Watford

Christian Fuller
Watford fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Watford supporters are used to the managerial merry-go-round that has become synonymous with the club.

But it is rare that a departure is on the manager's terms.

Resignations have not been commonplace at Vicarage Road since the Pozzo family took over the club in 2012.

But despite the difference in Javi Gracia's departure, the outcome is the same – another day, another self-destructive fiasco.

It only feels like yesterday that the Spaniard arrived back at the club with a sense of positivity.

He will always be remembered as the man who led Watford to the FA Cup final in 2019 and an 11th-place finish in the Premier League in his first stint in charge.

But results have not been going our way in recent weeks, with zero wins in the last five matches in all competitions. So, Gracia's decision to step away did not come as a surprise to some fans.

Having slumped to 10th in the Championship table, it was essential Gracia was backed in the transfer market – but he simply wasn't.

The arrival of the once highly-rated Edoardo Bove may emerge as good business in the future, but our season is now seemingly riding on 17-year-old centre-back Stephen Mfuni to guide us to the play-offs.

With time rapidly running out in the January transfer window, and no experienced players through the door, no wonder Gracia walked.

The manager and the captain of the club both leaving within 24 hours of one another – with Moussa Sissoko's departure to Greek side Panathinaikos – may signal a new beginning for Watford.

But something tells me it will inevitably be the start of the same old story.

Javi Gracia has called time on his second spell with Watford, leaving the side just four points outside the play-offs.

Has it come a surprise, Hornets fans?

Do you think the club can prosper without him?

Who do you have on your wish list to take over the reins?

Let us know your thoughts here and check back later to see some of your responses.

Geoff Doyle
BBC 3CR sports editor

This has been brewing since the beginning of January when the transfer window opened. Gracia was hoping for some experienced, senior players to add to his squad. He didn't get them and his frustration has been building.

It's coincided with a run of four league games without a win which came off the back of four wins in a row at the end of December. At the same time injuries have kicked in and there have been some squad players Gracia simply didn't rate.

He's indicated that he has been let down although having been at Vicarage Road before he must have known what he was letting himself in for.

Where does this leave Watford? Where it always does - looking to find a good head coach who can work with the club and the trading model it follows.

It means fielding a lot of young, inexperienced players and hoping they will be good enough to deal with a demanding Championship.

Nikesh Rughani
BBC Final Score

Image source, Shutterstock

The last time Watford won a game was on New Year's Day. At that point, they'd won three in a row over the festive period and were looking good for a solid promotion push.

But it's five without a win since then, and Saturday's defeat is their third in that run. Watford dominated the first half, but couldn't make it count. In the second half, goals from Marko Stamenic and Josh Key gave Swansea all three points, to secure just their fourth away win of the season.

Many Watford fans started to leave 10 minutes from the end. It's back to the drawing board for Javi Gracia's side.

Watford head coach Javi Gracia wants a meeting with club owner Gino Pozzo after another setback to their hopes of a Championship play-off place.

The Hornets lost 2-0 at home to Swansea City on Saturday and have not won in four games, leaving them 10th and four points below the top six.

"We are in a very difficult moment," Gracia told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"I knew before the game it could happen. Some players are injured, some players are gone, some players are coming, some players are playing with discomfort. The last results speak about the team now."

Gracia returned to the club for a second spell in charge in October, following the short reign of Paulo Pezzolano, having previously managed Watford in 2018-19 when he led them to 11th place in the Premier League and an FA Cup final.

"I want to speak with the owner and to know how they feel because I'm really disappointed with the level of the team, the situation of the team and maybe the future of the team as well," he said.

Watford's only signings of the transfer window so far are former Roma midfielder Edoardo Bove, who is not yet match fit, and Manchester City teenager Stephen Mfuni.

"The energy, the atmosphere in the team now, we are not so optimistic as we were," Gracia added.

Image source, Opta

Watford will seek to get their play-off chase back on track as they welcome Swansea to Vicarage Road on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The Hornets go into the weekend eighth in the Championship, a point below the top-six, but with a game in hand, however have failed to win in their past three games, two of those at home.

The Swans are 16th, seven points back and seven clear of the relegation zone, but their away form is poor in comparison to their home form.

They have just one win and suffered seven defeats in their past eight on the road, whereas they have 16 points from their past six in front of their own fans.

