Forest (a) - It starts again...

The 2013/14 season kicks off this Saturday and for us it's a visit to The City Ground to take on Nottingham Forest. The last time we began a campaign in Nottingham was in 2010/11 when we were impressive in a 3-0 victory against Notts County. However, our most recent visit to the city in February was one to forget as we were beaten 6-1, with the biggest tits on display that evening representing Town rather than Hooters.

That heavy defeat last season was the first game in charge of Huddersfield for Mark Robins, while it was the first victory for Billy Davies since returning to manage Forest. Radoslaw Majewski scored a hat-trick and the final result did not flatter a Forest team who in all honesty could have scored more. Town's collapse that evening was something we saw on a number of occasions last season, but under Robins we eventually managed to improve a dire defence and achieve survival.

Despite losing heavily at Forest and a couple of weeks later at Brighton, Robins definitely made an early impact when appointed. Town took 10 points from a possible 18 in his first six games and we also won three of our last five games to ensure we finished outside of the bottom three. We averaged 1.4 points per game under Robins, an average which would have seen us finish 10th had we managed it all season. The task now is to continue improving and make sure we're not in a relegation battle next May.

Improvements at Town

Robins, alongside Dean Hoyle, Nigel Clibbens and Ross Wilson, has certainly made moves to improve the squad. Cult hero James Vaughan has signed a permanent deal with the club following his successful loan spell, while Martin Paterson and Jon Stead both signed on free transfers to provide more firepower. Adam Hammill is another former loanee to complete a permanent move while Jonathan Hogg signed from Watford earlier this week to bolster a lightweight midfield. Our midfield and attack are definitely improved on what we had at our disposal last season.

A major concern for Town fans however is that we haven't really made any moves to improve what was the worst defence in the Championship last season excluding the teams who were relegated. On his day Joel Lynch is our best central defender so a lot of hope hinges on him finding the form which impressed fans upon his arrival last term. Most fans are adament that a defender will be signed in the near future, and if a good one can be acquired all areas of the squad will have been strengthened. A solid defence would be a great backbone for our improved attack.

No matter what squad improvements have been made, the aim again should be survival. It's pivotal that we become accustomed to Championship football to grow as a club. We must maintain our status in England's second tier, and grow year on year. Improvement this season would be to avoid a relegation battle come May - we could end up with less points than last season but be comfortably above the drop zone - that would be progress. We have a Championship infrastructure, and in my opinion we have a decent Championship squad, so survival is very attainable.

Improvements at Forest
Our opponents this weekend have very different objectives for the season. If you follow pretty much any Forest fan on Twitter they'll tell you they're confident of promotion (as well as talking about Derby A LOT). They have every reason to be positive too - they had a very strong squad which under-performed to a certain degree last season, and have made some very smart acquisitions during the summer. Jack Hobbs, Jamie Mackie and Gonzalo Jara in particular stand out as top quality signings at this level. Forest also signed long-time Town target Jamie Paterson from Walsall.

Forest are as short as 7/2 to be promoted to the Premier League (Town are 20/1 by comparison) and in Billy Davies they have a manager who knows the club very well. His return was celebrated by fans and he made an instant impact - after failing to win in his first two games he led Forest to six consecutive league wins, beginning with the 6-1 mauling of Town. At one point Forest looked as though they might even threaten the top two but their form tailed off worryingly to the end of the season. They finished just one point off the playoffs after winning only one of their last eight games.

They'll need to get off to a good start this season if they're to keep up with the teams fighting at the top of the table. This season looks like it will be the most competitive it's been in a while at the top end with all three relegated teams looking very strong while Forest, Leicester, Bolton and Watford all have ambitions to finish in the top two. Forest were arguably the most impressive team we played last season over two games - it's between them and Leicester for me - and they head into this weekend as heavy favourites. Forest to score four or more at 10/1 does look tempting.

Does a good start guarantee success?
Our last five opening games of the season, along with our league performance thereafter, are below:
12/13: Cardiff 1 TOWN 0 - Finished 19th
11/12: TOWN 1 Bury 1 - Finished 4th (promoted)
10/11: Notts County 0 TOWN 3 - Finished 3rd
09/10: Southend United 2 TOWN 2 - Finished 6th
08/09: Stockport County 1 TOWN 1 - Finished 9th

A good start won't necessarily mean a good season. On the three occasions we've won in the last ten years we haven't been promoted once, while our two promotion campaigns started with draws. Likewise the three opening day losses we've suffered haven't resulted in relegation - there's nothing much to read into opening day results as teams can improve, or regress over the course of a 46 game season. Indeed we kicked off the 2005/06 season with a 2-1 defeat at The City Ground but finished three places above Forest.

At the end of September last season Town were top of the league after seven games having just beaten then on-fire Blackpool at Bloomfield Road. At the same time Peterborough United had lost all seven of their opening games. However, deep into the second half of our final game of the season we were stuck below Posh who had found great form after their dire start while we had suffered a terrible slump after a bright start. Point being - a good start is nice but eventually counts for nothing unless you're consistent across 46 games.

Head to head
We've conceded an alarming 13 goals in our last three visits to The City Ground - last season's 6-1 hammering was preceded by a 2-1 defeat in 2008 while in 2007 we were thumped 5-1. Last season's loss was one of a number of collapses, we were 1-0 up but ended up being lucky to concede only six with Radoslaw Majewski netting a hat-trick. We haven't had much luck against Forest at all in recent seasons as we've currently gone six league games without a win, a record any Town fan would be delighted to end on Saturday.

We haven't managed to claim three points at The City Ground since we claimed a 3-1 win in December 2000. Kevin Gallen scored two and Peter Ndlovu got the other on a Wednesday night on that occasion. That was the exception rather than the rule though in recent meetings as as we've only four of the last 19 meetings between the two teams. Our best run against Forest was a long, long time ago. We went 10 games without defeat between 1920 and 1952, winning eight of those games. Overall head to head record: TOWN (16), Forest (12), Draw (12).

Predictions
I'm not going to predict the team that Mark Robins will pick this weekend, I'm going to give the team that I'd like to see play. The defence picks itself with Gerrard injured and no new defender yet signed (at the time of writing). I'd play Hogg in the middle with Norwood and Clayton, with Clayton allowed to push further forward. Scannell and Hammill are both better than Ward in my opinion, while Vaughan picks himself as our best centre forward.

Robins likes to play a 4-2-3-1 system with one striker, two deep midfielders, and three attacking midfielders (two wingers and one player linking up play between midfield and striker). However, our defence remains leaky and Forest are a VERY good team, so for those reasons I'd lose the advanced midfielder - Paterson has played this role in pre-season - and have three deeper midfielders, with Hammill and Scannell offering the ability to run the ball out on the counter attack.

Right, scoreline prediction. We certainly look better going forward and have been more creative in pre-season so I believe we have goals in us. However, unless we sign a central defender soon we will still leak goals like a sieve. My prediction therefore - 4-2 TO FOREST.

How do we look for the coming season?

With pre-season in full swing it's a good time to look at our squad heading into the 2013/14 season. Are the players we've signed better than the ones we let go? Have we strengthened in the areas where we were weakest last season? Are we in better shape than we were in May? All questions I'll attempt to answer.

The obvious weakness in our squad once last season had finished was up front. James Vaughan and Jermaine Beckford, both superb towards the end of the campaign, returned to their parent clubs while Lee Novak and Alan Lee were allowed to leave the club at the end of their respective contracts. Daniel Carr and James Spencer were the only two recognised strikers on our books, and recognised is being generous to both players.

