Is it Saturday yet?

With two days to go, the countdown is almost over to Towns biggest match since…this time last year. If we fall short yet again, you can all blame me for the defeat. This time last year I was enjoying a weekend in Glasgow for a wedding; this year, I won’t be there again. The current economic climate and the location mean I just cannot justify the outlay, particularly as recent graduate with only a part time job.

The two playoff final’s I’ve been to resulted in two promotions, whilst the one I missed suffered defeat – A fact my superstitious Dad was quick to point out, ‘but you have to go’. Of course, I don’t seriously believe it will affect the result, but if it does I will be at next year’s final (we always do it the hard way), so long as someone pays.

So in preparation for Saturdays’ showdown I’ll be hosting a BBQ, in a bid to take away the nervous wait. It was only when the second goal went in down at MK I started to get excited about our chances. Sure, on the drive down I was a little nervous, but I never really expected us to get to the final once again.

For me, the team picks itself. If fit, I’d be handing the jersey to our very own cult hero, Ian Bennett. He’s been fantastic between the sticks this year, and whilst I personally believe Smithies to be the better keeper, his numerous mistakes since taking over the jersey have cost him his chance to play at Wembley.

The back four have been solid in the last month or so, with the only slight exception being Woods. Whilst Tom Clarke put in his best performance in a Town shirt for 30 or so minutes down at MK, I think Woods has done enough to earn a start, and hopefully will rise to the occasion. Captain fantastic and the impenetrable Morrison will hopefully continue their fine form.

In midfield, the pensioners Johnson and Miller have proved over the last few performances experience is often required in big games. Whilst Miller was poor in the 2^nd leg, I’m sure it’s down to his creaky joints not recovering, rather than a lack of ability. Higgy and Ward are match winners out wide. Ward has a sweet left foot which could deliver a delightful delivery or scorching shot out of nothing, whilst Higgy’s close control and creativity could unlock even the tightest defence.

The rejuvenated Rhovak partnership has earned the right to play at Wembley. Whilst Rhodes is our star man, over recent weeks Novak has proved his doubters wrong. He is more than just a headless chicken, and with the spotlight on Rhodes, the blades defence cannot leave Novak unattended.

From the bench, Lee and Roberts look to be the best attacking options we can muster. It’s suggested to be written in the stars for Lee to nod in the winner, and should he do so I’m worried his celebration may be even more passionate than mine. I’ve criticised Lee over and over, but in the second half of the season off the bench he has been fantastic. Roberts on the other hand has been poor; but his undoubted talent at set pieces and ability to create chances could be useful off the bench. Alongside them on the bench I’d expect to see the unfortunate Arfield, who until the arrival of Higgy has been consistent on the right wing. Filling the last two spots could be Tom Clarke and Alex Smithies.

It’s refreshing to be able to name a likely settled line up, something which hasn’t happened for a long long time.

On the other half of the field, the Blades look set to line up in a 4-4-1-1 formation. The conviction of Ched Evans has certainly dented their promotion hopes, but with a very strong midfield I’d place them as slight favourites. A lack of firepower holds them back, but with the creativity of Quinn and Flynn, the battle of Doyle, the athleticism of Williamson, and the width that Lowton will provide from full back, they are certainly a force to be reckoned with.

They key for the blades is Macdonald’s fitness, the 23 year old suffered a hamstring injury in the 2^nd leg, and is a doubt for the final. I’m sure he will start though, and the comments are all just mind games. Macdonald has the ability to dictate the play from the middle, which could help the blades gain control of the match.

I’ve seen little of the blades this season; Towns 3-0 victory over them was missed due to stupendously high ticket prices for a league one match, whilst the home defeat saw us put in a performance which resulted in the departure of Lee Clark. Whilst the Blades looked dangerous on the break, the long ball tactics deployed by Town turned the game into a physical battle, rather than the footballing spectacle expected at Wembley on Saturday.

The Play-off semi-finals against Stevenage were both dull affairs. The less said about the game down at Stevenage the better, although it did show off a strong Blades defence. At Bramhall lane it was again a dull affair; the Blades controlled the match from start to finish, and fully deserved their goal. The Blades showed off a strong defence and midfield, and could have won by more with a little more composure in front of goal.

The final promises a fantastic game for the neutral. Unfortunately for me, it promises to be a very nervy affair. Both sides are high on confidence, with the likely winner being the one whose key players rise to the occasion. With the wait nearly over, I cannot wait for Saturday to come round. Whilst the nerves are already kicking in, the excitement is in full flow in anticipation for a true footballing spectacle.

The England Squad

Now that the England Squad has been announced, and there has been time to mull over a few choices, it’s time to post what I feel about our chances.

Goalkeepers

A fairly straight forward one really, Joe Hart will be England’s number 1 for a long time to come. Hodgson may as well have selected himself in there an no-one would have batted an eye-lid. Of course, Rob Green and John Ruddy are decent back-ups, but realistically they’ll only play in Hart is injured.

