Circle of life as Flores returns
GRACIA AXE HANDS QUIQUE A SHOCK SECOND SPELL... NOW HE EXPECTS ANOTHER CALL FROM SIR ELTON!
BORN-AGAIN ‘sheriff’ Quique Sanchez Flores was always a cut above at Watford – from the moment superstar fan Sir Elton John rang while he was in the barber’s chair.
Flores was handed a shock second coming at Vicarage Road within an hour of the Hornets announcing the end of fellow Spaniard Javi Gracia’s reign on Saturday night.
He can expect another good-luck message from the Rocket Man, welcoming him back to the club he led to a comfortable 13th place and FA Cup semi-final in 2015-16.
Flores laughs at the memory of the last one, saying: “He called me while I was in central London in a hairdressers with my four children.
“The club told me he was going to ring, but I didn’t have his number so ‘Elton’ didn’t come up on the phone when he called.
“It was my turn in the chair, my daughter passed me the phone saying there was a call from an ‘unknown number’ and it was Elton. “The hairdresser who was cutting my hair must have thought I was someone important because I was saying ‘Yes, Sir Elton; No, Sir Elton.’ Not to be outdone, when he’d finished cutting my hair he told me he’d recently cut Placido Domingo’s hair as well.”
Flores was acclaimed by Match of the Day pundit Ian Wright as “the new sheriff in town” as he charted Watford’s path to safety four years ago.
The fans will give him a warm welcome as Quique rides again wearing the badge like a silver star... but out of necessity the football may be stodgier.
In practical terms the return of Flores – 1,120 days after he signed off in English football with a 2-2 draw against Sunderland – signals a return to his trademark defensive “block.”
The former Atletico Madrid coach builds his plans around compressing the game into a gap between AXED: Gracia won only three of last 16 games in charge defensive line and strikers of no more than 30 metres. Watford pulled the plug on Gracia because they had leaked 17 goals in their last seven Premier League games and their last clean sheet was seven months ago.
He admitted last night that he did not see the axe coming, saying: “After the unexpected announcement about the termination of my contract after only four matches, I want to express my surprise after completing the best season in Watford’s history. “I want to thank every single person who works for this club and has made my everyday experience very easy. My gratefulness and love for this club will be eternal. “And finally, I want to thank the fans for supporting me the way they did from day one, until my last. I will always wish the fans and these players the best.
“I am grateful to to have been able to manage this great club.”