I was disappointed that Rob Edwards was not given more time. He made mistakes, but no one can be sure whether the team would have performed better, the same as or worse than under Bilic. It is particularly galling to see how well Luton have been doing since Edwards was appointed there. I am not disappointed that Bilic has been sacked, although I am sorry that his appointment has not been successful. People such as Louorns have pointed out how poorly W.B.A. performed in the second half of the season that they were promoted and not only when they returned to the Premier League. His results at Al-Ittihad (before his appointment at W.B.A.) and Beijing Guoan (after W.B.A.) were also poor - leading to early departures. I am not convinced by the appointment of Chris Wilder, but it has been announced that his appointment will be a short term one. I suspect that this a last throw of the dice by Gino and I hope that Manga has someone lined up for the start of next season, but someone who does not want to take over during the season. Wilder did enjoy considerable success at Oxford, Northampton and Sheffield Utd. (until their second season in the Premier League). In fairness to Wilder, he did also have a good start at Middlesbrough when he took over from Neil Warnock and the team won 7 and drew 2 out of his first 11 games (which may still not be quite enough points for Watford to reach the play-offs). This season was an absolute disaster and Michael Carrick's subsequent success with the same squad has made his failure appear even worse. I am surprised that Chris Wilder should want to come to Watford when he fell out with the owners at both Sheffield Utd. and Middlesbrough because he wanted more control over the club and over transfers. He lost the support of the owner and players at Middlesbrough when he was linked with two Premier League clubs (first Burnley after Dyche was sacked and later Bournemouth after Parker was sacked). However, perhaps this will not be an issue for a short term appointment and he did also claim after Middlesbrough had lost at Watford that having players such as João Pedro and Sarr was like having a cheat code. I hope that he sees the appointment as an opportunity to restore his reputation.
Will the players adapt to his preferred 3-5-2 formation ? And he liked his central defenders pushing out wide and attacking .
He was one who wanted Bilic out though . Not sure people who said that can really complain about today as they got their wish in reality. Bilic wasn't great but the way some spoke about him you'd think we were bottom 3 or something. Maybe they hoped for a higher profile long term appointment but that won't happen till the summer if at all. I think board, club and fans have to support a manager and give him some time rather than jump on him at the first sign of trouble.
"Most clubs have a "Player of the Season" award, Watford fans are the only ones who get to vote for "Manager of the Season."
That was how we won promotion in 2014 Only problem would be where would Sarr fit in that The front two could be Pedro and Davis or Pedro in the centre of Midfield
Sarr will probably be one of the first names on the team sheet . People hate him and demand he isn’t picked but will be . I wonder how all the players feel about all these managers coming and going ? Or maybe they just get used to it and don’t care .
I think it's based on their contracts - I believe they just pay them out. But I haven't a clue how much all their contracts were worth.
Nice to see the new manager getting full support from the fans.. https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/s...td-middlesbrough-boss-wilder/#comments-anchor Well occasionally. Hope he doesn’t read such comments! Makes me wonder is that why it’s so quiet at games - people just feel no connection with the players and managers now. Almost just going for the sake if it with no real enthusiasm or desire to get up and create an atmosphere?
Adam Leventhal with some interesting revelations in Thor article . If true of course . https://theathletic.com/4283964/2023/03/08/behind-the-scenes-of-slaven-bilics-163-days-at-watford/?source=emp_shared_article Not my work but a quick summary. Pozzo hasn’t been attending games for ‘personal reasons’. Pozzo didn’t sack him face-to-face…he got Giaretta to do it. The players were disgruntled pre-Preston as £300 had been deducted from every players salary for food provided at the training ground. £150 for staff. Not the amount they are upset about - more the fact that they weren’t told and find it ‘inexplicable’. Club declined to comment. Claims there is a power struggle taking place between Manga and Giaretta who are known to keep their distance at games. Bilic was angered by the Nigerian HC being invited to watch training on Jan 6th without any consultation - he also had concerns about the ‘sanctity’ of the dressing room on match days. Pellistri’s agent visited London Colney for talks over a move - Bilic very surprised it didn’t happen. Bilic played a role in signing Araujo and Jorge Mendes is surprised by the sacking.
Bilic had an 18 month contract when he signed for Watford last September, but there was a mutual break clause (giving either party the option to walk away in June). The Athletic reports that he has received a £400,000 pay-off and his four staff a sum of £250,000 compensation.
Gino Pozzo does not seem to learn from past mistakes. The players were upset about unpaid bonuses after the F.A. Cup final and their discontent may have contributed to Watford's relegation the following season.
Now apparently this happens a lot at clubs and fans probably won’t be that sympathetic but the tone of the report suggests this was rather forced into them without any consultation or dialogue before hand
