By @DANNOJ
Behind Enemy Lines: Huddersfield (H) 1st September 2018
1) How long have you been a Huddersfield fan for?
I’ve been a fan for about twenty five years, so I’ve seen Town play in every level of the football league. I can confidently say it’s more fun to watch us getting beaten in the Premier League to Man City than it was to seeing us getting beaten by Mansfield in League Two.
2) What did you make of your business in the transfer window?
We broke our transfer record on making Terence Kongolo’s loan move permanent, which was a great acquisition for us as he’s absolutely class. Our other main signings were three wingers in Ramadan Sobhi, Adama Diakhaby, and Isaac Mbenza. All have potential but are unproven and may take time to adjust to the Premier League. So it’s still too early to say if we brought in enough quality to keep us in the league.
3) What position would represent a good season for you?
After the start we’ve had I’d be delighted with 17th. If we can survive for a few seasons in the Premier League we may start to aspire for more, but currently survival is the best we can hope for.
4) Who’s the man to watch for Huddersfield?
Aaron Mooy is our most important player. If he’s on form he can dictate play from the deep-lying midfield role and drive the team forward. His form has been up and down for a while now, but if he plays well then he makes everyone else in the team look better too because of his range of passing.
5) Who’s the man you hope doesn’t play for Huddersfield?
This is a tricky question but it would have to be Collin Quaner. He’s currently our least talented player but he’s also a cult hero. He plays like he’s won a competition to get into the team by collecting tokens on a box of Corn Flakes, but that’s part of his charm. He’s often no idea what he’s doing, but that also means defenders haven’t got a clue either. He set up the equalised in our Playoff semi-final against Sheffield Wednesday in our promotion season, so he’s still a hero in my eyes, despite his obvious shortcomings.
6) How are you expecting this game to play out?
I like the way Marco Silva is trying to adapt the team compared to the dour football Big Sam was serving up, so I’m expecting to see an attacking Everton side. I’m hopeful that Town will look to fight fire with fire and we’ll see a proper game of football. However, David Wagner has been a little bit timid in his tactics lately though, so we may sit back and try to soak up pressure. Either way, I suspect we’ll have a tough afternoon.
7) What are your opinions on Marco Silva?
As I mentioned above, I like his approach and his brand of football is attractive to watch. I wonder if he’s perhaps a bit overrated, but we’ll see how this season plays out. The real test will be to see if he can get Everton challenging the established top six teams, if he manages that then he deserves the hype.
8) What Everton player would you like to play for Huddersfield?
Based on current form, I’d love to have Theo Walcott on the wing for Town. We often lack cutting edge when we’re attacking, and when Theo’s got his eye in he can be almost impossible to stop.
9) What should Everton expect from Huddersfield in this match?
We’ve had a bumpy start to the Premier League season so far, with defeats to Chelsea and Man City followed by a drab 0-0 with Cardiff last weekend. The performances have been poor and our tactics have been too negative. That’s not typical of Town under David Wagner though, so I’m hoping to see an improvement at Goodison.
Against top-six teams we tend to sit very deep, surrender possession and try to create opportunities on the break. Against the other teams in the league we’ll usually be more aggressive and press higher up the pitch. This opens up the game at both ends, making us more likely to concede because of the higher defensive line, but also giving us more options in attack.
David Wagner has had a habit of getting the best out of his players when things have been going against us, so it could be that we see an improved performance in this game. If there isn’t an improvement then it could be an easy win for Everton.
10) Final score?
I’m going to be optimistic and predict 2-1 to Town.
Thanks to James at Terrierspirit.com for his contribution- he can also be found on twitter at @SpiritTerrier
