Meet the opposition | Huddersfield Town
As Swansea City prepare to host Huddersfield this weekend, we take a closer look at the Terriers.
What’s their story?
Huddersfield are back in the Championship this season after relegation ended their two-season stint in the Premier League.
That marked their first top-flight appearance since 1972, and they confounded predictions their Premier League stay would just be for a solitary season even though the drop would follow a year later.
David Wagner was the man to guide them to the top tier, thanks to a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory against Reading in the 2017 play-off final.
But the Terriers golden period came nearly a century earlier, when they won three-straight league titles between 1924 and 1926, while they were FA Cup winners in 1922.
How’s their form?
Mixed. The Terriers have won two, drawn two and lost two of their last six in the Championship, with the former of others around them seeing them dragged back towards the relegation spots.
Heavy home defeats to Stoke and Cardiff were notable setbacks, but they picked up a good point at in-form Derby last time out, and have seen off Huddersfield and Hull for important wins as they look to avoid the drop.
Who’s the boss?
Danny Cowley. The 41-year-old started his coaching career as an assistant at Concord Rangers, but has quickly risen to Championship level on the back of impressive spells with Braintree and Lincoln.
A midfielder during his playing days, Cowley was in the Wimbledon academy as a youngster but spent his career with a series of non-league clubs before retiring in 2007.
He led Braintree to their best-ever finish of third in the National League in 2016 and moved on to Lincoln after they were knocked out in the play-offs.
His success at Sincil Bank in a three-year stint was remarkable, taking the Imps from non-league to League One, securing EFL Trophy glory and embarking on a memorable run to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
He made the move to the John Smith’s Stadium when Jan Siewert left the club earlier this season and oversaw an upturn in fortunes.
Who are the key men?
Striker Karlan Grant has enjoyed an outstanding start to the season, with the former Charlton forward netting 13 goals in 30 league appearances, including the equaliser in the reverse fixture against the Swans.
Chelsea’s Trevor Chalobah has proved an astute loan signing in midfield, while Juninho Bacuna has weighed in with five goals from the centre of the park.
They added a mix of youth and experience in January, with ex-Swan Andy King and former Wolves defender Richard Stearman arriving in West Yorkshire, while they also snapped up Arsenal starlet Emile Smith-Rowe.
Premier League title winner Danny Simpson has become a regular after building up his fitness following a free agent move earlier in the season.
