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Thanks For Everything Neil.

18/09/2023

As someone who was born in this millennium, to see Neil Warnock work his magic at the likes of Rotherham, Crystal Palace, QPR and Cardiff, I always wished I could have seen him in the dugout at Town in the 90s. When Neil Warnock 'retired' in 2021, I felt like the dream was over to see him in the Town dugout, are you with me? Step forward to February 2023, Huddersfield had just lost 1-0 at Wigan, and were firmly sat in the relegation zone and Town finally sent Mark 'Buzz' Fotheringham into infinity and beyond. When the news was finally confirmed that Neil Warnock would return to Huddersfield just under 30 years after his initial appointment, the 74-year old was enjoying himself in a Jazz Club in New York, so by the time he was in West Yorkshire, Town were 4 points from safety.

A 2-1 home win vs Birmingham City in Warnock's first game in charge, followed by back to back 4-0 defeats at the hands of Burnley and Coventry City. It seemed that even Neil Warnock wasn't able to save Town, who now sat rock bottom of the Championship 7 points from safety with 12 games to go. With 10 games to go, Town were 6 points away from safety (even when you factor in Reading's 6 point deduction). Town looked down and out, and given that 7 of their remaining 10 opponents sat in the top half of the table, the task's difficulty was amplified. 6 wins, 3 draws and a defeat later, Town finished the season on 53 points, they had managed a 15 point swing on Reading (with 10 games remaining) who they beat 2-0 on the final day.

Keeping Huddersfield Town up from the position they were in is a modern-day football miracle. In an age where data is ingrained in football, phrases like inverted full back and double pivot have made their way into pub dialect, the football landscape is completely different to what it was 10, if not 5 years ago. Expected goals (xG) is not everyone's cup of tea, but last season Danny Schofield's Terriers produced a higher xG than their opponents in 3/8 games (37.5%); under Fotheringham, it was 8/21 (38%); Narcis Pelach 1/2 (50%); and finally under Neil Warnock, it was 4/15 (26.6%). The numbers stack up against him, but Warnock has this ability to be immune to it.

I think what it proves in a world where data is king, there are certain instances that can not be captured quantitatively. In this scenario, the reason why Town survived can be put down to one qualitative reason: The Neil Warnock effect.

I could be boring and start reeling off stats from last season, but what is the point of that? The data would all point towards supporting the argument that Huddersfield Town should be playing in League 1 this season. Neil Warnock was able to come in, play down Town's hopes of survival and allow fans to enjoy the ride. It put the enjoyment back in being a Town fan again. On Thursdays, you could tune in for a chaotic press conference, where you learn less about how Town are going to play this weekend and more about how Warnock's fishing has gone this week. Then going into the game you knew that whatever the result, anyone in a Town shirt would give it their all for 90 minutes. Players like Josh Koroma and Josh Ruffels who I and the rest of the Town fan base had given up hope on at this point, became changed players.

It was all this that made the fans fall back in love with football and Huddersfield Town again. There may have been off-the-field issues plaguing Town, but people didn't care. Warnock restored the pride back in the players and the team. Not to be cliche, but it really was a Hollywood storyline.

The win at home to the already-promoted Sheffield United with a game to go was the perfect way for Neil Warnock and Ronnie Jepson to bow out. They came back to Huddersfield already as Legends, so I don't totally know what that makes them now! The Warnock era looked over, he had his send-off after Sheffield United and Reading, but we all know that changed...

The Nagle Era

Town was managerless for over a month while the Kevin Nagle takeover took place and while Warnock refuted claims that he and Jepson would return to management, on the 14th of June, it was confirmed he would return for one last season. Again, I could choose to be boring and get bogged down in transfer talk, staff turnover and player sales but I think that is a conversation for a different time.

This season was always going to be a period of changes, mostly all off it, but that meant that there needed to be someone or something constant throughout until those changes were in place. As fans, we weren't aware of this being the case until it was announced in the press conference confirming Ronnie and Neil's exit. It was always going to be the case that Town would look to replace the management when the time was ultimately right and the right candidate was identified.

After what was one of the trickiest starts in the division, Town were on 1 point from 4 games, but back-to-back wins against Carlos Corberan's West Brom - hahahahahahahahahahaha, sorry how unprofessional of me and Rotherham saw Town on 7 points from 6 games.

Unlike with previous managerial departures, Town are in a good place, the squad is happy, they aren't in immediate danger (i.e. Sheffield Wednesday on 1 point) and there is a certain level of confidence flowing in the squad. There isn't the pressure that comes when most managers are brought in: that there needs to be an upturn in results, or the players need to be picked up off the floor.

Players like Kian Harratt, Jaheim Headley and Brahima Diarra breaking through, while Ben Jackson and Kyle Hudlin are becoming core squad players is part of the legacy that Warnock is leaving. The other half is how he has managed to transform players like Josh Koroma, Josh Ruffels, Jack Rudoni and Sorba Thomas. What is important now is that those players mentioned don't revert to how they were prior to Warnock joining.

7 months in the job, having come in with nothing to lose, Warnock and Jepson have restored faith in Huddersfield and I am eternally grateful for what they have contributed. I am sad that his tenure has been cut short this season, but it is time to move on. Kevin Nagle and Jake Edwards the pressure is on because the Neil Warnock get-out-of-jail card won't be there next year.

Build the statue.