Watford have announced the former Málaga manager Javi Gracia as their new head coach following their surprise decision to dismiss Marco Silva. The pull was obvious but after such an impressive first quarter of the season, Watford were in no mood to accept even the most attractive of packages. What forced Watford to act now was the fact that Silva’s frustration seeped so manifestly into the operation he oversaw. The suspicion is that Watford, who purposely created a model that survives the rotation of head coaches, will be fine. While he improved Hull last season, and Watford this, he has emerged a year later with his position arguably weakened.

Source: The Irish Times January 21, 2018 18:56 UTC