[jjamez]

The winter of discontent has passed in West Yorkshire and has given way to a spring of resentment, towards Huddersfield Town and those at the forefront of the club. The main three in Nagle, Edwards and Cartwright have taken the brunt, and rightly so, they are the faces of the club, however the mire has started to encompass Kev's sidekick Dave, with Jon Worthington having gone from the second coming of the messiah, to a very naughty boy who has fallen into the Michael Duff trap of dour and insipid football. The players, having gotten used to a chorus of boos on many occasion this season, have now seen chants aimed towards them of 'you're not fit to wear the shirt'. Ironic really given the amount of injuries the side has had, meaning a lot of them actually haven't been fit to wear the shirt, and most of them when they have been fit to wear the shirt, actually haven't been fit to wear the shirt... its very much a penrose stairs sort of thing. Anyone into paradoxes, and I don't mean how America keep voting Trump and how to fix Town.



Does hope spring eternal? maybe according to those who chirp in the ear of Kev, but that is probably so they can keep each other in a job, it would be interesting to see what they get up to over the course of a week, however, it does feel like we could be a spin off series of Sunderland till I die, just without players on over 60k a week, we have had club staff getting into fights with supporters though, so we are well on the way in that sense!

How do you solve a puzzle like Town? well other than a bit of axe wielding, actually there is probably a lot of culling needed in the playing squad and a few other positions. The answer is probably increase revenue any which way you can and try and throw money at it, although we just seem intent on throwing good money after bad. But simplistically, it is remove people from positions they don't deserve, cut a lot of the players who are seeing their deals expire, try to move on those that are weighing the team down, get as good a deal as we can for stadium sponsorship and use whatever money we have to undergo yet another full rebuild. Simples.



Tuesdays defeat leaves Town in 8th, with a huge fight on their hands to finish in the top 6, sitting on 61 points, Bolton, the current incumbents meanwhile, are on 63 points with Stockport on 71 points in 5th. Town have registered just the sole win in their last 5 games, and taking that into account, could face dropping down to 10th fairly soon, with Leyton Orient having 59 points. Looking at the games we have left, Wycombe, Stockport, Leyton Orient will be fighting for their spots up the top of the league, whilst Mansfield and Exeter are probably just about safe, but will want to make sure of it, with Cambridge and Burton both fighting for their places in this league. Town meanwhile don't seem to have an ounce of fight left in them by and large, and it will remain that way whilst gutless players like Ben Wiles remain immune to being dropped. A stat from last nights TV coverage was that one trick pony Josh Koroma has scored 1 goal in his last 14 games or something like that. Either way, not acceptable if he is desiring a Championship contract, yet other team commentators seem to think he is a key player for us, they obviously haven't seen how many attacks end because of his reluctance to take a man on, instead slowing down and allowing defenders to get back. I find myself having a lot of other peeves with this side, goalkeepers reluctant to start a counter attack when catching the ball, every man back defending corners when some are close to being certified as midgets, Callum Marshall needlessly shoving players in the back when trying to apply pressure giving stupid fouls away, Evans not being able to control a ball half the time, and when he does firing a pass at the opposition, Wiles just being there is often enough for me too, I don't know, there's just something about him, he openly admitted he stopped trying last season and seems to have done the same again now and he did at Rotherham. Any more peeves? Sorensen not being able to beat a man with a cross or take his man on, throw ins being useless for the 10th season in a row, maybe longer. The list goes on and its becoming a rant rather than a match thread.

