Football Season Guide

Early play-off hope, another managerial merry-go-round, a collapse at the turn of the year and a mid-table finish. Just another season for Watford under the ownership of the Pozzo family. Club legend Tom Cleverley was sacked at the end of the 2024/25 campaign, having been one of the rare head coaches to last more than a year in the role. A large section of the supporter base was unhappy with that decision and with good reason. The relatively unknown Paulo Pezzolano took over but lasted just ten games. The Uruguayan could barely speak English and his ideas failed to translate on the pitch. Javi Gracia is one of the only managers to have left Watford with his reputation enhanced and he made a romantic return, but it quickly turned bitter. After guiding them to a seven-match unbeaten run and 4th place in the table on New Year's Day, the club failed to back him in the January transfer market and he soon resigned after results started to suffer. After a two-game stint for Under-21's boss Charlie Daniels, the board pivoted in another direction again with the leftfield appointment of Ed Still. A modest managerial record in Belgium and the fact that he wasn’t even the most highly-rated coach in his own family didn’t suggest he would be a raving success. Indeed, it proved to be the case when he was dismissed at the end of the season after a nine-game winless run. The Hornets start the upcoming campaign with another new man at the helm. The Pozzo’s have gone back to their roots with Alessio Dionisi as head coach and six summer signings from their native Italy. Five of them are from another Pozzo-owned club Udinese. Luca Kjerrumgaard made his loan permanent after an encouraging first season where he finished as the club’s top scorer in the league. Omar Traoré, Iker Bravo, Martín Payero, Jordan Zemura and Federico Ravaglia will need time to bed in. Giorgi Chakvetadze has been the most significant loss in the transfer market and was one of the best players in the Championship on his day. Watford still have an array of excellent young talent, especially in attack including Nestory Irankunda, Kwadwo Baah, Othmane Maamma and Rocco Vata. The club will do well to keep them and midfield metronome Imrân Louza who knits everything together from the engine room. The defence looks a potential weak point at this stage.