Pundit Thompson can’t see Town avoiding drop
SKY Sports pundit Phil Thompson has predicted relegation for Huddersfield Town after their 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United at the weekend.
A second-half strike from Venezuelan striker Salomon Rondon was enough to take the points.
The defeat, coupled with Southampton’s win over Arsenal, sent Town to 19th in the top flight, two points away from the Saints and safety ahead of the visit of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s south coast outfit this weekend.
But, even if Town were to beat Southampton on Saturday, Thompson cannot see them evading the drop into the Championship in May.
When asked whether Town could stay up this season, he said: “No, I don’t think they are going to survive. This is now four defeats on the run for them.
“These home games would have been the games they were identifying as hopefully three points against Newcastle, but there’s nobody there who looks like they’re going to score, no matter what.
“But, the problem is, there’s nobody that looks like they are going to thread a ball through anywhere on the pitch. There were a load of crosses coming in and a load of long throws and corner kicks, but you were never on the edge of your seat thinking they were going to score a goal.
“That’s not going to help them going forward.
“Only thing that might have gone in their favour – there was a dreadful tackle by [Jamaal] Lascelles out on the flank.
“He didn’t have to commit himself at all, but he goes right the way through Laurent Depoitre on the byline when he could have just stood off.
“It could well have been red from Anthony Taylor the referee, rather than yellow.”
Although the pundit believed Lascelles could have been dismissed for his challenge on Depoitre, Thompson added that the Terriers struggled to create any chance for their big Belgian striker.
When asked how many of Town’s 15 attempts came as a result of clear-cut opportunities, he replied: Very, very few - and if they did, they went straight into the arms of [Martin] Dubravka.
“In earnest, he probably was in trouble from a free kick from 30 or 35 yards out from [Philip] Billing, who was probably Huddersfield’s best player.”