Huddersfield Town’s long-term plan under Carlos Corberan exciting, but wrought with danger

Huddersfield Town might have to take a step backwards to move forwards this season – the question is whether they have enough room to do so.
Carlos Corberan: Town have opted for ahead coach who favours a passing-based style. (Picture: Marcus Branston)Carlos Corberan: Town have opted for ahead coach who favours a passing-based style. (Picture: Marcus Branston)
Carlos Corberan: Town have opted for ahead coach who favours a passing-based style. (Picture: Marcus Branston)

The Terriers have set out on a new “project” in 2020-21, partly influenced by economic reality with their post-Premier League parachutes cut, partly by idealism.

Last season was just about avoiding successive relegations, and manager Danny Cowley did the job, but now Huddersfield want a coach – Carlos Corberan – playing a more passing-based style with an emphasis on developing young players from B team to first team.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It is reminiscent of what Middlesbrough tried this time last year, only to decide they had to abandon it for the more pragmatic Neil Warnock shortly after the post-Covid restart.

Carlos Corberan. (Picture: Mike Egerton/PA Wire)Carlos Corberan. (Picture: Mike Egerton/PA Wire)
Carlos Corberan. (Picture: Mike Egerton/PA Wire)

If they can see it through, Huddersfield should be stronger in the long term, but having only narrowly avoided relegation last season, the worry is they might have to change course as Boro did, or risk playing their new style in League One after all.

A clearout of players has not been followed by a big recruitment drive, although plenty of talented juniors have been added. The hope is the youngsters take their opportunities but a 1-0 League Cup defeat to Rochdale – another idealistic club which only finished four points above the League One relegation zone in the aborted season – showed it will not be straightforward.

At 37, Corberan is still a young coach, albeit one who started on this path in 2011. He has managed senior teams before, but only briefly in Cyprus. His reputation has been built largely on the work he did with Leeds United’s Under-23s in three years at Thorp Arch. For the last two he was also on the first-team coaching staff alongside Marcelo Bielsa. Much as it goes against the grain for most Huddersfield fans, the hierarchy want their club to be more like Leeds – at least in the way they play. “It is going to take a little bit of time to implement some of these ideas,” warned Corberan.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

One thing in his favour is a generation of technically-gifted young English players more open-minded than perhaps any that has gone before.

It should be the start of an exciting period for Huddersfield, but the thrill comes partly from the dangers if it goes wrong.

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today.

Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers.

So, please - if you can - pay for our work. Just £5 per month is the starting point. If you think that which we are trying to achieve is worth more, you can pay us what you think we are worth. By doing so, you will be investing in something that is becoming increasingly rare. Independent journalism that cares less about right and left and more about right and wrong. Journalism you can trust.

Thank you

James Mitchinson

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.