Mark Robins has certainly addressed this issue with the signings of James Vaughan, Martin Paterson and Town old boy Jon Stead. Vaughan is certainly the most popular of those three players but all three come with decent reputations and in my opinion strengthen our squad. Vaughan was our Player of the year last season and his signing was a huge coup, while Paterson and Stead are better than the outgoing Novak and Lee.

Below are quick reviews of all three new strikers from fans who have seen them at close quarters very recently. Thanks to the people who helped out with this, and be sure to give them all a follow on Twitter!

James Vaughan - Signed from Norwich City (undisclosed)

@Terrier1987cas The only doubt surrounding Vaughan is his fitness - his style of play means he's susceptible to injury so at times we have to wrap him up in cotton wool, and occasional niggles are almost inevitable. Put that concern aside however and you have nothing but positives. Vaughan finished last season as top goalscorer with 14 goals and also won the Player of the season award, but I believe we've yet to see the best of him. He certainly has more goals in him and I don't see any reason why he can't hit 20+ this season if he remains fit, but he also offers work-rate and intelligence that we've lacked previously. Everyone knew this was the signing that needed to happen, and thankfully it has.

Last 3 seasons:
2010/11 Crystal Palace (Championship): 30 appearances, 9 goals
2011/12 Norwich City (Premier League): 5 appearances, 0 goals
2012/13 Huddersfield (Championship): 33 appearances, 14 goals

Jonathan Stead - Signed from Bristol City (free transfer)

@TheExiledRobin "There was an element of concern when Stead signed, someone who's career appeared to be on a downward trajectory and of whom the main memories were long barren runs in the Premier League. Thankfully, he leaves us three years later as one of the most popular players to have pulled on the red shirt in recent memory. If you want a 25 goal a season striker Stead isn't your man, his good work is in the build up to the goal, working the pitch to its limits and stretching defences. Very few players leave a club without at least a minority saying good riddance - however in this case, across hundreds of tweets and forum posts, there was not a single dissenting voice."

Last 3 seasons:
2010/11 Bristol City (Championship): 32 appearances, 10 goals
2011/12 Bristol City (Championship): 25 appearances, 6 goals
2012/13 Bristol City (Championship): 30 appearances, 5 goals

Martin Paterson - Signed from Burnley (free transfer)

@Wilson97Josh "Paterson was known at Burnley for his work-rate and determination, but he is far more than that. He has a talent for finding space to run into and isn't afraid to exploit it. His best season for us was 2008/09 when he contributed 12 goals to our promotion to the Premier League, with a few of them being great long range strikes.
@ClaretMarty "I've never seen Paterson give anything less than 100%. Ironically, after playing like a terrier for years he's finally become one! He was forced to play out wide in our Premier League season but never complained and continued to be a crowd favourite. He's a player who belongs up front, hopefully he'll get that chance at Huddersfield."

Last 3 seasons:
2010/11 Burnley (Championship): 14 appearances, 3 goals
2011/12 Burnley (Championship): 15 appearances, 3 goals
2012/13 Burnley (Championship): 39 appearances, 8 goals

There is certainly still a debate to be had as to whether we have replaced Beckford, who was definitely the out and out goalscorer of the team whose goals made a huge difference to our survival bid. Despite spending much of his loan spell with us injured he had clear quality in front of goal and when fit and firing was a huge player for us. Of the three strikers we've signed only Vaughan has scored more than 10 goals in the past three seasons, and even then only once.

Reading the above views of Bristol City and Burnley fans it seems clear than neither Stead or Paterson have been used as out and out strikers in recent years. Stead is very much a man who likes to be involved in the build up to goals while Paterson has been played out wide despite his favoured position being up front. I definitely think Paterson will take a more central role for Town while I also think there are more goals to come from Vaughan who can definitely add to his 14 goals last term.

Another position most people agreed we needed to strengthen was on the wings. Danny Ward and Sean Scannell were the only two out and out wingers in the squad at the end of last season. With only two wingers we would be very weak if either picked up an injury or suspension, and we'd probably have to sacrifice Adam Clayton to play out wide despite his best position being in the centre of midfield. This is something else Robins has addressed and he's brought in a player he's very familiar with.

Adam Hammill - Signed from Wolves (undisclosed)

@ChrisRyder_ "I would definitely have had him back here. He played his best football at Barnsley under Robins, I expect big things from him this season if he knuckles down."
@BarnsleyBoy96 "He will find his way again under Robins if he gets a decent run in the team. He's a fantastic wing player and is at his best when he can run at the defence."
@Ryan_Wingrove "Very good at long range shooting and very tricky on the ball. He's a good all-round winger who will get plenty of balls into the box as well as contributing goals himself.

Last 3 seasons:
2010/11 Wolves (Premier League): 10 appearances, 0 goals
2011/12 Wolves (Premier League): 9 appearances, 0 goals
2012/13 Huddersfield (Championship): 16 appearances, 2 goals

First off, I'll say that Hammil's loan spell with Town last season was unremarkable at best. However, I'll also say that I wouldn't read anything into that as I expect the Hammill we see this coming season to be a very different player. Robins knows Adam well and will get the best out of him, proven by the winger's superb form for Barnsley when Robins was in charge and evidenced by the views of Barnsley fans above. At times last season we cried out for a match winner, and I think Hammill will be just that if he's reinvigorated under Robins.

Those additions leave us with a current first team squad of:

GK - Smithies, Bennett
DF - Hunt, Woods, Dixon, Clarke, Lynch, Gerrard, Wallace
MF - Ward, Scannell, Hammill, Clayton, Southern, Norwood, Gobern
ST - Vaughan, Stead, Paterson

I know we have young players like Carr, Holmes and Sinnott who some fans want to see given a run in the first team, but I've stuck to established first team players who are all but guaranteed to feature prominently. There's no doubt that those young players will serve a purpose at some point this season, but I see that purpose being filling the bench when we're short of players. The last thing we should be looking to do is rely on these youngsters in any kind of major way, as they're simply not ready.

Looking at that squad it's clear that we're still quite light in terms of numbers, so I expect possibly another signing and at least two loanees arriving before the end of August. I'd like to see a young striker brought in on loan to offer competition for places, while a centre back and attack-minded midfielder would also be high up my priorities list. We've so far only strengthened up front so I'd be surprised if Robins decided he was 100% happy with the defence and midfield that finished last season.

The major question them remains: are we in better shape now than we were at the end of last season? I'd say yes, although I think we all still have doubts, especially over a defence which leaves plenty to be desired. I've never been a fan of Peter Clarke, while Lynch and Gerrard both have plenty to prove after stop/start first seasons with Town. A top class centre back would be top of my shopping list now, someone in the ilk of Sean Morrison (highly unlikely I know) as well as a midfielder with a bit more creativity moving forward than our current crop.

Although the signings we've made have improved the squad, I think the biggest plus heading into this season is that we will have had a full pre-season under Mark Robins. He was one of three managers I wanted when Grayson got sacked and he turned us around magnificently under difficult circumstances last season. I'm very intrigued to see where he can take us and expect to see a very different team travel to Nottingham on the opening day of the season to the one that got battered in his first game as Town manager.

Finally... Vaughan will tear you apart again

Has there ever been a more universally liked player at Town than James Vaughan? I certainly can't think of anyone. There might have been players who were fan favourites because they played the game well, but Vaughan is something different, he's someone who connects with fans on a human level. His contributions with the ball are massive, but his impact off the ball is just as important, and the combination of the two make him something of a cult hero in West Yorkshire.

