Chairman on his decision to sell Huddersfield Town, Phil Hodgkinson and the supporters
- Dean Hoyle speaks to #HTTV after agreeing to sell the Club
- Chairman on why he chose Phil Hodgkinson
- Watch the full interview below on #HTTV
After being Huddersfield Town Chairman for 10 years, Dean Hoyle made the difficult decision to agree to sell the Club to local businessman Phil Hodgkinson.
A decision that didn’t come easy, as he explained to #HTTV.
“10 years at a Football Club takes its toll, I’ve had a recent illness, but I’m not putting everything down to that, because that’s the easy kop out. But, it has changed my outlook, no two ways about it.
“For me regardless if we’d have stayed in the Premier League or been relegated, I think it’s the right time for me to step aside.
“I think the Football Club needs a new drive, it needs new ideas and I’ve ran management teams before and one thing that lots don’t do is acknowledge when the time is right to move on.
“I have to acknowledge that at this Football Club. It’s an important time of transition from the Premier League to the Championship and it’s going to be a really big summer.
“It’s been a really tough year for the Football Club, but it’s been equally tough for myself, Janet and the family with my illness; it’s been really tough.
“My heart says why would I ever want to give this club up, it’s been in my heart for so many years, too many years, I’ve loved the last 10 years, but my head says my family need me and it’s time to pass it on to someone with enthusiasm, someone who really wants the Football Club, someone who can drive it forward and really understands the Football Club.”
Once the decision had been made to sell his beloved Huddersfield Town, Dean Hoyle had an even harder choice to make, who would be his successor.
Despite getting calls from around the world, Dean contacted Phil Hodgkinson and explained why he thinks he’s the perfect man to the job.
“I contacted Phil, not many people know this, but I had conference calls whilst I was in St. James’ Hospital in Leeds, I decided at that point it was time for me to sell, if possible.
“It’s easy to sell a Football Club but it’s hard to find the right owners. I had some really good people interested from around the world, but it didn’t feel right to me.
“I made a spontaneous phone call to Phil (Hodgkinson) and said, ‘would you be interested’ and he absolutely jumped at the chance. I remember having a meeting with him at St. James’, wired up to all the drips, and I probably lasted 40 minutes of the meeting, I couldn’t last any longer.
“From that points it’s been accelerating the dealings and I feel he’s a proper person for this Football Club.
“He’s very similar to myself, he runs a very successful business, which is going to get bigger and stronger, I think it’s an exciting future. At the same time, I’m really sad it’s coming to an end; it’s hard to believe.”
Every week at the John Smith’s Stadium ‘There’s Only One Dean Hoyle’ rings around the ground being proudly sung by Huddersfield Town supporters.
Dean Hoyle acknowledged how fantastic the supporters have been to him and left them with a final message.
“The fans have been magnificent to me, to Janet, I can’t believe how good they’ve been. They’ve been absolutely unbelievable.
“What I need them to do now, as I pass the baton over to Phil, they have to come with me on that journey.
“I think they have to give Phil as much encouragement because this job is not an easy task!”
You can watch Dean Hoyle’s full interview below on #HTTV!
