Throughout his time in Australian football, particularly with Melbourne City, the overwhelming impression of Aaron Mooy is that he simply was too good for the A-League.
As the inevitable interest from abroad came, it would be from Manchester City where he would be sent on loan to Huddersfield Town. In the Championship he joins Massimo Luongo at QPR, Jackson Irvine at Burton Albion and Mile Jedinak has moved to Aston Villa, making for four Socceroo midfielders in the second level of English football. Meanwhile in League One, Bradden Inman has yet to play for Peterborough United due to injury.
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Already this season, Mooy has attracted rave reviews for his performances in midfield for Dave Wagner’s side. The Terriers have had their best start to a season in 64-years, justifying the optimism of fans since the ‘Wagner Revolution’ began.
Wagner, a German-born US international, worked under Jürgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund. Appointed to replace Chris Powell in November last year, he is proving a popular manager who has raised the hopes of Huddersfield fans that the club can move upwards from their Championship station. There has been steady progress in recent years: since promotion in 2012, the Terriers have maintained a lower mid-table Championship place without threat of relegation. Even in 2012-13 when it was a close shave and they finished only four points above the relegation zone, it was also only 10 points behind Leicester City in sixth place (three years being an eternity in football terms!). In that time there has been a high turnover of managers – Lee Clark made way for Simon Grayson, followed by Mark Robins, Chris Powell and now Dave Wagner.
The ‘Wagner Revolution’ appears to be based on instilling a culture of playing attractive, expansive football and is delivering on the promise thus far, with Huddersfield unbeaten and top of the Championship.
READ | Huddersfield and Aaron Mooy are flying high at the top of the table | https://t.co/8rN7TomwSK | #Championship #Socceroos
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In addition to established players Tommy Smith, Mark Hudson, Dean Whitehead, Jonathan Hogg, Sean Scannell and Nahki Wells, Wagner has bolstered the squad with German defenders Christopher Schindler, Michael Hefele and Chris Löwe, also taking Danny Ward and Mooy on loan. Rajiv van La Parra, Joe Lolley and Jack Payne represent some of the options in midfield.
Under Horton, Peter Jackson and then Steve Bruce, Huddersfield mounted a series of play-off challenges in the 1990s, punctured by mid-table fare and relegation struggle. The last of which was most galling – in the 1999-2000 season, the club seemed nailed on for a top six place before fading to eighth. The relegation that followed in 2001 was followed by a drop to the bottom tier of the Football League two years later, for the first time since 1980.
They bounced back instantly, but would spend eight seasons toiling in what was now League One before getting that long-awaited promotion. Going back even further, the sacking of Mick Buxton in 1986 was followed by relegation over a year later, with Huddersfield attaining the ignominy of being the last League side to concede double figures in a game (a 10-1 loss to Manchester City). It took some years to recover from that.
In light of this, Huddersfield fans would hope they do not have to go through that all again and have a chance of hitting the heights blown away. However, with Mooy and the revitalised playing roster and an enthusiastic coach, things are on the up.
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