It was Vaughan's equaliser in the 81st minute against Barnsley that finally secured our Championship status for at least another season, and he also scored a hat-trick the week before to put us in a great position going into that memorable final day. Overall he bagged 14 times in 33 starts - a fantastic record in a team fighting at the wrong end of the table creating few goalscoring opportunities. Equally as fantastic is the fact that he went the entire season without picking up a serious injury.

Upon his arrival from Norwich on loan in late August he was instantly labelled 'sicknote', it was to be expected that his previous injury record would be used against him. Watching him in action it was immediately obvious why he'd picked up more knocks than your average centre forward. Lung-bursting runs across the width of the pitch to harass defenders, physical aerial duels with giant centre backs, and putting his body on the line at every opportunity are all vital parts of his game.

It was therefore certainly a gamble that we took when bringing him in on loan for the rest of the season. Had he picked up a serious injury early on we'd have still had to pay his wages to the end of the season, and one would hazard a guess that his wages were significant for a club of our size. After a few early scares however his fitness wasn't a problem at all - there was always an underlying fear when watching him play that he'd get injured but nothing ever materialised, and long may that stay the same!

Vaughan's impact last season cannot be underplayed in any way - we would have been relegated long before his goal on the last day of the season without him. His contribution was much more than goals though, he's an influential figure to both fans and teammates alike, and he offers immense work-rate mixed with genuine intelligence. He covers a ridiculous amount of grass during 90 minutes, but he does so for a reason - whether it be closing down defenders, offering an outlet when we're under pressure, or creating space for fellow attackers, his movement off the ball is outstanding and much needed.

Indeed his impact was evident from the very beginning. In our opening 10 games last season, six featured James Vaughan. We were unbeaten in those six games, amassing 16 points from a possible 18 while in the games he didn't play we didn't win once, taking a single point from a possible 12. That trend continued, albeit to a lesser extent as we went on a torrid run with Simon Grayson losing the plot completely, throughout the season. With Vaughan on the pitch we were a much better team because he's the focal point of everything good that we do.

He was always going to be a success at Town, it seemed inevitable from the beginning as fans took an instant like to the former Everton player who is the youngest ever Premier League goalscorer. He constantly showed an immense appreciation for the support he received from fans, with celebrations in front of supporters like after the Burnley game at Turf Moor going a long way to cementing his 'cult hero' status. Perhaps the final tipping point for him becoming a true hero was his late winner at Elland Road and the epic celebration that followed, beating them meant just as much to him as it did to us!

It's difficult to say whether signing Vaughan will result in further season card sales, or whether shirts with 'VAUGHAN - 9' on the back will start flying off the shelves, but one thing it will do is create a huge buzz among the fans and playing staff. Everyone knew that this was the deal that needed to happen, everyone knew how important he was to us last season and how important he would be to us if we managed to secure his signature. Well he's here, he's a Huddersfield Town player for the next three seasons at least, and our prospects for the coming season are much greater for it.

It's a shame that we won't get to see Jermaine Beckford alongside Vaughan again, but the signings of Stead and Paterson mean we have more quality up front than we did last season. Between the three of them, and a loan addition that I feel will be added, we have more than enough firepower to make a real impact this season. I'm not going to say that we will be challenging at the top end of the table because the league is even more competitive this season that it was last season, but I certainly don't expect us to struggle again.

A final congratulations has to go to Dean Hoyle, Nigel Clibbens, Ross Wilson and Mark Robins for making Vaughan at home during his spell on loan last season, and doing what was necessary to secure his signature. We've got a great infrastructure at the club now and this signing, and also the signing of Paterson who turned down 'bigger' clubs to sign for Town, shows that we can attract top drawer players to Leeds Road. Plenty doubted whether or not we could bring Vaughan here permanently, but we have and for that we must be grateful to the people who are in charge at the club.

One last thing, corner flags everywhere beware because... Vaughan will tear you apart again!

Cas's end of season review

The season is over. After last weekends epic end of season finale, with both Town and Barnsley surviving on the final day after a 2-2 draw in which neither team took part in the final two minutes, it's all over. Here I analyse the season and hand out a few awards, have a read and let me know whether you agree or not...

Overall performance - SUCCESS

How anyone can say this season was anything but a success is beyond me. We were promoted via the League One playoffs last May with a poor team which was carried for the most part by Jordan Rhodes, and which improved defensively only when Sean Morrison was brought in on loan. Rhodes left for Blackburn with only three games of the season gone while Morrison stayed at Reading for the entire season. We therefore played pretty much all this past season without our top goalscorer and best defender from last season.

Replacements were brought in with Anthony Gerrard and Joel Lynch signing to add defensive steel, and James Vaughan and Jermaine Beckford to increase our options in attack. Lynch looked like he was the answer to our defensive problems at the beginning of the season but his form dropped off massively, while Gerrard never really impressed. Vaughan and Beckford both proved their worth to the team at the end of the season by scoring the goals that kept us up, but unfortunately they both spent large spells on the sidelines.

Then you have the other signings we made last summer. Paul Dixon, Keith Southern, Adam Clayton, Oliver Norwood and Sean Scannell arrived during Simon Grayson's first and only summer in charge. Of those, only Adam Clayton managed to maintain his place as a regular starter throughout the season. Paul Dixon looked good in spells but never really got a proper run in the team, Norwood impressively but tailed off, Southern added steel in midfield but spent a long time out injured, and Scannell failed to impress until the back end of the season.

Simon Grayson was also sacked during the season. Dean Hoyle took a little too long to act in my opinion, letting us go 12 matches without a win before finally relieving Grayson of his duties. Mark Robins was eventually appointed with the tough task of getting the best out of a depleted squad and turning our season around. The former Barnsley manager did a superb job to make us a much tougher team to beat and secure some massive wins at the back end of the season which eventually ensure survival.

Despite selling our biggest asset (albeit for £8 million), sacking our manager after less than 12 months in charge, and going on a 12 game run without a win, we still achieved our ultimate goal of survival. That's what it all comes down to - our goal at the beginning of the season was to be in The Championship again next season, and we will be. In what was probably the toughest season in English football second tier history, we outfought five teams and eventually finished on a very good 58 points, four vital points above the relegation zone.

Player of the season - JAMES VAUGHAN

Honourable mentions - Alex Smithies, Adam Clayton

There was only ever one candidate for this award. James Vaughan correctly won the award at the end of season ceremony, becoming the first ever loanee to be names Player of the season, and gets the nod from me as well. We've had some good loanes in the past such as Peter Ndlovu, Leon Knight, Robert Page and Sean Morrison, but none even come close to the impact which Vaughan has had this season. He arrived on loan from Norwich at the end of August to a mixed reaction, but by the end of the season he'd cemented his place in Town folklore.

Vaughan finished the season as top goalscorer with 14 goals, and scored the vital goal against Barnsley which secured our Championship status. He had a terrible record before arriving in West Yorkshire so represented a but of a gamble, and he played only two thirds of our games, but that was enough game time for him to make a massive impact on our season. His commitment and workrate is unmatched and has a positive impact on those around him, as well as making him a nuisance to opposition defenders. He scored pivotal goals against Leeds and Barnsley, while netting a hat-trick against Bristol City.

The only player who ever came close to threatening Vaughan was Alex Smithies. The academy product had his best season to date in goals, making some world class saves at vital times and improving his command of the penalty area significantly. Before the season I wasn't convinced that he'd cut it at this level but he's definitely proved me wrong. Adam Clayton deserves a mention for his early season performances and for his all-round good performances whenever he played central.

