terriersmad - Comments

Abraham will, if given the service. He's a good player, that lad.

Signings! We're up to 8. Kachunga signed permanently (£1.1m from Ingolstadt), Laurent Depoitre (£3.5m from Porto), Aaron Mooy (£8m from Manchester City), Jonas Lössl (loan from Mainz), Tom Ince (£7.5m from Derby), Kasey Palmer (loan from Chelsea), Danny Williams (free from Reading), and now Steve Mounié (£11.5m from Montpellier) have all arrived (or re-arrived) to boost the squad. And I think our transfer activity isn't finished yet - strong rumours about Fulham left-back Scott Malone and Copenhagen lunatic Mathias Zanka Jørgensen (who makes Michael Hefele look shy and retiring) arriving in the next day or two. There's still space for a couple of loans as well, which I imagine we'd take advantage of (Ollie Burke is strongly rumoured).

On the way, I'd imagine, will be Sean Scannell, Harry Bunn and Joe Lolley, with loans for Luke Coddington, Jack Payne and Tareiq Holmes-Dennis.

Bet he doesn't play 15 games next season. Completely past it.

The problem with the shirt is the stripes. Why are they all circle-fuzzed on the body, but not the sleeves? Why do they have to be circle-fuzzed at all, other than some ego at Puma thinking he knows best when he's less intelligent than a breeze block? All the kits with that effect on them look dreadful.

As for the sponsors: At least we're getting a couple of million a year out of them. Makes it easier to take.

I would post ours. I'll let someone else do it. Suffice to say, it's absolutely crap.

That's Dean giving the further £26. We provide £99, Dean tops it up to £125.

Looks like we've got a striker. Laurent Depoitre from Porto. They signed him for €6m just last summer, though it's not really worked out for him (probably something to do with two truly top-class strikers being ahead of him). Two-year deal with the club having an option for a third. No idea on fee, though part of me wonders if it was knock-down with the aim of Porto clearing the decks a bit for next season. His agency has tweeted a picture of him signing the deal with Town, but it's been deleted.

Yet to decide where my refund will be going. I don't want the cash back, but I'll still be a bit strapped for cash with moving, so tempted to take the retail option and invest in this season's shirt. That said, the Town Foundation is a brilliant initiative that provides kids in Kirklees with free breakfasts at schools, and £99 will provide an awful lot of breakfasts.

They will. Barnsley have been superbly run in the last couple of years and seem to have a cracking scouting network. If they pick up a few more bargains, they'll be top half this season - I know they struggled at the back end of last season, but that's partly because they sold without replacing, and they seem to be replacing.

Almost like it was planned, much like us being at Palace - the same as the last game we had in the First Division in 1972

Got to say, I'm a little concerned we haven't confirmed any signings yet, but with that said it looks like some are on the way. Aaron Mooy on a permanent, Tom Ince also apparently on a permanent (provided we're not overpaying), and Patrick Roberts on loan. There'll be a random German or five in our transfers as well. Looking good, we'll give it a go

It hasn't yet sunk in. It's incredible. I hoped for top half at the start of the season, but this is beyond my wildest dreams. Next season is one to savour regardless of what happens, but I think we'll give it a real go. I'm expecting a quick return to the Championship, but that doesn't bother me - I just want us to have a go and have no regrets in every single game.

What makes it better is that we've done it without oodles of cash. We're a sensibly run club. We have been since administration and the Third Division season 14 years ago. While the Derbies of this division throw money around to fall on their faces we've built a team though a brilliant appointment, sensible buying and selling, and creating a real bond between team and fans. We've not got the most talented individuals, but we have a set of players who would run through brick walls for the club, even the loanees, and that's saying something.

I hope that next season we plan sensibly. We need to tie down Aaron Mooy and Izzy Brown if at all possible (rumour has it a fee has been agreed for Mooy already). I'd love to see Tammy Abrahams in a Town shirt. That Danny Williams from Reading is a horrible, narky, snarly bastard who I've whinged about time and again - and he'd be great for us on a free transfer (I think his contract is up, but I may be wrong). Sign more of the likes of Ollie Watkins from Exeter - we can take more punts on players like him, and they'll be more likely to come because they will get game time. Pick up someone like Kyle Bartley or Harry Maguire for the back. An exciting summer awaits! Plenty of Germans will be on the way, I suspect!

