As any fantasy football manager who picked Watford defenders this season will know, it has been a shockingly bad start to the new Premier League season by the Hornets. With just one goal and zero points to show for their efforts in the first three games of the new season, boss Javi Gracia in now the outright favourite in the next Premier League manager to go betting market. Gracia is a 5/4 quote at bookmakers having been cut heavily in from 6/1 odds prior to the weekend* (betting odds taken from William Hill on August 26th, 2019 at 10:45 pm).
Next Premier League manager to go odds*
Javi Gracia 5/4
Steve Bruce 11/2
Ole Gunnar Solksjaer 10/1
Roy Hodgson 9/1
Marco Silva 14/1
Frank Lampard 20/1
Ralph Hasenhuttl 20/1
Dean Smith 20/1
Bar 25/1
* (betting odds taken from William Hill on August 26th, 2019 at 10:45 pm)
Can Gracia turn things around at Vicarage Road?
Watford suffered a 3-1 home loss against West Ham on the weekend. It was another show of horrendous defending from the Hornets this season. They have now conceded seven goals in total across their three games played. They opened the season with a 3-0 home loss against Brighton, before falling 1-0 at Everton.
They get a break from Premier League action in midweek as they play host to Coventry in the League Cup at Vicarage Road. But looking forward to next weekend, they have a highly important game coming up against Newcastle. With the Magpies having their struggles this season, but overcoming some of them to impressively win at Spurs on the weekend, you can’t help but feel that Watford will act quickly if they lose that game. So Gracia is on the chopping block.
Has Watford decline been coming?
Gracia did a really good job in his first season with Watford, guiding them to an 11th place finish. They started the season with a bang but they did fade away at the end of the campaign. With the poor start that they have had this season, it means that Watford are now on a seven-match winless streak of form across all competitions, including their 6-0 loss in the FA Cup final against Manchester City.
So perhaps this has been coming. Their defence was not good at the back end of last season. Watford failed to earn a clean sheet in any of their last 12 games of the previous league season. Looking ahead to this weekend’s high-pressure clash against Newcastle, Watford have lost five the last six away games in the Premier League (W1) with the only bright spot in that sequence coming with a 2-1 victory at Huddersfield last season. So they seem to be in a big heap of a mess at the moment.
Steve Bruce drifts after magpies beat Spurs
Former outright favourite Steve Bruce gave himself a bit of breathing space as Newcastle pulled off a shock victory at Spurs on the weekend. That was the lift which Bruce certainly needed after having lost the opening two games in pretty poor fashion. So that win in London on the weekend gives him a reprieve. If the Magpies can get home victory over Watford on the weekend, then Bruce’s position, for the time being, will be looking even more secure. Certainly more secure than Gracia’s would-be. Bruce is out to 11/2 in the Premier League Next Manager To Go market* (betting odds taken from William Hill on August 26th, 2019 at 10:45 pm)