Moving onto Mansfield, still managed by Nigel Clough, sit 17th on 47 points, 8 points clear of the drop zone. They were founded in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans, it would be nearly 40 years before they were able to join the football league and initially struggled to adapt to the increase in standard. They started to progress after World War II, avoiding the need to reapply for League status as the war finished, they started to climb the table and reached the 5th round of the FA Cup in 1950, but by the end of the 50's they had been relegated to the newly created fourth division. They got promoted a few seasons later, but this was tarnished by accusations and the eventual suspensions of two players for bribing opponents. Two seasons later, the club again narrowly missed out on promotion to the Second Division. The season after avoiding relegation due to a points deduction for Peterborough United, Mansfield made another headline-grabbing cup run. Mansfield beat First Division West Ham United 3–0 in the fifth round of the 1968–69 FA Cup, before narrowly losing to Leicester City in the quarter-finals. In 1971–72 Mansfield were relegated, again, to the Fourth Division. By 1976–77, the club was back in the Third Division, and despite the distraction of a 5–2 FA Cup defeat to Matlock Town, beat Wrexham to the Third Division title. The club went straight back down, and only a good run of form at the end of the 1978–79 season saved Mansfield from a double relegation. Mansfield won the Football League Trophy in front of 58,000 fans in May 1987, beating Bristol City on penalties after a 1–1 draw, with former Town manager Ian Greaves at the helm. However, the years that followed were inconsistent, with Mansfield becoming a "yo-yo" team between the Third and Fourth Divisions. In 2001–02, Mansfield were again promoted to the third tier of English football, beating Carlisle United to take third place from Cheltenham Town, who lost at Plymouth Argyle. A poor season in Division Two did not pick up even with the arrival of Keith Curle as manager, as the club was relegated straight back to the fourth tier of English football. In 2003–04, Mansfield beat Northampton Town in a penalty shoot-out in the Division Three play-off semi-finals, but lost to Town on penalties in the final.



They come in on the back of a 2-1 defeat at home to Charlton, better than what we did, they have won 13 games this season, including wins against Stockport and Bolton back in January, as well as drawing against Birmingham and the other fixture against Stockport. Survival was the aim of the game for the season in reality for the Stags after getting promoted from League Two last season, finishing third, having missed out in the play offs the season prior. In 2018–19, the Stags narrowly missed out on promotion on the final day of the season after a defeat to promotion rivals MK Dons. They lost in the play-off semi-finals to Newport County on penalties. In 2021–22, Mansfield reached the play-offs again but lost 3–0 to Port Vale in the final. This season marks the first time the Stags have played in the third tier of English Football since the 2002-2003 season, with the Stags spending time in non league along the way, having seen their 77 year stay in come to an end in 2008. That hiatus would last until they won the title in 2013, their time in the non league was bumpy to say the least, with the original owner attacked by fans upon relegation Following the club's relegation in 2008, Colin Hancock, then the chairman of Glapwell, emerged as the leading bidder as he agreed to purchase a controlling share of the Stags, Field Mill, and some land surrounding the stadium from Haslam. However, three businessmen who were also Mansfield Town fans, Andrew Perry, Andrew Saunders and Steve Middleton, bought the club from Keith Haslam for an undisclosed fee, but they were still renting the stadium from him. At the start of the 2010–11 season Mansfield were bought by John Radford. He and his wife brought Paul Cox to the club, with Cox leading Mansfield to the FA Cup 3rd round where a Luis Suarez goal knocked the stags out of the cup. He achieved promotion back to the football league and finished mid table in their first season back, he departed in 2014 by mutual consent and the club have had five permanent managers since then, including former Barnsley caretaker Adam Murray and ex Rotherham manager Steve Evans, until finding solidity and success under Clough who has been at the helm for over 200 games now.

Clough, obviously needs no real introduction, a famous father and a footballing career that saw him play over 300 games for Forest and represent clubs like Liverpool and Man City (before they were good), he also received 13 England caps, but didn't register a goal for the National side. He has forged his own managerial path, starting with a decade at the helm of Burton Albion between 1998 and 2009, he was in charge for over 700 games, the highlights of his first spell there being guiding them to the Conference Premier and holding a star studded Manchester United to a 0-0 draw in the FA Cup at Old Trafford, although they lost the replay 5-0. In January 2009, Derby County came calling and the lure of returning to his fathers old stomping ground was too much to ignore. He spent nearly 4 years at Derby, becoming their longest serving manager in over a decade when he departed. He was unable to match his fathers success, only managing to keep Derby as a solid midtable club in the Championship, although at the time, the club wasn't as well funded, although his replacement Steve McLaren guided them further up the league. Less than a month later, Clough would be appointed manager of Sheffield United, the Blades were sat near the foot of League one, having failed to overcome the disappointment of losing the play off final a few seasons prior to Town. Clough guided them to an 11th place finish and the following season took the Blades to the FA Cup semi finals, but was unable to get promotion and was sacked at the end of the season.

