Reflections on Jordan Hugill's three-and-a-half-year stay with Rotherham United

Rotherham United had just opened their League One campaign under Steve Evans with a 1-0 defeat at Exeter City in August 2024.

As the manager was musing over events at St James Park in his touchline press conference, Ronnie was in nearby conversation with Jordan Hugill.

The former liked and admired the latter who had done superbly for him in Hartlepool United's League Two survival miracle during a 2015 loan spell with four goals in eight games and a willingness to go hunting where it hurt.

Now, though, having just concluded his radio commentary duties, the former Pools boss was asking why the Millers frontman kept going to ground so easily.

‘To win fouls,’ was the gist of the reply.

Hugill's three-and-a-half-season stay at AESSEAL New York Stadium has just come to an end following the appearance of his name on the released list announced last week.

Two of those years were spent taking more tumbles than were perhaps necessary, but it wasn't always so.

In the beginning, the centre-forward was a big, big player in S60.

He arrived in January 2023, when the push for Championship safety under Matt Taylor was starting to creak, and changed the landscape.

Then aged 30, he'd spent years in the second tier, he'd even been in the top flight, he was a ‘name’.

He came at cost. Other clubs were keen and the Millers had to make him the highest-paid player in their history as well as give him that long contract.

But he brought with him belief, a bit of Championship swagger, and his presence boosted others. ‘If Hugill's here, maybe we've got a chance.’ His five goals and input over 18 games were crucial.

Just like Hartlepool had eight years earlier, the Millers stayed up.

It soured over the next two seasons. Rotherham lost their way under Taylor and were well on their way to relegation by the time Leam Richardson took over. By then the sight of the centre-forward picking himself off the turf was a familiar one and it continued during Evans' 12-month reign.

“Does Jordan Hugill have a balance problem?” a radio journalist enquired and it was telling that Evans didn't bristle or laugh at the question but simply gave a straightforward answer.

Before the start of this season, the Millers had two high earners in their Teesside-based striker and Jonson Clarke-Harris and they needed at least one of those wages off their books.

They paid off Clarke-Harris in the conviction that they would get more ‘buy-in’ from Hugill and were proved right in their thinking.

Under Matt Hamshaw, there was nothing to criticise about the player's attitude. There was a humility about him, he worked hard in pre-season, he put in the effort during games, the falling over ceased, he was a major figure in the dressing room where there was much respect for what he's done in the game.

Yet, on the pitch, he just wasn't having the same impact he'd had at clubs like Preston North End and Queens Park Rangers in his younger days.

Reporters I know remember him battering Sheffield Wednesday's backline for Preston, and his form for the Lilywhites earned him a move to Premier League West Ham United. With QPR, he bagged 15 goals in a loan year in West London.

At Rotherham, his last 54 matches saw him score twice.

He played more times for the Millers than any other side – 74 league starts and 39 substitute appearances, 14 starts and three sub outings in other competitions. All told, there were 17 goals in 130 games.

Hugill had frustrated fans by not always seeking to stay on feet but won back some regard by playing through the pain of an ankle injury late last year when a crowded treatment room had left Hamshaw with virtually no other options. After a November draw at Reading, he could barely climb the stairs from the dressing room to the team coach. Making himself available was a genuine act of self-sacrifice in a team cause.

He's had a brilliant career, wringing absolutely every last ounce of himself and compensating for any technical shortcomings. Not bad for a lad who came to the pro game late after pulling pints in a pub and claiming Jobseeker's Allowance.

For Rotherham, there was that initial second-tier impact and wonderful goals against Norwich City at home and Southampton away while he came on against Stevenage, changed the game, scored and set his side on the way to victory.

Most of the 33-year-old's best days, though, just didn't come with the Millers.

His debut, against Sheffield United, was superb. In a 0-0 draw, he was physically too much for their defence. He messed up their backline, messed with Anel Ahmedhodzic's mind and went off after 69 minutes to a standing ovation. Had he played in that fashion more often across his time in South Yorkshire, he'd have departed as a Millers legend.

But he didn't. And he doesn't.

It's a regrettable sporting truth that he leaves in a similar fashion to how he spent two of his seasons: with less standing than there might have been.