Best match - BARNSLEY (HOME)

Honourable mentions - Leeds (away), Wolves (away)

This was just as easy as the Player of the season award. There have been some brilliant away days this season, and it's been a pleasure to watch better teams inside better stadiums having suffered so many years away from the second tier. Particular highlights were away wins at Elland Road and Molineux. It's always sweet to beat Leeds but to do so on their own patch with a late winner was extra special. The away win at Wolves was when many people really started to believe Town could stay up, with two second half goals from Jermaine Beckford sending a fantastic away following into raptures.

They were great matches, and Sheffield Wednesday and 'the towel' also deserve special mention, but the winner was always going to be the epic final game of the season. It had everything - the typical nervy Town start, the genuine fear of relegation, the pain of twice going behind, the joy of twice equalising, the ecstasy of final day survival, and the once in a lifetime opportunity to share all those emotions with a fellow set of supporters. Everyone in attendance witnessed something truly unique, and it was the perfect outcome with Peterborough United suffering the heartache of relegation while both Yorkshire clubs survived. 

Worst match - FOREST (AWAY)

Honourable mentions - Peterborough (away), Charlton (home)

It says a lot about how awful we've been at times this season that horrific away defeats at Leicester and Watford don't even make my shortlist for this award. The winner, or loser, of this award, goes to the Tuesday night humiliation away at Nottingham Forest. From a personal perspective the journey to the game was a nightmare, having to rush from work and getting stuck in rush hour traffic on the awful ringroad. Things got even worse once inside the City Ground, as despite going in front we were truly hammered, the game ending 6-1 when it could have easily been double figures. Perhaps what makes this game worse is that it was Mark Robins first league game in charge of Town, and to many it signaled what could be to come.

Leicester and Watford were horrid performances, but decent days out, whereas the two matches I've given honourable mentions to were horrid on both accounts. Peterborough, similar to Forest, was a desperate rush after work only to see Town deliver a terrible performance and lose convincingly in what was to be an omen for future performance after a good start to the season. The Charlton game was a huge missed opportunity at a time when we really needed to start picking up home wins - an early goal for the Addicks was followed by a ridiculously dull game in which we never even threatened to cause them problems.

Goal of the season - BECKFORD V WOLVES

Honourable mentions - Vaughan v Leeds, Hammill v Birmingham

This award went to Sean Scannell for his individual effort at Molineux at the end of season ceremony, but that goal doesn't even make my top three. For a while I considered giving the award for the winner against Leeds, scored by James Vaughan. A great dash down the right by Hunt followed by an inch perfect pass and a calm finish to send the Town fans crazy, brilliant. Adam Hammill also deserves a mention for his solo goal in the dying stages of the home game against Birmingham. Getting the ball out wide, he started a mazy run to the edge of the area where he placed a great finish into the far corner.

The winning goal however belongs to Jermaine Beckford, who could have also been considered for great finished against Wolves away and Millwall at home. His winning goal however came early in the campaign during what I believe was our best performance of the season. Jack Hunt with another run down the right flank before putting a great ball into the box which Beckford finished in stunning fashion. He showed brilliant confidence and technique to hammer a volley into the goal from around ten yards out, showing his clear class which was to become vital at the business end of the season.

Untapped potential - ADAM CLAYTON

Honourable mentions - Sean Scannell, Oliver Norwood

This award goes to Adam Clayton. He was on the shortlist for Player of the season but had he showed a bit more consistency, or just played in the centre of midfield more often, he might have pushed Vaughan a lot harder. The former Leeds midfielder is by a distance our best midfielder, but has spent a large portion of the season playing on the right instead of in a central position where he's much more effective. I genuinely feel that if we sign another wide player and Clayton gets to play in his favoured position more often than we might see one of the best midfielders at Town in many years.

Sean Scannell and Oliver Norwood were the two other contenders for this award. Norwood has undoubted ability on the ball, and can pick a pass as well as anyone in our squad on his day. However, his days became few and far between and he finished the season as a bit-part player. If the Northern Ireland international can regain his form, and importantly his confidence, we could have a real player on our hands. Sean Scannell is another player who impressed at times, especially towards the end of the season, but he needs to work on his end product. If he can deliver better balls into the box, and stop running down so many blind alleys, he might reach the potential everyone saw in him as a youngster at Palace.

Most over-rated - OSCAR GOBERN

Honourable mentions - Jack Hunt, Peter Clarke

Perhaps this award is a bit harsh, but things can't always be positive! I've been very vocal about my thoughts on Jack Hunt and Peter Clarke this season, but neither of them take this award. Hunt looks likely to move to pastures new this summer, and if we can secure a fee of £2 million or more it will be fantastic business - his attacking prowess in my opinion doesn't make up for the liability he is defensively. Club captain Clarke remains over-rated in my opinion as his head goes down much too quickly when things go wrong, and once again he was responsible for more individual errors leading to goals conceded than any other player.

Instead, my most over-rated player award goes to Oscar Gobern. The praise thrown his way upon his return has been nothing short of ridiculous. Our form did turn around when he recovered from injury, but that was more down to Robins getting his messages across than Gobern making any huge contributions. There is a player in there, but for me he's much too slow in possession, gives too many freekicks away, and is way too weak for a man of his size. If he can bulk up over the summer and become a bit less passive on the ball he may play a key part next season, otherwise I feel people might start to see past whatever they currently see in him.

Barnsley (H) - Who's for the drop?

45 games, 4,050 minutes, 243,000 seconds (plus stoppage time). The aim for both Barnsley and Town at the beginning of the season was survival. That never changed for the Tykes while we had a brief dream of more early in the season, but it’s certainly the aim for both clubs this weekend. Both clubs have experienced manager changes during a season that has once again proven the Championship is one of the most competitive and dramatic leagues in the world. With both clubs facing the very real threat of League One football next season, it now comes down to a Yorkshire derby shoot-out on a dramatic final day of the season.

The implications of relegation
The Championship has for my money been the most exciting league in the world this season. At the beginning of April, with only 6 games remaining for most teams, there were still 14 clubs fearing the drop. Peterborough in 23^rd place were only six points behind Millwall in 11^th place, and the Lions, who had two games in hand on most clubs at that time, are now one of seven teams who could end up in one of the last two remaining relegation spots. Bristol City are already consigned to League One football next season, while the other two spots will be taken by two of Wolves, Barnsley, Peterborough, Millwall, Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield.

Not only will the teams relegated miss out on playing in one of the most exciting leagues in the world, but they'll also face a huge financial loss. Barnsley General Manager Dan Rowing last week said "We believe that with the loss of gates and solidarity monies and such that we will lose between five and six million of our turnover". With Tykes owner Patrick Cryne making no secret of his intent to sell the club, it would be a much tougher proposition to do so in League One. While Huddersfield owner Dean Hoyle has already stated he would not be looking to sell the club in the event of relegation, he would certainly feel the financial impact after putting so much of his own money into the clubs promotion efforts in the past few seasons.

Skybet odds for relegation:

Wolves 1/50; Barnsley 4/6; Peterborough 6/4; Sheffield Wednesday 10/1; Millwall 14/1; Huddersfield 20/1

Wolves are favourites for the drop as they need to win away at promotion hopefuls Brighton on the last day while hoping neither Barnsley or Peterborough pick up points. Barnsley will be relegated if they lose, or if they fail to better Peterborough’s result. Millwall and Sheffield Wednesday need to equal or better the results of Barnsley and Peterborough, while Town will be relegated if they lose to Barnsley while the other three teams all win. Blackburn can no longer be relegated because Huddersfield and Barnsley are playing each other while Wolves can't catch them.