He would return to Burton, now in League One in December after Jimmy Flloyd Hasselbaink left to join QPR, his tenure this time was far shorter than his first but he guided Burton to the Championship for the first time in their history in his first season back, he kept them in the second tier for two seasons before they were relegated at the end of the 2018 season., he was unable to achieve a return to the second division and eventually departed the club in 2020 due to the financial pressure on the club from COVID. Later that year he would join Mansfield who were sitting near the foot of League Two, After a poor start to the 2021–22 season which had seen his side in the relegation zone in October, Mansfield would win a club record eleven consecutive home matches to finish the season strongly. They ultimately finished 7th, missing out on automatic promotion on the final game of the season. In the play-offs, Mansfield would beat Northampton Town before losing 3–0 in the play-off final against Port Vale. In the 2022–23 season, Mansfield missed out on a play-off finish on goal difference despite a win against Colchester United in the final game. At the beginning of the 2023–24 season, Mansfield went 19 games unbeaten and would end the season with promotion to League One.



In terms of head-to-head, there is obviously one game that stands out way back when in the old days, when the town was a league with two sides full of kids. But really, meetings between the two sides have been few and far between, with only 22 games over the course of time. The first meeting was a 0-0 draw in 1976 in the FA Cup, with Mansfield winning the replay 2-1. The sides would meet twice in the League Cup in 83, with Huddersfield winning both games, 2-1 in Nottinghamshire and 5-1 back in Yorkshire. The first league meeting would come in 88 in Division 3, with Mansfield winning the first game 1-0 before Town wonure 2-0, this would mark the first of a few seas the return fixtons where the sides would meet, Town would register the league double over the Stags the next season before the sides drew both games in the 90/91 season. The sides would have a season off before renewing acquaintances in 1992, in the newly named Division Two, with Town once again doing the league double. It would be another 5 years before the sides would meet again, this time it would be back in the League Cup, with Huddersfield winning the first game 3-2, before drawing the second game 1-1, three years later, Mansfield would knock Town out of the FA Cup with a 4-0 down at Field Mill. The sides would be back in league action in 2002/03 with Town winning away 2-0 and drawing 1-1 at home, but the sides would suffer the same fate as they were relegated into division 3. A 3-3 draw would come first, before Town capitulated in front of a bumper crowd, losing 3-1. Both sides missed out on automatic promotion and would have to go through the playoffs, with Town winning on penalties after a 0-0 draw. Two years later, Mansfield would get a little revenge as they knocked Town out of the league cup 2-0, it would be a further 18 years before the sides would meet again at a blustery One Call Stadium earlier this season, with Town winning 2-1 thanks to goals from Ben Wiles and Josh Koroma.



In terms of played for both, Mansfield have a few in their current squad, Lucas Akins came through the academy at Town and impressed manager Andy Ritchie in training, but once Ritchie left and was replaced by Stan Ternent, his opportunities dwindled, with Stan telling Akins he would be leaving at the end of the season having only made 5 appearances for the first team before heading to Scotland to play for Hamilton. He had two years in Scotland, including having a loan out at Partick Thistle, before moving back down South to join Tranmere. He had two seasons at Tranmere, making over 70 appearances before leaving to join Stevenage, there he would also make over 70 appearances and scoring 13 goals ahead of his first meet up with Nigel Clough at Burton. During his time at Burton, he would reach the Championship, making over 300 appearances in his 8 years at the club. He would leave Burton at the end of 2022 season and rejoin Clough at Mansfield. He has been there ever since and has made over 100 appearances for the club, although this could be his last season in football as he pled guilty to death by dangerous driving earlier this year, some 3 years after the incident. Also in their current squad is one Jordan Rhodes, who joined on loan from Blackpool in January, he has scored one goal for the club, and has been a bit of a part player, although he will likely be in the squad on saturday, we don't need his story, although, I would seriously have signed him in January considering how our current lot have been doing. In previous years they have had the likes of David Mirfin who played two seasons at the club at the end of his career, only making 12 appearances for the Stags, former Town loanee Krystian Pearce has also played for Mansfield, making 191 more appearances for the Stags than he did the Terriers...work that out. Another former Town loanee in Jordan Smith has been on the books of both sides, he failed to make an appearance for Town, but made 12 for Mansfield, he's currently playing up in Scotland at Hibernian. Another academy graduate Jimmy Spencer had a spell at Mansfield as he drifted down the footballing pyramid, he played 18 games for the Stags, Oscar Gobern likewise played in passing for Mansfield on his way down, Town also loaned striker Danny Carr to Mansfield where he only managed 4 games, but really there isn't much to talk about here.



