[MNTerrier]

Vs.

Date: August 6th 2016
Venue: John Smith stadium
Kickoff: 3:00 pm




In a replay of the final game from last season Huddersfield welcome Brentford to the John Smiths stadium for the first game of the 2016/17 season. Town will be looking to avenge what was am embarrassing defeat and hopefully kick start the new season with a win.
The Terriers come into the season with a much different looking squad to last season, Wagner in his first full season in charge has brought in 13 players in total this summer from both the domestic and European market, 4 of them on loan. Much of the emphasis on the transfer dealings has been defence, 3 centre backs and a left back have been signed this summer, all of them German it’s a defence that fared well in preseason conceding only 3 goals and keeping several clean sheets, 2 of those cleans sheets came against top flight German opposition. Schindler and Lowe has been impressive and Hefele and young prospect Stankovic have also looked assured during game time. Its unsure though which centre back pairing will start the new season, fans are wanting to see Schidler and fan favorite Hefele start, however in the last 3 preseason games Schindler has been partnered with club captain Hudson.
The midfield has also seen an influx of new blood. Young players Payne and Mooy have had town fans raving at their abilities but the jury is still out on Adams family style giant Paurevic, who has missed some time due to illness and loanee Palmer who has only recently joined the club and picked up a knock early on. the hope is to add some attacking flair and goals to the town attack.
The major concern this year is whether the strikers can contribute enough goals. Leading goal scoring Wells has picked up an injury and it is almost certain he will miss the start of the season, that leaves new boy Kachunga to lead the line with the only backup untested academy product Pyke. hopefully the midfield and wingers can create some good clear cut chances and chip in with some goals of their own
Along with Wells the other injury concerns are Bunn and Billing, both of whom came home early from the teams Austria trip to have injuries assessed, as yet there is no news on their condition.
The starting team may look very different to the team from last season, over the past 3 friendlies the starting lineup has had just 5 players who were with the team last year, and only 4 who started the season with town. Huddersfield’s reduced season ticket prices and category B pricing for the match means the game could also see a bumper crowd and could possibly break the opening day attendance record, i would recommend getting down to the stadium early. Optimism right now is high among the fans, the highest it has been for a long time, possibly too high, only time will tell.

whos got wavy hair and the best selling shirt in west yorkshire right now



Brentford come into this games with aspirations or improving on their very respectable 9th place finish from last year. The Bees summer transfer dealing so far have been considerably less than those of town, seeing 3 players leave, including the influential left back Bidwell and first choice keeper Button, both to London rivals. Only 4 players have been brought into the club, number of singings isn’t so important as quality. Dean Smith has added league 1 team of the year midfielder Romain Sawyers and just recently on loan Calum Elder , a left back from Leicester city.
You could make the argument that a team who finished 9th don’t need an overhaul but in what is promising to be a very competitive division will Brantford’s transfer strategy pay off? Dean Smith has made it known that the team is looking to add to the squad before the window closes.
The Brentford squad is currently plagued with a host of small niggling injuries with Colin and Bjellend major doubts for the opening clash and question marks over Yannaris, McCormak and Mchearan . Striker Vibe, who was joint top scorer last season also looks set to miss the start of the season due to international duty with Denmark at the Olympics. While the number of injuries isn’t especially high the concern among Bees fans is whether they have the squad to properly fill in for these absentees.

According to perennial f**k trumpet Ian Holloway who likes the sound of his own voice way too much, this will be a clash of 2 relegation bound teams , so dont get too excited



on the other hand Town have a young manager with great ideas who wants to play exciting football, who is building a team to do just that ...so what do you say Mr Wagner

thought so .

Team Prediction

think Wagner is going to stick with the starting 11 for the past couple of friendlies, but ive been wrong before


Draw your tactical diagram with this11.com

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Putting this one up early as i'll be traveling the next couple of day, going to make it to this one, probably my one and only game so im hoping its a cracker.

[WakeyTerrier]

Competitive Football is back.....YES!

6 weeks since England's demise to Iceland but I've got my mojo back and I'm raring to go.
Record opening day Town crowd expected,
The sun may shine,
Huddersfield food and drink festival.
What's not to like?

Now I can't say too much about the players because I haven't got a clue to what standard they are but if you're upping sticks and moving to a country overseas then you are either 1)committed to the cause or 2) getting wads of cash. I think it's safe to say most will get a good wage but the fact they signed for Wagner shows they believe in him and his way of football.

