Huddersfield Town were more than happy to draw a line under the 2020/21 season over the weekend, with Carlos Corberan’s side finishing the campaign with a 2-2 draw at Reading.

It’s been one of those seasons at the John Smith’s Stadium, and fans will just be glad that Huddersfield’s woeful 2021 form didn’t suck them into deep trouble in the fight for survival.

Corberan will take time to reflect on his first season in senior management but there’s work to do with his squad over the summer to get Town competitive next term.

That’s in terms of recruitment, but also on the training pitch.

Now, though, is a time for reflection as we get stuck into NINE talking points from the season gone by:

The season gone by has been a tale of two halves for Corberan and Huddersfield.

Back-to-back defeats to Norwich and Brentford didn’t get the season off to the best start, but Huddersfield improved and over the course of November and December they looked a good side.

Consistency in the starting XI helped and things were looking good after December 29th’s win over Blackburn Rovers.

Things soured, though, with Huddersfield’s season drifting in 2021.

They won only three times after that late win over Blackburn, picking up nine draws too, which ultimately proved to be enough to keep them clear of trouble.

It was a dramatic collapse and only the success of the opening months kept Huddersfield’s heads above water.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to pick out Huddersfield’s best, and most important, players.

Included in that pool of players are full-backs, Pipa and Harry Toffolo.

Pipa proved to be the signing of the previous summer, adapting well at right-back and proving to be shrewd business.

We already knew that Toffolo was shrewd business after arriving from Lincoln City in January 2020, but his performances backed that up again in 20/21.

In total, the full-backs combined for four goals and nine assists across the season, providing Corberan with the sixth and seventh attacking option in his favoured 4-3-3 system.

During that positive first-half of the season this pair were key, and it is little surprise that results were harder to come by when they started picking up injuries.

The fact they played through the pain barrier in the run-in to get Huddersfield over the line only underlines their importance.

You can break down chances created v chances conceded, goals scored v goals conceded and many other variants, but the simple fact is that Huddersfield won more fixtures playing 4-3-3 than they did in their 3-5-2 system.

Corberan had to adapt given Huddersfield’s struggle. He wanted his side playing more direct and further up the pitch, so moved away from what was working for him at the start of the season.

However, Huddersfield lost a lot of what was positive about the start of the season: their progressive style of play, taking risks in possession and, ultimately, winning games of football.

Nine draws in the second-half of the season tells you that Huddersfield managed to stay competitive after Corberan switched systems, but 3-5-2 wasn’t exactly easy on the eye.

Injuries played their part too, with Pipa, Toffolo, Carel Eiting and Josh Koroma all key to playing 4-3-3 successfully, but missing for a large chunk of 2021.

Had they retained fitness, Corberan might not have had to change, and their return to the peak of their powers over the summer should convince the Spaniard to get back to 4-3-3.

When Huddersfield announced that they had picked up Eiting from Ajax it was quite an intriguing moment last summer.

You’d by lying if you said you knew a lot about the Dutch midfielder, but he was stepping out of the Total Football Academy, if you will, so appeared an exciting addition for Corberan.

Corberan was delighted with the way Eiting adapted to English football and his performance levels between October and December were excellent, coinciding with Huddersfield’s best run over the season.

A niggling injury meant his levels dipped over Christmas and then knee surgery all-but ended his involvement for the season.

Eiting returned to make three appearances at the end of the season, again showing his class with a 20-minute cameo as Huddersfield battled to draw 1-1 with Coventry at the start of May.

On the whole, Eiting proved to be a solid addition even with his injury, and the question Huddersfield now face is whether or not they go back in to sign him for 2021/22.

You’d imagine Corberan will be keen to link up again and get Eiting fit for an entire season.

Another positive this season has been Josh Koroma and the goals he’s scored for Huddersfield.

During Town’s early season rise, he scored six times and registered two assists from the left, looking sharp and carrying the goal threat that Fraizer Campbell couldn’t from the middle.

A hamstring injury picked up in December’s victory over Sheffield Wednesday, though, ruled him out until the final month of the campaign.

