Valerien Ismael, the former West Bromwich Albion manager, is apparently going to be fired by Watford, just nine
months after being hired before the end of the season. Ismael has guided Watford to only three wins in 14 games
since Christmas, one of which came against non-league Chesterfield in the FA Cup, and they lost their third
consecutive home game on Saturday to Huddersfield Town.
Ismael was appointed in May 2023, replacing Chris Wilder, who had been in charge for a short time after the club
fired Slaven Bilic, and Rob Edwards, who eventually joined the Hornets’ rivals Luton Town and led them to
promotion. Watford are known for hiring and firing managers, and Ismael is the club’s tenth manager since 2020,
succeeding Bilic, Roy Hodgson, Nigel Pearson, and Claudio Ranieri.
What makes the situation even more unusual is that Ismael signed a new contract with Vicarage Road in October,
months after joining the club and despite a sluggish start on the pitch. Despite initially improving outcomes, Ismael
hasn’t been able to exert as much effect since Christmas, and talkSPORT reports that he is set to become the next
Watford player to be let go.
The Hornets, who drew 2-2 with Albion in an entertaining encounter back in September and who visit The
Hawthorns on 1 April, have slipped down to 11th in the Championship table, having at one stage appeared to be a
prominent threat to the Baggies’ own play-off aspirations. They’re now a sizeable 11 points behind sixth placed Hull,
12 behind Albion and, indeed, they’re closer to the relegation zone than the top six at this moment.
It’s a familiar scenario for Ismael; he was brought in to replace the departing Sam Allardyce in the summer of 2021
on a four-year contract after leading Barnsley to the play-offs against all odds the year before, but things went wrong
after a record-breaking unbeaten run at the start of the season. Albion dropped out of the top six in January after
losing new acquisition Daryl Dike to a serious injury, and Ismael was sacked. He later played for Besiktas in Turkey.
