Watford have wielded the axe once again, parting ways with head coach Ed Still after a calamitous conclusion to the Championship season. The 35 year o...
Watford have wielded the axe once again, parting ways with head coach Ed Still after a calamitous conclusion to the Championship season. The 35 year old tactician, younger brother of Reims manager Will Still, lasted barely three months in the Vicarage Road hot seat, making him the 11th permanent manager the Hornets have sacked since the end of the 2020. 2021 campaign. Though he signed a two. and. a. half year contract in February following the resignation of Javi Gracia, the powers that be at Watford decided enough was enough after the club lost six of their final seven league matches. In the scheme of things, a 16th place finish with a meagre 10 points cushion above the relegation zone was simply not good enough for a club that once rubbed shoulders in the Premier League. Still. �s sacking signals yet another revolving door at a club that has become notorious for its impatience with managers. The Hornets faithful, who had hoped for stability and a push towards the top six, were left to stew in disappointment as the team limped to the finish line with a whimper. For the Nigerian football community, the saga serves as a stark reminder of the volatility in English football management. It also draws attention to the Still family, who continue to make headlines on both sides of the Channel, with Will Still impressing in Ligue 1 while his brother now searches for his next opportunity. At the end of the day, Watford. �s decision to cut ties early may be a gamble, but it is one the club believes will spare them further embarrassment. The lion. �s share of blame has been placed on the squad. �s poor form and the manager. �s inability to rally the troops when it mattered most. Meanwhile, back home in Nigeria, fans watching at viewing centres across Lagos and Abuja were left shaking their heads. At the popular arena in Surulere, a group of diehard Hornets supporters debated loudly over bottles of malt and roasted plantain, with one elder insisting that the club had turned into a. �coach killing machine.. � Another fan, draped in the yellow and red replica jersey, lamented that Watford. �s board had lost the plot, while a younger man argued that Ed Still simply did not have the pedigree to handle the Championship grind. The general consensus in the room was that until the club. �s owners learn to back a manager for more than a single transfer window, the Hornets will continue to buzz aimlessly in the lower half of the table.