A word for Reading. It's the cruellest way to lose, and like Sheffield United they lost with great dignity and our coach was actually applauded by a small group of Reading fans leaving the car park - they'd stayed to applaud us, which is a touch of class. All the best to them. They weren't great on the day (I'm not convinced we played well, if truth be told, but we did at least show a bit more attacking intent), but they're a work in progress. Stam has something - I just hope he learns to be a bit more attacking more consistently.

I'll still be hanging around here. After all these years in the lower leagues, I'm not about to forget the heart of football just because Town have gone up. So I look forward to hearing plenty of League One conversation - from the early indications, it's a lot less patronising in tone than anything in the Premier League.

Different game. Two mentally tough sides, written off so many times by people in the media (not so much by other fans - though having predicted Reading for a battle against the drop I'll look very silly if they go up at our expense now), two clear footballing philosophies, two sides based on teamwork and togetherness. It'll be a very interesting and probably low-scoring affair.

I do have to say, I don't mind Reading going up at our expense, if it happens that way. They've grown on me this season. Their footballing style isn't everyone's cup of tea, but Jaap Stam has been excellent, they've not been cocky, they've been a really good bunch all season. As have Fulham and the majority of Wednesday fans (just not their number 45). I suspect it'll be more of a Sheffield United final than a Peterborough one.

Hey, Fernando: karma.

Jesus. Football. Bring on Reading.

Took Forestieri all of 56 seconds to dive for the first time. Never in our area, though, because they simply never got anywhere near our area. Pleased with today's performance - just lacked a goal. They kept shape and were difficult to break down, but we should have scored through Brown in the first half and Wells in the second. They were masters of the tactical foul to break up play at dangerous times and that was another reason we didn't create a lot of clear cut chances.

On to Hillsborough and a straight shoot-out. 90 minutes, us or them. All the pressure is on them. They're at home, they've spent squillions, their fans will expect them to turn us over. We can just look forward to another evening out - I'll be there, one of the 2,000 lucky souls who got tickets. It's going to be a heck of a night.

No pressure today. Been in poor form after a great season - nobody expected us to be here, and all the pressure falls onto Sheffield Wednesday. We might lose, but at the end of the day this is a real free hit at the Premier League. If we don't do it, we don't do it.

One thing is for certain, however: Fernando Forestieri will fall over in our penalty area.

Not sure it's that much of a blow. Victim of his own terrible decision making today - never knows when to come out of his box or not. Dallies, doesn't get there, sticks a hand out, gets sent off. Also victim of us playing at less than 50% - so lacksadaisical today. Nobody really giving their all, just strolling round. Cardiff wanted to end the season on a high and duly did. I suspect, however, it'll be a very different Town team against Sheffield Wednesday next Sunday - one with a point to prove and a score to settle, considering the way Wednesday just seem to get the rub of the green every time against us.

Gentlemen, we can agree the FL has got its priorities all wrong - nothing new there, then. For what it's worth, I hope Blackburn do stay up ahead of Birmingham and Nottingham Forest. I'm already looking forward to the play-offs, making a raft of changes and then getting the League's knickers in a twist all over again

Rumour has it that the EFL is meeting tomorrow especially to discuss our 10 changes to make up a rule and fine us. Much as I didn't like us doing it, most people will see the sense behind us doing it and will disagree with any League involvement - especially as two other sides made a similar number of changes to us in games that I'm aware of this weekend (Wolves with 8 and Bradford with 9 - against a Rochdale side who could still have made the play-offs), and neither of those are apparently up for discussion.

I have to say if they do that it really is ridiculous. Team selection is a manager's prerogative. If he wants to rest his play-off first XI, he is actually entitled to do so. Might not be perfect, but we've actually earned that. If he wants to play the groundsman at left-back on Saturday, he's perfectly entitled to do that as well. So long as they're registered to play, it's none of the Football League's business who does play. Add to that the team selection against (in particular) Wigan in January (a game we won) and you have to ask what on earth the Football League are playing at. We have the most important games since 1972 coming up, our lookout is to ensure that players are fit and available. Nine of the players used played in both - some from the start, some as subs. We made 8 changes against Wigan from the previous game against Blackburn (and won 1-0). We also made 9 changes against Reading and Sheffield Wednesday and 10 against Newcastle. See below for teams v Wigan in January and from Saturday.

