Liam Manning has expressed frustration at a Huddersfield Town decision taken days before he replaced Lee Grant as manager.
The Terriers are hunting a place in the League One play-offs, having seen the automatic promotion spots disappear into the distance. They’ve been scoring relatively freely, despite the supposed flop summer signing, Joe Taylor.
Taylor, prolific at this level for Lincoln City, joined the Terriers in the summer for a fee thought to be in the region of £3m all in, but he didn’t impress. Struggling for identity, Lee Grant rotated the forward line and eventually arrived at a situation where Taylor was forced to warm up with the team against his old side, Lincoln, but wasn’t even in the squad.
There wasn’t a way back under the old coach, and so Taylor was loaned to Wigan. After getting seven in 26 for Huddersfield, including three in the EFL Trophy, he now has six in nine for the Latics, including one against his old side, Luton Town.
Manning has admitted he’s maintained contact with Taylor, and that he’s happy with his output.
“I spoke to Joe [Taylor] on the phone a few weeks ago. I thought it was really important for him to know that I was going to track him and keep an eye on him.
“I said: ‘look, go and show what you can do, go and perform.’ I’m really pleased for him, first and foremost, to go out and to do what he’s done.
Of course, with the Terriers chasing a play-off spot, Manning expressed his frustration at the situation. Taylor was allowed to leave just two days before Lee Grant left the club.
“For us, it’s a real frustration that we haven’t got him. There’s an element of a positive side where he’s doing well, but he’s ours in the future still.
“Beyond that, I hope he does well for him personally, but also for us when he comes back in the summer.”
Huddersfield face Wigan this weekend, but Taylor is not permitted to play as part of his loan agreement.
Joe Taylor success
Joe Taylor is a specific type of forward, and to get the best out of him, you need to play to his strengths. Ryan Lowe knew that, Gary Caldwell certainly does, but Grant didn’t get it.
That was also evident in how he deployed Alfie May, another proven player at this level. Grant’s dismissal might have seemed harsh, but to waste millions of pounds worth of talent by getting them to do unfamiliar roles in games they should be easily winning contributed to that.
The only issue here could be if Taylor does well at Wigan but Huddersfield go up, as he did struggle to impact Luton Town during their time in the Championship. Right now, that’s a problem Huddersfield fans would be happy to have.