Defence

Left back is almost as straight forward as the Goalkeepers, as much as Ashley Cole may not be an angel, he’s England’s best left-back and will be lining up there. Baines is a good back up though, so I wouldn’t be too concerned should Cole be injured.

Right back is the first area of concern for me. Glen Johnson? Yes, he can run quite fast, and has scored a couple of good goals, but he is not an International level full back. Obviously Kyle Walkers’ injury is a blow, but there are plenty of better right backs than Johnson. For me, I’d have Micah Richards in there. Phil Jones is good back up, covering a number of positions in the defence; I’m assuming he’ll be second choice back up.

The biggest blow for me is the inclusion of John Terry and the exclusion of Rio Ferdinand. That’s not just because of his upcoming trial either. I guess Hodgson wasn’t watching Terry when he inexplicably kneed Sanchez in the back, seriously damaging Chelsea’s chanced in a major competition. I suppose he was also worshipping Andy Carroll for his performance against Terry, rather than seeing that John Terry was woeful and Carroll made the most of it.

Gary Cahill, Lescott and Jones are all good defenders though, so for me I think I’d go for a Cahill Lescott combination. Yes, Lescott makes mistakes too, but for me he’s been an unsung hero alongside Kompany for the majority of the season, so slots in nicely alongside the composed Cahill.  

Midfield

Into midfield and injuries have also effected the squad down the spine. At the beginning of the season Tom Cleverly was ticking over the United midfield impeccably, and looked a shoe in for the Euros, but with his injuries this year I think it’d be risky to take him. I’m disappointed, but excited for the World cup, finally, a good English midfielder with drive and flair.

Barry and Parker will be a decent sitting combination; I’m not really a fan of either, but the lack of good English centre midfielders means there easily allowed in. It’s no surprise Lampard and Gerrard are both going, but I’m glad it’ll be there last big tournament. They are both individually good players, but their clubs have played systems around them for the majority of their careers – I’d rather have seen some young blood given a go, but for their faults they can produce on the day, and hopefully will be spurred on with it being their last chance.

I almost forgot about Milner, is he a winger or a centre midfielder nowadays? I suppose no-one is sure given his bit-part role in the city squad this year. He was once a very promising player, but I think the move to City has really stumped his career, hopefully a move away will see him firing at the World Cup in 2014.

On the wings is another area I feel baffled by the selection. Ashley Young is the only selection I felt was really justifiable, and whilst I am pleasantly surprised to see the Ox in the squad, I’m wondering whether he will be given a chance?

I can’t understand the Walcott and Downing selections. Walcott is a poorer version of Ox for me, I think he’s a good player when in form, but if he doesn’t hit the ground running he is a wasted seat on the plane. Downing must almost wish he wasn’t selected the way the media has reacted, he is a decent player, but I don’t think he is International class.

For me, I like wingers who can create and score goals in a blink of an eye. Young is a fantastic player on the left, and I would have liked to seen Adam Johnson on the right, with Chamberlain and Daniel Sturridge as back-ups. All 4 players have shown they can score and create goals from the wings. I’d like to see summer moves for both Sturridge and Johnson to cement their players for the World Cup for 2014.

Forwards

With the forwards I think comes two great partnerships. On the one hand we have Carroll and Defoe, the traditional big man little man partnership, and on the other we have Rooney and Welbeck, a real flair duo, both capable of the spectacular.

I can’t see a lot wrong with the forward line, the obvious dubious decision is Carroll, but I doubt many European centre halves have faced our giant. Whilst Crouch may have done it on the International scene, I think Carroll adds a lot more power, and uses his height much more effectively than Crouch. With a nice run of form for Carroll, the selection could prove very successful for Hodgson.

I’ve always rated Welbeck, he’s a great flair player with the ability to carry it off. I guess his one floor is his selfishness at times, but as he develops I think he’ll grow out of it, and the experience will serve him well. One of his great attributes is his goal scoring, he can score spectacular goals, but also managed to sneak a few toe-pokes and scuffed shots this year. I think if he’d stayed fit for the full season, he’d be in the starting 11.

Rooney and Defoe are two proved strikers, and deserve their seats on the plane. Whilst Rooney misses two games, going their without him would set us up for a fall. In Defoe we have a very direct striker capable of scoring goals out of nothing.

Manager

Roy Hodgson is a great manager, and I was very happy with his appointment. I think despite being critical of his squad selection, he’s not had much chance to assess the players across the season, and will certainly prove his worth past Euro 2012.

My one worry is the media: will they give him a chance? If we get off to a poor start the majority of the media will be calling for Harry to takeover, but if we give him time, especially when looking at the young talent upcoming, England could finally have the success we crave.

Pidge’s Starting 11

With the squad now announced, the starting 11 I would pick from those players would be as follows:

Hart

Jones Cahill Lescott Cole

Milner Barry Parker Young

Rooney Welbeck

Welbeck just pips Carroll to the starting position, although for the first 2 games him and Defoe take the place of Rooney and Welbeck. Milner on the right with Walcott and Oxo ready to come on against a tired defence. With the two sitting midfielders the two wingers can push on – perhaps Gerrard will get a go alongside Parker if it’s not working.

