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."