When football clubs and their managers part by “mutual consent” the consent is invariably a lot more mutual on the part of one side than the other. Social media being as it is, it came as little or no surprise when the reaction of many Huddersfield Town fans and neutrals to Monday’s announcement by the club’s Twitter account that David Wagner and the club had severed ties in just such a fashion was one of mouth-foaming outrage based on the incorrect assumption the German had been fired.
For those who actually took the time to read the accompanying statement, it was soon clear the agreement on this parting of the ways seemed genuinely reciprocal. The conversation that ultimately led to his departure was initiated by Wagner, who offered to stand down at the end of the season citing his need for a break “from the rigours of football management”. It was eventually decided between the hierarchy and manager that it would be best for the club if he left immediately. Now they find themselves marooned at the bottom of the Premier League without the man who masterminded their unlikely passage to the top tier. One of top-flight football’s few genuinely warm and gloopy romances has come to an amicable but ultimately sad end.
Related: David Wagner leaves job as Huddersfield manager with the club bottom
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