All in all, I think we’ll reach the Semi-finals, with expectations low we’ll be able to play a game free from pressure, but as the pressure builds I think we’ll suffer defeat – probably thanks to a Terry red card.

Falling in Love With You

It’s hard to put a finger on the moment you fall in love with something – sure, you have early memories, even flashes of emotion, but to single out one moment as the moment is near impossible. Once you’ve fallen, there is no escape – it’ll be in your life forever.

This is the case with football, you fall in love, at 5 in my case, and then no matter how bad it treats you, you can’t bring yourself to leave – you might miss that one game which will change it all.

Huddersfield Town has slowly etched itself into my heart, somewhere between my first encounter at Wembley, aged 5, to present day. We got off to an unforgettable start; Chris Billy’s diving header is one of my earliest, most vivid memories of my early childhood, but since then, it’s seen more twists and turns that Carlos Tevezs’ allegiances.

I thought it was easy being a football fan when I was younger. The promotion at Wembley, solidifying ourselves in the championship, before in the 99/00 season we looked set to achieve promotion to the Promised Land. Then the sale of a certain Marcus Stewart cost us our golden ticket, and as we watched him and his new Ipswich side push for the Premiership, we began our downwards spiral.

Of course as a 9 year old, the scenario around the sale of our star striker didn’t really interest me. I was only interested in playing football, and watching my beloved club, even as we fell. And fall we did.

I guess if I had to single out a special moment in my love for football, it would be walking into the Stadium, putting money into buckets with banners stating “save our club”. This is when it really hit home that instead of watching the blue and white every week, I’d have to find another, less important club to watch.

So, in my early football life I had seen real highs, as we almost graced the premiership, but I had also seen the real lows, with my beloved club facing extinction. If it was anything else, I doubt the relationship would have continued past this, I’d have found something else to do with my time, and soon forgotten about it. But this is football, it grips you from an early age, and there you stay, awaiting the day your loyal services are repaid.

The Millennium Stadium certainly felt like the past lows had been erased. I remember feeling more nervous that I had ever felt in my young life; I’d cried after bloody Pawel Abbott had played a back pass even I wouldn’t have played, which cost us automatic promotion – so now we had to do it the hard way.

I also remember head-butting the guy in front (apologies if it was you) as the net bulged and Mansfield looked to have scored, before hearing nervous comments swearing they’d seen the flag raised. The game restarted with a goal kick and the tears were held back. I went on to head-butt the poor guy a further two times, when their keeper somehow tipped an Anthony Lloyd (remember him?) volley wide, and then when Boothy was clean through, and for some inexplicable reason attempted to chip the keeper.

Penalties and the constant reminder in my ear from my dad saying “1 from 2, 1 from 2, 1 from 2” as Lee Fowler stepped up. The net rustled and the excitement, the passion, the pride I felt for my beautiful club came rushing to the forefront of every nerve in my scrawny little body, and remained there for a long time.

One day carried more ups and downs than a Junkies life does, and fats forward another few years and enters another one – the playoff semi-final v Bournemouth. Now 20, the importance of the match was fully etched in my heart. After Southampton had gone on a stupidly good run of form for half a season, and pipped us to 2^nd, we once again had to go through the playoffs.

1-0, get in there pelts you beauty. 1-1, that was a clear dive, okay so it wasn’t, but I am still gonna argue it was. 2-1, sign on the dotted line Wardy, surely we can’t mess up again. 2-2, okay so this was a pretty good goal, why oh why to you treat me like this Huddersfield Town.

Into extra-time we go, and as the cross came in for Danny Ings to nod home I almost saw it before it happened. I often wonder how grown men can cry at football, but at this moment I almost let out a few tears. There is no-way we are coming back from this.

It’s a corner; the ball comes in and up pops none other than Anthony Kay, so often on the end of so much criticism, but tonight, he has pulled us all back from a summer of depression and heading into a penalty shoot-out. Of course it was Kay slotted home the winning penalty, and of too Wembley Old Trafford we go.

Here is another possible moment of falling in love. At full time, half time in extra time and during the penalties, thousands of fans all holding up a “Believe” sign, a sense of belonging set into my heart.

Of course, I will not be discussing events at Old Trafford.

This season has been pretty boring for me as a Huddersfield Town fan, we’ve pretty much sat in the top 6 for the whole season. As a Town fan, I never expect us to get automatic promotion, so into the playoffs we go once again. Mk Dons are a good side, but Grayson did a fantastic job in the away leg, meaning the home leg was not a repeat of the previous year.

So this year we are off to Wembley, but with 5 days still to go – I can’t bring myself to think about it too much, or I won’t get anything done in the meantime.

There it is, a very brief introduction to my footballing rollercoaster. Joined at the hip from an early age, a relationship made to last the distance – and one which despite numerous setbacks, always has me crawling back for the next season.