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Really impressed with Huddersfield and their performance against Arsenal. Took me back to the days if Clyde Wijnhard!

Lee Clark looks like he has all the credentials to be a top coach/manager and he is going about it the right way learning his trade in the football league in a similar way to Moyes, ONeill and Bruce. It's suprising how many managers go straight from playing into big jobs.

Great article, best of luck to Huddersfield!

Lee Clark was a great servant of Newcastle in the 80's and i wish him well in management.

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KK has been the player Town needed after Damien Johnson's season ending injury. Looks a class apart in league one....out of contract in the summer? Sign him up Clarky...

2. At 2:56pm on 08 Feb 2011, eieieioupwego wrote:
Lee Clark was a great servant of Newcastle in the 80's and i wish him well in management.
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Firstly I think you mean 90's not 80's seeing as he played for Newcastle between 1990 and 1997.

Secondly, a great article Fletch!! Very intriguing read. Like you mentioned I never thought Lee Clark would go into management, he always seemed like the joker in any team he was at. Although I am very glad to see him doing well, we need more good English managers. The nice thing about Clark is he seems to want to stay at Huddersdield at finish what he's started. Maybe if Paul Ince and a few others had the same attitude they would be in better positions today.

Nonetheless, Kilbane talked at length about Clark's grasp of the game, both in terms of his tactical understanding and his encyclopaedic knowledge of opposition players. If a Town player needs to know anything about a player, the information is readily available; strongest foot, ability in the air, the neat trick to watch out for, the preference for cutting inside.
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If the above is considered encyclopaedic, then it is little wonder that British coaches in general are such a poor bunch! Is it really 'encyclopaedic' knowing which foot an opposition player prefers!!!???

Nice article there Fletch!

Kilbane really doesn come across as one of the 'nice guys' of football and it's really good to see. He appears to be a model professional and I, for one, am glad he is now plying his trade at Huddersfield. The talented youngsters should learn plenty from a man who has played top-flight football and been capped by his country over a century of times.

Should he be surplus to requirements at Hull then I'd be happy to see him at Town next season and beyond. What he lacks in pace he certainly makes up for in intelligence. For me he still has lots to offer and Lee Clark should consider making a move at the end of the season. By the sounds of it, I can't imagine Nigel Pearson will put up too much of a fight.

Hi Paul. Big fan of the blog (especially as a fan of a league one side!). Interesting points about Clarke, many rate him highly but I have seen a number of Huddersfield fans complain about his substitutions. Definately one of the managers to watch though, certainly has the eye for a player!

While i'm here I was wondering if I could get an opinion from you on Adkins. I read your last pieces about southampton under Pardew but i'm curious on your thoughts of goings on at the club since Nigel took over. Also was wondering if you knew anything of our january signings N'Guessan and Forte? I've heard a little about N'Guessan from a Liecester fan but haven't been able to find a Scunny fan to give me some insight into what to expect from Forte!

Im sorry, but this is is a nonsense article.

Huddersfield have spent bucket loads of cash for the division they are in and have so far achieved nothing with it.

The clamour from fans of the club for Clark to go is defeaning on the local radio as soon as they lose a couple of games, yet when they win a couple he is the best thing since sliced bread.

Its ok flexing the chequebook all the time, but surely fingers have to be pointed if it doesnt get them anyway this season. They finished in the POs last year, which was disgraceful really considering the calibre of players that they had and are continuing to sign. Surely it should be promotion form the POs as an absolute minimum requirement? If they dont acheive that then Clark should go.

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I must admit I know little about Huddersfield but I watched their performance against Arsenal and was most impressed with the way Lee Clarke set up his team and handled a very difficult tie when at times they looked anything but a League One side. However, comparisons with David Moyes are a little premature - this is one of THE managers in the Premiership but I agree if Clarke should aspire to anybody then this is the very manager whose character; style and achievement under difficult circumstances are standards to which he should be aiming. However, if there is one young manager who I think will most certainly make the grade it is Eddie Howe. His confidence in front of the cameras and remarkable achievements at Bournemouth must give his players a great deal of comfort knowing they are being coached by one of this country's up and coming coach/managers.

Great blog as always.

You mention that Lee Clark didn't spring to mind as a natural manager, that's exactly what I thought when he first signed for us (my only memory of him being THAT t-shirt incident). However, after a little research, I found that his coaching credentials are fantastic. Clark began coaching with the Newcastle youth sides when he was no more than a teenager himself. He spent most of his career coaching and developing talent in the background. He joined Town after being Player-Coach at Newcastle under Souness, First Team and Reserve Team Coach under Glen Roeder and then followed Reoder to Norwich where he was appointed Assitant Manager. By the time joined Huddersfield he already had his UEFA A License and has since gained his UEFA Pro license.

