Why Watford’s shock tactics leave Mazzarri in the firing line

atford appointed their first manager in 1903 and for the next 34 years made only three changes. If Walter Mazzarri leaves at the end of this season the club will be hiring their eighth manager or head coach in just five years.

A century ago Watford were in the Southern League. Now they are in the Premier League and appear to have secured another campaign in the richest league in the world with Mazzarri already guiding them to 37 points, nine clear of the relegation zone, with seven matches to play.

Watford sit 10th this morning with a number of bigger clubs, in terms of scale and budget, below them, having won two of their last three league games to – hopefully for them – pull clear of the drop zone. It is heading towards another fine achievement at a club who have been transformed on and off the pitch in recent years and are ambitious for more.

On the face of it, it is – almost – mission accomplished for Mazzarri. The aim of a club such as Watford has to be to remain in the Premier League for as long as possible and the longer they remain there, with the income it brings, the greater the chance of growing their club and becoming something more.

Officially the club are happy with Mazzarri and he has two years left on the three-year contract he signed last summer when he succeeded Quique Sánchez Flores, who had taken them to 13th in the Premier League – having all but secured their status with an outstanding first half of the season – and to an FA Cup semi-final. So Mazzarri may well stay. But would it be a surprise to see him leave at the end of this campaign?

Watford are ambitious – and, crucially, are also prepared to shock the system.

Their USP is clear: owner Gino Pozzo. The Italian, and his father, spent years shocking the system with Udinese and he now works as a director of football at Watford, basing himself at the club’s London Colney training ground.

Logic would seem to have it that Mazzarri should carry on. Watford are Watford. They were early-season favourites to be relegated. They should not try to behave above their station and should be thankful of avoiding the drop for as long as they can.

That may be so. But football has changed. Or, at least, there are different ways of doing things. It does not have to run along traditional lines. The role of the manager has changed, and while a club such as Bournemouth have profited by investing in Eddie Howe, Watford have decided to take a different route.

In these pages last Saturday Prof