It may have taken until March, but it seems as though the inevitable is about to happen in the EFL Championship.
Despite offering Valerien Ismael a new contract earlier in the season, Watford is reportedly about to replace their head coach once more, according to reports that surfaced on Saturday night. Ismael has only been in command for a few months.
Watford is expected to fire Valerien Ismaeel.
This is in line with a TalkSPORT report that claims Ismael is “on the brink” of being fired at Vicarage Road.
It follows the Hornets’ 2-1 home loss to struggling Championship team Huddersfield Town on Saturday afternoon.
Watford had only won two of their previous 12 league games as a result of this outcome, condemning them to their fourth loss in their past five league games.
The Hornets are currently 11th in the division and a whopping 11 points outside of the play-off spots.
While formal word from Watford regarding Ismael’s status is still pending, FLW looks at three possible managers the team might consider below.
Considering the current state of Vicarage Road’s finances and the amount of money that will probably need to be given to Ismael, it is likely that the Hornets will target someone who is unemployed.
As one might anticipate, there aren’t many options available at this time of year.
Jon Dahl Tomasson
However, Watford may take into consideration former Blackburn Rovers manager Tomasson as a possible replacement for Ismael in the Vicarage Road dugout.
The Dane accomplished a respectable job at Blackburn under trying circumstances, but he just left Ewood Park by mutual consent.
Tomasson’s record in 75 Championship games as Rovers’ manager is 30 victories, 12 ties, and 33 losses.
Most importantly, though, he was ready to utilise young players and operated on a very tight budget at Blackburn—two qualities that would serve him well in his new role at Watford.
Gary Rowett
Ismael’s dismissal from Watford can only indicate that certain fans have excessively high hopes for a play-off run this season.
Should that be the case, the team would need an immediate replacement, and Gary Rowett is another figure with Championship experience who might be able to help in the short term.
The 49-year-old’s most recent management position was at Millwall, where it ended early in the current campaign following a sluggish start.
But before then, Rowett had led the Lions to three straight seasons in the top-10, and the one in which they failed to reach that spot, the team finished 11th. All of this was completed on a tight budget.
Additionally, Rowett has held managerial positions at Burton Albion, Derby County, and Stoke City.
Scott Parker
Last but not least, if Ismael is truly benched at Watford, Parker is a name worth keeping in mind.
Parker has a strong track record in the Championship, having previously won promotions with Fulham and AFC Bournemouth. Will he be able to score three goals at Vicarage Road?
Although it most likely wouldn’t happen this season, the 43-year-old is presently unemployed after leaving Club Brugge in March of last year, just like the other players on this list.
Parker has had just under a year off from the pitch to consider what went wrong in Belgium and in his previous position at Bournemouth in England.
Parker might be an alternative worth taking into consideration if Watford decides to go with a younger, longer-term player.
Temporary selection
Naturally, Watford needs to think about immediate replacements, but they also have the option of hiring a temporary solution through the end of the current campaign and then hiring a permanent successor.
This is what happened to the Hornets last season when they signed Chris Wilder to a short-term contract before signing Valerien Ismael in the offseason.
Regardless of who is in charge, it doesn’t seem like the club will move much higher or lower on the table, so Gino Pozzo and colleagues may find this fourth alternative to be tempting.