Steve Black (British Lion's and Town's former Performance Coach) once said that Lee Clark was an outstanding footballer, but that his biggest contribution to the game will be in management. I agree.

In Clark We Trust.

Always a great read, Fletch. Huddersfield are at least a Championship club, hopefully they'll get there this time.

I watched Huddersfield play and it reminded me slightly of Blackpool, overwhelming underdogs, likely to receive a mauling, yet they in unwavering fashion producted a performance that was indicative of their rising potential, I think that Huddersfield can progress well, Kevil Kilbane is an underrated player whose invaluable experience will benefit the youngsters.
It is a deep pity that we rarely see an English manager heralded these days in the high tiers, Harry Redknapp aside. The rest are average in a flattering and brief summary, for England to mould well and challenge, you need an Englishman running us, it's no point banning Arteta from playing for us if you integrate into England an Italian...national identity is required here, Spain won the last two major honours through a blend of same club players to a large degree and a Spanish manager who understood the preferred style of the players, not just his own.

Ozzybantam you sound like a jealous fan who is seeing one of it's rival clubs progress. Huddersfield have not splashed out cash like people seem to think. In fact their biggest signing under Clark has been around the 300k mark. Compare that to Southampton who spent well over a million pounds on one player in Rickie Lambert.

Peterborough,Charlton, Sheffield Wednesday have also spent quite a bit of money so to call Huddersfield finishing 3 points off automatic promotion last season a disgrace is nonsense. And to sight a small minority of fans who chose to moan over radio phone-ins is again nonsense.

Clark's built a squad built and youth and experience as well as quality and young home grown talent. It's only a matter of time before they return to the championship.

KK has been a great addition to the squad, already playing at left back, left wing back and central midfield. Very shrewd business by Lee Clark who is giving us great football to watch too. Thanks too to our very benevolent Chairman Dean Hoyle, the future looks bright!

New player goes to a new club and kisses the manager's backside. Hardly a shock is it?

Huddersfield have spent a fortune for years now and got nowhere. Their wage bill must be enormous! You must presume Kilbane's on at least 5 grand. I think they'll finish in the top 6 again but they'll miss out on promotion. Hudds are possibly a championship club but you can't compare their manager to one of the best, established British managers in the premier league when he's yet to achieve anything at all.

If they don't go up this season, which I don't think they will (Brighton, Southampton,Rochdale IMO), Clark will be under great pressure.

Not sure if it's been mentioned but Norwich fans have great respect for Clark. Our massive down turn in fortune really kicked in when Clark joined the Terriers with Glenn "Rodent" Roeder left on his own. Couldn't begrudge him a decent job in management and I hope he does well. Huddersfield were a great side last year and they're doing well again. The day we won 3-1 at Huddersfield, I knew we were as good as up :)

I agree with the fact that Town were outclassed against Millwall in the Play-Offs last year. Too many players froze and we did not score in 180 mins. I feel this year we have brought in seasoned professionals who have the ability to get us out of the Third Division.
Kilbane's inch perfect passes against Carlisle in the League to set Gary Roberts thru to score on two occasions sums up the Huddersfield team. Unbeaten in the League in 2011, we are the only team in our division who can boast that, shows we are doing something right.

I never thought Clarke made the most of his talent whilst playing so its good to see he is determined to give everything to his management. Kevin Kilbane model pro and a player who just gets on with it and has been a better player than many give him credit for. Kilbane gave us Evertonians many happy memories and it would be great to see him gaining a promotion at Huddersfield.

are you going to comment on the fact they have the biggest wage bill in the division?

or that whenever his strikers stop scoring he has the ability to go and buy another one (or two)

Good article Paul, nice to read good comments on our manager both from yourself, and Kevin Kilbane.

I've been following Town for 18 years now and I've never seen a manager who wants to succeed as much as Clark does, maybe Neil Warnock showed the same amount of passion but Clark really is a breath of fresh air compared to other past managers here recently at the club. I sit next to the dugouts at the Galpharm and the passion and desire Clark portrays every single week is admirable. He's constantly up and down, kicking every ball, encouraging his players, instructing his players and living every moment that is played on that pitch. Sure, you might think this is what any manager would do but I've certainly never seen it to the levels he shows.

This also echos comments made from our chairman, Dean Hoyle, who has said how hard Clark works behind the scenes. Hoyle said he's always at the club working on the next game, looking at future signings or looking for ways to improve the training etc. Think he's said something along the lines of how he doesn't know when he actually sees his family or leads any sort of social life as he is always either at the club, on the training pitch or scouting more players.