How have we ended up here?
Back in September we travelled to promotion favourites Blackpool and won 3-1 to leapfrog them into second place after seven games. At that point we started to dream a little, nobody got carried away but it wasn’t unthinkable that we could perhaps push for a top half finish or even a playoff place. We were still looking good in November as a 1-0 win away at Barnsley kept us in a playoff spot, 14 points clear of the relegation zone. However, after that game at Oakwell we went on a miserable run of 12 games without a win, at the end of which we’d dropped to 18^th place and were only seven points in front of the bottom three.

That win came under the stewardship of Mark Lillis as Simon Grayson was sacked after a 12th consecutive game without a win. Lillis took control of three league games and earned a very respectable four points, but he was never going to be a long-term solution. Instead on Valentines Day we appointed Mark Robins as manager, poaching him from Coventry City where he had done a great job in difficult circumstances. His first task was to shore up a leaky defence, and despite hammerings against Forest and Brighton early into his reign he's managed that as we've conceded one or less in nine of our last 10 games. We've also started scoring more goals, and three wins in our last four matches have seen us move three points clear of the relegation zone at the perfect time.

Barnsley also started the season in decent form. They were favourites to be relegated before the season started but after seven games they were in mid-table with 10 points. At that time Peterborough were rock bottom having lost all seven of their games, showing just how impressive it is that they might yet survive. While Peterborough improved, Barnsley dropped worryingly and by the end of 2012 they were bottom of the league and looking in serious trouble. Keith Hill was sacked on 29 December and an embarrassing couple of weeks followed as potential candidates to replace him publicly stated their preference to reject the job. Hill's assistant manager David Flitcroft had steadied the ship following his departure and was eventually given the job on a permanent basis.

It's difficult to explain just how well Flitcroft has done since taking the reigns at Oakwell. If the league had started when he was appointed Barnsley would be in fifth place, while Peterborough and Sheffield Wednesday would both be in the top 10. It's therefore quite hard to understand how all three teams go into the final game of the season facing potential relegation. Barnsley have taken 33 points from 20 games in 2013 yet head into this weekends match taking the final relegation spot despite beating second placed Hull last time out. If they drop into League One this weekend on their current points total then Barnsley will set a new record for the most points in a season for a club relegated from The Championship.

It will be an unwanted record, but one that is certain to be broken this weekend. Each team who could mathematically be relegated on Saturday has already accumulated more points than any relegated team in the last 10 years. This season has been so unpredictable that Town currently have 57 points, a tally that would have seen us finish 17 points above the relegation zone last season. In fact in seven of the last 10 seasons we would have finished at least 10 points clear of the drop zone, with the closest total to 57 in that period being Leicester City's 52 points in the 2007/08 season. Whoever takes that last relegation spot this year will have the unwanted consolation that they've been relegated from the toughest season in English football second tier's history. 

That night in 2006 and Mark Robins

Both teams were promoted to The Championship via the playoffs, and via penalties, with Barnsley beating Swansea City at the Millenium Stadium in 2006 while we beat Sheffield United at Wembley last May. After seven seasons in League One it's unthinkable for Town fans that we might end up there again next season, facing unwanted trips to Crawley and Shrewsbury. However, Barnsley fans don't want to make those journeys either, and the away end is already sold out for this weekends match as the travelling South Yorkshire contingent have far from given up hope that they will be playing Championship football again next season. They will no doubt take hope from the fact that the last time they visited the Galpharm Stadium they overturned a 1-0 first leg deficit to book their place in the playoff final which they went on to win.

That night was Monday 15th May 2006, and until Old Trafford a couple of years ago it was the most painful day in recent memory for Town fans. We did lose a second leg against Millwall in 2010, but that was a game not many expected us to win. We'd already done the hard part in 2006 though, as Gary Taylor-Fletcher had given us a vital 1-0 away win at Oakwell. Things went awry in the second leg as goals from Paul Hayes (from the penalty spot despite a foul clearly outside the area), Paul Reid and Daniel Nardiello were enough to give Barnsley a 3-1 win on the night and 3-2 on aggregate. The hero in the playoff final would be Nick Colgan who is currently employed by Town, and the manager who masterminded that playoff success was Andy Ritchie who would later have an ill-fated spell in West Yorkshire.

Ritchie and Colgan aren't the only ones to end up in Huddersfield after spells at Barnsley. Current Town gaffer Mark Robins was in charge at Oakwell for the better part of two seasons before leaving in exceptional circumstances in 2011. When Robins took over at Barnsley in September 2009 they were bottom of the league and favourites for relegation, but by Christmas they were nine points clear of the drop zone and finished the season safe. He kept them up when most expected them to go down again the following season, but resigned following differences with the board. After rebuilding his reputation at Coventry this season he's transformed our fortunes and is close to keeping us in The Championship which would go down as another great achievement for the former Manchester United striker.

Not many managers get the chance to relegate a former club, but Robins has that chance this weekend. He knows that if he beats his old employers on Saturday then they will be playing League One football next season. The same thing he avoided in his two year stint as manager at Barnsley he could inflict upon them. - relegation. Robins will no doubt feel an affiliation to his old club, but at the same time he will still feel wronged by the board, after all he left in strange circumstances after disagreements with the higher-ups at Oakwell. What a strange twist of fate then that he could now get the ultimate revenge for any perceived wrong doing by condemning Barnsley to League One football next season.

My line-up

Robins opted to play 4-5-1 when he first took charge but since steadying a leaky defence he's reverted to a more offensive 4-4-2 system. Jermaine Beckford and James Vaughan had shown signs of a promising partnership earlier in the season, and again recently having both suffered injuries earlier in the season. Beckford missed out on Saturday due to a thigh strain but it's hoped he could be fit again for this weekend. Oliver Norwood and Oscar Gobern have also developed a good partnership in midfield while Peter Clarke and Anthony Gerrard, despite looking clumsy have overseen our most productive defensive performances in recent months. The team currently picks itself which is a refreshing change from the end of the Grayson era, so my team for our final game of the season, but hopefully not our final game in The Championship, would be as below:

No predictions. No excuses.

I'm not making any predictions for this weekends match. In an ideal world I'd like all three Yorkshire teams to survive with Peterborough going down, but that's just too risky to wish for. Despite being unbearable to watch at times, this season has been one of my favourite following Town. The drama has been unrivalled and it's been great to watch better teams in better stadia compared to the previous seven seasons in League One, and League Two before that. I can simply hope that we are still in The Championship next season, otherwise this summer will be just as depressing as the one that followed the Old Trafford debacle.

Both teams will look at certain moments this season and think they could have gone a different way. Town will look at that 12 game run without a win, penalty appeals at Bolton and Blackburn, and missed opportunities on home soil against Sheffield Wednesday, Peterborough and Charlton. Barnsley could rue not sacking Keith Hill earlier than they did given the turnaround since his departure (likewise us with Grayson), Derby's last minute equaliser at Oakwell not long ago, and numerous home defeats against teams they will have expected to take points from. None of those things matter anymore though, and both teams have a chance to secure their Championship status this weekend. It's all come down to this - one game, 90 minutes, 5,400 seconds (plus stoppage time).

Wolves v Huddersfield preview

Town travel to Molineux this weekend for the first of the five games we have left to maintain our Championship status. With Blackburn, Millwall, Bristol City and Barnsley to follow, all our remaining fixtures offer us a great opportunity to take points away from relegation rivals. With only six points seperating Peterborough in 23rd and Birmingham in 13th, it's vital that teams at the bottom start winning games to close the gap on the the teams above them.

