Category Archives: Gianfranco Zola

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

23rd November 2013- Championship, Watford 0 Bolton Wanderers 1

Manuel Almunia’s error gifted Bolton a third straight win as Watford suffered their third consecutive home defeat.

Unusual to be starting with the “big picture” stuff, normally the domain of thunk 5.  Relevant here though., because however dispiriting our recent form has been…  things could be worse.  No, really.  I mean, you know that, right?   You remember Bassini?   Not being able to afford Keith Scott or a Stevenage-era Barry Hayles in Division One?  The financial abyss post-Vialli?  This?  Whatever’s wrong is small potatoes in comparison.  And even if one accepts that there are major problems with the team – we’ll get to that – we have owners with a demonstrably sound plan, and a degree of security.  And some very talented players, albeit we’re not seeing the best of them at the moment.

http://watford.fcdb.info?s=39630&id=5086
https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=2013-11-23
https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-championship/23-november-2013/

2nd November 2013- Championship, Watford 0 Leicester City 3

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BBC SportLeicester City recorded their 14th win from 19 games this season by beating Watford at Vicarage Road.  The visitors took an early lead when a clearance by Watford keeper Manuel Almunia hit Chris Wood in the face and rebounded into the net.

skyThe build-up to the match was dominated by memories of last season’s dramatic final day clash at Vicarage Road, when Knockaert’s missed penalty proved costly as Troy Deeney netted the winner down the other end, meaning the Foxes missed out on the play-off final.

BHappy imageYou could see this coming from several miles – and months – away. Frankly, I’d braced myself for a season’s worth of this back in August. Has there ever been a campaign in the club’s history when the current level of expectation has ended in something other than a train wreck? Certainly not in the Premier League era, when expectation has generally been accompanied by foolhardy over-spending, weighing up the cost of not getting promoted as if it were tangible on the balance sheet, and followed by a grand washing-of-hands by the supporters who demanded it. “Yeah, but we didn’t mean Nathan Ellington.”

http://watford.fcdb.info?s=35179&id=5084
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19th October 2013- Championship, Watford 2 Derby County 3

http://watford.fcdb.info?s=32548&id=5082

Derby took the lead three times at Watford as they recorded their second successive Championship victory under new manager Steve McClaren.

The match got off to a pulsating start with both sides scoring inside the opening 12 minutes, Fernando Forestieri equalising after Jamie Ward’s opener.

The best aspect of this season thus far from our point of view has been the entertainment value.  Twelve league games in, plus three in the League Cup… how many have been anything less than gripping?  (Even if, admittedly, some of that excitement has been our own doing in situations where you’d prefer dull defensive competence).  The opening fifteen minutes or so here were suitably mundane…  Derby’s notorious vulnerability at corners was manifest and Essaid Belkalem ghosted in (or as close as a monstrous Algerian can get to “ghosting”) at the far post.  He should have scored.  Two minutes later and Jamie Ward, half Belkalem’s size and with what looked a tougher heading chance, outjumped his marker to put the Rams ahead from Bryson’s brilliant cross.  Another five minutes and Fernando’s levelled it again with a gorgeous dink.  Same old, same old.