Team v Wigan: Ward, Cranie, Holmes-Dennis, Hudson, Stankovic, Billing (Whitehead), Mooy, Kachunga, Bunn (Lolley), Payne (Hefele), Wells

Team v Birmingham: Coleman, Smith, Holmes-Dennis (Wells), Cranie, Hudson (Scannell), Whitehead, Billing, Payne, Bunn (Mooy), Lolley, Quaner

In bold are players who featured in both - 5 started both games, 4 started one and appeared as a sub in the other. Ward, Coleman (both manager's selections for the game in question), Stankovic (injured for 2nd game), Kachunga (injured for 2nd game), Quaner (not signed for the first game) and Hefele (rested for second game) only appeared in one.

If the Football League take action, it will be a joke. I have sympathy for Blackburn and Forest. Having been on the other end of it, it feels like there's been a betrayal of trust. But in the end, we'd be getting punished because, frankly, Forest and Blackburn haven't won enough of their own games to not worry about our team selection - which had already shown that it was strong enough to beat Wigan and get a draw with Manchester City with very similar personnel.

Update: Bradford, who made 9 changes, bearing in mind they're playing in the play-offs on Thursday, have also been charged. This is absolutely ridiculous. Who had this bright idea? Days gone by, you got safe and you blooded youngsters without anyone batting an eyelid. Nowadays you rest and prepare your team as best you can and you get hammered for it. It's noticeable that Ipswich (9 changes) haven't been charged for their team v Rotherham, and neither have Wolves (8 changes) nor Brighton (6 changes).

On one hand, I know. Most people in football would do the same in the circumstances. It may even have worked for us as fringe players wanted to prove a point - but apparently not. One or two of them will be going. Hudson and Whitehead will probably be retiring (though Whitehead has another year in him if you ask me), and Bunn and Lolley probably need to drop a level to get their mojo back - just not quite good enough consistently for us if we want to progress.

But on the other, I know what it's like to be on the other end of it. It's awful thinking another team has just given up when you're fighting for your lives. You as a club don't deserve it. I'd rather have rested players just next week because so much was riding on today for Birmingham. Particularly disappointing when they play 70 minutes with 10 (even if it sounds harsh - not seen it).

I do think we'll do the same next week. I even suspect young Jordan Williams and Regan Booty will make their debuts - 17 and 19 year old academy products. But there's nothing but jockeying in the play-offs at stake. Cardiff are safe. We're in the play-offs and it's our lookout if we want to sacrifice home advantage for having players fit (which makes perfect sense). Exactly the sort of game to experiment and rest players in, not this weekend.

Losing 2-0 to 10 men with a whimper tells us an awful lot about those squad players called upon today. I'm really sorry for Blackburn and Forest, to be honest, although most fans will understand that we've done it to protect our first XI in what is ultimately a meaningless away game for us ahead of the play-offs. I remember when Barnsley played their kids in a game in 2001, went down 3-0 to our relegation rivals and I hoped we'd never do it.

That being said, protecting our own players for the play-offs is paramount and this has been underlined by Billing picking up what sounds like an ACL injury today - the second picked up by a Town player in a matter of weeks.

Sorry to Blackburn. I don't like us making 10 changes any more than you do, believe me. I know why we've done it, but I don't like it.

Time for Hudson to go, mind. I'm convinced losing regular football has accelerated his decline, and it just gets shown up each time he's picked. Penalty and goal both his fault apparently.

Still 45 minutes, though, and against 10 men. As we've nothing riding on it I don't hold out hope for a rally, but they'll be nervous and we'll see more and more of the ball.

That won't happen. Wrongdoing will be so far in the past by the time footballing authorities handle it, I think we can safely say that no points will be deducted, as it would disrupt the integrity of the competition. This will take 18 months to 2 years to sort out simply because fraud is a stupidly complex offence to prosecute, and it's only when criminal proceedings are over that the FA can begin its own proceedings.

That being said, Swindon were demoted in 1990 in identical circumstances. Having done my leg work (hence the edit) it seems that criminal proceedings came after the demotion and that the FL took action during criminal proceedings, which had started in November 1989. With it being West Ham involved, I suspect there might be an exemplary punishment meted out following the Tevez affair.

The FL do need to outline now what could happen. Sounds daft, but it might affect our team selection on Saturday. We have players who need resting, but if there's an advantage to finishing 3rd rather than 4th, all clubs need to know now.

The less rest thing won't matter. Can't imagine Birmingham will be able to lay a glove on us fitness wise. More to the point is that we now have two free hits before the end of the season. We're in the play-offs. We can make sure players are in top condition for the play-offs.

That said, I'd fucking love to send Birmingham into the bottom 3. After 2001 and their fans singing 'we'll never play you again' rather than the traditional 'we'll meet again' on relegation that entire club can go fuck itself. A very old score to settle.