Even then, Koroma would return to score against Blackburn and Reading, taking his tally to eight for the season.

That’s a fine return for the 22-year-old, who was taking his first proper steps onto the Championship stage in 20/21.

You’d imagine that without his long-term lay-off, we would have been talking about a much more positive campaign.

Corberan’s side conceded an astonishing 71 goals across the 2020/21 campaign, leaving them with the worst defensive record in the Championship.

Drubbings at the hands of Bournemouth and Norwich contributed to that, but the truth is that Huddersfield were left exposed too often, whatever system they played.

4-3-3 helped elevate Huddersfield’s attacking game, whilst 3-5-2 gave them extra bodies in defence and forced them to go more direct. Neither prevented Town shipping goals.

Two of Huddersfield’s better performers this season were part of their defensive unit – Pipa and Toffolo – but the defensive spine of the team left a lot to be desired.

Naby Sarr and Jonathan Hogg were regulars at centre-back and holding midfield respectively, whilst Huddersfield went with Ben Hamer and then Ryan Schofield in goal; a brave move given the latter’s inexperience.

Then, you had a mix of Richard Stearman, Richard Keogh or Rarmani Edmonds-Green playing alongside Sarr in the heart of defence.

Simply, the personnel either wasn’t good enough or wasn’t experienced enough for what the Championship throws up.

Corberan will, naturally, be eager to address Huddersfield’s woeful defensive record next season. To do that, a clear out is needed and reinforcements will have to be sourced.

Two reliable centre-backs and an experienced goalkeeper will be high on the agenda.

Pipa has been a great signing, Sarr has been steady and Eiting has been good in an injury-hit season. However, a number of other additions have been underwhelming.

Alex Vallejo has just about done enough to be deemed a success, whilst Richard Keogh has come in and played a lot of football.

The jury is still out on Danny Ward, Rolando Aarons and Duane Holmes following their arrivals. It is also going to be interesting to see what unfolds with Yaya Sanogo and Oumar Niasse.

Huddersfield know, though, that they have to get their recruitment bang on in the coming summer because the last two transfer windows haven’t been good enough.

That’s in terms of the personnel and their impact, but also Huddersfield’s organisation and approach.

They failed to wrap up Aarons in the summer and had to wait until January to get him, whilst there was a scattergun approach to sign a striker in the winter, which eventually led to Sanogo and Niasse arriving as free agents.

It’s just been a bit of a mess.

The 2019/20 season was a real breakthrough campaign for O’Brien, and after a slow start, he’s backed it up this time around.

When O’Brien formed part of a midfield axis with Eiting and Hogg, Huddersfield were competitive in the Championship and had a little bit of everything in the centre of the park.

O’Brien gives the side incredible energy and, most telling, when he is asked to play out of position, the side really struggle to compete in the midfield.

Corberan has used O’Brien out wide and as a full-back due to injuries, but when Huddersfield are ever chasing something out of a game, the go-to option would be getting the 22-year-old on the ball in central areas.

Even in a disappointing second-half to the season, he excelled, lighting up draws with Cardiff City, Sheffield Wednesday and Brentford.

Premier League clubs are already drawn to the midfielder’s ability, and the maturity he’s combined with that this season will only convince them of his top-flight pedigree.

Huddersfield might face a fight to keep him this summer.

Retaining the likes of O’Brien, Pipa, Toffolo and Koroma is essential for Huddersfield moving in the right direction.

My gut feeling, too, is that Corberan should be given another summer to implement his ideas and build on a difficult 12 months.

Changes are on the horizon, though.

Huddersfield have released nine senior players, including Alex Pritchard, Stearman, Schindler, Sanogo and Niasse, whilst Campbell, Juninho Bacuna, Vallejo, Isaac Mbenza and Romoney Crichlow will be kept on for a further 12 months.

The mixed bag of the club's retained list will not please every supporter, but it is an indication that Huddersfield's board are ready to shake things up.

They've retained the nucleus, now it's time for a change in some personnel.