Expectation levels were so high for Huddersfield Town’s return to the top-flight of English football it was going to be hard to meet them. Yet, somehow, the start to Huddersfield Town’s first season in the Premier League went far better than anyone ever hoped.

Town took seven points from a possible nine and went into the international break third in the League, having twice briefly occupied the top spot.

Here’s a round-up of one of the best ever months to be a Town fan…

Crystal Palace away

Our first game in the top-flight was a special occasion and it was reassuring to see Town playing with their signature high-tempo style when they took on Crystal Palace.

Unfortunately for Palace, they were still adapting to their new manager’s “total football” approach and crumbled in the face of our counter-pressing game. We took the ball of them in all areas of the field, bullied them into mistakes, and capitalised on our chances when they came.

Steve Mounié took the headlines with two goals. One a bullet header and the other a nuanced finish with his right foot.

Read the match report for a full breakdown of what happened, and read the player ratings to see what I thought of our performance.

Newcastle at home

I had goosebumps as I watched Town take the field for their first ever home Premier League game in front of a sold-out John Smith’s Stadium. There was a dream like quality to the day and it was a great experience to watch.

The actual match didn’t quite fit the occasion. It was scrappy and Newcastle sat deep, spoiling the game and offering little in attack. A moment of quality from Aaron Mooy broke the deadlock when he played a clever reverse pass to Kachunga and curled home the return ball.

Town did well to counteract Newcastle’s negativity. The full-backs perhaps showed more restraint than usual, to make sure we didn’t get caught on the counter and we deserved the win.

Read the eight best tweets from the Newcastle game or check out the player ratings.

Rotherham at home in the Carabao Cup

After the highs of the Premier League, it was a step down to have to compete against League One opposition in the Carabao Cup. Rotherham were worthy opponents and probably deserved to win based on their efforts.

Philip Billing’s arrival in the second-half sparked Town into life. We went behind in the opening minutes of the game and played out a pretty dismal first-half with our fringe players looking rusty. In the second-half things turned for Town and Billing bossed the midfield, supplying our attackers with the ball in dangerous areas.

Read about the six positives to take away from the Rotherham league cup game.

Southampton at home

The third home game in six days presented Town with their biggest test of the season so far. Southampton consistently finish in the top-half of the Premier League and it wasn’t clear how we’d fare.

Even though the game finished 0-0 it was probably the most impressive performance from Town in August. We got in plenty of crosses, created chances, but just didn’t finish them off. Admittedly, we fell to pieces late in the second-half. Tiredness from Town and Southampton’s quality on the bench meant we had to cling on for the point.

Check out the TerrierSpirit.com ratings for the match, or read the six most interesting stats from the Southampton game.

Player of the month (that isn’t Aaron Mooy) – Chris Löwe

I’ve decided to exclude Aaron Mooy from the TerrierSpirit.com player of the month award because it’ll be boring if he wins it every month. Instead, I’m going to pick Chris Löwe as my player of the month for August.

In every game Löwe played this month he made tackles that stopped seemingly certain goals.

At Palace, he dispossessed Zaha when he’d got past Tommy Smith and was clear through. Against Newcastle, he contained Atsu whenever he was on that wing. In the Southampton game, he snuffed out Tadic. Three of the best wide-men in the league and Löwe has managed to keep them at bay.

Löwe’s also improved going forward too. He’s overlapped his winger and managed to put some quality balls into the box. Last season it was typically Smith that was the most attacking fullback, but Löwe has contributed more so far.

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Goal of the month – Aaron Mooy against Newcastle

Mounie’s goals against Palace were both good in their own way, but Mooy’s goal against Newcastle was fabulous. The sneaky pass to start the 1-2 with Kachunga opened up space, he showed great vision to move forward to receive the ball, and the finish was sublime.

Rather than read me going on about it you can watch the video below. Pure class.

Collin Quaner corner

If I’m going to write a roundup about Town every month I think it’s important to have a regular section set aside for Collin Quaner. I’ve always had a soft spot for Quaner since he arrived, but after his heroics in the playoff semi-final at Hillsborough, it’s gone to ridiculous levels.

Quaner was a late sub against Palace and he made life uncomfortable for Palace’s defence. It was his clever run and simple square ball that set up Mounié’s second goal. He also helped in the Newcastle game, where he held the ball up in the corner and provided counter-attacking runs down the right flank. He’s an excellent player to bring on to defend a lead.

Who is the best player in the Premier League? — TerrierSpirit.com (@SpiritTerrier) August 29, 2017

Collin also made a valuable contribution in the cup game against Rotherham. He looked sharp and made some good runs. He also provided better cover for Jordan Williams when he switched to the right-wing. Williams seemed to improve with Quaner in front of him, as Joe Lolley occasionally left the youngster exposed.

I had my doubts about whether Quaner would be good enough for the top-flight but his appearances from the bench so far have given us something extra and he makes us harder to beat. I can imagine Big Col is the last person a tiring fullback would want to see come on towards the end of a game.

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New arrivals in August

Town signed three new players in August, to add to the ten already signed earlier in the transfer window.

Hamid Sabiri signed from FC Nurnberg for a fee rumoured to be around £1m. He’s an attacking midfielder with an eye for goal. He’s not got much experience but has played a few games in the Bundesliga and looks to have lots of potential.

Flo Haddergjonaj joined from Ingolstadt, finally filling the right-back slot that Town have found so tricky to recruit for this summer. He’s quick, attack-minded, but can also defend. We’ve got him on a loan deal with an option to buy at the end, so he’s ours as long as we want him.

The final signing this month was Robert Green, the ex-England international that played every Championship game for Leeds last season. While Town fans can be hard on players that have played for Leeds, I’ve written about the six reasons Robert Green is a good signing for Town.

Farewell to Wells and Davidson

As well as saying hello to new players there were two players who left. Nahki Wells signed for Burnley for a fee of £5m, after a summer of constant rumours about him moving on. I’m sad to see Nahki go after all he’s done for Town, but I wish him well for the future.

Jason Davidson left with a notable lack of thanks from the club. Town ended his contract so he could sign on a free for Croatian team HNK Rijeka. He might have been harshly done by, but he didn’t do himself any favours by whining to the press about David Wagner’s selection policy.

What a time to be a Town fan!

Looking back on this month has made me realise how incredible it’s all been. I’m enjoying every second of Town’s new-found position in the Premier League and can’t wait for the next game to come along.

Supporting a football team, particularly one like Town, often involves tough times but I feel like all those years of struggle are paying off many times over since David Wagner arrived at the club. It’s a great time to be a Town fan.

Coming up in September…

There are five games coming up in September for Town fans to look forward to before the next international break in early October. The next game is West Ham away on Monday Night Football, which sees a buoyant Town travel to a completely deflated West Ham.

That game is followed by a home tie against 2015/16 champions Leicester City. This will provide another interesting test for Town, with Leicester having improved a lot since Craig Shakespeare was appointed boss.

After that there’s a repeat of this season’s opening fixture when we go back to Crystal Palace for our next game in the Carabao Cup. Then we’ve got a tricky visit to Turf Moor the following Saturday. A notoriously hard place to get any points from.

Then there’s the game I’ve been most looking forward to since the fixtures came out, Town’s home fixture against Spurs. The first of the big boys to come visit the John Smith’s Stadium. Regardless of the result, it will be great to see little Huddersfield Town take on one of the best teams in club football.

