THE £170million+ GAME

This afternoon, two sides, Huddersfield Town and Nottingham Forest play in a play off game at Wembley, worth  £170m+. Two clubs with great histories.

It is five years since Huddersfield Town’s last visit to Wembley, for a Championship playoff final, which was shrink-wrapped in nerves that ended with a penalty shoot-out. After the victory the then captain and match-winner, Christopher Schindler, held court in the tunnel and elaborated on the team bond built by David Wagner, whose no-limits motto was plastered on personalised wristbands given to each player, fit with their initials and squad number. 

Today another tightknit Huddersfield  side, this one led by the methodical Carlos Corberán, stand one game from returning to the Premier League. “The togetherness has been one of the keys to the highly competitive level of the squad,” the Spanish head coach says. Huddersfield’s players and staff spent last week on the Algarve accompanied by their families. 

Dean Hoyle, the chief executive and part-owner who was chairman when the club last won promotion, was keen to reward their efforts, regardless of whether they returned to Wembley, by mirroring a similar trip to Portugal before that triumph over Reading.  

The only player who remains from that squad is the current captain, Jonathan Hogg, known as “the general” to his teammates, a moniker given to him by an avid supporter. “Because we got through [to the final] it ended up being a training camp,” says Huddersfield’s head of football operations, Leigh Bromby. “If we hadn’t, it would have been a holiday and a thank you to all of the staff, players and their families. It is probably unique in football.” Huddersfield have made a mockery of the notion that financial clout is the only way to compete with clubs fattened by parachute payments. The starting XI, for their play-off semi-final victory, cost little more than £1.5m and the entire squad about £2.3m. 

Last summer they set about remedying what was statistically the worst defence in the division last season and moved quickly to take advantage of a flat market, exacerbated by the pandemic, to sign seven players on frees. They included the goalkeeper Lee Nicholls, who made seven starts in League One for MK Dons last season, and the 21-year-old midfielder Jon Russell, who struggled for game time on loan from Chelsea at Accrington. Ollie Turton joined days after helping Blackpool to promotion at Wembley last season. 

Then there is Tom Lees, who tasted relegation with Sheffield Wednesday last season, another player who, on the surface, was not the most obvious pickup. “The idea is we try to maximise the potential of the players,” says Bromby. “One of the big things we tried to do last summer was make sure that we represent the club and the values with our players, so personality was important to us.“Tom is almost 32 years old and he has had one of his best ever seasons. Tom is a great professional, someone who adheres to all our values, and every game he gives 100%; he’s come off this year with stitches, a broken nose, everything. 

The club wanted to get back to that spirit and those values are being seen on the pitch, so that the fans can connect with our team. It was really important for us to make sure of that, because I think we had lost a little bit of honour and belief.” 

It's 23 years since The Terriers were last in the Premier League. Many say this play-off is the greatest gift ever, given to football...well?? If the game is anything like yesterday's Wrexham v Grimsby 4-5 play-off semi-final in the National League then, bring it on!

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 The 19-year-old defender Levi Colwill is the latest Chelsea youngster to flourish on loan, following in the footsteps of Kasey Palmer and Izzy Brown, part of the team promoted five years ago and, more recently, Trevoh Chalobah. In January, Tino Anjorin became the latest Chelsea player to make Huddersfield their temporary home. “We always seem to get them in the FA Youth Cup, and they always beat us, so we get to see them firsthand,” Bromby says, laughing. Huddersfield’s hierarchy recognised the importance of Corberán having a full pre-season to implement his methods and the results have been fruitful. Formerly an assistant to Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds, he had three weeks to shape his squad before his first season, which ended with Huddersfield in 20th. Look at The Terriers nLast season, Town also exited the FA Cup and the EFL Cup at the earliest possible stage and won one of their final 10 matches. That victory? Against Nottingham Forest, Sunday’s opponents. Games being played behind closed doors also helped alleviate any external heat.Town player, Tom Lees is almost 32 years old and he has had one of his best ever seasons. Tom is a great professional, someone who adheres to all our values, and every game he gives 100%; he has come off pitches this year with stitches, a broken nose, he has given everything. We wanted to get back to that spirit on and off the pitch, so that the fans can connect with their team.