As for the Bradford fan above and the money we have spent, of course there is a level of expectancy here but the play-offs last season was a great achievement, particularly when you consider it was his first full season in charge of a football club. What you also have to take into consideration is just how much work needed to be done here. The previous regime had left him with one decent player in Gary Roberts and an awful lot of dead wood, some of which was shifted to your own club (Flynn, Glennon, Worthington) and even to leagues below. Just shows the lack of quality we had for a team aiming for Championship football really and he needed to bring an entire squad together from scratch. However, he has not only managed to successfully move these unwanted players out of the club but he has brought a heck of a lot of talent in to Huddersfield. Young players that yes cost big money but a lot of whom are also now worth an awful lot more. To reach the play-offs after completely over hauling the team was fantastic and missing out was no great shame considering we had Leeds, Norwich, Southampton and Millwall to contend with. Three of those clubs are now top end of the league above!

Fans have been heavily critical of Clark this season, you're right there, but I think that has come with the weight of expectation and pressure that is running through the club to gain promotion. Criticism happens with any club on a run of bad form, as we were throughout December, and some fans become impatient and hit the panic button. Understandable I suppose for some of the older generation who have witnessed many failures at this club over the years but I think the overall feeling at the club and about Lee Clark in particular is a positive one.

Thankfully our chairman is patient and sees the qualities that Clark possesses and will quite rightfully stand by his man for the duration of his contract, a good approach to take in my opinion unlike the people in power at West Brom, for example, who panic at the first sign of a bad run of form and sack Roberto Di Matteo even after all of the good things and hard work he has done at the club and his previous achievements. Ridiculous.

For this season Clark has been very unlucky with injuries to key players. Gary Naysmith was injured early on, Rhodes is currently out injured, as is Smithies and Damien Johnson was a big blow as he was really making us tick for the first half of the season. Kevin Kilbane has now come in to replace him and what a move that has been. We're back grafting in the middle and are now reaping the rewards in terms of results which has given us a new born confidence throughout the whole team.

We'll be up there come the end of the season, no doubt about it, and its going to be close between the automatics and the play-offs but should we not achieve our goals there is no way that I'd want Clark to go. A man that determined to succeed will eventually do so and I'm sure he'll go on to have greater achievements in the future, hopefully with Huddersfield Town.

Interesting as ever, I enjoy the lower league insight. Not a massive fan of Steve Claridge so I can't get onto the football league highlights.
Some young managers showing great potential now, lets hope they get the time and opportunities they need.
Owen Coyle is doing a decent job for us after working his way up and can go further yet.
Bolton related, any thoughts on the Megson appointment at Wednesday?

Great blog 鈥� nice to see some interest in the clubs outside the PL.
I echo the call for a blog on Adkins by the way. A manager I rate highly and he seems to be a decent bloke as well.

Under Clark, Town have played some fantastic stuff on occasions. He certainly has his idea on how he wants football to be played. Last season we scored lots of goals and hopefully we are getting back in that mindset now, but we seem to mix it up a bit more.
He has seemingly addressed our 鈥渟oft鈥� side by bringing in players such as Alan Lee, Killer, Boom Boom, Naysmith and Cads (only one of those cost a fee).
Clark has clearly learnt that it is not always possible to play pretty football every week, but sometimes it is important to 鈥済rind it out鈥�. We are in great form and long may it continue. Clark knows that promotion is the aim this year. He will be under a lot of pressure if we miss out, we know that and so does he (we don鈥檛 need a Bradford fan to tell us, thanks anyway). Some of the moaning minority have called for him to go before now, but that is only like the Leeds fans who wanted Grayson out after the 0-4 defeat by Cardiff or the Bradford fans who have wanted Taylor out since October. Every club has them.

One last point on Clark, I think he could learn a lot in how to deal with the media. He needs to lighten up when he is interviewed. He can often seem a bit morose and monotone. It has been noted on a few occasions this season he has even been rude and childish, especially when asked to explain his tactics/line up/substitutions. One example is calling the local radio commentator 鈥渋gnorant鈥� when asked why he played Kilbane in central midfield. I listen to Peter Taylor a lot (I don鈥檛 hate Bradford, more pity them) and he talks a lot of sense and gives good balanced interviews in victory (not often) and defeat. I think Clark should have a listen; it may help him win over some of the moaners.