Fulham are the best team in this division on their day. First time I've seen a team try to take us on at our own game and beat us. The football they play is glorious - the pace of movement and passing is simply wonderful. I'd pay to watch them.

Don't get me wrong, 4-1 probably flatters them a little, but there's no doubt they were worthy winners. They punished our mistakes ruthlessly and looked dangerous whilst playing the best football from an opposing side I've seen for a very long time. We didn't take our chances at the other end - I have a feeling that had Billing's header dropped in rather than just wide just before they made it 4 it would have been a very different story, but it didn't go in and that's all there is to it.

If we don't do it, I want it to be them. Great footballing team, sporting to a fault, and supported by some genuinely nice fans who it's hard to begrudge anything.

Apologies for that football match. Worst performance of the season. Still grabbed a point, mind, and I won't apologise for that. One win and we're just about there. Beat Fulham on Saturday and that will do it. The least we deserve for the season, after so many people wrote us off as relegation fodder.

Congratulations to Brighton. On the whole, a great club with long-suffering fans who deserve their day in the spotlight. Hughton's one of the nicest men in football and he deserves to take them up. Hopefully former poster Phoenix Arrow is enjoying a celebratory drink or two!

Thoroughly bizarre end to the game on Friday. After we'd not played particularly well but failed to kill off a resilent Preston side, we got awarded a penalty for a mystery altercation in the 93rd minute. Preston were furious. Mooy missed but Quaner smashed in the rebound. We deserved to win, but it was a dramatic end to the game.

Footage emerged over the weekend of what the penalty was given for, and on one hand we got lucky at the fact the ref was watching the incident as it unfolded and in fact called it spot on. Ball comes into the box and Hugill almost rugby tackles Kachunga. Kachunga gets up, and Hugill has a grab at his ankle. Both of these should be penalties in their own right. As Hugill gets up, Kachunga has words with the Preston striker. The ball is about to come in again, at which point Hugill pushes Kachunga over just inside the penalty area - Kachunga is clever, has the opponent pinned, which is great centre forward play. The referee brings the game to a standstill at this point and books Hugill. I don't think he realises where the offence took place, which is why it took so long to give a penalty, but credit to him for watching the incident unfolding when 90% of referees would turn their backs to watch the ball, which was about 40 yards away. Highlights show him right on the spot, watching the whole incident as it develops.

I only know this because of footage I've seen since the game. Didn't see it live, it was right down at the other end. First thing I thought was that we got remarkably lucky because I thought he'd guessed at what happened. He didn't seem to consult his linesman, though that'll be because he was wired up. We did get very lucky, in the sense that although it was a penalty I've only seen this kind of thing given once in the previous 20-odd years I've been watching football. Bit of luck. I'll take it.

Been away for a few days since the Forest game. Got lucky to only lose by 2. Forest were very organised, played well, we just didn't match them. We've been very inconsistent without Brown and Palmer - we need them back, and soon, to make sure of the play-offs.

That said, it's worth pointing out how well we played against Norwich. Should have been a cricket score, much like the way they demolished Reading at the weekend.

Congratulations, you've met Keith Stroud. The man is an absolute idiot. Arrogant and stupid. You're better off having a house brick referee.

He misses the ball by less than a foot. Time between the header and contact is less than 1/10th of a second. No raised arm. Contact between Turner's head and Whitehead's back, with Whitehead looking to avoid that contact after he'd realised he wasn't getting there. Not reckless. Not a booking by any stretch. It's a slightly late challenge made to look worse than it was by awful play-acting and seven Burton players reacting to get at Whitehead. Seen the incident a good 15 times now, including slowing it down to see if there's a raised arm or any intent, and I've seen nothing. It's a 50/50 with a player a split second late, as will happen 15 times a game. We got shafted by a play-acting racist and a referee too clueless to realise.

Right, long rant coming. Preface it with the fact we didn't break them down or do enough to win.

Why was Ben Turner playing? He got a 5-match ban yesterday, so why the fuck is he allowed special dispensation to play against us? He's not been on a wrong end of a dodgy card, he's been found guilty of racist abuse by a panel who decided on a balance of probabilities that he had used racist language against an opponent. Cold, considered verdict, not a heat of the moment decision. He's been banned. He shouldn't have been playing. That he's been allowed to play has been a significant disadvantage to us, and it now means whoever plays them 5th in this suspension gets a significant unfair advantage we didn't get. Don't know who it is, could be anyone.

