Update - It's now happened and as has been said it's somehow simultaneously taken everyone by surprise and absolutely no one by surprise. Welcome to Watford 2016.
STATEMENT: #watfordfc confirms Quique Sanchez Flores will leave after the end of the season.
More to follow.— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) May 13, 2016
Here's what we had to say about it all last month when it became clear that Sanchez Flores was living on borrowed time:
As things stand, Quique Sanchez Flores is still in a job. However, it looks for all the world like the Spaniard will be heading back to his homeland at the end of the season with Watford's post Christmas slump ensuring that the club's owner's see their Premier League future in different hands.
The word is that the notoriously trigger happy Pozzo family inserted a clause in Sanchez Flores' contract which means he can be relieved of his duties (or he can choose to leave) after 12 months in the job. That deadline is approaching and with the rather limp display at Wembley last weekend, no one will be too surprised to see a 'contracted terminated by mutual consent' parting of the ways when the season comes to a close.
But then you have to think of what that actually means. Why in the name of all that is holy would no one be surprised about that? Is Premier League football really that detached from reality that a man who guided a newly promoted club to safety before anyone even tucked into their Christmas dinner not content that he'll be in a job the following season.
The answer to that is of course a resounding yes, Premier League football really that detached from reality. Perhaps Leicester are to blame or perhaps it's the new TV deal but, one way or another, a European push is now the minimum acceptable standard. Yesterday, Watford released a statement which, in saying nothing, said everything about a parting of the ways in the summer.
As the club has consistently made clear, no decision has been made on the future of Quique Flores and no decision will be taken until the club has held in-depth discussions with Quique.
It must be said that, for all the talk of the Pozzo family and their undue influence across European football, Sanchez Flores may simply decide that he's had enough of the Premier League. Valencia are apparently sounding him out to return to the Mestalla (another mistake given the steadying effect Pako Ayesteran has had on the club). But if that is the case, surely Watford need to move mountains to ensure that he stays and manages to push on from the solid grounding that this season has delivered.
For those that are unaware of the work of Giampaolo Pozzo and his son Gino, they're Italian business men that have done a rather superb job of investing in Udinese, Granada and Watford. They've bought players cheap, moved them around at lightening pace and often sold them on at a hefty profit. That's the shortened version but along with quite a few players, they've also brought the Serie A tendency of firing managers after a couple of months to Vicarage Road.
Sanchez Flores has done remarkably well to stay in the hotseat for as long as he has but now there are suggestions the dressing room is falling apart and he's essentially checked out since ensuring survival. Supporters are turning against him, although plenty would also defend his record, and just like that, the new normal in the Premier League becomes solidified.
When Watford dismissed Slavisa Jokanovic after he steered them to promotion, it became clear that his successor was essentially a dead man walking. And in that environment, the Watford owners are entirely correct to be looking elsewhere but the fact remains that they're the ones who created the environment and success will only be as fleeting as the 'failure' they're trying to get away from. The staff turnover that they go through creates an environment where no one feels secure and as such, little squabbles turn into big arguments, the manager loses the dressing room and just like that, results go down hill.
Watford fans may not be delighted with how the team is performing but as long as there's an emphasis on immediate results to boost the profit margin, they're going to have to get used to the cycle as it currently is.
Get involved in our #Euro2016 facebook group for useful tips, and a shitload of flags https://t.co/PJWL2cJF8k pic.twitter.com/ZSpZB8RLBg
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) May 6, 2016
