Huddersfield Town digest: Duff on Nagle comments, Ladapo and injuries
Huddersfield Town digest: Duff on Nagle comments, Ladapo and injuries
All the latest from Huddersfield Town ahead of Saturday's trip to Bolton
What’s been said
Michael Duff, on Freddie Ladapo:
“He's got experience, physicality, experience in terms of the level as well. He's a different profile to what we've got in terms of the way he holds the ball up, and he's a goalscorer at this level and was available, so he ticked a lot of boxes.
“He wanted to come and I got a lot of good character references from people I trust, both staff at Ipswich and players at Ipswich who I played with.
“We didn't want to get someone who had just got off the sofa, essentially …. I played with Lee Grant for a long time who was insistent he's done a full pre-season, he's only had a week off. I know the way they trained at Ipswich, so to get through a pre-season there…
“He's not had as many game minutes as he wants, so we'll have to build that up, there's no getting away from it, but he's robust. He played a lot of minutes for a very physical Rotherham team.”
Michael Duff, on Kevin Nagle’s tweet post-Doncaster:
“I spoke to him the day before that game and I have open dialogue with Kevin all the time. He's the owner of the football club so he's more than entitled [to criticise]. He pays the bills.
“We've got a good relationship and we know where we're at. We know it's not going to happen overnight and you're not going to get to where you want to all the time.
“In isolation you can take two cup games where the team’s looked nothing like it and key refereeing decisions. I'd like to think we're not going to give four penalties away in the next six games, we've had a glut of injuries where we've not been able to change certain positions of the pitch, we've had midfielders playing up front…we've had lots of circumstances.
“My relationship with Kevin has been really really good, really open. I'm not on Twitter - I'm fully aware of it - but he's entitled to his opinion and to say what he wants because it's his football club essentially.”
Ins and outs
Freddie Ladapo has arrived as a free agent following his release from Ipswich Town on transfer deadline day. You'll find our scouting report here.
Scott High has meanwhile joined National League side Halifax Town on a season-long loan.
Coming up next
Bolton Wanderers missed out on automatic promotion last season, finishing five points behind second-placed Derby County before losing the play-off final to Oxford United.
Ian Evatt was able to hold onto most of his squad over the summer but has overseen a difficult start to the campaign, with Bolton claiming four points from their four games so far (W1 D1 L2).
Bolton have particularly struggled for goals, scoring just twice in the league so far this season - both in their opening-day win away to Leyton Orient.
Among their summer arrivals with former Town midfielder Scott Arfield, who joined from American side Charlotte.
Huddersfield Town injuries and absences
Danny Ward will start a three-match ban for his red card against Rotherham when Town visit Bolton on Saturday. Michael Duff will meanwhile serve a one-match touchline ban on Saturday after also being red carded just after the final whistle in that game.
Rhys Healey is still struggling with a hamstring issue and is currently undergoing analysis to find out the cause, which may be a nerve issue related to his previous ACL surgery. No timeline can yet be put on his return.
Herbie Kane is “getting closer” following a groin injury but is unlikely to feature this weekend. Brodie Spencer is back in limited contact training but is not yet ready to return from his shoulder injury. David Kasumu is “not far away” following his ankle injury.
Bojan Radulovic has been back in training this week and should be capable of appearing from the bench this weekend if required.
Chris Maxwell has had a viral infection that has affected his heart. Duff said it is not thought to be serious but that the club are naturally taking no risks with Maxwell.
Radinio Balker is forecast to be out until the new year with a fractured ankle suffered in pre-season.
Predicted line-up to face Rotherham
3-5-2: Lee Nicholls; Tom Lees, Michal Helik, Nigel Lonwijk; Lasse Sorensen, Antony Evans, Jonathan Hogg, Ben Wiles, Mickel Miller; Freddie Ladapo, Callum Marshall.
Substitutes: Jacob Chapman, Matty Pearson, Jaheim Headley, Ollie Turton, Joe Hodge, Tom Iorpenda, Josh Koroma.
Huddersfield Town Women
Town Women will visit York City in the WNL Cup on Sunday afternoon in a 2pm kick-off.
Our schedule
We'll have ratings on the whistle on both Saturday and Sunday, with five conclusions on the Bolton game set for release on Sunday morning. Reaction to the Women's game will be Sunday evening/Monday morning.
We'll then have the podcast for you first thing Monday morning, if you're good.
Donate to Wander 2 Wanderers
While I’ve got you, just want to ask if you have two minutes and a few quid to spare for a very good cause. I’ll be taking part in the second day of Wander 2 Wanderers in September, walking the final ten miles to the away game against Bolton Wanderers to raise money for Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice.
You can make a donation here - any amount gratefully received.
Even better, if you’re interested in signing up for the walk, details on how to sign up for the walk are here. Thanks!