Pundit Carlton Palmer believes Mark Hughes deserved more time at Bradford City, despite their poor start to the season.
Bradford announced on Wednesday evening that they had decided to part ways with Hughes, after only winning three of their 11 games in league Two.
The 59-year-old had been the manager of the Yorkshire side since February 2022, guiding the Bantams to a 14th-place finish in his first season, and in that summer, he was allowed to make changes with helped in the following campaign, as he guided the club to the League Two play-offs.
Hughes’ side came up against Carlisle United in the play-offs and fell short, so there was pressure coming into this campaign to go one step better.
Bradford City sack Mark Hughes
As mentioned, it was Wednesday night when Bradford announced that Hughes had left the club.
This decision comes as the Bantams have made a poor start to the League Two season, a season that the club is expected to improve on from last year.
However, they haven’t lived up to those heights yet, as they have only won three league games and have suffered back-to-back defeats.
Hughes’ last home game was a 3-1 defeat to Walsall last Saturday, a game that the players were booed off in. His final game in charge of the club was a 2-1 defeat away at Tranmere Rovers on Tuesday night.
Obviously, it remains unclear if the decision to part ways with Hughes is the correct one, but the Bradford board will hope a decision this early can help them turn the season around.
What are Carlton Palmer’s thoughts on Bradford City’s decision to sack Mark Hughes?
Here, at Football League World, we asked pundit Carlton Palmer for his thoughts on Bradford’s decision to sack Hughes and if he believes it was the right decision.
He told FLW: “Bradford City part company with Mark Hughes. I find this decision a little harsh and premature.
I know there was a huge disappointment last season when Bradford just fell short of what they were trying to achieve. But two or three wins can soon change your season around just look at Stockport and Middlesbrough, poor starts to the season, three wins on the bounce and now Stockport are sat in joint second and Middlesbrough climbing the league.
“Yes, Bradford sit in 18th place in the league but only six points of a play-off place, surely the work Mark and Glenn have put in over the past 20 months, they deserved a little bit more time.”
Were Bradford City right to sack Mark Hughes?
Bradford have been a sleeping giant in League Two for a while now, so when they surprised everyone by appointing Hughes in 2022, it will have been an idea for the experienced manager to guide the club to League One.
The Bantams came ever so close last season, but even though they reached the play-offs, it seems fans were still concerned by the performances of the team.
Their concerns came more to light this season, as their campaign has just not got going, and with them sitting near the bottom end of the table, it doesn’t come as a surprise that they made this decision.
Despite not being far away from the play-offs, Bradford’s results will be a concern to the board, and they have seemingly acted now so they can still save this season.
