Why the Playoffs could be a disaster for Town

As a supporter of the mighty(?) Huddersfield Town, I have endured many ups and downs over the twenty-odd years I have followed them. Promotions, relegations, administration, selling star strikers to promotion rivals, you name it, we have had it all!

This season, though, we have set a new club record under Lee Clark. Since a disappointing Christmas program, when we lost at home to Hartlepool, and away at Southampton, the team have gone on an amazing 22 game unbeaten run, before the game on Easter Monday at home to Dagenham & Redbridge. However, even after a run like that, the team still sit third in the League One table, with their fate in the hands of others. Southampton are second on goal difference, and have a game in hand to boot.

Can you imagine how demoralising that could be? To go half a season unbeaten, and still have to go through the rollercoaster of the playoffs? Clark`s motivational skills would be really tested at this point. He would have to try and gee up the players for another three weeks of work before their summer holidays.

The only positive to be taken at the moment is the fact that there is no team surging up the table on a winning streak, and Town are still the in-form team in the division. In the last seven games, they have only conceded two goals, one a penalty to the division`s top scorers Peterborough, and the other from a corner against MK Dons in the last minute when the game was already won (that goal made it 1-3 to Town).

So why could it be a disaster? Well, if we miss out on promotion, we could well lose a lot of our best players. The likes of Jordan Rhodes, Anthony Pilkington, Peter Clarke and Jamie McCombe, among others, could all be tempted away by a Championship club. Our chairman has invested a lot of money in the team, and I have a feeling that promotion is vital to keep the club healthy. We won`t be making profits in the third tier, so another season in League One isn`t really an option.

So, it is now squeaky bum time, get those fingers crossed and pray that the football gods decide that Yorkshire deserves footballing success more than the south coast!

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