Despite being touted as promotion favourites at the beginning of the season, Wolves find themselves firmly in the relegation battle. They started the season well but plummeted alarmingly at the end of 2012, and didn't start 2013 any better as they failed to win a game until March. That run saw them go 12 games without a win, a feat matched only by Town who failed to claim three points between November and the end of January. It's those long spells without a win that leave both clubs sitting precariously above the drop zone and facing the very real possibility of League One football next season.

With both teams desperate to avoid relegation, they decided to change manager earlier in the season. Stale Solbakken was dismissed by Wolves after only six months in charge when they were 18th in the league. Although they were six points above the drop zone at the time of his departure they were dropping quick and had won only three of their last 16 league games. Town sacked Simon Grayson less than 12 months after appointing him as manager having gone 12 games without a win.

Dean Saunders was the man chosen to replace Solbakken, and despite going nine league games without a win upon taking charge he seems to have finally made the desired impact. Wolves have won four out of seven games since March, taking a very good 13 points from a possible 21 in that period. After going 12 games without a win before his appointment, Mark Robins has improved Town's fortunes with three wins in his first 10 games at the helm.

Wolves head into this weekends as favourites as they're third in the current Championship form table and unbeaten in their previous three home games. Town on the other hand have failed to win their last three games, but travel to Molineux in decent spirits having improved for recent matches against Bolton and Peterborough. Both teams currently have 48 points and popular consensus indicates 55 will be needed to guarantee survival, meaning wins will be needed to amass those vital seven points.

The last time Town played Wolves was in October earlier this season at the Galpharm Stadium. Goals from James Vaughan and Jermaine Beckford were enough to earn us three points, with Sylvan Ebanks-Blake getting a consolation for the away team. It's a sign of how much both teams have underperformed since then that a win on that day moved Town above Wolves into third place, just two points behind top of the league with 11 games played. Town had amassed 20 points from 11 games at that point, but have managed only 28 points from 30 games since.

As well as the last meeting between the two teams ending favourably for Town, recent matches at Molineux have also gone the way of the Yorkshire team. The last time we experienced defeat at Wolverhampton was in November 1988. Since that defeat we've visited Molineux six times without defeat, winning two games and drawing four. The most recent game away from Huddersfield saw a solitary Delroy Facey strike earn us a 1-0 win. Recent history is certainly on the side of Town heading into this weekends massive match.

Throughout the years there have been some big scorelines when we've played Wolves, with most of those games going the way of the midlanders. Twice Wolves have won 6-4 at Molineux, and between 1948 and 1951 they thrashed us 7-1 on three occasions. Overall Town have won one less game than Wolves when the two teams have met, with us managing 28 wins, Wolves 29, while there have been 12 stalemates. Despite our recent good form at Molineux, our opponents this weekend have the overall better record as they've won 19 games out of 34, scoring 89 goals in the process.

Although they've averaged 2.62 goals per game against Town at Molineux, Wolves head into this weekends encounter without their leading goalscorer. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, who also scored in the meeting between the two teams earlier this season, looks set to miss the rest of the season with a broken leg. It's good news for Town that our opponents are missing their leading goal threat as no team in the Championship has managed to score fewer goals than us - we've managed a paltry 42 goals in 41 games.

With our attack being the least effective in the league, it's even more damning for Town that we also have the worst goal difference in the league. It currently stands at -26 and effectively gives us one less point than everyone else in the Championship, not good when in the middle of a relegation battle. That dire goal difference is largely a result of some large defeats away from home. We've conceded three or more goals on eight different occasions this season, conceding six against Leicester and Nottingham Forest, resulting in the worst away defensive record in the league - 44 goals have been shipped in 20 matches.

Town have also gone seven games without keeping a clean sheet, and haven't scored three in a game since September. Wolves have also failed to stop their opponents from scoring in their last five meetings, so perhaps our low-scoring strikers could cause some damage. However, with both teams fighting for their lives form and statistics could go out of the window on Saturday afternoon. Both sets of supporters will want to see quality, but fight and passion are just as important as the season draws to a close.

Town have no fresh injury worries ahead of this weekend, with Anthony Gerrard, Jack Hunt and Danny Ward all battling to be fit having missed the game against Peterborough. If fit I'd put Hunt and Ward back into the team in place of Woods and Arfield at right back and on the right wing. Even back at full fitness I'd leave Gerrard on the bench as I think Murray Wallace deserves to keep his place after a decent performance on Saturday. The only other change I'd make is to bring Adam Clayton back into the team to replace Norwood, with the former Leeds midfielder having served his two game suspension.

I always favour 4-5-1 away from home, and this weekend is no different. I do think Jermaine Beckford has been harshly criticised by many Town fans during his loan spell, but I'd keep him on the bench again for this game. James Vaughan is capable of scoring and offers us much needed work-rate up front, while Ward and Scannell are the only natural wingers available to Mark Robins. With Keith Southern still not ready to return to first team duties, Gobern and Danns will be the two deep lying midfielders behind the more creative Clayton.

If last weekends game was make or break, the same can certainly be said about this weekend. Things are so close at the bottom of the Championship that a win for either team on Saturday could move them four points clear of the drop zone, while a defeat could see them drop to second bottom. Although I do think these next two games are the easiest we have remaining, we can take nothing for granted and Town will have to be at their best to send another impressive away following home happy.

Peterborough (H) - Make or break

I left the Reebok Stadium on Tuesday night in a strangely optimistic state of mind. It was strange to be so positive when Town had just suffered their second 1-0 defeat in a row. It was even stranger because on Saturday we play Peterborough United, a team who seem to always get the better of us. However, our performance in defeat is what gave me hope for the rest of the season.

Town head into this weekend's crunch relegation battle in 22nd place in The Championship but only three points behind Blackpool in 16th place, with our opponents just one point and one place behind us. The fact that both teams find themselves in this position is a little surprising considering their very different starts to the season. Two months into the season Peterborough seemed doomed having lost all seven of their opening fixtures, while we were flying high in second place.

Peterborough won three of their next six games after that woeful start to the season, with the third of those victories being a 3-1 home win against Town. Our performance that night was our worst of the season at that point by some distance, and Posh took full advantage as they strolled to a comfortable win. Town fans hoped it was just a minor blip, but in reality it turned out to be the beginning of the end of our dream start. We lost the following game 4-0 against Millwall and won only two of our next 16 matches.

The second of those wins, at home to Crystal Palace, was under the stewardship of Mark Lillis as Simon Grayson was sacked on the back of a 12 game winless run. Those 12 games without a win make the record of current manager Mark Robins look brilliant. The former Rotherham, Barnsley and Coventry manager has amassed three wins from nine matches since taking over in February. It's hard to imagine we could have won another game all season under Grayson.

Our most recent match against Bolton in midweek was certainly a million times better than any of the performances served up at the back end of Grayson's tenure. In fact it was the best we've looked in months, despite the scoreline. Only a man of the match display by Andrew Lonergan, the woodwork and a dodgy referee stopped us from scoring and earning a point, which would have been the very least we deserved having dominated for long spells.

However, when you're down at the bottom of the league nothing seems to go right. Sometimes that bit of luck needed never comes, and it's down to the players to make something happen. Hull's goal last weekend came after a clear foul on James Vaughan, while Sean Scannell was denied a blatant penalty on Tuesday night. If refereeing decisions go against us at the weekend the players need to make sure they're insignificant by winning the match over 90 minutes.

It was a horrendous mistake by captain Peter Clarke that gifted Bolton their winner on Tuesday night, and he's one of only three players remaining from THAT day in May 2011. It's definitely the lowest point in recent memory for Huddersfield fans, as a huge following from West Yorkshire travelled to Old Trafford only to see Peterborough score three goals in seven minutes which ended our quest for promotion. When it matters, we just don't seem to be able to beat them.

