Huddersfield Town digest: Nicholls and Pearson injuries and Nagle's statement
Plus a largely-unwanted milestone and a look ahead to the Norwich game
“Congratulations” to Huddersfield Town on becoming the first club in the top five tiers of English football to reach double figures of draws this season, with their 1-1 spoils-sharer down at Millwall their tenth of the campaign. (And by the way, five conclusions on that game are here, if you’ve not seen them already).
Town have only done that this early in the season twice before: in 1926/27, and in 1977/78. The first was the beginning of the end of the club’s golden age; the second, a pivotal season around which years of steady decline pivoted into something of a mini-renaissance.1
As 2024 approaches, we’re about due for another generational moment in Huddersfield Town history. With a new ownership still in their first few months in charge and the club’s league position once again precarious, it is impossible to escape the feeling that we are living through an epoch.
Just which direction that will go is rather up to them: is this the year that gravity finally catches up to them after years of fighting it out towards the bottom of the Championship, oddly punctuated by that trip to Wembley that we can still laughably say was only last year? Or are these weeks, right here, the nadir of what will become a glorious rebirth?
Well, two points from their last three games certainly sets the tone in a certain direction, doesn’t it? That’s a disappointing return even by the low standards they have set themselves so far this season.
Yet Town are no worse off in their battle to stay out of the bottom three than when we wrote these notes this time last week, and that’s largely because it already feels like we’ve entered the festive silly season, where fatigue can either act as a great leveller or catch certain sides on an off day out of nowhere. The manic last 15 minutes on Saturday afternoon made that clear, as did some of the eyebrow-raising scorelines elsewhere in the Championship.
With performances and results still middling at best (they’ve drawn five of their past eight games), Town are going to need to make themselves the beneficiaries of that at some point over the next couple of weeks.

Coming up next
Darren Moore will take his side on another long trip to play Norfolk-based Huddersfield Town Old Boys, where they will go face-to-face with David Wagner, Christoph Buehler, Narcis Pelach and Paul Clements in the opposition dugout.
There’s a few unpleasant memories to sweep aside for this one: that 7-0 loss under Carlos Corberan in 2021 was already relatively fresh in the memory when Neil Warnock’s side suffered a 0-4 home defeat in August.
That was the high point of the Canaries’ season, however: their unbeaten start came to a shock end away to Rotherham the following weekend, and they picked up just seven more points in their next ten games.
Against all expectations, Wagner held onto his job throughout that spell, and now looks to have turned the corner again, leading them to four wins, two draws and just one defeat in their past seven games to move back into the top half, just outside the play-off places.
20 year old Jonathan Rowe has been the star so far, with his derby brace against Ipswich in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off taking him to double figures for the season.
However, for all their attacking firepower (they’ve outscored all but the top two this season), the Old Boys have looked defensively iffy this season, conceding more than anybody except rock-bottom Rotherham - hence their dead-even goal difference.
That does not feel like it plays into Town’s strengths, unfortunately; you wouldn’t exactly back them to get the better of a topsy-turvy five-goal thriller, would you? That leaves Moore needing to learn from Warnock’s mistakes and find a way to contain the opposition first and foremost.
Huddersfield Town injuries and absences
Jack Rudoni finally made his return from injury on Saturday afternoon after eight games out with a foot injury, completing 90 minutes and bringing an awful lot more to the Town midfield.
Unfortunately, it’s been one in, three out for Town. Matty Pearson went off with a calf injury against Preston and is now ruled out ‘for some time’ and will not be back until ‘in the new year’ — though Darren Moore would not go into any greater detail than that.
Lee Nicholls took a blow to the head trying to stop Millwall’s opener on Saturday and had to be replaced by Chris Maxwell after complaining of feeling dizzy. Nicholls was still being medically assessed when Moore took his post-match press conference, so the manager was unable to say whether or not the FA’s concussion protocols would apply. If they do, Nicholls would not be able to take part against Norwich.
Brahima Diarra did not make the trip down with the rest of the squad after getting a kick to the heel against Preston. Moore hopes to have him back in contention for the trip to Norwich.
Ben Jackson was described as being ‘50/50’ for the Millwall game but did not ultimately travel down. Unless there are further setbacks with his hamstring injury, one might expect that to mean Jackson should be OK to return on Saturday.
