Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article 0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterSubscribe to our newsletterA week can be a long time in football.Just last Friday, Watford chairman and CEO Scott Duxbury claimed on the clubs official podcast that not many Championship clubs could compete with the Hornets quality if their starting eleven was fully fit.Duxbury has a long list of sensational claims that have come back to bite him and one week on, his confidence looks completely misguided.What's going on at Watford?Watford are a club with no plan, no strategy and no hope, with heavy defeats to Burnley and Cardiff City leaving the Hornets staring down the barrel of relegation to League One.Those on the outside may think this is nothing unusual, given Watford have lurched from one crisis to another, sacked countless head coaches and never finished in the Championships top 10 since relegation from the Premier League in 2022. You may like Everton is a broken club again and it's entirely on the owners Elton John: The Watford Years 'The fault of one man' Mel Sterland believes Sheffield Wednesday finally have reason to dream again after years of struggle But Watford are a club with a mutiny on their hands. In a rare move, Elton John voiced concerns over the clubs direction on social media last Saturday and since then, former players including Troy Deeney, Tom Ince and Paul Robinson have all criticised how Watford is run by Gino Pozzo.Fans have had enough, too, after years of false promises from Pozzo and Duxbury, with supporters rallying together to call for Pozzo Out online. Roy Moore from the leading supporters group the 1881 Movement has since been invited for a meeting with Pozzo, in a bid to quell fan pressure.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.So, how did we get here? In truth, its been a long time coming.Alessio Dionisi is the latest in a series of Watford head coaches who have failed to be backed in the transfer market. The Italian has sounded exasperated at the clubs squad depth since pre-season.Who can blame him when going into the opening game of the season against Southampton, he was left with just two centre-backs on the clubs books and two fit central midfielders? What to read next Why Newcastle, Everton, Crystal Palace and others must be wary Everton are falling into a familiar trap under David Moyes with an ominous feeling of Last Chance Saloon around the club What's going wrong at Leicester City? A late scramble in the transfer market saw Stephy Mavididi, Soumaila Coulibaly and Branimir Mlacic arrive on loan, while Myron Boadu and Michail Antonio also arrived on free transfers. But by that point, transfer business had already come too late and the Italian has been left with a squad unfit and low on quality.The Hornets never replaced Imran Louza in midfield - meaning Dionisi has only one natural defensive midfielder in the squad in Hector Kyprianou - and didnt reinvest a single penny after Nestory Irankunda was sold to Sporting Clube de Portugal.Injuries also quickly decimated the limited options Dionisi had at his disposal, with the Italian struggling to fill the matchday squad throughout August and September.However, hes not the first Watford manager to have been hung out to dry. Javi Gracia quit in January and decided it wasnt worth leaving his family behind in Spain, having grown frustrated at players attitudes and the ownerships failure to land key targets.Tom Cleverley, Slaven Bilic, Valerien Ismael and Rob Edwards who Duxbury famously said Watford would back come hell or high water also struggled after the squad wasnt strengthened in key areas.That continued reluctance to support the head coach and a failure to commit to any sort of plan or strategy has created a toxic environment around Vicarage Road.The club have tried so many different head coaches, with so many different playing styles that players know that they can down tools after a couple of defeats and it wont take long for Pozzo to pull the trigger.Recruitment has been an issue for some time and can be traced back to the summer of 2019, where Watford blew most of their budget on Ismaila Sarr rather than addressing issues in defence or up front.Duxbury promised this May that the Hornets would look to sign experienced Championship players ahead of the new season; hardly any walked through the door.The Hornets have prioritised signing young players from abroad in recent years - given they have higher resale value - or players that have lost their way in their careers, but that has left a squad with a number of questionable attitudes and without leaders or character.The days where Watford would have a solid core of senior pros like Deeney, Heurelho Gomes, Etienne Capoue and Ben Watson to run the dressing room are long gone, meaning they have consistently rolled over against teams when the going has got tough.Speaking of Deeney, the club have also never found a proven goalscorer since his departure in 2021, with most strikers theyve signed looking unsuited to Championship football.The constant churn of head coaches and players has left the club with little in the way of identity, strategy or leadership, both on and off the pitch.Pozzo and Duxbury rarely make public appearances, but are prone to saying one thing and doing the complete opposite. No one can really work out what Watford are trying to achieve. The owners have also tightened the purse strings, with not much explanation.Watford didnt spend a single penny on transfers in the summer, sold off the womens team and shut down the clubs under-21 side, while the academy was downgraded to Category Three.Watfords academy was a source of real pride for fans, with the Hornets having a rich history of bringing through young players. Not anymore.There now needs to be change at Vicarage Road. The Hornets need fresh ideas at senior management level, fresh impetus, a clear strategy and identity. But most importantly, fans need some hope again. Without serious change, things will only get far worse.TOPICSChampionshipJoe DonnohueSocial Links NavigationSenior Digital WriterJoe joined FourFourTwo as senior digital writer in July 2025 after five years covering Leeds United in the Championship and Premier League. Joe's 'Mastermind' specialist subject is 2000s-era Newcastle United having had a season ticket at St. James' Park for 10 years before relocating to Leeds and later London. Joe takes a keen interest in youth football, covering PL2, U21 Euros, as well as U20 and U17 World Cups in the past, in addition to hosting the industry-leading football recruitment-focused SCOUTED podcast. He is also one of the lucky few to have 'hit top bins' as a contestant on Soccer AM. It wasn't a shin-roller.
