Tribute to Henry Tattersall at Huddersfield

Last updated : 30 November 2013 By Tony Scholes

Before looking at the game, it has always to be remembered that it is just that, simply a game. This week I attended the funeral of Andy Wood, a very good football friend of many years standing, who passed away recently after a short illness.

The game against Watford on Tuesday, when he's not in the seat in front, will be a difficult one but the news this week of the tragic death of 13-year-old Burnley supporter Henry Tattersall has hit us all so hard.

Almost immediately there were plans for a minute's applause, plans that came from social media sites I believe, and they are certainly backed fully by Clarets Mad. This morning I read in the Huddersfield Examiner that home fans are being urged to join Burnley supporters in that minute's applause which will be staged in the 13th minute of the game.

Michael Duff - We are top of the league and we want to stay there

I can only urge Burnley supporters everywhere to have some thought for Henry's family and friends who are going through the most difficult of times right now and I can only hope they find the strength to deal with this awful loss.

It really does put football into perspective, but there is a game to play and we travel to Huddersfield with no additions to the squad after what appear to have been frantic efforts over the last two weeks to get players signed.

Co-chairman John B described it as frustrating despite having a team working on things until the eleventh hour as the back up team did all they could to increase the options for manager Sean Dyche.

Dyche himself said: "We have had a few challenges. The obvious one is being the top of the league. Let's just say some clubs are not as forthcoming in lending you players because they don't want us to strengthen, which I understand.

"Beyond that there is a financial angle, but that's not all, I would add. There is also the alignment. Everyone knows we are really looking at the forward line, to supplement us and give us more competition, but the reality is our two strikers are really flying and scoring goals, and speaking to agents and managers of other clubs, their first question is 'are they going to play?'.

"So it really is a mixture of circumstances that make life tough, but I can assure you my phone bill this week will be interesting."

We know about Connor Wickham's reluctance to join us, preferring to play regularly at the bottom of the division rather than fight for a place at the top. We've also been ruled out for some targets because of ridiculous financial demands, seen at least one player prevented by his club from joining the top of the league, and we've also ruled out players that the manager didn't think would fit in with the dressing room.

That means we go into today's game at Huddersfield with the same squad and one of that squad is Michael Duff who has spoken this week about our start to the season.

"I would like to think we have earned some respect," he said. "After four or five games, or even eight or nine, people might have expected we would fall away. But the fact that Nottingham Forest raised their game against us, when, by all accounts, that was the best they have played, is a compliment.

"It's something we can expect and have to deal with. We have shown enough to say we are in it for the long haul. Where we finish, nobody knows, but we are confident in what we are doing and we should take it as a compliment that people are starting to watch us and working out how to stop us playing."

Duff added: "We'll be looking to go to Huddersfield and put in a performance because we are top of the league and we want to stay there."

He missed the start of the season but came back for the Capital One Cup tie against Preston since when he's played alongside Jason Shackell in every game, and that partnership should continue today.

With Dean Marney ruled out, Burnley's expected team is: Tom Heaton, Kieran Trippier, Michael Duff, Jason Shackell, Ben Mee, Scott Arfield, David Edgar, David Jones, Michael Kightly, Danny Ings, Sam Vokes. Subs: Alex Cisak, Kevin Long, Danny Lafferty, Brian Stock, Junior Stanislas, Keith Treacy, Ryan Noble.

Huddersfield are currently right in the middle of the table, one of three clubs with 20 points from their opening 16 games. It is a position that their manager Mark Robins suggests reflects the start they have made to the season.

It's their second season back in the Championship having beaten Sheffield United in the 2012 League One play-off final on penalties, ending an eleven year absence following their relegation in 2001.

They ended last season in 19th place but with 58 points could have expected to have pulled clear much earlier than they did, but the fact that Peterborough went down with 54 points in a strange season left many clubs, including us, sweating until very close to the end.

So the start this season, despite the much higher position, is on a par in terms of points per game. They lost just twice in their first ten games but have suffered four defeats in the last six including the last home game against Birmingham when they turned in their worst performance of the season.

