Monthly Archives: December 2013

29th December 2013- Championship, Watford 0 Queens Park Rangers 0

QPR lost further ground on Championship leaders Leicester after being held to a goalless draw at Watford.

Watford were similarly shot shy, with their best moment coming eight minutes after the interval when Troy Deeney and Diego Fabbrini combined neatly but the latter’s tame shot was dropped on by Robert Green in the Rangers goal. Three minutes earlier the visitors had also gone as close as they would all afternoon, with Matt Phillips drawing a fine save from Manuel Almunia.

Watford are unbeaten in three matches under recently-appointed head coach Giuseppe Sannino and have only conceded one goal since the Italian’s arrival.

Nil-nil draws come in a variety of flavours.  There are the ones where a draw suits at least one of the two sides down to the ground, often the away side, such that if it hasn’t quite been the aim at the outset it’s deemed a more than acceptable eventuality.  There are those where a lack of quality is the dominant characteristic, a nil-nil by default.  There are those much more open games which are nil-nil in name only, by virtue of neither side quite getting around to scoring.  And there are, as my co-editor would wish me to recognise in his continuing absence, occasional total aberrations where even a goalless scoreline flatters an encounter so devoid of anything as to sap the collective will to live of those present – Scarborough (A, 1995) the example most frequently cited in textbooks.

https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=2013-12-29
https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-championship/29-december-2013/

26th December 2013- Championship, Watford 4 Millwall 0

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18th December 2013- Beppe Sannino appointed as Watford head coach

BBC Sport: Watford: Beppe Sannino named as head coach

Watford Observer: The Hornets have yet to confirm the length of his contract but a website in Italy is reporting he has signed a deal until the end of the season with the option of an extra year.

Evening Standard, 18 Dec 2013
Daily Telegraph, 19 Dec 2013

The Boss Files: Beppe Sannino

16th December 2013- Gianfranco Zola resigns as Watford head coach

BBC Sport: The 47-year-old Italian arrived at Vicarage Road in July 2012 and led them to the Championship play-off final last season, losing to Crystal Palace 1-0.

The Guardian: Gianfranco Zola made the decision to resign as manager of Watford on Monday “in the best interests of the team”.

Watford Observer: The club statement reads: “It is with great sadness that the board of Watford Football Club has accepted the resignation of head coach Gianfranco Zola.

Watford Observer: Reaction to Gianfranco Zola’s resignation as Watford head coach

Daily Telegraph, 17 Nov 2013
Evening Standard, 17 Dec 2013