Two years ago, controversial owner Gin Pozz only needed four rounds to recall Javi Gracia. Quique Sanchez Flores-Nigel Pearson subsequently failed to keep Watford in the Premier League. Now the situation repeats itself when Xisco Muñoz lasted only three laps longer.
The club said on its website that Xisco will be relieved mainly because of the “negative performance trend.” The last one, yesterday’s against Leeds, was described by Captain Ben Foster as a “0: 1 debacle”, with the team “barely dealing any blows.” Watford suffered the fourth defeat with a single shot at the goal on the account, only 33 percent of possession of the ball and a number of roughs made.
Watford thus changes his coach in the eleventh calendar year in a row – in three years he changed him more than once (2014, 2019, 2020).
Xisco coached a total of 35 games on the Watford bench after he was inaugurated in December 2020 as a relative coaching rookie. Immediately on his debut, he defeated the mighty Norwich, and in March 2021, thanks to five victories in the second league, he won the award for manager of the month.
In the top competition, the Hornets didn’t stick much under the former Valencia striker, and the management probably longed for a more experienced pilot. According to renowned journalist Gianluka Di Marzia, the club is already negotiating the return of Claudio Ranieri to the Premier League, which he famously won in 2016 with Leicester. Since then, the 70-year-old veteran has coached four clubs, including Fulham, where he was badly burned in an effort to save the team in the 2018/19 season.
Whoever takes the lead in Watford will not be easy after the national team break. In the next eight rounds, Liverpool, Everton, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United will be waiting for the Hornets.
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