• Watford have only won three of their past 10 league meetings with Swansea (D2 L5), although one of those victories did come in this exact fixture last season (1-0 at Vicarage Road in March 2025).

• This season's reverse fixture between Watford and Swansea ended in a 1-1 draw (August 2025). Only once previously have they drawn both meetings in a league campaign, doing so in 1966/67 in the third tier.

• Since the start of November, Watford have lost fewer games (2) than any other team in the Championship (W7 D7). They are winless in their past three (D2 L1), however, and could equal their longest run without a league win this term (4 in August-September).

• Swansea have lost seven of their past eight away matches in the Championship (W1), while only West Brom (11) and Sheffield United (10) have more total away losses than the Swans (9) in the second tier this term.

• Imran Louza has the most goal involvements for Watford in the Championship this season (12). This is already his best league campaign in English football for both goals scored (6) and assists (6)

Watford assistant sporting director Valon Behrami says they are close to signing two new centre-backs.

The Hornets have been linked with a move for 21-year-old Georgia international Saba Goglichidze from Udinese and Behrami says he is "one of the profiles for sure".

"He's a player that again, there's a lot of competition, a lot of clubs on him," Behrami told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"And it's not only up to us, but of course he's one of the targets. He's a player that can play as a centre-back, right-footed, as a right-back as well, so he can cover a lot of positions.

"For sure, he's one of the targets. Let's see in the last few days."

Watford have already brought in midfielder Edoardo Bove and Behrami explained the reason for conducting business late in the January transfer window is to ensure they only sign high-quality players.

"I think that the main problem was also because we have good quality in the building and to find someone that has the same quality wasn't easy," Behrami said.

"It takes time, takes competition, there is a lot of other clubs that want the good players.

"Because in the first week you can get a lot of players but we didn't want to have a player just as a number, we want someone that adds some quality in the team and that's the way we worked during this transfer window.

"We are working still to find other opportunities."

A number of players could also still leave, Behrami said, including midfielder Pierre Dwomoh.

"We have a few opportunities for players that didn't play," he said. "They asked us, they wanted to play more, so for sure, Pierre is one of them."

When asked if Watford could sign a striker, Behrami added: "No, that is not something we're looking for, to be honest, in this transfer window."

Manchester City have agreed a deal to send 17-year-old English defender Stephen Mfuni on loan to Watford until the end of the season. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Friday's gossip column here.

Geoff Doyle
BBC 3CR sports editor

Image source, Getty Images

The big debate around Watford right now is the amount of game time, or lack of, the two quick wingers Kwadwo Baah and Nestory Irankunda are getting.

Baah is the player his manager last season, Tom Cleverley, described as the best one v one attacker in the Championship. Irankunda arrived in the summer and made an instant impression, scoring two excellent free-kicks and providing a real threat.

You can understand why fans are excited by the pair; they both possess natural speed, good dribbling ability and can cause defences huge problems.

But even under previous head coach Paolo Pezzolano they struggled to get into the starting line-up and under current boss Javi Gracia they're getting even less time.

So why does the Spaniard not trust these two enigmatic talents?

Gracia is an astute tactician. His attacking players aren't just there to create - they have an important job to do for the team.

Discipline and shape is key to Gracia's approach to football and if players don't do what they're supposed to do out of possession and in transition, game time under him is limited.

Irankunda and Baah have to learn all aspects of the game under Gracia - not just what they can offer in attack - otherwise they won't get in.

It's a bit surprising that having had nearly four months under Gracia the pair haven't figured this out and adapted their game accordingly.

If they continue their one-dimensional approach they will carry on sitting on the bench.

This is a real shame. Both have plenty to offer and both have the potential to be really exciting players with scope for even more improvement.

They only need look at Tom Ince, who occupies one of the attacking positions, and see someone who doesn't possess their attacking killer instinct but does have game intelligence and works really hard without the ball.

Gracia likes his wide players to be inside wingers to help his central midfield. Ince can do this naturally and on the other side Othmane Maamma has learned quickly and adapted very well.

Gracia is going to need Baah and Irankunda if Watford are to feature in the promotion race and perhaps he may have to consider his stubbornness with these two.

But at the moment, if they don't add defensive guile to their work, they'll be doing it off the substitutes' bench.

