Have noticed how quiet the forum has become since the knicker wetters have nothing to get in a tizzy about .
I’m not sure you are. Wouldn’t anyone with an ounce of self confidence steer clear of obvious tatts & facial jobs? Social media does place great pressure on people to look perfect. But why do they choose to look so lame?
Javi has bested Mourinho this season. In the categories of more points, longevity & being a decent bloke. Likewise, Snaky Boy.
FGS. We are doing well despite Gracia NOT because of him. This forum is packed with experienced players of Football Manager. Combined they have ‘managed’ more teams and more players than Javi ever has. Everybody who has ever played that game knows that you make subs on 60 minutes, 75 minutes and 89 minutes, why doesn’t our coach do it? Because he doesn’t have a clue, that’s why. This Watford team should be in the top three. Gino take advice from the gamers.
A manager on course to become Watford's most successful since God has my vote of confidence. The idea that we "should be in the top 3" is a good Christmas Cracker joke.
Gracia is completely different to all our previous PL managers. They all had bad spells that never looked like ending, while at the same time during these bad spells we also looked genuinely terrible. Any ‘bad spells’ under Gracia have ended, and during them we’ve also generally played well too. We’ve never looked totally hopeless even when we haven’t won for 5-6 games. Our away form under him isn’t great, but at least it’s improved. All our previous managers were basically flash in the pans who were unable to sustain their initial success, Gracia has bucked this trend.
Did I take any satisfaction yesterday from Spurs thrashing Everton; did I take pleasure from Silva's whingeing; did I enjoy seeing us above them with 3 more points and also now a better goal difference? What do you think - of course I did !!!!
Very true. After 18 games, we've probably only had 2-3 games where we have been rubbish (Soton, NUFC, Muff) and a couple where we have been just ok (MUFC, MCFC). The rest we have been pretty good through to excellent.
I think his experience this winter will be vital, in learning about the need for rotation. However, he is improving the players, the players are working hard/ look like they have great togetherness and we’re picking up decent results. He’s got us playing quick, exciting football without sacrificing our defensive shape. I saw a stat recently that only Javi, Pochettino and Benitez didn’t spend more than they made this summer. I think that is a good indication of the level that Javi is extracting out of the club.
Seeing as how our head coaches have little input in transfers and are given what they are given, Javi can never spend more than he makes
It's a year to the day that we employed Javi Gracia…..and he's still here!! Congratulations on this wonderful achievement.
Does this mean pundits have to stop saying we change our manager every year? Or does Javi have to make it to 31st Dec? Both are just as unlikely as the other I suspect.
Their narrative will be that Watford are now stale and lack ambition because they've had their manager for too long.
He's only got to last until August and he'll be our longest serving manager/head coach since Malky left in June 2011. Crazy really.
Now the 12th longest serving manager in the Premier League. I wonder if he will improve on that by seasons end? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_Premier_League_and_English_Football_League_managers
I'm wondering if he's another Boothroyd. Good man manger and motivator. Good at getting the best out of a team whilst morale is high. The Players seem to like him. Not so convinced on the tactics or if he could give out the hair drier treatment if required, but I'd be happy to have my mind changed.
I think he's quite the opposite. He's not full of management speak nonsense and had a pretty good track record before joining us. Any experimental stuff he does if small enough to be controlled, not like Boothroyd's wacky stuff. Can't remember who it was recently (maybe Hughes) who said that he's normally a quiet sort of bloke and approachable but has a habit of going nuts at half time and putting the fear of God into them. Boothroyd was only up to the job while Burkinshaw was there in the background directing everything. Javi and Boothroyd are chalk and cheese.
No. He’s been here exactly a year. Which means it’s exactly a year since the away goals and points dried up... Plus it’s fun to look back and see how wrong I was about him in the summer.
Honest question.... Had we kept Slither, (on the off chance the board never sacked him), do you honestly believe we would be a premiership team still or languishing mid table in the Championship? On this, I am suggesting our form never really improved after the Leicester away game when he was sacked. If his head was continually in the Everton clouds. Do you think the players would of got stuck in and played despite his awful management and desire to keep us in the Premiership? On another note I'm forever glad he's gone and Javi has been great.
I've seen a number of comments from players that he's capable of dishing out pain if needed. Honestly, I think he's the most complete manager/head coach we've had in a long time. Most of them have had obvious weaknesses; Gracia's most obvious weakness is his back line options, which isn't really his fault at all. A club like us will never get "perfect", but I think we've got "perfect enough" in our current head coach.
Gracia has done brilliantly with the hand he has been dealt. He’s juggled abysmal centre back options into an effective unit. He’s got extra out of Deeney and Holebas. I’m convinced that without him we’d be where Newcastle are. How many coaches could cope with having Richarlison replaces by Ken Sema by the recruitment team. Bravo Javi!
Gracia is now the longest serving Watford Premier League manager ever. Obviously GT was longer in the top flight, but records before the EPL have been scrubbed from the history books.
Even Mazzarri managed to get us to score a goal against them at Anfield; get him back in until the end of the season.