Premier League 2018/19 review: Huddersfield served harsh dose of reality with relegation

Huddersfield did miraculously well to escape relegation in their first ever season in the Premier League but it was always going to be a tall order to beat the drop again this time around. On a minuscule budget, Huddersfield are right at the bottom where they unfortunately belong, finishing the campaign 20 points adrift of safety.

The Terriers were relegated at the end of March, by which point David Wagner had left after taking the club as far as he could. Huddersfield went back to Germany in search of his replacement and plucked out the coach of Borussia Dortmund’s second team, Jan Siewert.

Hopes of the great escape were short-lived, as Huddersfield lost their first five games under Siewert. In fact, they have only won one of 15 games with the 36-year-old in charge, remarkably beating Wolves for the second time this season. They can at least say they took a point off Manchester United in their final home league game of the campaign. Huddersfield’s squad is as ordinary as they come and you do fear for them in the Championship next season.

Top rated player - Philip Billing (7.08)

Being the top rated player of a relegated club isn’t exactly a glowing endorsement, particularly for a team that finished the campaign with just 16 points. There were very few positives in Huddersfield’s campaign, though when forced to press for one then it’s hard to look beyond Philip Billing’s development.

The 22-year-old was consistently Huddersfield’s best performer for the majority of the season, though struggled to shake off a knee injury in the second half of the campaign that limited him to just four league starts in 2019.

There were only 10 instances where Huddersfield players earned a WhoScored rating above 8.00 in Premier League matches this season and Billing was responsible for four of those. The way Billing faded out during the second part of the campaign sums up Huddersfield’s season. There will surely be Premier League interest in him this summer.

Biggest Disappointment - Adama Diakhaby

Despite the fact Huddersfield’s financial resources are dwarfed by others in the Premier League, you can’t say they didn’t back David Wagner last summer. They actually invested in excess of £46m on 11 players over the course of the season and you only need one finger to count how many of those proved their worth.

Signing Terence Kongolo on a permanent deal required a sizeable fee of that budget but he was at least a permanent fixture in the Huddersfield team. The same cannot be said for Adama Diakhaby, however. Huddersfield spent reportedly in the region of £10m to sign the 22-year-old from Monaco and he only managed 12 league appearances.

It was quickly apparent he wasn’t up for the job. In fact, of outfielders that made at least five Premier League starts this season, Diakhaby finished as the lowest WhoScored rated player in the division (6.08).

Surprise Package - Karlan Grant

It is never easy to settle in at a new club midway through the season, let alone one completely out of its depth in the division. In Karlan Grant’s case, it is even more remarkable, as Huddersfield signed him League One side Charlton. Jumping up two leagues, massive respect should be paid to Grant for the way he applied himself in the England’s top-flight in one of the worst teams in Premier League history.

Despite only making his Huddersfield debut in February, Grant finished the season as the club’s top scorer. A return of just four goals is pitiful but you can’t hold that against Grant, who at least made an impact for the club this season. Huddersfield’s other strikers, Steve Mounie and Laurent Depoitre, combined for 2840 minutes of playing time in the league this season and mustered only two goals between them. Grant has twice that many despite 874 minutes played. Down in the Championship there is at least potential for Grant to have a good season.

Where to improve - Establishing a Championship level squad

The problem for Huddersfield now is that they will have to filter through their squad and identify which players will stay and those that won’t. It’s unlikely many of their summer signings will stick around for life in the Championship, nor will Huddersfield want their wages on their books.

Even the players that Huddersfield would like to keep will probably move on, with the likes of Philip Billing proving he is capable of playing Premier League football. Jan Siewert has a huge job on his hands and it wouldn’t be at all surprising if one relegation leads to another. There will also be questions asked whether he is the right man to lead Huddersfield forward.

League position: 20th

Grade: F