Watford’s sack-happy record under Gino Pozzo’s ownership as Ed Still departs

Ed Still has become the latest manager to join Watford’s seemingly endless churn after he was sacked on Sunday morning in the wake of a 4-0 home defeat to Championship winners Coventry.

Here, the Press Association looks at the club’s sack-happy record under the ownership of Gino Pozzo and family.

Still going

Still was in charge of only 15 games, having been appointed in February following the resignation of Javi Gracia, just four months into his second spell in charge.

Still’s reign began promisingly with 11 points from his first seven games in charge, highlighted by a 3-1 win over Wrexham, but the wheels came off during the run-in to the season, with only two points coming from their last eight games and a run of five-consecutive defeats to end the campaign.

The 35-year-old, whose previous coaching experience came in Belgium, signed a two-and-a-half year deal when he stepped in but – though he had spoken of planning for next season after Saturday’s loss – he will have been well aware of Watford’s record of dispensing with managers deemed to have underdelivered.

This is the third season under Pozzo in which Watford have got through three permanent managers.

They began the campaign under Paulo Pezzolano, who was appointed last May, but the Uruguayan was sacked in October after winning only three of his 10 matches in charge.

Watford turned once again to Gracia, the man who took them to the FA Cup Final in 2019, but three months into his second spell the Spaniard resigned in the wake of a 2-0 loss to Swansea, with a club statement saying he “felt he no longer had the motivation” and was not the right man to lead the club.

Starting with Gianfranco Zola shortly after their July 2012 takeover, Pozzo and family – along with chairman Scott Duxbury and latterly sporting director Gian Luca Nani – have made 23 permanent managerial appointments in less than 14 years.

That included three in 37 days in one madcap spell shortly after Pozzo took sole charge in 2014.

That was admittedly influenced by Oscar Garcia standing down due to ill health after just four matches, though the decision to appoint Billy McKinlay on a permanent basis and sack him two games – and four points – later was Pozzo’s alone.

No manager in their time in charge has matched Zola’s 75 games, with Tom Cleverley (59) and Javi Gracia (66 in his first stint) the only other men to break through the half-century mark in a single spell.

Quique Sanchez Flores was appointed twice, serving first for 44 games and then 12. Gracia’s second spell saw him take charge of 21 games.

McKinlay aside, only Slavisa Jokanovic and Xisco Munoz cracked a 50 per cent win rate, with Gracia’s 37.9 per cent in his first spell the best record for a reign spent wholly in the Premier League.

Beppe Sannino, Walter Mazzarri, Marco Silva, Nigel Pearson, Vladimir Ivic, Claudio Ranieri, Roy Hodgson, Rob Edwards, Slaven Bilic and Chris Wilder are the other managers to work under Pozzo, as well as two-time caretaker Hayden Mullins.