Danny Schofield has gone. I was going to write a blogpost about it but I don’t think there’s any point as everyone already knows the talking points: he’s a nice guy, he was out of his depth and he probably shouldn’t have been given it in the first place. There’s not much point dragging that out to 1,000 words of waffle. It’s a genuine shame it didn’t work for Schofield but after nine games and only one (fortunate) win it was pretty clear that things were only going one way.
So now we must look to the future and consider who will replace Schofield. The bookmakers think they know, as David Wagner is the odds on favourite, though it might not be quite as straightforward as that. For starters, I can’t see how Wagner would agree to working under a Head of Football like Leigh Bromby. A central theme under his last time was his increasing level of control as he grew in confidence at the helm and he didn’t like other people interfering. Would Dean Hoyle be willing to throw out the whole long-term plan to get his man? I’m not so sure but I also can’t see Wagner being willing to be just a head coach that doesn’t get much of a say in transfers after being saddled with the likes of Mbenza and Diakhaby by the transfer committee in his last spell (I know he had a say on these signings, but I believe his first choices were Adama Traore and Alfonso Davies for those particular roles).
Anyway, regardless of the likelihood of Wagner’s return, seeing as though it is being seriously discussed (at the time of writing, these things can move pretty fast), I thought it would be a good excuse to speculate about whether it would be a good idea for David Wagner to come back for a second spell at Huddersfield Town from the perspective of the club, the manager and the fans.
Would Wagner’s return be good for the fans?
This feels like the most obvious yes. After the West Brom home game it was obvious how much affection is still held among the overwhelming majority of fans towards the German-American. He might have left when Town were in a bit of a mess but he will still be remembered for taking us to the promised land of the Premier League and then pulling off an even more miraculous achievement and keeping us there for an extra season. He couldn’t sustain the magic trick for another season but he still provided more amazing moments in those two incredible seasons than I’ve had in all my decades of Town supporting combined.
To quote a line from The Dark Knight: “You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain”. If Wagner comes back, there’s a chance that he’ll tarnish those cherished memories rather than create a load of new ones. If he has a second spell and sends us down to League One and leaves with his tail between his legs then it means that he isn’t the inspirational figure that we remember, he’s a mortal that failed us once in the Premier League and then failed us a second time in the Championship.
Honestly, I’m playing devil’s advocate with the above paragraph and I don’t think you would ever do anything if you thought like that. Obviously there’s a risk of failure if we bring Wagner back but there’s also a risk of success. I’d happily take the risk if it means there’s a chance to see his lovely big smile back at the John Smith’s Stadium as manager again.
I find Wagner to be such a genuinely nice, charismatic and warm person that I’d be delighted to see him back. Not just because he’s a good football coach but because he’s someone I’d like to have associated with Huddersfield Town again. For example, Nathan Jones has done amazing things for Luton but is an absolute prat and for that reason I wouldn’t want him to be our manager. It’s the opposite with Wagner and despite the comments Garry Monk made about him, I think our old coach has class, respect and humility and I’d be delighted to see him back at Town even if it carries the risk of tarnishing the memories of his past achievements.
Would Wagner’s return be good for the board of Huddersfield Town?
I think there are a few things that make Wagner attractive to Town’s top brass and a couple of things that make him decidedly unattractive. On the positive side of things, he’s available, which means no compensation fee to pay or delay in getting him in. It also means he has less leverage when it comes to negotiating his salary. We know that money is a primary concern for the club. He’s probably not the cheapest option but he’s also not the most expensive either.
His stock is also down a bit too after gettijg sacked from all the jobs he’s had since leaving Huddersfield, so he’s less able to dictate his terms like he may have done in the past in terms of demanding things like a significant transfer war chest or a final say on signings. I suspect there will still be a bit of back and forth over the exact job description and chain of command if he does take the job but given he was given the boot from his job in the Swiss leagues last spring and hasn’t worked since, so he’s not in a strong negotiating position.
One thing that works both for and against Wagner is that he’s so loved by the fans. That means he’s going to be a popular appointment which the board will obviously like initially but in the longer term this could work against them. If the fans love Wagner and things don’t go well in the future then that means that scrutiny could fall upon them rather than the manager. So such a well-liked figure could be a risky appointment in some respects. My personal opinion is that managers and head coaches are too often the sacrificial lambs when the true issues are often higher up the food chain, so Bromby and Hoyle may be someone cautious of Wagner for this reason.
