Huddersfield Town hit the jackpot with Ipswich Town transfer - Lee Clark was right to mention goal ratio | OneFootball

Huddersfield Town struck gold after taking a gamble on the signing of striker Jordan Rhodes from Ipswich Town in 2009.

As Huddersfield Town prepare for another season in League One, addressing their goalscoring problems will be one of the biggest tasks facing the club's new manager.

Despite signing Joe Taylor from Luton Town for in excess of £3 million and Dion Charles from Bolton Wanderers for £750,000 in January, goals were a huge problem for Huddersfield in the second half of this season, and that contributed to the decline in form that saw them fall away from the play-off places.

Owner Kevin Nagle, who is currently searching for his fifth permanent manager since taking over the club just under two years ago, will still have faith that his two big-money strikers can come good, but it is a department that the Terriers will likely need to strengthen this summer.

Town supporters would surely love to have a number nine capable of reaching the numbers that Jordan Rhodes hit during the club's last spell in League One, and they have former manager Lee Clark to thank for taking a gamble on him.

Lee Clark struck gold with Jordan Rhodes, Ipswich Town deal

As Clark looked to guide Huddersfield out of League One, he signed striker Rhodes from Ipswich Town in the summer of 2009.

Rhodes failed to make a single league start for the Tractor Boys, but he did have loan spells at Oxford United, Rochdale and Brentford, and his time with the latter was particularly productive as he scored seven goals in 14 games to help them to the League Two title.

Infamously, then Ipswich manager Roy Keane did not rate Rhodes, and after he returned from his loan at Griffin Park, the Irishman allowed him to join the Terriers on a permanent basis for a fee of £350,000, something that he later admitted was a big mistake.

Rhodes became Town's third striker addition of the summer after the arrivals of Theo Robinson and Robbie Simpson, and Clark was delighted to welcome him to the club, pointing to his impressive goals-to-game ratio, despite his limited career minutes.

"It has been a long time coming," Clark told Sky Sports.

"His goal ratio in the games he has played is very good, but his all-round game is very impressive.

"He has a good touch, works extremely hard and works the line well. I couldn't be happier with the four strikers I have got now."

Rhodes had only made 33 senior appearances prior to joining Huddersfield, so his signing was not without risks, particularly given the substantial fee the club paid for his services, but Clark clearly saw something in him that Keane did not, and he was certainly proven right.

Jordan Rhodes was one of Huddersfield Town's best ever signings

If any Huddersfield supporters had reservations over the signing of Rhodes, those doubts were quickly put to bed as he scored six goals in his first six games for the club, and shortly after, he scored a hat-trick of headers in just eight minutes in a 4-0 win over Exeter City, breaking the record set by Everton's Dixie Dean in the 1930s.

Rhodes' prolific form continued over the course of the campaign, and he ended the season as the Terriers' top scorer having netted 23 goals in 53 games, but it was not enough to secure promotion as Clark's men were beaten by Millwall in the play-off semi-finals.

A similar pattern emerged the following season, with Rhodes again topping Town's scoring charts with 22 goals in 48 appearances, but his side suffered further play-off heartbreak, this time losing to Peterborough United in the final at Wembley.

If Rhodes' record during his first two seasons at Huddersfield was impressive, he took his form to another level in the 2011-12 campaign, scoring an incredible 39 goals in just 45 games.

There were plenty of memorable moments along the way for Rhodes, with the striker hitting a remarkable six hat-tricks, as well as scoring all four of the Terriers' goals in a dramatic 4-4 draw against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, and his partnership with Lee Novak will be remembered as one of the best League One has ever seen.

Crucially, that season had a different outcome for Town as, after Rhodes helped fire them past MK Dons in the play-off semi-finals, they finally secured promotion with an epic 8-7 penalty shootout victory over Sheffield United in the final at Wembley.

Unfortunately for Clark, he was not able to reap the full rewards of his decision to sign Rhodes as he was replaced by Simon Grayson towards the end of Huddersfield's promotion-winning campaign, but the 52-year-old's role in the deal should not be forgotten.

Rhodes departed the John Smith's Stadium in the summer following promotion to join Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £8 million, and he went on to score 84 goals in 169 games during his time at Ewood Park, cementing his legacy as one of the EFL's greatest strikers.

The move to Lancashire was not quite the end of Rhodes' association with Huddersfield as he returned to the club on a free transfer in the summer of 2021, and although his second spell was much less successful than his first, he did still manage to score the winner in the play-off semi-final second leg against Luton Town in 2022 to send Carlos Corberan's men to the final, where they were beaten by Nottingham Forest.