When Watford appointed Claudio Ranieri as manager in October, their aim was to stop the “negative trend” they had identified in performances and avoid the prospect of a Premier League relegation battle.
The club’s owners, the Pozzo family, are famed for their ruthless dealings with managers. Ranieri is their 10th appointment in seven years and his predecessor, Spaniard Xisco Munoz, was sacked with the Hornets 14th in the table having collected seven points from their opening seven games.
Three months on and, following Saturday’s 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Newcastle, Watford are a point above the bottom three.
It’s now two wins and 10 defeats in all competitions since Ranieri came in, but few of those games have carried as much significance as their trip to Norwich on Friday.
With Newcastle out of the way – and Tuesday’s trip to Burnley postponed – they face the Canaries knowing that defeat would see them drop into the relegation zone for the first time this season. They could even be bottom by the end of the weekend.
How bad have things been under Ranieri?
Last weekend’s draw with Newcastle offered some hope for Hornets fans, particularly with January signings Hassane Kamara, Edo Kayembe and Samir all having promising debuts.
But the form under Ranieri, 70, has not been full of promise.
Watford have not kept a clean sheet under the former Chelsea boss, they have lost more games than any other Premier League team since his appointment and only three managers in Premier League history have had a worse start than his nine losses in 12 games.
And when you look at the form that has cost previous Watford managers their jobs, all of the other departures under the Pozzos have come after runs that were not as bad as Ranieri’s current tally of eight defeats in 10 league matches.
No Pozzo-era manager has lost that many in their final 10 matches before leaving, with Javi Gracia, Walter Mazzarri and Marco Silva all departing after seven defeats in 10.
“If you are going to get stability and look to improve, you have to have patience and you have to give managers opportunities,” said former Everton midfielder Leon Osman on BBC Radio 5 Live on Saturday.
“Everyone knows Ranieiri – or the next manager – is only one game away from losing their job. What sort of message is that sending to the players? Are the players fearing a manager? You don’t need to because they probably wont be there too long.”
How come he is still in charge?
Ranieri’s relationship with the owners could possibly have earned him some extra time.
He has a long-standing friendship with the Pozzo family, stretching back 20 years and they had long since wanted him to manage one of their clubs – but that familiarity will also mean Ranieri knows exactly what to expect if results do not improve.
“I have to admit I am very surprised he hasn’t gone already,” former Premier League striker Chris Sutton said recently. “Watford made a mistake sacking Munoz. Any other manager in the history of the club would have been sacked with the record they have got under Ranieri.
“They have been ruthless in the past. Their gut instinct has been right to sack managers, but for some reason they aren’t pulling the trigger this time even though performances have not been good enough.”
A mid-season sacking within months of…
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