game and other things that we still need to work on. Our tactical play will develop over the next couple of weeks."


"We made a lot of substitutions at half time so we lost out flow slightly, but there were plenty of good individual performances. The week in general has gone well for us up in Scotland - I am delighted with the outcome."


Grayson managed to give all the new boys some game time (minus Keith Southern) including Joel Lynch who is recovering from a slight injury;


"It was good to see Joel Lynch out there for a decent period of time. He was only suffering with a little niggle before the trip and I think the fans that attended the game could see what he is all about; he was composed on the ball, defended when he had to and was very mobile."


Grayson was also pleased with the goals which were bagged in the second pre-season friendly against Hibernian. Novak slotted home the first after good play involving Rhodes before Scannell cut inside from out wide and curled the ball into the net to double the terriers lead;


"It was a good move that lead to Lee Novak’s opener, I think everybody in the ground expected Jordan to shoot, but he showed his unselfishness and laid it on a plate for Lee. Also, I am delighted for Sean to have got his first goal for the Club; I think you saw today that he is a fantastic footballer who can be a match winner."

Match Report: Hibernian 2-2 Huddersfield Town

Huddersfield Town travelled to Easter Road to play Hibernian in their third pre-season friendly and second in their tour of Scotland. Jack Hunt returned to the squad following his tight hamstring injury that ruled him out earlier in the week against Kilmarnock where the terriers managed to get a draw courtesy of a Jordan Rhodes goal.

The game started off very well for the Yorkshire side and just six minutes in the first chance fell to the terriers when good link up play between Novak and Scannell enabled Gobern to be found but his shot was driven wide from 20 yards out. Just four minutes later Huddersfield threatened the home sides goal yet again as Novak sent an effort goal bound that could only be pushed away by Williams.

Huddersfield were dominating the early stages of the game and Novak was in the midst of things as clever play from Adam Clayton gave the striker a few yards of space and he unleashed yet another effort but was denied again by Williams. Seconds later Novak's hard effort payed off as he gave the visitors the lead with Rhodes providing the assist. Chris Atkinson's beautifully weighted pass sent Rhodes on his way and the Scottish striker unselfishly dragged the ball back into Novak's path who only had to tap the ball into the net.

Huddersfield didn't stop their and doubled their lead just five minutes later through pacey winger Sean Scannell. Once again Novak was heavily involved with the goal as he was found by Paul Dixon before passing it to Scannell who cut in from the wing and past him man before curling his shot past the keeper. Scannell could well have doubled his goal tally for the game as a failed rebound from Hibernian fell to him but his volley couldn't find the target.

As the game progressed Huddersfield became more and more comfortable on the ball but a goal against the run of play brought the home side back into things. Hibernian striker Leigh Griffiths beat Alex Smithies in the terriers goal and rippled the back of the net to the joy of the home crowd. Griffiths continued to cause Huddersfield trouble and his solo effort, after a superb turn on the edge of the area, resulted in a shot spiralling high and wide of the target.

Huddersfield started to lose their grip on the game after conceding but Novak could well have put the game beyond Hibernian on the 39th minute after yet another poor clearence from Clancy. Novak picked up the ball and immediately chose to shoot but unfortunately the ball smashed the bar and the chance was gone. The first half came to a close with Huddersfield leading the game 2-1.

Grayson chose to bring on a few fresh pairs of legs for the second half including Tom Clarke, Oliver Norwood, Antony Kay & Alan Lee. The second half began with both teams struggling to create any sort of flowing football as passes failed to reach the intended targets. It was Alan Lee who had the first half chance of the second half after Hunt and Higginbotham exchanged well but the latter's cross could only be headed wide by Lee.

Yet another great individual effort from a Hibernian player, Ivan Sproule, saw the terriers concede the two goal lead that they had deservedly obtained in the starting stages of the game. Now the game was either teams for the taking and although Huddersfield were playing the better football they were vulnerable in defence and Hibernian had punished them twice with great goals.

Alan Lee got another chance with his head after neat play from Ward enabled the winger to cross but the header from Lee yet again was off target. Alan Lee was playing well in the second half but Grayson replaced the veteran striker with Jimmy Spencer. The game died off towards the latter stages as both sides failed to create any chances and seemed to settle for the draw. The 87th minute brought a corner for the terriers and Kay could of nicked a victory but he could only copy off Alan Lee and headed wide of the mark.

The full time whistle went to end the friendly 2-2. Huddersfield are still looking for their first pre-season victory.

Match Report: Guiseley 1-0 Huddersfield Town

The terriers visited non-league side Guiseley for their first pre-season friendly of the new season and took with them a strong squad as Grayson promised he would do. Guiseley came out of the tie on top thanks to an early first half goal courtesy of Danny Forrest.

The first 45 minutes say Huddersfield dominate all areas of the field but were undone by a lovely Guiseley move which ended with Forrest shooting past Alex Smithies after just 15 minutes. The positives of the first half for the terriers was the ability on show by new signings Oliver Norwood and Sean Scannell. Both looked dangerous on the ball especially Scannell who managed to cause trouble down the wing despite having to receive on-field physio treatment to his ankle just 10 minutes into play.

Paul Dixon & Murray Wallace also featured in the starting XI for the first half and both looked impressive as they held their own at the back. Guiseley tried hard early on to get the breakthrough and prior to doing so, Smithies had to push away a good headed effort from James Walshaw at his near post. Huddersfield failed to threaten the opponents goal but did come close to equalising through a free kick from new boy Oliver Norwood but his curling effort went inches wide of the upright.

The other close effort for the terriers came from academy graduate Jimmy Spencer when he was superbly played through by Wallace but he could only hit his volley wide of the mark. The first half came to a close and as the teams re-emerged after a 15 minute interval, Grayson's entire lineup had changed. In this brand new eleven was newbie Adam Clayton as well as Last seasons top goalscorer Jordan Rhodes.

Although the second half wasn't as naturally flowing as the first from the terriers you could see why Grayson has brought Clayton in to play underneath him. Hard tackling & neat passes came from Clayton as he tried his best to impress and dominate the middle of the park. However, Guiseley were not giving in and they started to get lucky as Rhodes smashed uncharacteristically over the bar. Shortly after, Novak was denied by Guiseley goalkeeper Steve Drench who pushed away his drive at goal from a free kick.

Jordan Rhodes was the centre of all the second half attacks and it looked like he had equalised for the terriers with a header but an amazing near post block denied him. Things just didn't go Town's way and the final whistle went to end the first pre-season friendly with a 1-0 loss.

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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."