The manager will now seek to inject more forward energy to those foundations after having little choice but to adopt a conservative strategy against Watford last time out.
Since Danny Ward’s absence began in September, Huddersfield Town has been without a back-to-goal scorer; yet, it now appears that they have had one all along.
Darren Moore was obliged to start Kyle Hudlin in the lone striker role against Watford on Saturday since all five of his other possible center-forward alternatives were out, despite Neil Warnock’s earlier declaration that all of his strikers—aside from Ward—were unfit for such a duty.
The outcome was positive: we pointed out in our five conclusions how well Hudlin used his long frame to shield the ball, and his deliberate efforts prevented him from incurring the typical striker’s curse, which is to be whistled for a foul the instant they so much as breathe down a defender’s collar. (To be honest, that would be a strange thing to do, but as far as we can determine, it’s not specifically against the rules of the game.)
Town’s necessarily conservative approach to that game meant that Hudlin could have been left isolated, but they still showed some signs of how Moore may be able to thaw the side out into something more attacking as he gets more and more of his preferred options available – without making such a radical shift that it risks destabilising the side altogether.
It took a monstrous pair of efforts from wingers-on-the-day Sorba Thomas and Jaheim Headley to support Hudlin in the press while still making sure their own respective flanks were protected, and just as big a shift again for them to make sure Hudlin was well assisted on the ball too, pushing inside to receive his knock-backs and flick-ons while Ben Jackson and Yuta Nakayama provided the width.
In other words, there were the inklings that Town could viably move towards a more explicit evolution into a 3-4-3 formation, which had gone effectively unused since Mark Fotheringham gave the shape its last outing away to Coventry back in late January.
Back then, Town did not have the personnel to make it work. Matt Lowton did nothing to answer their issues at wing-back, while Josh Ruffels was yet to hit the ultra-dependable form he found under Warnock, and Jordan Rhodes has always been much more about scoring goals than trying to help create them for others.
Now, though, it’s a different story. Having been exiled by Fotheringham, Thomas is back at the club and back in form. That is crucial: he had been the key man in making 3-4-3 work for Carlos Corberan two years ago, and can be again now.
Jackson’s excellent performance at right-back helped answer the question of who to play with Thomas. A natural two-footer who slightly favours his left and has a good shot on him, he could be ideally placed to serve as an inverted wing-back (that is, a wing-back who effectively becomes an extra central midfielder).
That would theoretically assist Town in resolving two issues. First of all, it plays to Thomas’s strengths as a wide-ranging player; secondly, it increases the amount of midfield players in possession, which may provide Ben Wiles more freedom to enter the box and try to score goals.
On the opposite side, you have the inverse relationship with Headley replaced by Josh Koroma or Delano Burgzorg, with Headley, Ruffels, or Nakayama being the one going around the outside from wing-back.
Without a selfless center forward to help bring everything together in the approach, none of this would matter. Longer term, it might be preferable to choose a more established choice because Hudlin is still somewhat of a rough gem. Hudlin, though, has presented a strong case for himself as that player—at least for the next few games.
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