Why was Dean Whitehead sent off? He got such a soft first booking because Burton's players crowded that weak-willed spineless little cretin in black, but so far as I could see for the second there was less than nothing in it. Hefele went for an aerial ball with a bit too much gusto, free-kick. Next thing I know three players have grabbed Whitehead and are trying to persuade the ref to card him again. From what I'd seen, he'd been behind Hefele, but that was all. Seemed like (and I'm not claiming to have seen everything) Whitehead hadn't done anything whatsoever. That racist Turner had gone down clutching his face like he'd been shot

Why didn't we get a penalty? Tommy Smith tripped in box. Penalty. No debate. So why wasn't it given? It was as clear as day, I saw contact from 100 yards away and the lad take both of Smith's legs, so why the ref and linesman didn't see it I just don't know. Game-changing decision. No excuses. Cost us too many times with simple, easy decisions that any simpleton could give the right way.

Why were Burton allowed to referee the game? What happened to the dissent ruling at the start of the season? Löwe got booked for haranguing the linesman late in the second half after the Burton lad had physically grabbed him round the throat and wrestled him off the ball about a foot away from the linesman. Löwe was right to be angry because fuck only knows what that stupid prick had been watching to not give a foul, but you can't harangue an official. So a booking's fair enough (though it did come from spectacular incompetence on behalf of a stupid man whose lights were on but nobody was home). So what about their lad charging 50 yards to harangue the fourth official in the first half? What about the dozen or so occasions when three and four Burton players physically surrounded the referee to stop him moving anywhere? What about the lad who refused to go to the ref to be booked? None of those resulted in a card. And worst of all, both of Whitehead's bookings came about because they surrounded the referee.

OK, the first is a foul. But it's soft. He's gone to charge down a clearance and run into him a split second late. But their lad has gone down like he's been shot, rolled about six times. Five of their players were straight around the referee. He wasn't going to book Whitehead until he was bullied into it. Second one so far as I could see wasn't him. Turner, however, needs a very long ban - 6 months or so. His cheating was an absolute disgrace. Clutching his face like that, then up the moment Whitehead is pulled to one side to remonstrate with the officials. Leaves such a sour taste in the mouth, especially as he demonstrably shouldn't be playing after being banned!

You couldn't make it up.

Actually, you could make it up.

Decisions for this season:

Mooy yellow card v Leeds (a).

Decisions against this season:

Newcastle penalty at St James's Park;
No red card v Wolves;
Yellow card for Bridcutt v Leeds (a) (see Mooy incident);
Rajiv Van La Parra red at Reading;
Gunter yellow at Reading;
Sheffield Wednesday penalty (H);
No penalty v Birmingham;
Birmingham free-kick for their equaliser;
Two penalties not given v Wigan (H);
Fielding not sent off v Bristol City (H);
No foul for the opener v Wednesday (a);
Payne sent off v Wednesday (a);
Leeds' equaliser at home not chalked off for offside;
Brown not being allowed to score v Barnsley (a);
Barnsley's keeper not being sent off (a);
Newcastle's penalty at home;
Newcastle's second goal at home;
Bristol's penalty (a);
Today.

So that's one key incorrect decision our way - with TWENTY the other way. Costing us a total of 10 points directly. 12 goal swing. More than half of our games have been adversely affected by key demonstrably incorrect easy decisions that anyone should get right going against us when they shouldn't be.

Concede 3 goals by failing to clear your lines on multiple occasions is surely the answer. I saw the highlights and they just collectively panicked.

Stankovic has injured his ACL. Out for 10 months after a pointless international friendly jaunt for Slovenia's U21s - I don't mind competitive internationals and it's one of those things in the game, but can we just do away with friendlies for the sake of having friendlies? So we're basically without any leeway with the squad now. Injuries have decimated us this last few weeks. Hogg, Brown, Palmer and Stankovic all being out robs us of a lot of our options. Though Hogg is back training, he's unlikely to be able to play again this season. Brown has undergone minor knee surgery, and Palmer is just a waiting game now. At least Mooy got himself suspended for Australia and has been back in West Yorkshire since Sunday, so a full week to recover ahead of Burton.

1. Kachunga signed on a permanent. £1.1m. In this inflated transfer market, that's a bargain, especially when Villa are spending £12m on Ross McCormack only to farm him out on loan.

2. Season cards £199

3. Brown injured - hence my annoyance at officials not giving him any protection over recent weeks. Knew something like that would happen if people were allowed to kick him up hill and down dale without sanction. No date for Palmer being due back. Payne can fill in, but he's not quite as good as those two yet (good as he could be).