The Local Lowdown: Huddersfield Town
We asked opposition expert Matt Glennon, former Huddersfield Town goalkeeper turned BBC Radio Leeds co-commentator, to preview Saturday's game from the visitors’ point of view...
How would you sum up Huddersfield’s season so far?
Not great. It’s been a slog, obviously. We’ve gone from Neil Warnock to Darren Moore, then he left, so it’s been a very tough season and not a great watch when it comes to the standard of football.
What was the general reaction to Darren Moore’s departure?
I think everyone knew it was coming. It was nine 1-1 draws and three wins in 23 games… not really going for teams when you’ve got them against the ropes to go and get the win. It was too tentative and I think he was the architect of his own downfall – I just don’t think he took enough chances or played a forward-thinking style of football, which he said he was going to play.
He did have a lot of injuries and he was unlucky with that, but ultimately they just weren’t turning up to win games and it wasn’t going to work out well if he stayed to the end of the season, let’s put it that way.
A 1-1 draw at QPR - the ninth of his 23-game reign - signalled the end of Darren Moore's tenure
Did we see a bit more adventure in the team’s approach last weekend? A 4-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday would suggest so…
It wasn’t a great game, to be honest, Sheffield Wednesday aren’t a great team either. It was played at a good pace and everybody was wanting to get stuck in, but what happened was Town got their goal and they didn’t sit back. They said, ‘right, let’s go forward, let’s keep going at them’, and there was 12 minutes of exciting football when we scored four goals!
That would’ve been a 1-1 if Darren Moore had been in charge because they would’ve sat back and tried to defend the lead, and it wouldn’t have gone well because Sheffield Wednesday have got some decent individuals in their team.
Michal Helik has scored eight goals from centre-back already this season. Are Huddersfield a big threat from set-pieces?
It’s not always set-pieces with Michal Helik. He scored an 18-yarder from a knockdown, he scores different kinds of goals – he’s like a goal machine! Sorba Thomas, on his day, is one of the best free-kick takers you’ll see. His assists over the last couple of years are right up there, and he’s done well for Helik, but he (Helik) has got a bit of a mixture of goals in him – he’s a bit of a goal hanger at times, or he’ll get a header in, good runs, but he’s a goalmouth player. Eight goals from a centre-half in a struggling team is not bad at all.
The towering figure of Michal Helik heads home one of his eight goals this season
Who else should Saints be watching out for today?
The team who are fourth bottom of the division don’t really like scoring, there’s not been masses of great performances, but if Sorba Thomas is on fire he can provide the attacks. Josh Koroma scored a couple of good goals the other day, Michal Helik is a good defender, Matty Pearson, the goalkeeper Lee Nicholls… there is good talent in the side, it’s just not been managed very well. That’s been the major part of it. Alex Matos, who’s just come in from Chelsea, is very all-action, loves a tackle, loves an interception high up the pitch, so he’s starting to get his foot into the team now.
I do feel Huddersfield Town are going to struggle to get both of their new signings up front on the pitch – I think Bojan Radulović is going to struggle with the concussion protocols, because he got a whack in the face and went off, so I don’t know if he’s going to make it, and Rhys Healey went off with a groin strain, so you’ve just spent about £3million on two strikers and they’ve both come off early in the game (against Sheffield Wednesday last weekend), so not great to see that either. But there is a selection of players in there that can hurt teams, definitely.
Former goalkeeper Matt Glennon in action during his three-and-a-half-year Huddersfield career
How do you see the game going?
A lot of Town fans are saying ‘it’s got to end sometime’ but Southampton are on an unbelievable run. Town are on a bit of a high after scoring four goals and Jon Worthington will probably still be in charge so they’ll have a bit of a spring in their step because he’s a positive person.
Southampton have lost some poor games this season, Leicester have lost some games, so there is a chance in there, but it’s going to be tough. As long as we have a go, as long as we work your goalkeeper, I think the Town fans will be happy.
Do you have any standout memories of St Mary’s from your playing career?
Only that I didn’t get a move to Southampton in 2007. There was talk of me coming down there a long time ago, from Huddersfield, and it would’ve been a great place to play football. There are certain clubs that, in my 20-odd years, I didn’t spend a lot of time at, and Southampton is one of them.
Chris Lucketti was there at the time, and it was a loan move I was looking at – I think Kelvin [Davis] might have been injured. I can’t remember what the circumstances were, but unfortunately it didn’t come off. I’ve always thought I would have loved to have sampled life down by the sea, but it didn’t quite work out for me.
Viewing this page on a mobile device? Download the Saints app for all the latest news, feature videos and interactive content to get you closer to the action!