What do I expect....nothing from the first three games except signs of improvement. Brentford whacked us 4-2 and 1-5 last season and despite a dodgy spell they were comfortable in mid table and are one of the better footballing teams in the division in my eyes so any points gained here will be a bonus but it's more of how we play and show glimpses of promise that I'm bothered about. I want to see us be more solid in defence and more creative going forward, quicker, smarter, hunting the ball down in packs and fitter in general.

[EastLondonTerrier]

Very very excited for this game. I will be in Brighton for a festival but a good result here will put me in an even better mood. Expect that team posted above to be the one Wagner puts out barring any late injuries. Players like Palmer will be eased in I imagine as will Wells and Billing when they are back from injuries. We have depth now so we don't have to rush these players back as long as the results are steady. Competition at CB will be strong and I think Hudson knows it. Wagner does not want a repeat for JL and his impressions of bambi on ice at times for Town so if someone is causing our defensive blocks to not function properly or our defence to leak goals they will be replaced. I'm going for a 2-0 Town win. Mooy and Payne with the goals. UTT.

[WakeyTerrier]

Not sure where to stick this so given its Matchday and could affect the starting line up I'll stick in here.

Some poor sod(I've no idea who he is)went on DATM yesterday claiming to have seen Nahki Wells at London Kings Cross yesterday afternoon, anyway photo evidence has been posted and its inconclusive to say the least and they are all taking the Micky out of the lad.

However, my pal has just texted me to say that it was indeed Nahki at LKX, he got the 15:30 back to Wakey(the same train as my pal, and indeed got off at Wakey. He was with another guy who was wearing a Town training top but he didn't recognise him. Worried now that Nahki may have had to go see a specialists about his injury

[SHEP_HTAFC]

Great thread Mnt.
I would have the Heff replacing Hudson, and Dempsey replacing Lolley.
If Wells is injured, then Kachunga is the obvious replacement.
I can't remember the last time Town had a full pre season behind them with nearly all the new signings present (except Ward). We generally buy or loan players late on....but this year we've done it the right way.
Can't wait for the season to start....although I'm not 100% sure we'll get a win in this game. Sticking to my 1-1 prediction.

[jjamez]

Dont forget that there was an efl thing at craven cottage yesterday so it is possible it was a media guy and wells there for that.

Maybe hes leaving? :o or like has been said he is seeing someone about his knee.

As for the game, wont be at this one but its the usual early season buzz everyone dreams its just when does that dream shatter? I feel we will have a more positive season than we've had since promotion but dont think we will be right up there.

[SHEP_HTAFC]

Some plum who works for Sporting Life has this to say about Town:-

"I go again to the relegation betting for my final Championship tip.

David Wagner, who worked with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund for a number of years, is taking charge of Huddersfield for his first full season and he's overseen a dramatic transformation of his squad.

Germany has naturally been an obvious destination for Wagner's recruitment drive but that leaves the Terriers with a line-up that could well be lacking in Championship experience as the months unfold.

It could alternatively be a masterstroke that leaves rivals unable to cope with their different style of play but my inkling is that the 13/2 for Huddersfield in the relegation betting is just a little too big.

The Terriers have finished 19th, 16th, 17th and 19th over the last four seasons so it's a club that has constantly been flirting with life at the wrong end of the Championship table.

The odds have Huddersfield set for a mid-table finish but 13/2 is worth some support for a season of struggle."

[EastLondonTerrier]

I really hope we batter some teams this season and shut these pundits up. Why have historically, whether it be coverage of us sacking managers or more generally that lots of pundits with the exception of Tony Cottee on SSN who's been very informed on us when he's covered us do pundits know xxxx all about our team?

[jjamez]

I aint much into betting. What does that sporting life article really mean?

[theo_luddite]

Ah good, real football is back again.    Good thread for the start of the season MNT, enjoy your travels on this side of the pond .

As for the half-wit* that is Hollowmouth - well he just hates us anyway and hasn't researched a thing. The Sporting Life bod? Well he's done some research at least in that he's noticed we've a "Jairman" coach who has signed a few "Jairman" players but done none what-so-ever into the players backgrounds or capabilities - so he's just followed more-or-less what Hollowmouth had to say and flowered it out a bit with some stoopid talk about odds. Remember - these guys had Leicester at 5000:1 at this time last season and at much shorter odds to go down.

* Sincere apologies to other half-wit's - Hollowmouth really hasn't got anywhere close to half the wit that you've got.