A Top-Table Finish? Can New Boys Huddersfield Pull Off A Top-10 Finish This Season?
Much to everyone’s surprise, Huddersfield Town have emerged as the 10th football club in Europe for the highest net spend this summer.
According to CIES Football Observatory, nine other European teams have had a higher outlay than the Terriers, including fellow promoted side Brighton and Hove Albion. Paris Saint-Germain top the list with a negative balance of €343m – thanks to the arrival of Neymar for a world-record €222m fee – with AC Milan (-€189m) and Manchester United (-€186m) coming second and third.
With two wins and a draw under their belt, Town are yet to concede a goal as their players have taken well to life in the Premier League, marching forward, taking all the success in their stride, one game at a time.
Huddersfield Town’s midfield protagonist Danny Williams has proclaimed that the ‘underdog’ tag works for them as he believes,
“No disrespect to the Championship because it has some great teams and players in it but Premier League teams usually punish you if you make a mistake, you have to be switched on all game, I think that’s the biggest difference.”
“At the end of the day if you have a game plan, a togetherness which we have in this group, then I think you can achieve a lot. I would say they are the two things I have learnt so far.”
He further added, “Sometimes it helps going into a season as the underdogs, and thinking you have nothing to lose. However we know we haven’t just come to play in this league for one season.
“We aren’t just visiting the league and then going away. Every player wants to show that hunger they have, because they haven’t played at this level before, and so they want to show what they can do.”
For the Town’s fans, it is pretty evident from fan-reactions and interactions that they still can’t take it all in. All the fans dreamt of such days and now that the wonderland has come to life, Huddersfield Town is here to stay and they look unshaken in their quest to hurt major clubs to establish a niche of their own.
Can They Achieve A Top-10 Finish This Season?
In all likelihood, they very well might. They can, if they tread along similar paths that they have so immaculately promised in the early days of the season remaining unbeaten after three big games.
But you know what they say, well begun is only half-done.
Sticking by that norm, the Terriers, in many ways, have already adapted to life among the elite because of those victories over Crystal Palace and Newcastle United, never mind the fascinating goalless draw against Southampton. The stalemate means that Huddersfield Town and the Saints both remain unbeaten after their first three matches, trailing Manchester United at the top.
Head coach David Wagner will take greater positives from another performance in which his side looked at home in the Premier League and will look to make amends to get maximum points possible this season.