It wasn’t always this way.
For the first seven years under Gino Pozzo’s ownership, Watford enjoyed a period of sustained success unlike anything they had experienced since the 1980s.
Watford were promoted to the Premier League three years into his tenure, then spent four seasons in the top flight where relegation was barely a concern.
In 2019, the club came close to qualifying for Europe through the league, while also reaching the second final FA Cup final in their history.
Throughout that period, Pozzo was lauded for his efforts. On the final day of the 2015-16 season, a tifo banner featuring Pozzo’s face graced the Watford home end, while fans were often heard to sing a song in his honour, to the tune of Simon & Garfunkel’s Mrs Robinson.
Pozzo was heavily involved in the football operation and combined smart integration with family-owned Udinese and an eye for talent, buying resalable players like Abdoulaye Doucoure, Joao Pedro and Ismaila Sarr.
Meanwhile, early season managerial changes like the appointment of Slavisa Jokanovic in 2014-15 and Xisco Munoz in 2020-21 resulted in the club being promoted to the Premier League on each occasion.
He may have been trigger-happy, but he was never chaotic – and prior to Cleverley’s appointment Watford have only employed a caretaker in one season in Pozzo’s reign, with replacements typically announced within 24 hours of their predecessor.
But from 2019, when he sacked FA Cup final manager Javi Gracia after four games of the season, Pozzo’s manoeuvres continually failed to bear fruit.
Watford had three permanent managers in 2019-20, 2021-22 and 2022-23 – twice suffering Premier League relegation, as short-lived managers and disconnected players struggled to form a bond with each other and their supporters, with each appointment tending to take the side further from their objective.
As his team slid further away from contention to be a Premier League club, Pozzo remained near-silent, unwilling to explain methods that seemed to no longer be working.