Kyle Hudlin is also hoped to be back before the turn of the new year as he recovers from a groin injury.
Kian Harratt, Pat Jones, and Josh Ruffels are all ruled out until the new year; two hamstrings and a groin, respectively, there. (You could almost make a complete player out of the spare parts, but the EFL did not respond to our questions as to whether such a Frankensteinian creation could be registered to play).
Ollie Turton continues to close in on a return from his ACL injury and will be hoping to be back in contention for a place some time in January.
Predicted Huddersfield Town line-up to face Norwich City
3-5-2: Lee Nicholls if available/Chris Maxwell if not; Tom Lees, Michal Helik, Yuta Nakayama; Sorba Thomas, David Kasumu, Jonathan Hogg, Jack Rudoni, Jaheim Headley; Danny Ward, Delano Burgzorg.
Substitutes: Chris Maxwell/Jacob Chapman, Loick Ayina, Tom Edwards, Ben Jackson, Josh Austerfield, Rarmani Edmonds-Green, Tom Iorpenda, Ben Wiles, Josh Koroma.
What’s been said
Town Supporters:
A few things-
I don’t like to communicate when I’m angry/frustrated, but after taking a deep breath I can tell you that not only do I hear you as always, but I share your frustration.
As I see it, supporters need something to support, and being honest- there’s not much there right now when it comes to results and entertainment on the pitch.
I am looking forward to arriving on 4 January, and I will be there with boots on the ground the entire month.
I will be there to ask tough questions of EVERYONE, from players to management to executives. And I will answer the tough questions posed my way as well.
I will be there for the entirety of the transfer window, as we will be strategic, surgical, and aggressive in trying to bring in the talent we need.
You are the customers, you spend your time and hard earned money to escape from the realities of the world for a few hours a week, and in return you deserve a product worthy of your time and money.
To be frank, we are not currently holding up our end of the bargain.
I’m not interested in blame, or fault, I’m only interested in identifying and assessing problems, and solving them as quick as possible.
That doesn’t mean we will always see eye to eye, but I can promise you as you spend your time and money on the club, I will be doing the exact same.
We will get through this, and we WILL build a sustainable winning club you can be proud of.
That’s everything.
As always thank you, this is YOUR club, and I am here to have your back.
I look forward to seeing many of you in person next month.
KN
— Kevin Nagle, Wednesday 13th December, following the 1-3 home defeat to Preston
Huddersfield Town Women
Town Women played their first game in nearly a month after a series of postponements, with last Thursday evening’s scheduled game against Nottingham Forest the latest casualty.
They did go ahead with their trip to Stourbridge on Sunday afternoon, however, only to suffer a ninth defeat in ten league games as the hosts fought back from behind to claim a 3-2 victory.
Brittany Sanderson had opened the scoring for Town just before the hour, but that only seemed to wake Stourbridge up and by the 79th minute they were 3-1 ahead. Kate Mallin pulled one back shortly after to give Town a fighting chance, but the equaliser never came.
Town will now take a hiatus until the new year with their next fixture not scheduled until Sunday 7th January, when they are set to host Stoke City.
Our schedule
A reminder once again that five conclusions on the Millwall game are available now to our lovely £5 a month backers, while the player ratings are available to all readers.
This week we’re going to take the opportunity to take a special look ahead to the January transfer window with our backers-only midweek piece. That should be with you in the coming days and we’re excited to share it with you, so if you’re still reading this on the free feed, get subscribed now!
We'll have the usual podcast with me and David Hartrick for you on Wednesday evening/Thursday morning as we deliver our verdict on the Millwall game and look ahead to the next couple of matches straddling Christmas.
We will then head to Norwich to bring you ratings on the final whistle. Five conclusions will be out on Sunday, no later than lunchtime, if only because I’m not turning up late to Christmas Eve dinner at my dad’s just for you lot.
I will however schedule a digest for you on Christmas Day, so when Aunt Beryl is wittering on about how she can’t stand that awful Anton Du Beke (or whatever tedious situation applies to you), you can take yourself off to the toilet and have a read instead. You’re welcome.
The club record for most draws in a regular league season is the whopping 18 that Lee Clark’s side racked up on the way to finishing 4th in League One in 2011/12.