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My initial thoughts on Carlos Corberan's shock exit

07/07/2022

Football is an unpredictable game, and if you had asked me 12 months ago if Carlos Corberan would still be Huddersfield's manager into the 2022/23 season, I would probably have said no. Having only won three games in 2021 and coupled with Town only having made some quite uninspiring signings, it looked hard to see the Spaniard staying in a job longer than three months.

In reality after the season Corberan and Town had, at face value it is a shock that Corberan left. However, this is exactly the same as what happened at Swansea last season, Cooper and Swansea mutually parted ways after the Welsh outfit lost the playoff final.

I think it is only fair to go on record and say how wrong I was about Corberan. He certainly proved me and a lot of other fans wrong with how he managed to make a set of seemingly average and raw players into a team that with a bit of luck would be playing against England's elite this season. The huge transformation in his own management ability and in the player's, taking someone like Sorba Thomas who was playing in the National League 18 months ago and now helped Wales qualify for the World Cup. The Spaniard learnt so much from his first 12 months in charge and although it could be said that he made a lot of the same mistakes in his first season at Town, he adapted and made sure it didn't happen again.

Is it really a shock to Town?

I find it hard to believe that Town were not expecting this. Naivity or arrogance? I am not sure which, but Carlos must have been in communication since the play off final saying what he wanted in order to compete next year. To me, I find it impossible to believe that Carlos Corberan and Jorge Alarcón (who also resigned), caught Town this off guard.

In the press release from Town, Town minority shareholder and CEO, Dean Hoyle said: "I know the timing of this news will come as a real shock to our supporters. We felt the same when Carlos asked to meet Leigh on Wednesday evening and made it clear he would be leaving, as we have been working together to plan for the new season." Maybe it was a build up of how Carlos was feeling, but I can't accept that Carlos was not making requests to the board for how he wanted the club to be run.

Reading between the lines

In Corberan's press release: "As a coach, my approach to my work is based exclusively on the strongest commitment to and upmost alignment with the policy of the club I'm serving because that is the only way to ensure the dedication required to manage a football team."

That can be interpreted as a disagreement between manager and board. Whether that be that Corberan wanted more control than he could with the club structure, which is plausible, but I struggle to see this interpretation, since Corberan only seems interested in the coaching side. He never is one to get political, create media frenzies, or lose his head, we saw him portray his emotions more last season than he had done before, but even after that farce of a play off final, I would not have been able to conduct myself in the way he did.

I can only see it being down to the recruitment and direction of the club. Harry Toffolo is being linked with a move to the Premier League, with no movement on a new contract occurring in the last 12 months, while Lewis O'Brien continues to be linked for whats seems like the 20th transfer window in a row away. The club have lost: Levi Colwill, Tino Anjorin, Danel Sinani, Alex Vallejo, Jamal Blackman, Fraizer Campbell, Naby Sarr, Carel Eiting and Pipa from the squad last year. Factor in that the only player who was officially signed for the first day of pre-season was ex-academy graduate Will Boyle. It wouldn't exactly fill you with confidence being the manager of a team who arguably were robbed of a chance of playing in the Premier League this season.

Danny Schofield

I think it is only right to talk about the man who is currently interim/ permanent manager, it speaks volumes that we don't even know what his role is. It makes sense for Schofield to step up along with Narcis Pelach to take charge in the meantime, but Town should be looking elsewhere. Corberan was the heartbeat behind Town's success last season and almost thinking that he can be replaced with Schofield, is a slight at Corberan. Obviously, I wish Schofield the best, and will support him throughout, but it feels like Town followed the same route when Wagner left, appointing a young manager who has little experience and then letting them be scapegoated for the failings off the pitch.

Gracias y adiós Carlos Corberan y Jorge Alarcón