Royals hope to tame Yorkshire Terriers
For a moment there was a possibility that two Thai-owned clubs might be contesting Monday’s highly lucrative Championship play-off final at Wembley, but alas it was not to be.
Sheffield Wednesday, owned by Thai tuna king Dejphon Chansiri, were edged out by Huddersfield Town in their semi-final play-off. This was particularly painful for fans of the Owls who were beaten by Hull City 1-0 in last year’s final.
The other Thai-owned club, Reading, did their part, reaching the final with a hard fought win over heavy favourites, Fulham. But with a curious sense of timing, immediately after their victory it was announced the club was now in Chinese hands with the Thai consortium retaining just 25 percent.
So Reading began the play-offs as Thai-owned and ended them as Chinese owned, under the brother and sister duo of Dai Yongge and Dai Xiu Li, who last year failed in a bid to take over Hull City.
While it was well-known that the Thai consortium under Khunying Sasima Srivikorn was looking to sell, the timing of the announcement took many by surprise. The deal was all but lost in the excitement of reaching the play-off final.
Most Royals fans would admit they did not expect their team to get this far. After finishing a lowly 17th last season, a period of consolidation would have been acceptable. Even manager Jaap Stam ruled out any promotion hopes.
Without playing particularly attractive football they have somehow been play-off contenders for most of the season, finishing in an impressive third place. However, anyone who saw them get hammered 7-1 by Norwich City last month may wonder what would await them if they were to get back into the Premier League.
The fact that Omani goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi was named player of the year for the second successive season reflects on Reading’s performances. His heroics got them through many tight battles. Another outstanding performer has been veteran French striker Yann Kermorgant whose match-winning goal against Fulham was his 19th of the season. Kermorgant, 35, has already announced he is retiring at the end of next season and how he would love his swansong to be in the Premier League.
Reading do not have a great record in Championship play-off finals and their two brief appearances in the Premier League (2006-08 and 2012-13 ) were a result of automatic promotion. In the 2011 final they lost to Swansea 4-2, and back in 1995 were beaten 4-3 by Bolton Wanderers after leading 2-0.
Like Reading, Huddersfield are probably surprised to find themselves contesting the final after last year’s miserable season when they just escaped relegation, finishing in 19th place.
The Terriers are one of those former giants who have fallen on hard times over an extended period which they hope will end on Monday. They have a proud history, being the first club to win the English league title in three consecutive years, from 192426. With two runners up spots in the following years they were regarded as one of England’s strongest clubs.
Huddersfield’s dark period — and it was very dark — came in the early 1970s when they plunged from the top flight to the depths of Division Four in the space of a few years. In 1978 they finished 15th in Division Four and since then have floundered in the lower divisions. However, over the years Huddersfield have been in some memorable matches.
Possibly the most extraordinary game came in 1957 against Charlton Athletic in the old Second Division. Huddersfield had raced into a 5-1 lead early in the second half against 10-man Charlton who had lost a player through injury. This was in the days before substitutes. Amazingly Charlton came back to win 7-6, the deciding goal coming with the last kick of the game. Charlton’s Johnny Summers hit five goals including a hat-trick in six minutes.
Thirty years later, in 1987, came a match against Manchester City that still hurts. After an innocuous opening 15 minutes, Huddersfield suddenly fell to pieces and City went net on to win 10-1. Huddersfield manager Malcolm Macdonald , more familiar with scoring goals than conceding them, admitted: “Yes, I think you could say that it was my most humiliating day in football.”
Apart from the legendary manager Herbert Chapman during the Roaring Twenties, probably the most famous footballer connected with Huddersfield was Denis Law. It was while playing for the Terriers at the age of 18 that Law became the youngest-player ever to appear for Scotland. A year later, when he moved to Man City, Law became the first player to be transferred for more than 50,000 pounds between British clubs.
Huddersfield also have a tentative link with Thailand in that it was the club Kiatisak “Zico” Senamuang, the former Thai coach, spent a season with as a player in 1999. Under Terriers manager Steve Bruce, Kiatisak never got a chance to play in the first team, although he had a few outings with the reserves. The consensus among the coaching staff was that although Kiatisak was skilful, he was physically not up to the rigours of the crunching tackles that graced the English league at that time.
Although Huddersfield start favourites for Monday’s final, there is not much to choose between the two sides. When the teams met earlier in the season it was honours even, both winning 1-0 in their respective home fixtures.
Whichever team wins on Monday will celebrate reaching the top flight. But then the hard part begins. The grim reality is how to stay in the Premier League on a limited budget. Let’s hope the owners have got deep pockets.