WHY MARCO GOT THE SILVA BULLET
Watford boss sacked after row over transfers . . . and his flirtation with Everton
MARCO SILvA knew his time was up as he trudged off the pitch at Leicester’s King Power Stadium on Saturday.
At the time, his players had no idea. It wasn’t long before they sussed it out, though.
‘Let’s just get out of here lads,’ said Silva solemnly as Watford’s players arrived back in the away dressing room after yet another defeat — their eighth in 12 games.
That was the moment the players realised they would be bidding farewell to their seventh manager in five years. No rollicking. No debrief. No fight. Silva’s reaction was most unusual. Under the Portuguese coach, players had been used to constructive postmatch discussions.
At times, he lost his temper. In particular, Silva fumed at his players during a dressingroom inquest after a 2-1 defeat at Crystal Palace in December. Having taken the lead in the third minute, Watford twice conceded late.
Silva had watched his team miss a glut of chances and was incandescent. He let his players know about it. Yet, after Saturday’s 2-0 loss at Leicester there was no such reaction. Silva’s demeanour was indicative of what was to follow.
What the players already knew was confirmed yesterday morning; a strongly worded statement from the club confirming their manager’s exit and suggesting he had lost focus after Everton’s attempts to appoint him as their new manager in November.
‘The club are convinced the appointment of Silva was the right one and had it not been for the unwarranted approach by a Premier League rival for his services we would have continued to prosper under his leadership,’ it read. ‘The catalyst for this decision is that unwarranted approach, something the board believes has seen a significant deterioration in both focus and results to the point where the long-term future of Watford FC has been jeopardised. For the security and success of the club, the board believes it has to make a change.’
There were also fears within the hierarchy that Silva’s relationship with certain players had broken down and there had been a disagreement over transfer targets.
The Italian owners questioned why they should invest in players identified by Silva when his own commitment to the club had been in doubt.
Undoubtedly, there is a semblance of truth to that argument. Five points from a possible 33 since the Everton flirtation is relegation form. It is incredible to think Watford were fifth in October.
Did he lose focus? Was his head turned by Everton? The numbers make a convincing argument.
However, Watford sources are adamant Silva had not downed tools, claiming the manager never lost the dressing room and the players are genuinely sorry to see him go. Silva’s training sessions were said to be ‘intense but very enjoyable’ — a far cry from the monotonous regime of previous manager Walter Mazzarri.
Maybe training was too intense. A key reason behind their startling decline has been the glut of injuries. They have 12 players on the treatment table — five of them muscular problems, indicating a conditioning deficit.
In particular, Richarlison’s fatigue levels are of concern. The Brazilian is one of the discoveries of the season, but the winger is exhausted. His season started in May, playing for Fluminense in Brazil’s Serie A before moving to Watford just before the campaign began.
Silva has known for weeks that Richarlison needed a break — he insists on seeing his players’ fitness reports. But Watford’s plight meant the manager simply couldn’t pull star man Richarlison out of his starting XI.
There were also concerns that some of the club’s overseas stars had been sucked in by the capital’s attractions.
Silva’s attention to detail is meticulous. He realises the importance of fine margins. He would even clear out conference rooms at the team hotel on a match-day to hold team shape sessions.
There were rumours of a falling- out with club captain Troy Deeney. The pair have an ‘honest’ relationship but it was always respectful.
Deeney, incidentally, was due to join West Brom this week. There is now doubt over that potential transfer. Silva’s career has hit its own period of uncertainty and now Spaniard Javi Gracia takes over the vicarage Road hotseat. But surely Silva has enough credit in the bank to earn another Premier League opportunity.
WHAT ultimately cost Marco Silva his job at Watford is that he has been too ambitious for his own good.
He made a great start at Hull last season, giving them a fighting chance of staying up. Despite suffering relegation, it was inevitable that another top-flight club would want him in charge and he had Watford flying in his first few months in charge.
Yet as soon as Everton came calling, Silva’s head was turned. It was clear the players sensed he did not want to be there and that will have filtered through to the owners.
I do not believe Silva (right) will be out of work for long. He is a promising manager and will be the next cab off the rank when another Premier League team make a change. In his next role, Silva needs to stay there for a season at least and prove that he has what it takes to see the job through. It is one thing guiding Watford to fourth place after eight games. Had he remained committed and delivered Watford’s highest finish since returning to the Premier League, few would have begrudged him a chance at a bigger club. Watford’s owners are no strangers to hiring and firing managers. Silva was their ninth manager in less than six years and have already replaced him with former Malaga boss Javi Gracia. Silva has assembled a good squad which should be good enough to stay up. Although recent form has been poor, the Everton interest is not a good enough reason for the board to justify sacking Silva. If anything, they should be proud that they have such a sought-after manager. Despite winning just one of their last 11 league games, Watford are still 10th. Having finished 13th and 17th in their two seasons back in the top flight, Watford have been punching above their weight. It seems that after a fast start to the season, the club’s owners developed unrealistic expectations.