12/21/24
May 30, 2017
Huddersfield Town have been promoted to the Premier League for the first time by beating Reading 4-3 on penalties at Wembley: The most valuable game in sport, the Terriers will earn an estimated $200M after defeating Reading for the third Championship promotion spot. Managed by (German-)American David Wagner, the underdogs contained Reading's attack and won in penalties on the goaltending of Liverpool FC loanee Danny Ward. A look back at how they got here. (Reading made the playoffs yet failed to win promotion for the fourth consecutive season...)
posted by billsaysthis to soccer at 11:33 AM - 4 comments
I saw a Twitter joke as to how Huddersfield reached the Premier League: they spent 4 million on transfers this season. Throw in a couple of loans, retain much of last season's side, and you're suddenly walking onto the Anfield and Old Trafford pitches.
posted by jjzucal at 07:06 PM on May 30, 2017
In truth, the difference in quality between 1st and 18th in the Championship is not that great. There are many teams in that group that could quickly turn their situations around with sensible management, a little extra investment and a good season.
posted by owlhouse at 11:10 PM on May 30, 2017
As a Wednesday fan I think it feels pretty tough to get promoted out of the Championship. It was a struggle to become a top-6 club. The level of parity means a lot of clubs are a challenge to beat.
posted by rcade at 11:03 AM on May 31, 2017
Kudos to Huddersfield Town for achieving the near impossible, given their budget and a 19th-place finish the preceding year, but that playoff final was grim. They won over both Sheffield Wednesday (sigh) and Reading on penalty kicks.
It will be interesting to see if Wagner can keep them up, assuming he's there next season. (Steve Bruce brought Hull City up in last year's playoffs and quit during a tumultuous off season.)