In terms of team news, town may see the return of Spencer from a hamstring complaint, but I don't think there us many more to come back just yet, but will we see a new manager hidden in the stands somewhere? it wouldn't surprise me if someone hasn't planned to make the journey to the ground to see what is happening.

[theo_luddite]

I woudn't be surprised if a few were sniffing, but I would be surprised if any of them got the job this side of May let alone June.

[ritchiebaby]

Re Jordan Smith at Hibs, he has developed into an excellent keeper. In his first few games he was personally responsible for two of our many defeats. To be fair to him, the whole defence were guilty of abysmal individual errors. Now he is playing to a high standard and is a major part in Hibs enjoying a 15-match unbeaten run in the Premiership.

[Lord Snooty]

Nice one jjamez.

Not looking forward to this at all. Could get ugly.

[Lord Snooty]

. Lee Nicholls ©
2. Lasse Sorensen
3. Josh Ruffels
4. Matty Pearson
8. Ben Wiles
18. David Kasumu
22. Joe Taylor
24. Radinio Balker
26. Ruben Roosken
27. Tawanda Chirewa
41. Joe Hodge

SUBSTITUTES

Jacob Chapman; Jonathan Hogg, Callum Marshall, Mickel Miller, Dion Charles, Ollie Turton, Antony Evans

[Lord Snooty]

A win! Hurray!

If only we could've had a fit Mick the Miller for the full season, things could've been so much different. What a great player he is.

Charles also looked a bit more like the player we thought we were signing when he came on. Have to feel a bit sorry for Taylor, running about like a headless chicken without seeing any of the ball. As soon as he goes off we start getting the ball forward.

[Lord Snooty]

And Roosken. He and Miller played well together. Could be an exciting left wing partnership for the run in.

---

And why were there so many police there today? It was like we were playing Leeds.

[WakeyTerrier]

A win is a win but for the most part it was rinse and repeat of the Lincoln game, lucky to get away with Mansfield missing a sitter in the first half

[jjamez]

I think, as per the thread, we need to take an axe to the squad (figuratively) we need a drastic rebuild, regardless of what division we are in.

Seems as if Cartwright isnt going anywhere atm, but if you read datm, players like miller and rooskens both were identified by someone else, in these cases duff and maybury. Which begs the question, who has he actually identified? Or is it a case of good signings are someone else and he signs just the poor ones? I do actually feel sorry for him in that regard, as he's either missing out on credit or he's being tarred for someone else's mistakes. Unless every signing is identified by someone else and he is the one who clears it and goes and gets them.

For me, I'd probably say all those out of contract could go, including hoggy, I reckon Spencer will attract interest and nicholls will want out too. I'd look to move wiles on as well. But one thing for certain is we need leaders amongst a lot of other things, but that was the case regardless

[theo_luddite]

We supposedly had a good bunch of FL Manager anal ysts that got moved on when Cartright came in, mainly because they weren't highlighting mostly unfit Stoke players as potential loans or signings that he'd previously signed for Stoke. We know how well that worked out. The big surprise was that we didnt bring Peter Crouch out of retirement. Not sure who was totally responsible for the January Sales signings and I've not looked at that thread yet on DATM, but the fact that most of them are now only just about fit enough to play in April when they were bought to move us onwards and upwards in January tells you a lot.

If we can do to Wycombe for the best part of 60-75 mintes of what we did to Mansfield for the best part of 30 minutes, I might start to consider buying another season card. I won't get my hopes up about another win on penalties at Wemberlee. A place I didn't want us to go to again this season, but is now our best hope, once again.