16th March 2024- Championship, Birmingham City 0 Watford 1

WFC.Net Goal Commentary: 1

BBC: Struggling Birmingham City were left ruing a defensive lapse that ruined an otherwise much-improved performance as Emmanuel Dennis’ first-half goal gave Tom Cleverley a win in his first game as Watford interim head coach.

Sky: Aiwu could not control Cody Drameh’s throw-in across his own penalty area and Dennis got the better of the defender before finishing ruthlessly past John Ruddy.

BHappy: There’s a new broom in town… and yes, yes, we’re quite used to that and no, it’s not all about the head coach, deeper problems, yada yada.  Nonetheless.  There’s a newness to it and the potential for something different.  Daughter 2 notes that the large away end is full.  It’s not just the convenient distance that has brought folk out, and the new (interim) head coach’s name is being sung before the man himself even appears.

Fran’s Watford Blog: So, the Cleverley era started with a win, but it had been a very poor game of football between two poor teams.  The Hornets had taken the three points based on an opportunist goal and a couple of excellent saves from Bachmann.  Pollock impressed as did Porteous and Tom Dele-Bashiru, but the forwards had a disappointing afternoon.  Still, three points are always welcome, and we now have a fortnight to prepare for the challenges of the Easter weekend.  Let’s hope that this result will instil some confidence and that the remaining games yield some entertainment.  This has been a trying season.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68519397

9th March 2024- Championship, Watford 1 Coventry City 2 after which Valerien Ismael was dismissed and replaced by Tom Cleverley who was named as Interim Head Coach

https://www.skysports.com/football/watford-vs-coventry-city/teams/485145

WFC.Net Goal Commentary: 1

Sky: Haji Wright scored twice as Coventry came from behind to beat Watford 2-1 at Vicarage Road.

BBC: Ryan Porteous put the home side in front after a bright start from the out-of-form hosts. USA forward Wright scored a penalty just before half-time to level after Josh Eccles was fouled, before adding another 18 minutes from time.

Watford Observer: RECAP: Watford 1 Coventry City 2

The drop and the chop – could one or both happen to Ismael?

Hornets’ home misery continues with Coventry defeat

Around five and a half hours after the game finished the club confirmed that Valerin Ismael had been dismissed as Head Coach and would be replaced by Tom Cleverley on an interim basis.

BBC: Watford have sacked boss Valerien Ismael following a run of only one win in 10 league games, with Tom Cleverley named as interim head coach.

Sky: Ismael was Watford’s 20th different manager since the Pozzo family took control of the club in 2020.

Watford Observer: Ismael sacked – Cleverley takes interim charge

Ismael sacked: he got more time than many but couldn’t survive this run

Sacked in March but Ismael’s January decisions were his downfall

BHappy: And so midway through the writing of this report the news breaks that has been coming, however reluctantly.  Ten months is probably not far from average for a managerial tenure these days and any number of statistics will support the fact that most clubs in this position would have taken the same steps by now, not that this will prevent any tired hacks from wheeling out tired gags.

Fran’s Watford Blog: I went to a gig in the evening and, while travelling home, picked up the news that Valerien had gone.  Given the terrible run of results that we have had lately, it was hardly a surprise.  I just hope that Tom Cleverley can bring some of the magic that he has had with the youngsters to the first team.  I certainly wish him well.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68454825

6th March 2024- Championship, Watford 1 Swansea City 1

https://www.skysports.com/football/watford-vs-swansea-city/teams/485133

WFC.Net Goal Commentary: 1

Sky: Watford have still not won at home in the league since November 28. Goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann was brought back for a first Watford appearance in the league since three days before that win.

BBC: The Hornets fell behind in comical fashion early on when goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann raced out of his goal and teenage full-back Ryan Andrews headed into his own net.

Watford Observer: RECAP: Watford 1 Swansea 1

The painful, limping journey to getting safe goes on

When you’re lacking confidence, what you don’t need is a bad start

‘When you start to lose games then you overthink as a player’

Fran’s Watford Blog: There were a couple of boos at the end, which I thought were totally undeserved given the second half performance.  Thankfully, the crowd who gathered along the front of the Rookery were there to cheer the players rather than berate them.  It had been a much better second half with lots of attacking play from the Hornets and plenty of shots, even if they struggled to get many on target.  The goal had been a terrible one to give away, but they recovered well and grew in confidence as the game went on.  It was the best we have seen from the Hornets in some time, and it was great to be in the Rookery with people on their feet cheering the lads on.  Coventry will be a different prospect than Swansea, but let’s hope that this improvement continues to the weekend.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68420955

2nd March 2024- Championship, Millwall 1 Watford 0

Watford Observer: Talking through the problem has worked already this season

Although Millwall no longer produce an official programme their supporters club does produce one for every home game.
https://www.skysports.com/football/millwall-vs-watford/teams/485114

Sky: Zian Flemming’s early free-kick was enough for Millwall to defeat Watford 1-0 at The Den and make it two wins from two since manager Neil Harris’ return to the club.

