Huddersfield Town are once again defying expectations and the betting odds. The Terriers were odds on for relegation with the bookies and most pundits back at the start of the season.
Huddersfield Town Defying the Odds Again
Could Huddersfield Town Earn Promotion to the Premier League Again?
Every season, most of the pundits tip Huddersfield Town for relegation from whatever league they happen to be starting the season in. The 2021/2022 season was no different. The Terriers are usually known as “perennial strugglers”, so unsuprisingly Town are often tipped as relegation targets.
Huddersfield, though have made the impossible dream occur once already. The Terriers have spent a good many years in the Championship, usually embroiled in a relegation battle. However, something special happened only five years ago.
The Impossible Dream
Appointing an unknown German coach from Borussia Dortmund II, and the first non English coach/manager Town had ever had, David Wagner entered the fray. The German had a rough start in 2015 but the Terriers survived and stayed in the Championship.
The following season, having used the summer transfer window to mould his squad on a typical Yorkshire budget, things began to change. The spirit of the team, the fight for the shirt, everything about the play was exciting. At points throughout the season Town had actually been in the automatic promotion spots. Unfortunately, they were not able to keep that up, finding themselves in the play-offs.
Stunningly, Huddersfield defeated Sheffield Wednesday over two legs with a penalty shootout to make the final. Reading, who had shocked Fulham in their semi-final were the opposition. Agonisingly, for the fans, the final was a very tight contest. Huddersfield had the better of the chances, and even missed a sitter of a goal. Penalties, at Wembley, with Germans on the team? Reading actually went ahead as Town missed one of theirs. However, Reading followed up missing and it was all square. Danny Ward, who was on loan from Liverpool at the time, made a crucial save to give the Terriers that golden opportunity.
Huddersfield scored, to complete the unlikely ending. Second season syndrome caught up with Huddersfield, and they were relegated back to the Championship. So began a repeat, where the Terriers were in a relegation battle but survived. An unknown Spaniard was appointed as the coach. Carlos Corberan had been the deputy to Marcelo Bielsa, nothing much more was known about him.
The Impossible Dream: 2.0?
Corberan did not have the best start to the season, but some canny signings in the January window have worked wonders. Huddersfield are now in the play-off places again. The Terriers actually sit in third as this is being written, with a positive goal difference.
Could the impossible happen again? Can Huddersfield earn automatic promotion to the Premier League, or will they “settle” once again for trying via the play-offs? If the latter and the semi-final goes to penalties, Town would be the favourites, after all every single one of their play-off matches to earn promotion to the league above have gone to penalties, Town have won them all.
It’s still a little too early to say for certain, however, Huddersfield are currently 17 games unbeaten in all competitions, third in the Championship and still in the FA Cup. From struggling again to the dizzy hights, Huddersfield Town are defying the odds again.
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