Huddersfield Town boss Neil Warnock has earned huge praise for tweaking the side’s tactics during a shocking 2-1 win at the Hawthorns against West Bromwich Albion.
The Terriers have endured a horrific start to the Championship and picked up just one point across their first five games which came from a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Middlesbrough.
Huddersfield were left lingering in the relegation zone until last Saturday when a 2-1 win over the Baggies earned a massive three points for the club, taking Warnock’s side two points above the drop zone heading into the international break.
Delano Burgzorg opened the scoring after the half-hour mark but West Brom responded early after the interval when John Swift bagged the equaliser. However, with merely moments left in the game, Jack Rudoni put the Yorkshire club ahead in the sixth minute of added time to snatch all the points.
Warnock is often credited for his excellent man-management but it was the tactical decision to switch to the 3-5-2 which reigned supreme last weekend.
Huddersfield Town deployed a 4-2-3-1 against Norwich City in a humiliating 4-0 home defeat to the Canaries but the legendary coach reverted back to a 3-5-2, dropping into a 5-3-2 out of possession, offering more stability at the back with a greater threat up top.
Warnock’s tweaks certainly impressed one man. Speaking on the What The EFL? Podcast, the former Millwall, Ipswich Town and Leyton Orient striker Sam Parkin heaped praise on the 74-year-old.
Parkin said [quotes via Yorkshire Live]:
“[There were] a few more tactical adjustments – probably credit Neil Warnock.
“He went to a 3-5-2 with Kasumu and Headley the wing-backs. I think just defending properly, cutting out the individual errors, staying in the game…that’s got to be the blueprint for Huddersfield because they’re not going to score mountains of goals.
“They didn’t get the striker over the line that the supporters were craving, so that remains an issue, but defensively they’ve been so poor, so uncharacteristically poor, and this was a huge improvement.”
Writer’s View
Sometimes managers make tactical adjustments which suit the game at hand so it will be interesting to see whether Huddersfield can pick up where they left off at home next Saturday to Rotherham United.
It’s likely that Warnock will stick with the 3-5-2 due to how well it worked in the Midlands but only time will tell whether the change was a fluke or if the Terriers have really turned a corner.