Watford are working on a deal to sign Georgian international centre-back Saba Goglichidze, 21, from Udinese, while goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann, 31, is set to move to League One side Leyton Orient. (Sky Sports), external

For more transfer news and rumours, read Thursday's full gossip column here.

Watford remain in the market for a defender with five days of the transfer window remaining, but may allow veteran midfielder Moussa Sissoko to leave Vicarage Road. (Watford Observer), external

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Wednesday's gossip column here.

Christian Fuller
Watford fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

The string of positive results has well and truly come to an end for Watford – with the play-offs an ever more distant hope.

Prior to the defeat against Millwall, Javi Gracia's side had lost just one of their past 13 matches, which had propelled the Hornets up the table.

But back-to-back draws against two relegation candidates in the space of a week has seen momentum evaporate.

Watford's lacklustre 1-1 draw at home to Portsmouth was riddled with missed opportunities, individual errors and a very fortuitous equaliser. And it was a similar story in the 1-1 draw away to Blackburn Rovers.

While there were more chances created, the result was the same. And if it was not for a fantastic late save by Egil Selvik, it could have been even worse.

One of the biggest question marks in the string of negative recent results is the lack of game time for Kwadwo Baah.

While his consistency is not perfect when on the pitch, you must question why an explosive, fan favourite like him is not getting more minutes.

Rocco Vata slotted back into the starting line-up after months out with a serious hamstring injury but only lasted 42 minutes until he had to be replaced. But not by Baah, or even fellow forgotten winger Nestory Irankunda.

Baah, who has had his own hamstring issues, has only played a full 90 minutes on one occasion this season – and had to wait until the 85th minute to enter the field against Blackburn.

While his goal tally is not that of a world-class winger by any stretch, his attributes of speed, power and excitement are everything that the Hornets have been lacking in recent fixtures.

And yet despite all the negativity and recent disappointing results, a win in our game in hand against Hull City and we will find ourselves back in the play-off places.

With plenty of matches still to play, how the season ends still feels like it is in our hands – but whether those hands are safe and stable enough to guide us to glory is yet to be seen.

Watford goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann could make a return to his home country of Austria as Blau-Weiss Linz have registered interest in a possible loan deal, but the decision on whether to make the move will be left up to the 31-year-old and his current loan club Deportivo La Coruna. (Sky Sports), external

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Tuesday's gossip column here.

Image source, Getty Images

Watford supporters will have to be patient with new signing Edoardo Bove, says Italian football expert Daniele Verri.

Bove collapsed on the pitch while playing for Fiorentina two years ago and was later fitted with a cardiac defibrillator - a device not allowed in Italian football.

Despite that, the Hornets signed the midfielder last week on a five-and-a-half-year contract.

"Let's not forget he is a player who hasn't played professional football for a while, so obviously it's a bold move for Watford," Verri told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"He's a dynamic, attractive, tenacious player but we will have to see how he copes with English football because the rhythm and pace and speed, it is bolder than Italian football from that sense, so he will need time to adapt.

"He brings the qualities that make him an important player, definitely, but you cannot expect him not to play for over a year and have him in the starting eleven straight away, this is not realistic."

Watford boss Javi Gracia says there are lessons to learn from the 1-1 draw at Blackburn which leaves the Hornets one point off the Championship play-off places.

"We came looking for the three points, but after competing well, we only take one, and we start thinking about the next game," Gracia told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"After scoring and dominating, it was a shame to concede so early and from a corner.

"It is something we have to learn because if they don't score in that moment we can manage the game better.

"In the second half we competed well, the game was more open and we had the better chances."

Listen to Gracia's full post-match interview on BBC Sounds.

Image source, EFL

A new initiative highlighting the work of football club charities has been launched by the English Football League (EFL).

'Scan to Smile' will be rolled out in stadiums across the EFL from Friday until the end of January, with supporters invited to scan QR codes on posters displayed around grounds.

Each scan will unlock a short, uplifting story from a person whose life has been positively impacted by the support of their local club charity.

The subjects tackled include mental health support, combating loneliness, improving physical wellbeing, employability and confidence.

The EFL said it hoped the initiative would use "the reach and influence of football to offer fans a moment of positivity on matchday".

Trevor Birch, chief executive at the EFL, said: "Behind every club are people whose lives have been positively changed through the work and dedication of their local EFL club charity.

"This initiative gives supporters the chance to see that impact first-hand and reminds us that football truly is a force for good."