Ranieri is the favourite in the betting and Adam Leventhal mentions that Ranieri is an option, but this may be solely based on Gianluca Di Marzio (Sky Italy sports journalist) tweeting that Watford are in negotiations with Ranieri. Di Marzio is not always accurate in reporting Watford's intentions and I am also not convinced that Leventhal now has any inside knowledge about the club. Watford usually have several possibilities lined up and Ranieri (who is friendly with the Pozzos) may be one of them. His last job in the Premier League at Fulham went badly, but he did better at Roma and he was relatively successful at Sampdoria (whom he saved from relegation). He is an experienced manager and would be much more tactically astute than Munoz, but he is now 69 years old and I must admit that I would have some reservations about his appointment if he is chosen as the new head coach. The Watford Observer reported that Watford are expected to announce the new coach later today. Another possibility may be Diego Martinez (a highly regarded young Spanish coach who did very well at Granada). Granada finished in 7th place and in 9th place during his two seasons in charge before he chose not to renew his contract. They qualified for Europe for the first time in their history and reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League. He is friendly with the Spanish journalist, Guillem Balagué, and he has been in England during the past week - although a Voices of the Vic tweet reported a rumour that he may have been in England for several weeks. Martinez visited Biggleswade Town FC (whose Chairman is Balagué) in order to offer advice, but sources report that he was staying at a hotel in St. Albans. Hotels in Bedford or Stevenage would be much nearer to Biggleswade so I do wonder whether he might have been in negotiations with Watford. He lacks Premier League experience so his appointment would be a riskier but more exciting one than that of Ranieri.
I wrote after the Wolves game about the negative tactics that were used in that game and when they did not work there was no plan "B". I have not watched us since but believe from the comments I have read, that tactically we seem very restricted in most of the games and allow pressure or personal mistakes to come to the fore. Munoz, seemed a really nice guy, but again many thought an experienced right-hand man would have been a prudent appointment alongside him. Thank you Munoz, for your enthusiasm and humour, unfortunately, at this time your lack of experience has come back to bite you.
All over bar the shouting if this is to be believed. https://www.footballinsider247.com/...ocial&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1633268817-1
They may be right, but this is the same website which reported that a club source had told them that Kucka would be out for three months when he was injured. He returned after two weeks.
Thank you, NZ....got weary of both SH and constant UK-bashing, not to mention distaste for Premiership values! Some good folk on here though so might drop in from time to time!
With the run coming up the new man will do well to get many points has to be said then will he get sacked too if we prove to be as useless ?
The more sensible thing would have been to recruit him before the season started as a mentor to Xisco and helped him to read the Premier League instead of learning on the hoof
Quite. As I say the games to come and he will have to really improve us tactically and in terms of organisation. Needs to be given time but we don’t give that :
A great human being who appeared to have a genuine affection for the club. I understand why Gino decided to give him the opportunity in the Premier League because he did so well in the Championship (but with one of the best squads in the Championship) and he was very popular with the supporters (to whom he was able to relate). I think that the error (as suggested by duggie2000) was to not appoint an experienced mentor to guide him. Munoz is very inexperienced as a head coach and his tactical shortcomings were exposed in some Championship games (such as the defeat at Luton) let alone in the Premier League. Ranieri is a short term appointment and he is almost the polar opposite to Munoz in that he he is much older and vastly experienced. He tends to be somewhat 'hit' or 'miss' in the degree of success which he has at different clubs. Let us hope that he is a 'hit' at Watford.
I would say that he was just the right man to have in place at the right time. His constant smile, connection with the fans and good attacking football that achieved the desired result, helped the club through a very difficult time. The country was, and still is a bleak place when you look at the number of infections and deaths, yet his cheerful demeanor helped to lift the gloom. I had hoped that he would succeed and stay, but maybe this was one step too far too soon. I wish him every success in the future.
I think that if history repeats itself and he is invited back in similar fashion to QSF, most fans would welcome a 'more experienced' him back.
Claudio Ranieri has signed a two year deal with Watford with his arrival expected to be formally announced later today. The Italian held positive talks with club representatives in Italy yesterday before flying in to complete the deal at London Colney today. It is understood he rejected options from Serie A in order to accept a job back in the Premier League. WO