Hoyle has also spoken out after Wagner’s exit about how he had a tendency to flirt with other jobs whenever he had a good patch at Town in his first spell. He always stayed but he would leverage other clubs’ interest into a better contract from Hoyle. This was relayed in retrospect as cheeky, impish behaviour by Deano but I can imagine at the time it would have been infuriating and seen as disloyal. I’m sure Hoyle will remember this and not be in a hurry to be held over a barrel again if Wagner comes back again and does a decent job.
Would it be a good move for Wagner?
Finally, and most importantly I suppose, should David Wagner take the job if it is offered to him? It seems like his phone isn’t exactly ringing off the hook at the moment but equally, that doesn’t mean he should jump at the first offer that comes his way. It was obviou from his emotions getting the better of him at half time in the West Brom that he has genuine and deeply held emotions towards our club. But does that mean he wants to come back?
Arguably it’s a bit of a poisoned chalice, Town lay in the relegation zone and have a mountain to climb to achieve survival. They’re cut off from safety, have been playing poorly and don’t look like improving any time soon. They are also facing another season with an incredibly congested fixture list thanks to the World Cup (made worse by Coventry’s pitch issues and the Queen’s death).
On the other hand, Town have a squad that should be at least mid-table and have been underperforming massively. They have shown a lack of discipline, organisation and team-dynamic. These are all things that I would expect Wagner to be able to whip into the team in fairly short order. He would get the double training sessions going, drill the team on his 4-2-3-1 gegenpressing system and get them willing to run through brick walls for him and suddenly it might all start to look a lot more positive.
The league table looks pretty bleak at the moment but two or three wins and things would look very different. This squad doesn’t feel significantly worse than the one that made it to Wembley last season. It’s not quite as strong but not twenty league places weaker and I think a decent manager that can organise a group and get them playing with a bit of passion and togetherness could do well.
So, in summary, I think David Wagner could do very well at Huddersfield Town. It’s not certain, there might be tricky moments but it’s certainly worth giving it a go. I’m not sure he can be quite as impactful as he was in his first spell as I think a lot of other Championship clubs play a similar way to the way he got Town playing when he first came in but he’ll make us competitive and harder to beat which should be enough to get us out of the relegation zone at least.
In recent weeks, I’ve as ever enjoyed your writing, TS, but voiced some disagreement with you. This morning I give you a ‘match rating’ of 10. Very well analysed, all the ups & downs, the potential euphoria of a Wagner appointment without fully thinking the whole thing through.
You have at least made me stop and think. This season, as I’ve said before, has been desperately bad. Almost as bad as it gets from any point of view. It’s made me angry with the board, with Schofield and the players. Yesterday morning a glimmer of light – the board made the right decision to sack Schofield (having made the wrong one to appoint him in the first place). And then that glimmer of light became a shaft of sunlight as the bookies installed David Wagner as 1/2 favourite to get the job. I’m a Wagner devotee.
I’m not thinking about Hoyle or Bromby or the board – they owe us supporters big time. They should appoint Wagner (if he wants the job), give him 100% unqualified support, and make it clear that this is an early Christmas present for the fans. More than anything else, the club needs a psychological lift and we’ll get that for sure. That in itself may not necessarily turn results around but with the ‘Wagner identity’ sprinkled on the team, I reckon there’s enough decent players in the squad who are massively underperforming to wake up from this nightmare and enjoy some good times again.
As you have so eloquently said, there are risks but life & football are both risky businesses. My fingers are firmly crossed that we’re about to enter the second reign of King David.
As usual an excellent and thought out scenario and a well balanced blog.
Firstly, I am disappointed that it did not work out for Danny Schofield and the way he has been treated is dreadful. He was taken out of his comfort zone as a decent, respected coach, probably doing a good job, and given the job of head coach when he obviously was not ready. He was then sacked by the club and thrown on the scrap heap, similar to the Cowleys’. Why was he not returned to his coaching role and then let his successor decide whether to keep him or not?
Regarding David Wagner, you have accurately given the pros and cons, some of which I hadn’t considered. During his previous tenure, the defeat at home to Tottenham was significant and, following it, Wagner became very defensive. He did, however, miraculously kept us up. It started to go down hill for him when Hoyle was ill and Julian Winter was in charge, but I think he was prepared to stay until the end of the season but Dean Hoyle did not want it. The rest is history.
