Stephen Tudor article...

Wow, he really lays into Huddersfield in this one:

Why Huddersfield’s cowardice has only strengthened Manchester City’s inner-belief

The Terriers performed like petrified mice when facing City; they don’t deserve any sympathy

“I HOPE Huddersfield lose today but manage to stay up”. Variations of this sentiment was commonplace yesterday amongst a Manchester City fan-base who feared their side’s trip across the Pennines would result in a similar inflicting of local passion that toppled United last month.
With the imperious Stones out for the foreseeable, Kompany feeling his way back to fitness, and a cordial-dash of pessimism diluting the anticipation – the latter deriving from a superstitious belief that this incredible run couldn’t possibly last much longer and City were ‘due one’ – there was a tangible sense of unease ahead of a testing, televised away. The terriers would be up for it, the fans even more so and in such fierce environs City had been known to buckle in recent years.
As for the collective desire for David Wagner’s men to avoid relegation come May, well there is a lot to like about Huddersfield Town. This constitutes a fairy tale period for a club soaked in heritage that has been brilliantly guided back to the big time for the first time in 45 years by an astute and admirable coach.
Furthermore, seasoned Blues can recall the Yorkshire contingent doing a conga across Platt Lane during the recently milestoned 10-1 rout of ’87. With self-deprecating gusto the away supporters were cheering on the possibility of a tenth that afternoon as loudly as the Kippax. They were a proper club with proper fans. That was the gist of it.
By 6pm last evening it was not only the trepidation of an upset that had been extinguished. Any warm regard from one set of supporters to another had long gone too.
You may question why the Huddersfield faithful should give precisely two hoots about what Blues think of them and that would be an entirely legitimate query. It would also be forgetting that the bastardised version of a football match that took place at the John Smiths Stadium was shown on Sky to a multitude of every allegiance.
What they witnessed was not the side that stood tall and proud and got into United’s faces in late October but rather one that closed the curtains, locked the door and hid behind the sofa. This was not playing football but playing possum and Huddersfield lost as they deserved to: as well-organised cowards.
To end up with just 20.6% of the overall possession – having made 547 fewer passes – after 90 minutes of combat in your own stadium is only ever excusable against an exceptional team at full tilt. City are undoubtedly the former but unusually yesterday there were glitches. Passes went astray. During a frustrating first half movement was considered rather than instinctual. Give-and-goes were missing their goes. It would be a wild exaggeration to suggest they were there for the taking but also logical to state this was closer to being the truth than at any other time this season.
Huddersfield had no intention of finding out either way. They smothered the 18 yard line with six defenders throughout, relying on the all-too-brief foraging of Laurent Depoitre for respite against domination they were openly inviting. Their 6-5-0 formation had no objective other than to nullify.
By the final whistle they boasted no attempts on target and that this approach took place in the Premier League between two Premier League teams frankly is a disgrace even when factoring in the disparity in talent. Yet according to many, Huddersfield were ultimately unfortunate not to scavenge a point or better. Indeed they were lavished with sympathy from all sides.
Firstly, it is inevitable that if you curl up into the foetal position in a fight you’re eventually going to get hurt. That it took until the 84th minute for City to enact their coup de grace and complete their 18th consecutive victory was admittedly due to Town’s superb marshalling of themselves but also because of freak circumstances that saw a litany of golden chances go begging and the home side going in front with an own-goal from an extremely rare foray forward. Replay that game a hundred further times with Huddersfield showing the same scant ambition and it ends in a City win from 99 of them.
Secondly, being patronised with aw-blesses from the media is no reflection on their supposed valiance. The narrative that played out at the weekend is as old as time with the underdogs being beaten at the death and receiving perfunctory plaudits. It’s like a bride being told she looks beautiful on her wedding day. It’s just politeness.
As Fox Sports analyst Alexis Lalas tweeted – “There was nothing unlucky or cruel about Huddersfield losing that game”. It was simply suicide.
Regarding the fans, even over-looking their horrible clap banners that deaden the soul they still completed a full house were you to play provincial town bingo. Regular airings of ‘Where were you when you were s***?’ rang out and were swiftly answered with a reminder of the 1987 score-line. Their vastly increased attendance since they began bossing the Championship last season also brought to mind stones and glasshouses.
Then there was the predictable booing of Raheem Sterling. Fernandinho’s second-half swan-dive prompted a quarter of the castigation launched at the young England winger for having the temerity to be clattered by the keeper and soon after impeded by an arm. Even with the culprit Scott Malone – along with the commendably honest Wagner – later admitting it was a stonewall infringement it only heightens the erroneous belief that Sterling is a diver and the home supporters reacted with expected fury.
I have written many times before on this subject; I have railed against the stupidity of those capable of being brainwashed by tabloid newspapers to the extent that they feel genuine hatred in their bones. Yet now perhaps there is a reconsideration of that stance. For one thing it’s never going away and for another Sterling – to his enormous credit – appears to be thriving off it, feeding off the negative energy at away grounds and helping himself to 12 goals in 18 games. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the bitter John Smiths Stadium.
After the game the 22-year-old tweeted - “Boys showed great character today, in a very difficult game massive three points let’s carry on with this mentality!!!!”
All of which is true. It was a very difficult game. It was a massive three points. And the mentality required to emerge victorious from the other side of an eleven man wall only forges yet more belief. On the whistle the squad swamped the pitch to celebrate. Not just the team, the squad.
Maybe then it is gratitude that is owed to this weekend’s opponents-in-name-only. Thank you Huddersfield. Thank you for being petrified mice. You have only made the lion roar even louder.

Wow didn't hold back there. I get what he is saying, but the financial rewards to stay in the prem far outweigh blind bravado. Huddersfield know their limitations compared to city & so played to their strengths a dogged (terrier) like determination to try & survive & feed of scraps given the opportunity. Yiu cant blame them for that given their personnel. It worked against the dark side. They attacked spurs and got ripped one, it was not a great advert for the premier league accepted but in a strange way it gave City another problem to solve & a lesson learned. Can only be good for City. But good luck to Huddersfield I say.

I had a chat with him on Twitter this morning. Most City fans disagreed with this article, saying he wasn't being balanced.

I said I got his issues the way Sterling gets dogs abuse, but that Huddersfield set up their defence very well.

He also mentioned that what riled him, was the media's "Huddersfield were unlucky" approach...that I agree with him about. Hudds weren't unlucky, they were lucky they got an own goal and City didn't play well or take their chances.

Zero shots on goal and 20% possession, doesn't constitute an "unlucky" match report IMO.

what Skyblueoz said...

they nicked 2 goals against united, defended them well and got the win.
got ahead of themselves byt trying to take on Spuds, and got rinsed well and truly..

now did we ever think they would come out and attack us in the way they tried with Spurs? could have been the proverbial cricket score, 
but we are closing in on one soon... we can't keep passing up these chances and the ball won't keep coming back off the bar etc..

any team that makes it tough for us will be construed as unlucky. Look at United when mourinho parks the bus & wins 1-0 they call it the mourinho masterclass. Not the boring dinosaur tactics of a manager who has top players at his disposal, who are capable of creating & scoring at the top level. not a Huddersfield with a squad of players most of which are not household names outside of Huddersfield.

I do agree that Sterling should not be subjected to that abuse but he answers in the right way by scoring a winner thus sticking 2 fingers up at the haters. That's the sort of response we are happy with.