Hoyle is delighted as Wagner rewinds clock to Buxton days

None, though, compare for the 49-year-old to what is happening this season as the Terriers home in on a possible promotion to the Premier League.

“This season, as a fan never mind owner, has been fantastic,” said Hoyle when speaking exclusively to The Yorkshire Post ahead of the Championship’s resumption this weekend.

“I have been watching Huddersfield Town just under 40 years and I believe this is the best team I have ever seen.

“I also think we have the best manager in David (Wagner) I have ever had – and we are in with a great opportunity. Whether that great opportunity will fall favourably on us or not, who knows?

“We have no right to be where we are. But, in football – and David says this a lot – anything can happen.”

Huddersfield’s bid to return to a level they last graced 45 years ago has warmed the hearts of supporters everywhere who have grown tired of clubs throwing millions of pounds around in an attempt to buy success.

The Terriers were expected by many to struggle once again this term after four years back in the Championship that had largely been spent fending off the threat of relegation.

Even the clear green shoots of optimism that Wagner’s surprise arrival from Germany the previous November had engendered among Town supporters barely stretched beyond a possible mid-table finish.

Then, though, came a start that yielded eight wins from the opening 11 games. Suddenly, Huddersfield were staring down on the likes of Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Norwich City from the top of the table.

A wobble in form did follow as autumn turned to winter, but Town rallied impressively under Wagner and they host Burton Albion on Saturday odds-on to make the play-offs.

This unexpected push for a top-flight return is reward for Hoyle taking the plunge in 2008 and buying the club he had supported since first being enticed to Leeds Road.

“I don’t remember my first game, but it was when Mick Buxton was manager,” recalls the Town chairman. “I lived in Heckmondwike and could have turned right to Leeds or left to Huddersfield – and I don’t like walking uphill so it was Huddersfield for me.”

Hoyle’s choice proved an astute one, that first season in 1979-80 being one to savour for the Terriers. Under Buxton’s astute stewardship, Huddersfield smashed through the 100-goal barrier en route to lifting the Fourth Division title.

The strike partnership of Ian Robins and Peter Fletcher terrorised defences as the fulcrum of a playing style that has distinct similarities with the one employed today by Wagner.

“Micky Buxton played the high-press game,” said Hoyle. “We invite him back now to games and I ask Micky what he thinks of our football. ‘Only the same as I did in 1979,’ is his response.

“Quite frankly, it is. A high-press game, energetic and done with players who are the fittest in the league. I did say to Micky once, ‘If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have been chairman because you got me hooked on Huddersfield Town’. Mind, I’m not sure if that was a compliment or not. At times as chairman, I have cursed him every time I went to bed.

“No, seriously, when I said that to Micky, I could tell he was really touched. Now he has become a really good friend of the club. He comes to lots and lots of game, and had a fantastic winning streak with us until the recent defeat to Newcastle.”

Wagner is the 18th managerial appointment since Buxton’s eight-year reign ended in 1986. Wagner’s success at the John Smith’s Stadium has understandably alerted others to the German’s qualities, as underlined by interest from Bundesliga club Wolfsburg shortly before Christmas.

“David is very demanding and knows what he wants,” added Hoyle. “I like that. Especially as he is also realistic.

“He has aspirations, but within those aspirations he knows what is important and what steps need to be taken. He is excellent and has shown me loyalty this season.

“It is well documented that he has had offers. But he has been loyal, and loyalty is a big thing to me and this football club.”

Wagner’s star is undeniably rising, but Hoyle does not believe this is yet reflected in all areas of the English game.

“A lot of people probably don’t want to give us credit for what we have done,” he added. “I follow the national media and it is easy for them to say Brighton and Newcastle are up there along with a Leeds or Reading because they have invested well.

“They are big clubs, but I don’t think David gets the credit he deserves. Let’s be fair, a lot of pundits are failed managers and they probably don’t like that this manager with fresh ideas has come in from abroad and succeeded. It doesn’t fit with what suits them.

“Mind, under the radar or not, I do believe people within football are acutely aware of what is happening here. We are a tough team to play against.

“What I will say, too, is I am really enjoying this moment. Let’s be fair, anything can happen. Is it realistic that we are where we are? Absolutely not. But, as we say here, anything is possible.”