Watford are on the lookout for a new manager for the fifth time in two years after Xisco Munoz was sacked following Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Leeds.
The 41-year-old steered the Hornets to promotion from the Championship during his 10 months in charge but has paid the price for Watford’s unconvincing displays in the top tier.
In a statement, Watford said that “recent performances strongly indicate a negative trend at a time when team cohesion should be visibly improving”.
Despite taking a respectable seven points from their opening seven matches in the Premier League, Watford’s gameplan under Munoz appeared muddled and they were outplayed in their previous two league matches against Newcastle and Leeds, opponents who are in close proximity to them in the table.
Munoz himself accepted that Watford were second best in every department in Saturday’s loss. “They had more intensity than us,” he said. “They won all the duels. They were more aggressive than us and they wanted to win more than us.”
Were it not for the spectacular form of Premier League September Player of the Month nominee Ismaila Sarr, Watford might well be even further down the table. The Senegalese winger has scored four of his side’s seven goals this season.
It also appears as though Munoz’s lack of managerial experience counted against him. Prior to replacing Vladimir Ivic as Watford head coach in December 2020, Munoz’s only previous role in management was a brief spell in charge of Dinamo Tbilisi and if the bookmakers’ odds are anything to go by, he is expected to be succeeded by a far more accomplished individual.
Here are the top candidates for the job, according to Skybet.
Claudio Ranieri – 1-5
Claudio Ranieri appears to be the early frontrunner with reports suggesting that the veteran Italian has already been approached by the club.
The 69-year-old is a free agent after leaving Sampdoria at the end of last season, after guiding the club to a ninth place finish in Serie A.
Ranieri has considerable Premier League experience behind him, after managing Chelsea for four years and leading Leicester City to a miraculous league title in 2016. His most recent spell in English football was less successful, however, as he presided over a run of three wins in 17 games in charge of Fulham.
Diego Martinez – 7-2
Although a year younger than Munoz, Diego Martinez has accrued far more managerial experience than his Spanish compatriot, taking his first job back in 2006.
Martinez spent seven years in Sevilla’s setup, as a first-team assistant and manager for the club’s B team. From there, he took charge of Osasuna and then Granada with whom he earned promotion to La Liga in 2019.
Martinez led Granada to a 7th place finish in the club’s first season in the top-flight and guided them to the quarter final of the Europa League the following year where they were eliminated by Manchester United. Like Ranieri, Martinez is currently unattached after allowing his contract with Granada to expire in the summer.
Paulo Fonseca – 16-1
Considered a long shot for the job, Paulo Fonseca is another manager currently out of work after leaving Roma in the summer.
The Portuguese was strongly linked with the Tottenham job in the summer before the club decided to appoint Nuno Espirito Santo instead.
According to Fonseca, Spurs pulled the plug on the deal due to his attacking style of play. “The agreement was done. We were planning the pre-season and Tottenham wanted an offensive coach,” he told the Telegraph. “But things changed when the new managing director [Fabio Paratici] arrived and we didn’t agree with some ideas and he preferred another coach.”
Fonseca also lists Porto, Sporting Braga and Shakhtar Donetsk among his former clubs.
Sean Dyche – 16-1
It seems extremely unlikely that Sean Dyche would swap the security of his position with Burnley to hop on board Watford’s managerial merry-go-round, particularly after only recently signing a new four year deal with the Clarets.
Dyche spent three years at Vicarage Road as a player and managed the club during the 2011-12 season before being sacked by the Pozzo family after they had completed their takeover of the club.
Dyche’s Burnley side are currently situated in the bottom three of the Premier League table after Saturday’s disappointing 0-0 draw against Norwich.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3l4Rq3N
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