"May come a breaking point" - Kevin Nagle sent clear Huddersfield Town warning | OneFootball

FLW's Huddersfield Town fan pundit has given his view on whether owner Kevin Nagle is committed to the club for the long haul.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

It is fair to say that Kevin Nagle has experienced a turbulent first two years as Huddersfield Town owner, and he is once again under scrutiny as he searches for yet another new manager.

Nagle completed his takeover of Huddersfield in the summer of 2023, and given that he had plenty of football experience behind him as the owner of US side Sacramento Republic, Terriers supporters hoped it would mark the start of a bright new era for the club.

However, Nagle's first season at the helm ended in disaster as Town were relegated from the Championship, and the 70-year-old was widely criticised for his decision-making as three different managers - Neil Warnock, Darren Moore and Andre Breitenreiter - all tried and failed to turn the club's fortunes around.

Nagle would have been confident that the appointment of Michael Duff in the summer would help bring some much-needed stability to the John Smith's Stadium, but the former Barnsley boss was sacked last month after his side dropped out of the League One play-off places following a poor run of form.

Duff's exit means that Nagle is currently searching for his fifth permanent manager since his takeover, but having placed Jon Worthington in interim charge until the end of the season, he has given himself time to weigh up his next move ahead of the summer.

Kevin Nagle urged to deliver Huddersfield Town improvement

When asked if he believes Nagle is in it for the long haul, FLW's Huddersfield Town fan pundit Graeme Rayner said that he believes the American businessman is committed to the club, but he warned that supporters could soon lose patience if he continues to make poor football decisions.

"He certainly seems to be, he's making all the noises that he is," Graeme said.

"He did an interview last week in which he explained that he's already invested something like £40 million in the couple of years he's been here.

"I presume that includes the amount he paid to buy the club and the amount he is paying to buy the 60% of the stadium that we don't own because the stadium is under shared ownership with the local authority and the Huddersfield Giants rugby league club.

"I presume he is in it for the long haul, but I think his first two years have shown him how hard it is to run a club in this country and how little thanks you get for it.

"The fans haven't really been fully enamoured with him, and I think the reason for that is probably because of the decisions he's made about the people he has running the operations of the club day-to-day for him.

"I think the fans believe his heart is in the right place, but his decision-making has not been brilliant, and let's face it, his first full season in charge resulted in relegation and his second full season in charge looks like it's going to result in failing to win promotion at the moment.

"Hopefully he's in it for the long haul because we need some stability, but we also need a positive form of stability with the club being well run, and ultimately, that means what is happening on the pitch has to improve.

"I hope he's in it for the long haul, but there may come a breaking point if things don't improve in the next couple of years.

"Maybe he'll be here for five years maximum or something like that.

"He's making all the right noises, but people have done that in the past, so we'll have to see what happens."

Kevin Nagle facing big Huddersfield Town call as manager hunt continues

While Nagle has not been able to bring the success he would have hoped to Huddersfield just yet, it is perhaps unfair to place too much of the blame on him for the club's recent struggles.

Nagle's decision to replace Warnock with Moore early in his tenure was surprising, but the appointments of Breitenreiter and Duff arguably should have worked out, and he has shown a greater willingness to invest in the transfer market in recent months, which is underlined by the big money signings of strikers Joe Taylor and Dion Charles in January.

Last week, Nagle was praised for reversing his decision to increase the price of season tickets for Under-14s, instead making them free when purchased alongside an adult or senior ticket, which does suggest that he is open to listening to the concerns of supporters.

However, Nagle will ultimately be judged by results on the pitch, and there is no doubt that the Terriers' performance during his reign has been incredibly underwhelming, so he must get the next managerial appointment right to avoid coming under further pressure from the fan base.