Kevin Nagle urged to seal 'exciting' Huddersfield Town reunion after Liam Manning news | OneFootball

FLW's Huddersfield fan pundit believes that David Wagner should be on the club's radar to replace Liam Manning

For the third time in the space of a year, Huddersfield Town are searching for a new manager, after Liam Manning's departure was confirmed on Monday.

The former Bristol City and Norwich City boss was seen as a big coup for the League One side when he came to the Accu Stadium in January to replace Lee Grant, but was given compassionate leave in March "after making the club aware of the ongoing personal matters relating to the tragic passing of his newborn son in October 2024."

Unfortunately, the 40-year-old informed Huddersfield that he will not be returning for next season.

While this departure doesn't go down as a misstep from the higher-ups at the West Yorkshire club, the reality is that the next hire will be the sixth permanent manager the Terriers have had since Kevin Nagle completed his takeover in June 2023.

Questions have been surrounding who will be next. Reports have suggested that the current interim duo, Martin Drury and Jon Stead, may be given the reins full-time, after a solid yet unremarkable end to the season, but will those in the stands at the Accu Stadium demand a more experienced arrival?

Huddersfield Town fan pundit puts forward David Wagner as "one of the strongest options" in managerial hunt

You get the feeling that, with the pressure of getting out of League One cranking up at Huddersfield, the next manager has to get things right almost immediately to avoid the passionate fanbase turning on them.

One man who would be given a bit of time to get things right, though, would be David Wagner, who is a clear fan favourite at the club, as he was the mastermind behind their promotion to the Premier League back in 2017.

The German boss last managed at Norwich two years ago, and FLW's Huddersfield fan pundit, Graeme Rayner, believes that if he makes a return, there'd be a positivity around the club which hasn't been felt for several years.

"If there is any possibility of David Wagner being prepared to come back, then I think he should definitely be on the club's radar, as it would be a move that would unify the majority of fans and bring back a sense of good feeling, optimism and unity that we haven't had for a while," he said.

"Whether he can repeat any of his past glories from his first spell would be up for debate. However, the fans love him, and he has a real strong affinity with the club.

"So if there was a chance of doing it, it would be right up there as one of the strongest options to take, the other options being to give it to Jon Stead and Martin Drury for the season, which I think is a risk, but at least they're a known quantity, or bringing in someone new."

Indeed, choosing to return to someone who has given the modern Huddersfield fans some of their best days supporting the club would be the most popular choice Kevin Nagle can make.

Rayner believes that Wagner's presence would loosen the collar, too, as the Terriers' fans are less likely to turn on their beloved former head coach as soon as things turn bad, which was the case for some of their recent managerial hires in the third tier.

"I think of those three options, the one who would get more time from the fanbase to develop the squad and find their feet, and who would get more leeway if they hit a sticky spell would be David Wagner," the fan pundit explained.

"I think if the club appointed someone new, we got to October, and we weren't around the play-offs, for example, or we had a run of games without a win, there'd be pressure. We saw that with Lee Grant, Michael Duff and Liam Manning.

"The same would happen if the club were to give the job to Drury and Stead, too; there'd be pressure, unless the club were flying. However, I suspect that Wagner has so much credit in the bank that he might get some more grace with the fans.

"It's an exciting option. Whether it's realistic or not remains to be seen."

David Wagner may be the best possible choice to calm a demanding Huddersfield Town fanbase

The weight of expectation at Huddersfield is arguably as heavy as it is at any other club in League One, and because of that, it isn't the most attractive job in the EFL currently.

Lee Grant was sacked with the club inside the top six, albeit having played more games than those looking to dump them out of it. His club had scored the most goals in the division at the time, but his brand of football was criticised by the fanbase.

In contrast, the short time under Liam Manning saw the Terriers have a defensive record bettered only by Lincoln City, but they also scored the fourth-lowest amount of goals in the division, and while the criticism wasn't as high on him as it was with Grant, there were still plenty of disgruntled fans.

So, bringing in Wagner, who, regardless of how the results may look in the opening stages of his tenure back in the Accu Stadium dugout, the pressure won't be as intense, may be the best option the club can make in this scenario.

Plus, Wagner's managerial CV, despite being blank for a couple of years, is still better than the majority of managers whom League One clubs will realistically be targeting this offseason, so even from a results basis, this wouldn't just be a sympathy hire.

So, if the opportunity presents itself, Kevin Nagle should jump at the opportunity to win some fans back and give themselves a good chance at promotion by bringing back David Wagner.