BBC: Flemming beat keeper Ben Hamer from 30 yards as Valerien Ismael’s Hornets suffered their fifth defeat in six games, a run which looks to have put them out of contention for a play-off place.

Watford Observer: RECAP: Millwall 1 Watford 0

When you’ve got a trigger-happy owner, displays like this won’t discourage him

‘Game management was not good’ as Watford chased for 88 minutes

Andrews’ Dad’s late-night social media posts about defender’s absence

BHappy: It hasn’t been a great start.  Millwall are boisterous from the off;  we look hung over.  Edo Kayembe swings a boot at the ball and clumsily takes out his opponent instead in the first minute;  clearly a foul, but Gavin Ward feels the room and sets a suitable tone of irritating, pedantic inconsistency for the afternoon by booking Kayembe and then not booking Millwall left wing-back McNamara for a similar foul minutes later.  By that time Jake Livermore has given away a stupid, cheap free kick with a shove in the back that was probably visible from the crowded alleys of Borough Market.  Zian Flemming takes an ambitious shot that deflects off the back of the jumping, twisting Asprilla and squirms past Ben Hamer who, one imagines, might feel he could have done rather better, deflection or otherwise.

Fran’s Watford Blog: It was another disappointing afternoon of football.  The game was completely dominated by the Hornets but the early goal for Millwall meant that they were happy to sit back and soak up the pressure.  They defended in numbers and the Hornets struggled to break them down.  The positive was that it was a much livelier performance than against Huddersfield but, as so often this season, despite dominating possession and having more shots, the keeper, Šarkić, wasn’t really troubled.  The lack of confidence in the team was particularly apparent in the performance of Hamer, who made two glaring errors.  But there were plenty of others who made poor decisions leading to misplaced passes and wayward shots.  After this poor run of results, while we are still mid-table, we are looking down rather than up.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68389100

24th February 2024- Championship, Watford 1 Huddersfield Town 2

Watford Observer: ‘Expect to see a difference’ this afternoon

https://www.skysports.com/football/watford-vs-huddersfield-town/teams/485109

WFC.Net goal commentary: 1

Sky: Andre Breitenreiter got off to a winning start as Huddersfield boss thanks to Danny Ward’s brace from the bench, which gave the visitors a 2-1 victory after Emmanuel Dennis had opened the scoring for Watford.

BBC: With the home faithful getting restless, Ismael made a double change after just 26 minutes with Tom Ince and Giorgi Chakvetadze brought off the bench.

Watford Observer: RECAP: Watford 1 Huddersfield 2

Woeful Watford suffer another dismal defeat to Huddersfield

‘I picked two players but it actually could have been changing all of the 11’

Ismael points at mentality: it was nothing physical, technical or tactical

Ismael discusses if he thinks he made mistakes – and Andrews on the bench again

Does Ismael fear the sack? Did he understand the boos at Vicarage Road?

BHappy: For the first time this season we’ve stopped looking like a team, and if it’s difficult to quiet the whisper at the back of the mind suggesting that this might have been on the cards as soon as Dennis came back, there’s no doubt that Val is now under pressure.  How this pans out will shed light on the permanence of our commitment to a little bit more patience with bumps in the road, but given the poisonous air to yesterday’s performance I must confess to a degree of concern that events might have overtaken me before I got to the end of this report.

Fran’s Watford Blog: There was 8 minutes of added time for those who were still inside Vicarage Road.  It was largely devoid of incident apart from when Martins played a lovely through ball for Andrews whose low cross was easily gathered by Nicholls.  So, the Hornets fell to a poor defeat against a struggling side and those that were still in the ground let the players know what they thought about the performance. A number of the players headed straight back to the dressing room, but Hoedt rounded up those that he could and told them to applaud the fans.  He looked furious.

17th February 2024- Championship, Rotherham United 0 Watford 1

https://www.skysports.com/football/rotherham-united-vs-watford/teams/485094

WFC.Net goal commentary: 1

Sky: Watford gave their season the much-needed boost it required with a 1-0 win at struggling Rotherham.

BBC: Yaser Asprilla’s stunning second half strike was enough to secure the three points and lift the Hornets to 11th in the Championship.

Watford Observer: RECAP: Rotherham 0 Watford 1

Three points meant Watford were able to put lipstick on a rottweiler

Ismael: ‘Our focus was all about the result’

Players had been discussing the need for a clean sheet

Fran’s Watford Blog: It was another disappointing performance from the Hornets.  Ismaël said post-match that the win was the most important thing and, while it was great to end our losing streak, a bit of entertainment would have been appreciated.  What entertainment there was mostly came from Asprilla who scored his second wonder goal in a week.  As soon as the ball dropped to him, he (and we) knew that he was going to hit the net.  The first 55 minutes had been quiet, and things livened up when Chakvetadze came on, he isn’t afraid to take a defender on and the first booking of the game was a direct result of him being a menace.  Ismaël has explained that Andrews is fatigued, so he is limiting his game time, but I think we miss his attacking abilities as well. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68259657