Dean Hoyle is obviously a risk taker, proven by his previous appointments, as was Hodgkinson, we then, in my opinion, sacked the Cowleys (who had got us out of a worse position than we are in now) because he had given them too much power.
Whilst I would like to see a young and up coming coach, like Liam Manning, I think we are again in a precarious position and Hoyle may go for a proven coach like Wagner which would be Popular position with the fans.
I was sad for Danny Schofield, he was on a hiding to nothing, but he did not have that certain something to get the players playing, David Wagner had that charisma and that system that proved great for Town, but, could he do it again?
we have a very talented bunch of players who just need that direction from whoever gets the job, I go along with you TS in your comments about it all, and it will be interesting to see if Dean Hoyle goes shopping at Primark or Harrods,
PS can you put the article back on about the Town managers and records since 1952, I found it very fascinating, but it has disapeared.thank you and yes UTT.
I think Wagner would be a bad choice. He may be popular with some fans but I think they forget what a mess he left us in when things got tough. He got us promoted because the rest of the division (bar Brighton and Newcastle) were awful that season and we caught the other teams by surprise. Yes we had a good team with lots of talent but the team is different now and the quality of the championship has increased. Wagner hasnt been anything special since leaving Town and I personally don’t think he deserves the chance to come back just because no one else wants him. Yes he gave us two special seasons but i very much doubt he would be able to replicate anywhere near that. If we do get him and he does do well i’m happy to eat my words
It seemed very strange (and tactless to Schofield) to have Wagner back as a guest recently. Reading between the lines it seemed pretty obvious that he was waiting in the wings if it all fell apart for Schofield. Personally, I hope Wagner doesn’t come back as he was a one trick pony who had no idea what to do when plan A didn’t work. From his subsequent record, nothing seems to have changed. So he was in charge when Town were promoted, but whoever heard of being promoted with a negative goal difference before! At that time he also had a big say in transfers. He and Hoyle made a complete mess of that, blowing in millions on the Diakhaby’s of this world. We need a manager now who can adjust his tactics to suit the players that we have here at the moment, something Corberan managed last season. It’s no good getting someone who tries to make poor players fit into a game plan for which they are not equipped. We also need someone who is not “nice”. The ones that do well could never be called nice. Alec Ferguson, Klopp, Warnock for instance got the best out of players by being just the opposite (even if it was just acting). Whoever it is will have a big job on to turn this one round with the resources currently available.
I hope DS doesn’t suffer from his dismissal following his nonsensical appointment, typically asked to leave the club completely.
The Wagner debate, as you point out TS is interesting, he has been the only manager in recent times who has been backed heavily and financially by the club admittedly with predominately Premiership money, unfortunately with largely useless players. The Cowleys and CC were deliberately not at all backed in this way; both I feel were lost opportunities as their tenures at the point of departure were in the ascendancy.
Hoyles’ and Wagner’s records since roughly the Christmas of the first season in the top division have been steeped in failure. Hoyle’s seasons have been relegation battles apart from last season’s Hodgkinson inspired effort and Wagner’s record at Shalke and Young Boys, in spite of their third place finish, lead to early dismissals.
None of this looks good on paper or in the mind for that matter; a contract to the end of the season might work, other than that because of the way Hoyle works it’s highly unlikely we will attract a big “name”.
I agree with every word. A fitting tribute to one of the few real legends in Towns long and illustrious history. Thanks for spelling out just how special Wagner was for the club and the place he holds in the supporters estimation.
It’s great you can be so positive about the latent quality of the squad. If Wagner does take the job, it will be evident he agrees with you. If I were him though, sidelining Bromby would be the top of my shopping list.
Wagner’s Championship success was built on performances by Tommy Smith, Lowe, Schindler, Mooy, a younger, dynamic Hogg, a goalscoring workhorse in Nahki Wells and, in VLP a cool-headed fast, skilful winger who was prepared to follow instructions. Even his subs like Kachunga and Supercol could change the game in our favour when they came on. Just listing those names has brought home to me Bromby’s abysmal recruitment record for this club. Assuming, of course, that the fault for this lies with Bromby.
If Wagner believes the fault for this underwhelming recruitment lies with an unrepentant Hoyle, he won’t take the job.
Wagner did a great job then made a real mess of things. He has pretty much failed everywhere else he has gone. Second in the Austrian league with the equivalent of managing Celtic in Scotland is also considered a failing. Let sleeping doss lie. No Wagner.