In reply to a few of the posts above: it does make me laugh to see a Bradford fan and a (probable) Leeds fan criticising another club for 鈥渟pending a fortune鈥�. When both these clubs were in the PL, they spent tens of millions in excess of what they could afford (see Benni Carbone and Seth Johnson) and shrugged it off as 鈥渓iving the dream鈥�.
Town will have a high wage bill when compared to some of the other league one clubs, but when it is compared to the Championship clubs, where we want to be, it will not be that high. Last season Leeds and Norwich had high wage bills and Saints, Charlton and Wednesday will do so this season. Having a wealthy chairman, who backs the his manager and is a fan of the club is not against the rules and smacks of jealousy. Setting a club up for the next level costs money. Bradford have not spent a penny for 5 years and look where they are going (BSC).

Clark is lucky, yes. Whoever got the Town job with Dean Hoyle as chairman was always going to be backed. In fairness though, the majority of his signings have been on free transfers or on loan. The ones who have cost money have commanded reasonably modest initial sums with add ons and have, with one or two exceptions, increased in value (especially in light of the ridiculous transfer fees of last week).

barnsie, Clark is working to a budget and it is one that he is very much appreciative of but don't let that mask over the good work he has done at this club. Stan Ternent had exactly the same money to spend and bought in a load of players LC has now shipped out purely because they didn't have what it takes to get promotion. Only Gary Roberts remains of those players Ternent brought in the rest are now playing at a lower level to ourselves.

You also have to look at the calibre of players Clark has brought to this club. Jordan Rhodes, Anthony Pilkington, Lee Peltier, Scott Arfield, Lee Novak are all young players who he has signed and brought through and who can probably be sold for higher values should we need to recoup any of the expenditure. Add to that list Alex Smithies who he handed a new contract to in his first week here too and kept him in the first team.

Then we have Gudjonsson, Johnson, Naysmith, Kilbane and Lee who are all players who can comfortably go to the next level. These players weren't just brought in for a quick fire solution to promotion but they were brought here to take us to that next level, something Clark really wants to do with us and something he fully believes he can achieve here.

Any manager at our level would love to be in his position, sure, but he's doing good things here and should it all go wrong at any stage I'm pretty sure we could sell some of our young starlets and recoup our outgoings. Hopefully that won't be happening though and we'll achieve our goals and go on to bigger and better things with some of these players and Clark.

Anyway, I bet Southamptons, Brightons and Sheffield Wednesdays (now under Manderic) budgets won't be too shabby either will they?

My point was very straight forward.

Huddersfield have acheived nothing with the money that they have spent. They must have one of the top 3 wage budgets in the divison by a long chalk and have done nothing with it so far.

Money is all relative to the divison you are in and it should bear a direct correlation to what is happening on the pitch.

Town have not acheived their goal of promotion since they got this massive influx of cash from a lifelong fan. It therefore doesnt make sense to me to describe Clark as some kind of managerial genius in the making.

As a point too regarding Bradford and Leeds spending money and getting into financial trouble. You are exactly right, nobody can argue with that. However, at least when we spent money we achieved our goals with it - promotion to the Premier League and staying there in the first season. The fact that it was money that we didnt really have and that we plummeted when the quicksand dissapeared from underneath us is a different argument altogether, and has nothing to do with Lee Clark and his mangerial abilities.

OzzyBantam

To say he hasn't achieved anything its a little harsh we may have 1 of the highest wage bills this season but last season it was the 6th 7th Highest and we finished 6th in a very tought scoring over 100 goals in the process and playing some of the best football seen at the club in years we had 1 of the best home records in the country along with Chelsea we put 4 or more goals past 7 teams and the players Clark has attracted to the club means if our Chairman Dean Hoyle wants to sell to recoup his money he could do e.g Rhodes,Pilkington and Lee Peltier are all worth 1 million plus along with alot of other players who are worth between 拢200k to 拢750k, When Clark come to the club there was a team full of rubbish 2 players of which are playing for you now, Lee Clark has totally rebuilt the squad into a championship one and if you put this squad in the championship we would survive everything is in place he has stuck to his budget and built a team from scratch and now is the time for him to deliver this season and I am sure he will do.Once the end of season comes it will be between 3 teams for the top 2 Brighton,Town and Saints and maybe Charlton.
So to say he has acieved nothing is harsh to say the least the club was a mess when he came in and now were on the verge of Championship football with an exciting team.

Ozzybantam, we are in February so of course he hasn't achieved his goals of promotion yet, very few managers do at this stage of a season do they? We are hardly in a bad position or on a run of bad form.

You're saying reaching the play-offs wasn't an achievement last season, contending with the likes of Norwich, Leeds, Millwall and Southampton? Not only that but he pretty much built a team from scratch and as mentioned above assembled a team that scored over 100 goals and had one of the best home records in England. Not bad for his first full campaign in charge at the club I'd say.

As for this season that goal of promotion is very much still on the cards.