Huddersfield Town released a statement this afternoon confirming that Danny and Nicky Cowley have been relieved of their duties. It wasn’t a “mutual consent” kind of arrangement, it was clear that the club have sacked the managerial pair.
The club’s statement
Here’s the what the club’s owner, Phil Hodgkinson, had to say:
“I would like to place my thanks on record to Danny and Nicky for their hard work and dedication towards securing the Club’s place in the Sky Bet Championship for next season. That was the clear priority when they were appointed in September and we are very grateful that has been achieved.
“We all wish Danny and Nicky all the best for the future and they leave with my best wishes in their future endeavours.
“However, we have made this decision in the belief that, in the long term, it is in the best interests of the Club as we move forward. We have a different vision for the way we operate the Club, and how our ambitions can be achieved.”
A different vision – what does this mean?
The only real reason given for the sacking is that the club have a different vision for the future than the former manager. It’s hard to say exactly what this means but it may well relate to recruitment and how Town’s squad is going to be rebuilt this coming transfer window.
I’ve no inside knowledge on these matters, but I know that Danny Cowley spoke to the press on Friday night about the need to bring in Championship quality players to the squad. On podcast interviews, Phil Hodgkinson has talked about the quality in the academy means they can rely more on bringing through youth players.
So, putting two and two together, it could have been that Danny Cowley wanted a big pot of cash for signing experienced pros and the chairman wants him to bring through the kids instead.
Not seeking applications
The final line of the club statement says that they are not looking for applications for the manager’s position. That suggests strongly that there is someone lined up already to take over.
It seems like a strange decision to make this change at this point but it seems like it has been arranged behind the scenes and the announcement was held up until we either secured our safety or were relegated.
Who will be Town’s next manager?
I’ve no idea who it will be, but a poster on the Down At The Mac forum has suggested it will be Carlos Corberán, the U23 coach at Leeds. This could be completely unfounded speculation or it could be someone has some inside knowledge.
If someone has been agreed already then it’s likely we won’t find out who they are officially today, while the news of the Cowley’s sacking is sinking in. I’d expect an announcement to be made either tomorrow or Tuesday.
Who will take charge for the Millwall game?
Even if a new manager is appointed tomorrow, I suspect that we won’t see them in the dugout for Town’s last match of the season. More likely, Mark Hudson will take charge as caretaker like he did when Wagner and Siewert left the club.
I don’t understand the club’s vision, if you are correct that the chairman wants to go down the route of developing players from the academy and the Cowleys were asking for funds to bring in players of championship experience .
The club under Dean Hoyle scrapped the academy because it wasn’t producing players good enough for the first team . There seems to be a clear contradiction as to the philosophy of the club if they now wish to revert back to producing their own players .
This club used to pride itself on being well run , unfortunately it now appears to be in turmoil and has become a “basket case ” in the eyes of most football fans .
It seems that the decision to sack the Cowleys was made some time ago, especially if the replacement is already waiting in the wings. It just turns out to be bad timing when Town have just beaten West Brom. They have kept Town in the Championship but there have been some abysmal performances and bad decisions along the way. Scoring goals or even attempts have been few and far between. OK the Cowleys inherited some poor players but they have largely replaced those with loan signings and improvements from some of the existing players. I have an issue with considering Town, humble and “working class”. David Wagner used the word humble many times and the Cowleys have done the same. “Humble” suggests subservient and not good enough. I don’t see Town as “working class” either any more than any other football clubs. To consider the team described in either of these ways suggests we are beaten by our betters before we start. I am proud of Huddersfield Town. Not a humble working class outfit. Just the opposite. Able to be better than and hold our own in any company and hopefully this the philosophy of the new regime.