In October, Watford put their long-term trust in Valerien Ismael after a spree of managerial dismissals by handing the Frenchman a new three-year deal. Four months later, is he still the man to take the Hornets forward?
Since the Pozzo family purchased Watford in 2012, there have been 21 managerial changes, including interim spells. It’s a ruthless method not too dissimilar to that of Roman Abramovich’s time at Chelsea, and it has brought relative success. They returned to the Premier League for the first time in nine years in 2015 and had a consistent five-year spell in the top flight before dropping back to the Championship in 2020. They have returned once since but are now firmly in a rebuilding stage.
Ismael was appointed Watford boss in May 2023, signing an initial three-year deal. In his nine months in charge, he has provided a new level of stability at Vicarage Road with the Hornets currently 11th in the Championship after 11 wins, 11 draws and 11 defeats.
Ten years on from their last encounter, Ismaël prepares to face new Terriers boss André Breitenreiter again! 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/SfsZifcmqU
— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) February 24, 2024
Ismael came in with mixed expectations following his two previous challenges in English football. An expectational spell in charge of Barnsley taking them to the Championship play-offs in 2021 meant his stock was at an all-time high. He was swooped up that summer by Premier League-chasing West Bromwich Albion but lasted just eight months in the hot seat at The Hawthorns.
The 48-year-old had a tricky start to his tenure and in October, the Hornets sat 20th in the Championship. However, to the shock of most of the footballing world, Ismael was given an improved contract extension of a further three years. It signified a true shift in beliefs from the Pozzo family and the Watford hierarchy as they had been impressed with the comradery that had been installed in the squad and staff in just a few months.
There had been hopes that the former France U21s international could lead this Watford side to the playoffs this season but three consecutive defeats to begin February have left those hopes quite slim. In previous seasons there would have been a serious possibility that three defeats could leave a Watford manager without a job but there are next to no reports even suggesting that is the case this time around.
This will be a completely new feeling to a younger generation of Watford supporters who have become so accustomed to the Monday morning club statement announcing the sacking of yet another manager. Instead, they have a manager to get behind and believe in.
Although with the team in 11th, there are understandably some supporters who are not happy. Some had become accustomed to Premier League football and believed that the ‘Pozzo model’, however clinical it could be, was the way to succeed. Although, if there is to be a culture shift, then there are always going to be fans who take time to come around to new ideas as rebuilds are never easy.
Ismael has added some Championship experience to his squad that has the seventh-youngest average age in the division with Jake Livermore and Tom Ince joining the club in the summer. That has allowed young talents such as Mileta Rajovic, Ismael Kone and most notably Yaser Asprilla to star in some encouraging performances. Asprilla, a 20-year-old Colombian winger, who has had recent links to Barcelona, has been one of the standout young players in the Championship this season and will likely be hot property in the summer.
This certainly emphasises a change in approach from the Pozzos, who for so long were about immediate success and perhaps lacked the ability to take a step back and evaluate the bigger picture. Getting a big fee through the door for Asprilla could set the club up for a number of years and be the building block needed for Ismael to take the Hertfordshire-based club to the heights of the Premier League.
The Hornets have a very favourable next six games, with sides near the bottom being the visitors to Vicarage Road. If they can pick up 12+ points from those then who knows where they could end up. It feels like a very crucial time in this new plan from the board. Watford could finish just outside the playoffs and be one of the favourites for promotion in 2025 or it could all become a bit stale and those fans’ voices who miss the ruthless approach might just start to get a bit louder.
If in 12 months, the team is still stranded in midtable, then perhaps a more recognisable approach might return, but for now, there is a sense of calm at Watford, and that’s not something that has been said for the best part of a decade. The Pozzo family have perhaps had enough of the revolving doors of the manager’s office at their club and want someone to be a long-term figurehead in a tough rebuild.
Ismael has proven in the right environment that he can be an extremely effective manager at this level so if given the time, he could have the Hornets flying soon enough. Whether it will work out long-term is still up in the air, but the point is, it could, and there is not an inevitability that in 12 months there will be another manager in the dugout. For a lot of Watford fans, that might help them reclaim a true connection with their club that has become a bit of a cold-hearted beast in recent times.
