Of all the greats to have played at the John Smith’s Stadium, the best known is surely Jon Bon Jovi. So it was fitting that just before kick-off the public announcer played a track by everyone’s favourite rock cowboy, who performed here on his One Wild Night tour in 2001. Fitting, too, that for the first match following Monday’s departure of David Wagner as Huddersfield’s manager the chosen track was Keep The Faith.
The plan, mind you, was for Wagner to deliver the final pre-match pep talk to the crowd via a pre-recorded video message. But a technical glitch with the stadium’s giant screen meant the German could only be seen, not heard. That, too, was apt in a season in which rotten luck has been a significant factor in Huddersfield’s predicament. Whatever the breaks, from ricochets of the ball to contested refereeing decisions, they have tended to go against the Yorkshire side, right up to what turned out to be Wagner’s last match in charge, when, at Cardiff City last week, Huddersfield were awarded a penalty only for it to be curiously overturned following advice from one of the referee’s assistants.
Wagner was rendered speechless then, too, saying of the decision that sealed a costly 0-0 draw: “I really can’t find the words.” He departed two days later and the team he left behind are bottom of the league, 10 points from 17th-placed Cardiff before facing Manchester City, who thrashed them 6-1 in their last meeting. The stadium DJ would have been forgiven for choosing Livin’ on a Prayer.
By half-time the screen had been fixed and Wagner’s message was heard. He spoke with emotion and the fans who still cherish him listened with a lump in their throats. “I can tell you that my backpack after three-and-a half years in charge of your football club is full of happy memories, and the biggest reason is you,” said Wagner as grown Yorkshiremen darn near swooned. “In Germany we say that in life you always see each other twice,” continued Wagner. “I promise you we will see each other again.”
Which brings us to Wagner’s successor. The club are set to appoint Jan Siewert, having decided to prise him for Borussia Dortmund, whose reserves he has run since July 2017. That, of course, was the job done by Wagner before his arrival in Yorkshire. That fact alone leaves the club exposed to suggestions that they are pinning their plans on a rather simplistic recruitment formula. And it certainly would be folly to think that Siewert will be able to build on the good things Wagner did just because his background has similarities. Wagner’s method, after all, inspired success and affection because it was combined with his unique personality. But let us not patronise a club that has been shrewdly run for the last decade by its chairman, Dean Hoyle. No one is mistaking Siewert for a Wagner lookalike. Although Sky Sports apparently took him as a ringer for Wagner’s agent, John Morris, who was continually picked out by cameras here because of his resemblance to the incoming manager.
Siewert has an identity of his own. In the last season and a half at Dortmund he has played a swish attacking style, usually in a fluid 4-3-3 formation. That, as it happened, is what Huddersfield’s caretaker manager, Mark Hudson, tried to produce for the visit of Pep Guardiola’s team. Hudson gave rare starts to the summer recruits Isaac Mbenza and Adama Diakhaby, putting his trust in speed and movement to unhinge the opposition. That signalled a rupture from the caution that seemed to contaminate Wagner at times and, as such, was an expression of optimism in the Terriers’ future. “I wanted to pose a threat,” said Hudson. If they do go down, Huddersfield intend to do so on the front foot, leaving themselves best poised to spring back up. Hiring a new forward or two would help.
Huddersfield were a match for their title-chasing visitors for much of this match. For a while it seemed that even luck might turn in their favour, as, in the 11th minute, the referee missed a foul in the box by Terence Kongolo on Raheem Sterling. But City soon took the lead when Christopher Schindler unwittingly diverted a humdrum long shot by Danilo into his own goal. Then Sterling scored City’s second after a cross by Leroy Sané, who looked suspiciously close to offside. The German completed the scoring himself.
In stoppage time the substitute Steve Mounié had a chance at least to get a goal as reward for a spirited display in difficult circumstances. But the striker slashed wide from close range. Another shot through the heart for Huddersfield.