Posh manager Darren Ferguson has this week stated that he believes this weekend's game is "bigger than Old Trafford", and it's easy to see why considering neither club wants to face relegation back to League One. A defeat for either team in this huge match would make relegation even more of a possibility - Town would remain in the bottom three with by far the worst goal difference in the league, and Peterborough would be four points from safety.

From a Huddersfield perspective this weekend's game really is do or die. It might be a footballing cliché but we have six cup finals remaining starting against a Posh team who are unbeaten in their last seven league games and will be every bit as up for it as we are. If we perform as well as we did on Tuesday night we definitely have a great chance of coming away with the result, and the three points, that we desperately need.

The league as it stands:

The challenge facing Mark Robins

15 minutes into last night's game against Nottingham Forest and Mark Robins would have been satisfied with what he'd seen. Town were 1-0 up and had missed a couple of chances either side of that goal which would have really put us in control. Fast forward a couple of hours and Robins said "it is the most embarrassed that I have been in all my time as a manager".

That statement sums up how many Town fans will have felt as they left The City Ground - embarrassed. It wasn't the lack of quality that left a bad taste in the mouths of those who made the trip last night, it was the lack of effort. Forest had the quality to punish us, but we gave them too much time on the ball and constantly put in half-hearted challenges instead of trying to win the ball. Even Peter Clarke and Lee Novak, loved by so many because they try, looked like the couldn't be bothered.

Norwood and Clayton watch on as Radowslaw Majewski scores his third from distance

The only starting player to really look like he cared last night was loanee James Vaughan. Following each of Forest's first three goals he clapped and screamed at his team-mates in an effort to elicit a response. In sharp contrast, our captain was stood silently on the edge of our area, looking at the floor with his hands on his hips. That's the major worry at the minute, we arguably have the quality to mount a fight against relegation, but it really looks like we don't have the spirit.

Just as we were well in the game last night until Forest scored their first goal, we were also holding our own against Watford and Derby in the early stages of those matches, before capitulating completely after conceding a goal. There is no backbone in our team at the minute, nobody to stand up and drag us through tough times, instead we just surrender timidly to teams who actually want to win football matches. Things become more alarming when you analyse our recent form.

While other teams near the bottom of the table are showing signs of life, Town are in free-fall. We've leaked 20 goals in our last seven league matches, including two 6-1 defeats. In that same period we haven't managed to score more than one goal in any league game, giving us a goal difference of -16 in 2013 and -23 overall, the worst in The Championship and second worst in the Football League. To top it off we've won once in 16 league games, a record dating back to early November.

James Vaughan scored in Town's one and only win since early November

Peterborough went to The New Den last night and won 5-1, their sixth win in 10 league matches. Sheffield Wednesday have lost only one of their last 11 league games. Barnsley have won four league games in a row and five of their last six. Bristol City have won three out of seven league games since Sean O'Driscoll took charge. Mick McCarthy has rejuvenated Ipswich. Of all the teams at the bottom end of the table only Wolves look as poor as Town, failing to win any of their last 10 league games.

It's looking more and more like we're going down without so much as a whimper. Every time Town collapse, another team in the relegation battle wins and moves above us. Our goal difference means we effectively have a point less than what the league table states, and we currently find ourselves one place outside the relegation zone with both Peterborough and Wolves not too far behind us. It's looking bleak, but it was also looking bleak for Coventry City when Mark Robins took over there.

Coventry were second bottom of League One with no wins in their first seven games when Robins got the job in September. By the time he got appointed as new manager of Town last week he'd moved them 15 places up the table to 8th place, 15 points clear of the relegation zone with the Playoffs looking like a real possibility. Combined with his achievements in his time at Barnsley Robins clearly has what it takes to pull teams away from trouble, but surely he's never managed a club looking as hopeless as Town currently do.

Mark Robins has much needed experience of relegation fights

Top of his list of priorities should be putting together a team who have the stomach for a fight. Some of our players are well short of form and belief and need dropping in order to re-ignite their hunger while giving other players an opportunity to impress. The likes of Oliver Norwood and Jack Hunt in particular in recent weeks have had a really tough time, drop them to the bench and give the likes of Paul Dixon and Scott Arfield opportunities, both who have hardly been terrible of late.

Robins has some big decisions to make. He was present for our win against Leicester so he has seen the work-rate we have in the squad, but perhaps it doesn't lie with some of the players who started against Forest. Gerrard, Wallace, Arfield and Dixon all did their jobs well that night, and offer options for Robins should he wish to shuffle his pack. Sean Scannell has yet to be utilised by Robins as well, sacrificed twice in two games despite being the only player we have who can beat a man.

Although Town aren't currently in the bottom three, we're teetering on the edge and are many people's pick to be relegated. Our form is woeful and too many of our players don't seem up for the fight. Mark Robins has pulled teams clear of trouble in the past, but he'll need to do something very special to maintain our Championship status this season.

The Championship - A league that makes no sense and a relegation battle that's impossible to predict

Town's first home game of the season was against Nottingham Forest. It was our first game on home soil in the second tier of English football for 12 years, and the gulf in class between League One and The Championship was obvious. Forest were organised, played it along the deck and attacked at pace. In reality they deserved to win comprehensively, but we managed to sneak a 1-1 draw with a late penalty.

Fast forward six months and a team that looked so good currently lie in mid-table. Although a Playoff push isn't yet out of the question it isn't where I expected them to be. More surprising perhaps is that they haven't just replaced the man who was in charge that night, but they've replaced his replacement as well. Forest have dropped five places and won only once in seven matches since sacking Sean O'Driscoll, and in the same space of time Alex McLeish arrived and departed before Billy Davies returned for a second spell as manager.

Forest might be a special kind of ridiculous, but they represent the unpredictability of The Championship perfectly. To make things even sweeter, O'Driscoll's Bristol City beat Davies' Nottingham Forest this past weekend. In fact, the bottom three teams all won at the weekend against opposition who started the day in the top half of the table. £1 on Peterborough, Bristol City and Barnsley all winning would have brought you at least £50, that's how unpredictable this league is.

Town started the season by performing above all expectations, winning four of our first seven matches and sitting second in the table. However, since we beat Blackpool to go second back in September we've won five of our last 24 matches, and only one in our last 13. That great start is long forgotten, Simon Grayson has been dismissed and Dean Hoyle is currently looking for a new manager. With such dire form and the second worst goal difference in the league it will take something special to turn this sinking ship around.

We're not the only team to have started the season well only to struggle as the season has gone on. Stale Solbakken made a solid enough start to his tenure at Wolves and they were sixth in the league after seven games. This past weekend however they were in the bottom three until a late, late Danny Batth goal earned them a point against Leeds. Wolves are dropping quicker than Town are, having won only one of their last ten and failing to win any of Dean Saunders' five games since he took over following Solbakken's sacking.

So there are teams suddenly picking results up out of nowhere and teams who are seemingly in freefall. That would suggest that Huddersfield and Wolves will go down while Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday will survive because they've hit a purple patch. It's not that simple, in this league anyone can beat anyone and it's consistency that will eventually reap rewards, but that's not to say the form of some teams amidst the relegation struggle isn't impressive.

Sheffield Wednesday would be promotion contenders had they performed throughout the season like they have in the last couple of months. The Owls have lost only one of their last ten matches and have won six of those games. Not only are they getting results, but they've also strengthened, bringing in Leroy Lita and Connor Wickham, while Town have yet to venture into the loan market, although Hoyle has promised he will bring someone in if needed.

