Huddersfield Town introduce B team as part of academy revamp

Huddersfield Town want to become “one of the best academies in the country” at bringing through youngsters after abandoning their development side to set up a B team instead.
Huddersfield Town head coach Carlos Corberan. 
Picture: Bruce Rollinson.Huddersfield Town head coach Carlos Corberan. 
Picture: Bruce Rollinson.
Huddersfield Town head coach Carlos Corberan. Picture: Bruce Rollinson.

The Terriers have restructured this summer, returning to the head coach set-up they abandoned to bring Danny Cowley to the club as manager in September. Cowley was sacked at the end of the-season and his replacement Carlos Corberan will have a role more like David Wagner had when he brought Huddersfield into the Premier League.

With finances ravaged by the coronavirus, the appointment of former Leeds United Under-23 coach Corberan looks set to signal an even greater emphasis on bringing through young players, and the B team is designed to expose them to more time training with the seniors.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Danny Schofield, who worked alongside Corberan at Thorp Arch, has been promoted from under-19 coach to lead the new team, who will train alongside the seniors at Canalside on a daily basis with the aim of implementing a clear, more expansive style throughout the club.

“Our youngsters will be closer to the first team than ever before and will see day in, day out what it takes to start regularly for this club,” explained academy manager Emyr Humphreys.

“It also provides a real alignment and insight for them, so when they’re called upon by Carlos, they will know exactly what to do in sessions and what’s expected from them in games.

“We believe our academy model can really benefit Huddersfield Town in the long term and we want to become one of the best academies in the country with the transition to the first team.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Huddersfield Town B is the best way to give young players the best possible training, alongside matches against top opposition.”

Brentford are the only other Football League club with a B team, as opposed to the under-23 sides common in the modern era. Town revamped their youth set-up in September 2017, which saw the formation of their under-19 and under-17 teams which will continue beneath the B team.

The B team will play in a variety of competitions such as the Premier League Cup, with the aim of playing against high-level European opposition when covid-19 protocols allow, plus lower-division first teams. Youngsters will still go out on loan.

Eleven Huddersfield academy graduates played first-team football last season, led by Lewis O’Brien, with 14 in matchday squads.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Editor’s note: First and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.

Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

If you want to help right now, download our tablet app from the App / Play Stores. Every contribution you make helps to provide this county with the best regional journalism in the country.

Sincerely. Thank you. James Mitchinson, Editor

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.