Robins reacted by recalling Adam Clayton and Martin Paterson at Sheffield Wednesday last week. There had been suggestions that they wouldn't play for the club again after a training ground incident but Robins said: "By no stretch of the imagination can we afford to leave our better players out for long periods."

Paterson scored his first goal for his new club at Hillsborough, at the same end of the same ground where he scored his first Burnley goal back in 2008, although on this occasion he was on the winning side with Clayton also scoring in a 2-1 win.

James Vaughan was back for that game too after serving a suspension, and the recalled front two of Vaughan and Paterson were the key to the win. They'll both play today with Robins expected to keep the same team.

Peter Clarke remains out with a knee injury and new signing Harry Bunn, a late loan capture from Manchester City, is, according to their development coach Steve Eyre, joining that squad initially and won't feature today.

If they field the team that won at Hillsborough they will line up: Alex Smithies, Joel Lynch, Anthony Gerrard, Tommy Smith, Paul Dixon, Adam Clayton, Oliver Norwood, Jonathan Hogg, Adam Hammill, Martin Paterson, James Vaughan. Subs: Ian Bennett, Murray Wallace, Duane Holmes, Danny Ward, Sean Scannell, Oscar Gobern, Jazz Richards.

 

Last Time We Were There

In August last year we were beaten 2-0 by Huddersfield at the John Smith's Stadium. I started my match report with the words: "Over 3,000 Burnley fans filed out of the John Smith's Stadium stunned with the performance. This win was gifted to them after one of the most inept performances you can possibly imagine."

Kieran Trippier was our best outfield player

After the game, manager Eddie Howe said: "For the majority of the game I thought we controlled possession, but in the final third we weren't ourselves and in both boxes I thought we were a bit of a disappointment."

He felt we deserved to pick something up from the game and added: "I don't think we've been outplayed or outclassed. It's just a case of being a little bit better than we are and we'll endeavour to do that."

Over 15 months later I stand by every word I wrote on that game. That performance was, alongside the 1-0 defeat at Leeds, one of our two worst performances on the road last season.

Incredibly Simon Grayson, then Huddersfield manager, had said the day before exactly how his side were going to play, claiming he knew how to beat the Burnley side with the way we set up.

Huddersfield weren't good, but they were more mobile than us, they moved the ball better and quicker than us, they got players forward which we didn't, they were in our faces. They didn't need to be good frankly. Just turning up and trying to win the game was sufficient given how poor we were.

"A game that leaves more questions than answers," were the words of luppy on the message board where posters were certainly marking the players appropriately for a shocking performance.

Frighteningly the next two games, both at home against Plymouth and Brighton, were no better and the only players to come out of this game with any credit were Lee Grant, who got nothing wrong, and Kieran Trippier, the only shining light in our outfield players.

The teams were;

Huddersfield: Alex Smithies, Paul Dixon (Anthony Gerrard 83), Joel Lynch, Peter Clarke, Jack Hunt, Keith Southern, Oliver Norwood, Adam Clayton, Sean Scannell (Danny Ward 23), Jordan Rhodes, James Vaughan (Lee Novak 77). Subs not used: Ian Bennett, Scott Arfield, Calum Woods, James Spencer.

Burnley: Lee Grant, Kieran Trippier, David Edgar, Jason Shackell, Joseph Mills (Keith Treacy 73), Ross Wallace, Dean Marney, Chris McCann, Junior Stanislas (Alex MacDonald 90), Sam Vokes (Michael Duff 64), Charlie Austin. Subs not used: Brian Jensen, Ben Mee, Brian Stock, Marvin Bartley.

 

Previous Games against Huddersfield

 

Last 20 Years
Season Comp Ven Res Att  Scorers
1993/94 Division Two h 1-1 12,011 Eyres(pen)
    a 1-1 10,634 Deary
2000/01 Division One a 1-0 14,016 Payton
    h 1-0 16,191 Davis
2002/03 Worthington Cup a 1-0 5,887 Papadopoulos
2012/13 Championship a 0-2 15,483  
    h 0-1 11,266  

 

Click HERE to see all previous results against Huddersfield