Barnsley are another team who not long since were doomed to spending next season in League One. They sacked Keith Hill just before the new year and then suffered the embarrassment of a seemingly endless list of candidates publicly refusing to replace him. In the end assistant manager David Flitcroft took the reigns and he's kick-started their survival effort. The Tykes have won only nine matches all season, and four of those have been in their last five games.

Town will be hoping the new manager effect will work as well for us as it has for Barnsley. Dean Saunders hasn't managed to improve Wolves fortunes but one manager who has breathed new life into a team is Mick McCarthy at Ipswich Town. They started the season in terrible form and had won only one of 13 games before McCarthy took charge, but have since won eight of their last 18 games to give themselves a great chance of maintaining their Championship status.

Three points separate six teams between Bolton in 17th and Barnsley in 22nd. So surely the two teams cut adrift in the bottom two places are certain to be relegated? Not quite. Bristol City have won three of their last four league games with O'Driscoll as manager and Peterborough have won five of their last nine matches, losing only two of those games. Nobody wants to go down, and all the teams down at the bottom are doing everything they can to avoid the drop.

Even Blackpool, Charlton and Birmingham are only six points above the relegation zone. It's incredibly tough to predict who will go down this season because The Championship very rarely makes sense. Some teams are in freefall and some teams are hitting form, but you wouldn't bet against a Wolves win and Barnsley defeat next weekend.

Who wants to be a Huddersfield Town manager?

When Simon Grayson was sacked at the end of January following a run of 12 league games without a win, pretty much every Town fan hoped Nigel Adkins would be the man to replace him. Unemployed after being sacked by Southampton, Adkins has a brilliant record following stints at Scunthorpe and Southampton. We all clearly want him, but the important question is does he want us?

The managerial merry-go-round is in full effect at the minute - Grayson joins the likes of Keith Hill, Stale Solbakken, Derek McInnes, Owen Coyle, Henning Berg and most recently Alex McLeish who have all left Championship clubs this season. Whoever is appointed Town manager will also become the third manager inside a year, presuming they are appointed before 15th February. It therefore has to be questions, how attractive is the Huddersfield Town job to potential candidates, and would they want to come here?

Nigel Adkins

2/1 favourite for the Forest job at the time of writing, Adkins led Scunthorpe United to two promotions in three years and then took Southampton from League One to the Premier League in just two seasons. His CV is by far the most impressive of all those rumoured to be on our shortlist of candidates, meaning he could also be considered the most unlikely of the candidates to want the job. He might be out of work but he also has a solid reputation these days following his heroics at St Mary's, and could more than likely hold out for a higher profile position, like the one that just opened up at the City Ground.

Paolo Di Canio

The Italian led Swindon Town to the League Two title last season and they've continued to progress in League One, currently sitting Fourth in the table. Di Canio is currently 12/1 to get the job and he's never been much higher than third or fourth favourite, perhaps indicating that although people rate him, they don't necessarily see him being appointed. It's thought that Dean Hoyle became fed up with Lee Clark's erratic behaviour and the Georgie can't hold a candle to the antics of Di Canio. A self confessed fascist who is on the front page as much as the back, no matter how good his managerial record is you can certainly see why people don't think Hoyle would want to work with him.

Owen Coyle

Many people see him as a more likely candidate than either of the above, not as erratic as Di Canio and not as high profile as Adkins. However, given that he's apparently already refused to even discuss managerial positions at Ipswich Town and Blackpool, would he see Huddersfield Town as a better option? Coyle built solid foundations at Burnley and got them promoted to the Premier League when nobody gave them a chance, but made a surprise move to rivals Bolton Wanderers just as things were starting to go wrong at Turf Moor. A good first year in charge was followed by a terrible drop in results and performances, leading to relegation and his eventual dismissal.

Mark Robins

On paper the former Robins makes perfect sense. His first managerial job was at Rotherham when the club was going through a period of uncertainty, and he nearly delivered promotion in his first season and then also in his second season despite a 17 point deduction. Robins was then hired by Barnsley and kept them safe in the Championship for two seasons before leaving after a disagreement over transfer funds with the board. Most recently he was appointed manager of Coventry City and has transformed them from relegation fodder to likely promotion candidates. However, having only took charge at the Ricoh Arena in September, would he be willing to move again so soon?

Paul Tisdale

Similar to Robins, current Exeter City manager Tisdale is a young manager with a decent record. Back-to-back promotions into the Football League and then to League One have seen him become a popular candidate for many jobs. Just as popular as his track record for over-performing (consecutive promotions and then keeping Exeter in League One, for a season at least) is the fact that his teams play a short passing style of football. Tisdale seems to fit the mould for matching the long-term ambition of the club that Hoyle, Clibbens and Wilson keep talking about, but having turned down the Swansea City job not too long ago would he be willing to move North to Huddersfield?

Richie Barker

This one seems to have come from nowhere, and Barker is currently third favourite to get the job at 7/1. He did a brilliant job transitioning from youth team manager to full-time manager at Bury, leading them to promotion from League Two and maintaining their League One status. He landed the Crawley Town job in August, citing them as a "club on the up" when he took charge. You therefore have to presume Huddersfield would be a step up from Crawley, so if approached he could be interested if he's as ambitious as he seems. Relatively inexperienced and with a track record not quite as impressive as other candidates, Barker would hardly excite Town fans.

Uwe Rosler

Former Manchester City striker Rosler took temprorary charge of Molde FK in August 2010 and doubled their points in the final eight games of the season, saving them from relegation. Despite this fantastic feat he was replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and while the former United striker has been linked with many high profile jobs since, the former City striker is doing a very steady job with Brentford, albeit with much less admiration. Rosler has Brentford sitting Fifth in League One, and playing very good football too. He's not even listed on Skybet but could be a good shout as he should fit the mould described by Clibbens and Brentford to Huddersfield is undoubtedly a step up.

Steven Pressley

Perhaps the most underwhelming of all the managers we've been linked to, Pressley is current manager at Scottish side Falkirk, a club Town know a lot about. Ross Wilson spent 15 months there as Head of Football Development, and we've also signed Scott Arfield, Kallum Higginbotham and Murray Wallace from Falkirk in recent seasons. Having been assistant manager to George Burley in his spell as Scotland manager, Pressley was appointed manager of Falkirk in 2010. They were relegated top the First Division in his first season in charge and as yet they've failed to bounce back, languishing in mid-table.

Gary Megson

Did I say Pressley was the most underwhelming candidate for the job? Perhaps not if the reaction to Gary Megson attending this past weekends match is anything to go by. Sheffield Wednesday sacked him almost a year ago, and upon doing so improved dramatically and achieved promotion under Dave Jones. Although it's argued Megson can get results for teams, and is known for getting 100% commitment from his players which is something we're in desperate need of, the boring style of football he prefers will turn many Town fans off.

Gareth Southgate

The last name on this shortlist of potential managers is former Middlesbrough manager, and current Head of Elite Development at the Football Assocation, Gareth Southgate. Although many view his time at Middlesbrough as a failure he did bring through some players who have gone on to be sold for profit and built a core part of their current team. The former England defender is another candidate who will fit into the long-term vision Hoyle, Clibbens and Wilson are looking to build as he would look to make use of the academy system we already have in place. Hoyle is also a known fan of Southgate, but it's unlikely he could be tempted away from his punditry job as well as his role at the FA.

Although Adkins and Di Canio remain my two preferred candidates to replace Simon Grayson, it's looking more and more likely our eventual new manager could come as a surprise to many. With some potential candidates looking like they won't fit into the vision of our chairman, and with some perhaps not wanting to manage Huddersfield Town, we'll just have to wait and see who is not only ideal but also interested in it.