Moore axed as Terriers look for ‘attack-minded’ manager
HUDDERSFIELD Town have put academy manager Jon Worthington in temporary charge while they search for a more attack-minded long-term solution to replace sacked manager Darren Moore.
For the second season running, the Terriers are seeking a third “permanent” manager having moved Neil Warnock aside in September to make way for former Sheffield Wednesday and Doncaster Rovers manager Moore, dismissed on Monday afternoon.
Ex-Terriers, Bradford City and Halifax Town midfielder Worthington will take the reins for Saturday's Championship match at home to Sheffield Wednesday, assisted by B team manager Kevin Russell and academy coach Michael Tonge.
The decision to replace Warnock with Moore was unpopular, and the new man's style of football never won over the majority of supporters or chairman Kevin Nagle.
So having been brought in to deliver a longer-term plan than his then74-year-old predecessor, Moore was sacked after just 23 games.
The former Barnsley, Bradford City and Doncaster centre-back joined having led Sheffield Wednesday into the Championship via the play-offs, only to leave weeks later after a disagreement with chairman Dejphon Chansiri.
Moore masterminded the biggest turnaround in play-off history, having lost the semi-final first leg 4-0 at Peterborough United, but followed it with a remarkable 5-1 win at Hillsborough followed by a penalty shoot-out success. They beat Barnsley in the final seconds of extra-time having had a one-man advantage since the 49th minute.
But following his former Torquay United manager Warnock, who led Huddersfield into the Championship in 1995 and to an escape from relegation in his second spell 18 years later, was a much taller order.
Moore was under pressure before
October was out, ending it by conceding eight goals in a week to Cardiff City and Leeds United.
For all his talk of “front-foot” football, a conservative style hurt his 130-day tenure the most.
Injuries did not help – his only experienced No 9, Danny Ward, made just four starts for him, scoring once – and there was not enough summer investment to upgrade a squad that finished 18th last season, but 21 goals in 23 games was damming.
Eleven of his matches were drawn, with only three wins, and that ultimately decided the timing of his departure.
Nagle called Sunday's game at relegation rivals Queens Park Rangers a must-win on social media. That held sway over his repeated claims Moore would not be sacked.
Huddersfield’s Jack Rudoni looked to have secured victory when he opened the scoring in the 86th minute of a low-quality game, only for Kenneth Paal to equalise in the fifth added minute.
“We should have won again instead hanging on for a draw after dominating much of the match,” tweeted Nagle at full-time.
It kept the gap between 22ndplaced QPR and 21st Town at three points. Moore inherited a team 16th, with a five-point gap to safety.
Only Jan Siewert (2019), John Haselden (1977) and Danny Schofield (2022) have a worse win percentage of any Huddersfield manager in charge of five or more matches, and only Schofield, Haselden, Stan Ternent, Siewert and Mark Foderingham had shorter spells as “permanent” manager.
Warnock also oversaw 23 games in his second stint, and won nine.
He was initially appointed in February as a relegation “firefighter” but chief executive Jake Edwards is looking for a longer-term solution nearly 12 months on. Unsurprisingly, given the nature of Moore's tenure, he appeared to place a high premium on an attack-minded replacement.
“This was not a decision that we made lightly, but we believe it is one that we had to take,” he said. “We still have 17 games to be played this season, and that still gives us the chance to positively impact our results and position in the league table.
“We’re looking for our next appointment to have a big short-term impact, but also to fit with our longer-term strategy of building an attack-minded, progressive style of football over a number of seasons.”
Moore leaves three days before the close of a transfer window which saw Huddersfield invest significantly in strikers Rhys Healey and Bojan Radulovic, plus defender Radinio Balker, as well as loaning Chelsea midfielder Alex Matos.
As a result of Healey and Radulovic's arrival, Ward has been linked with a move to Bolton Wanderers.
“We appointed Darren on the strength of his credentials as a manager, but it is now clear that this has not worked as we envisaged and hoped," explained Nagle.
“There have been mitigating circumstances, such as the high number of injuries, but we have still not seen enough on the pitch in terms of results or the direction of travel in playing style and performances.
“I believe that our current squad is capable of more, particularly on the back of the work in this transfer window, and we’re quickly moving to identify the right person to lead them through a crucial period of the season.
“We hope to make that managerial appointment soon.”
Ex-Barnsley managers Michael Duff and Paul Heckingbottom have been linked with the vacancy, as has Nathan Jones, who turned down Rotherham United before Christmas.