Watford merry-go-round could continue, says Taylor

Former Watford boss Graham Taylor believes the managerial merry-go-round the club experienced this season could continue following the appointment of Quique Flores.

Watford were promoted from the Championship in a campaign in which they were led by four different managers, with Slavisa Jokanovic ultimately guiding the club to second place behind champions Bournemouth.

However, Jokanovic has now left Vicarage Road – having failed to agree terms on a new contract – and Watford have appointed former Atletico Madrid coach Flores as their fifth manager in a year.

Taylor told Perform: “The difference between the Championship and the Premiership [Premier League] is very wide and we’ve seen that in how many clubs find it so difficult to take the step up.

“I’m very, very pleased for Watford, one of my former clubs and one of my favourite clubs.

“They’ve changed the manager four times and still got promoted, I find that incredible.

“It’s unbelievable and it will be very interesting to see if they maintain that kind of approach when they’re in the Premier League.

“If they do I can see them having another three or four managers if they don’t get it right.

“It’s on my wish list that they actually stay in the Premier League. As far as I’m concerned, irrespective of who they’ve chosen as their manager, if they finish fifth or sixth from the bottom of the Premier League, I will term that a success.”

Graham Taylor was speaking in his role as a Football Foundation Ambassador at the opening of a new third generation (3G) artificial grass pitch (AGP) at the Belper Leisure Centre, Derbyshire. The pitch was made possible thanks to a £207,221 grant from the Premier League and The FA Facilities Fund, a three-year £102m commitment to improving the UK’s grassroots football facilities.
 
The Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, is funded by the Premier League, the FA, and the Government, via Sport England. It is delivered by the Football Foundation, the UK’s largest sports charity.

Graham Taylor is an Ambassador for the Football Foundation who are celebrating their 15-year anniversary. Since it was launched in 2000, the Foundation has supported 13,000 grassroots sport projects with grants worth £520m and leveraged £736m in additional partnership funding, thereby delivering schemes with a total project cost of £1.24bn into the grassroots game.