OPINION - Is this the right time to say goodbye to Quique Sanchez Flores?
(Picture - Zimbio)
Quique Sanchez Flores' time at Vicarage Road is over, after Watford announced the 51-year-old will leave the club at the end of the season.
To many, this move will come as a surprise.
Flores has received wide spread acclaim in the media, after the Spaniard guided the Hornets to Premier League safety fairly easily and to an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley. 'What more did you expect' cried neutrals on Twitter, whilst others labelled Watford as a 'joke'. Other neutrals also expressed their dissatisfaction by stating that they hope Watford are relegated next season.
Their surprise over the decision will mainly boil down to the fact that many had Watford down as relegation certainties at the start of the season. They looked at how many new players we had signed and the fact that the Hornets had a new manager in place with no experience of the Premier League and simply felt this was a recipe for disaster. Their view was backed up by the majority of mass media companies as well, with many journalists and pundits putting Watford in the bottom three when it came to predicting the Premier League table.
Therefore, they will look at the fact that Flores has kept us in the Premier League against all the odds and draw upon our impressive first half of the season and FA Cup run as good reasoning as to why Quique should have been given more time.
But for me, I'm not surprised by the decision and I honestly think that now is the right time for Flores to bid Vicarage Road a farewell.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for the job Quique Sanchez Flores has done this season. I've been a huge fan of his and his charm and charisma is infectious. He has achieved what no other Watford manager has done before, by keeping the Hornets in the Premier League for the first time since its inception in 1992 and he has done so at a canter.
There have been fantastic moments along the way as well. Our wins over Liverpool, West Ham and Swansea as well as our victory over Arsenal in the FA Cup to name but a few. In the end he did the job he was asked and I will forever be thankful for what he has achieved. Hopefully he will get a good send-off on Sunday against Sunderland.
However, since Christmas, performances have not been good enough and Flores has not seemed capable to turn these around.
After Christmas, we were no longer a surprise package so to speak. Premier League teams knew who our key players were and the way we played and as a result we were worked out. Due to this, teams knew that if they played in a certain way and man-marked Deeney and Ighalo, they would effectively put a stop to Watford.
We had been found out and Flores could not find a way another way for us to beat teams in the Premier League. You only have to look at our record in the league since the turn of 2016. The Hornets have picked up
just four league wins since the turn of the year and a total of 15 points. There's no getting away from that. It is relegation form. The last time Watford played well was the FA Cup win over Arsenal. Since the turn of the year, it's been a mixture of average and poor performances in the league and Flores hasn't been able to find a way of improving those.
Carry on with that form next season under Quique Sanchez Flores and we will be in deep trouble. The Pozzo's want us to evolve and improve as a club and they know how important it is for us to remain in the Premier League in the years to come, especially with the new TV deal coming in from next season. A new coach will bring fresh impetus and fresh ideas to the table.
Another cause for concern in recent weeks were team selections. Flores continually played the same players in the same formation that hadn't worked for months. This as a result, affected the way we played and teams new exactly how to play against us.
He persistently started Almen Abdi and Jose Manual Jurado on the wing which never really worked.
They are equally good players but they are most certainly not wingers and in Abdi's case, he is definitely not a right-back, a position he ended up playing in for the final 25 minutes of our 3-2 win over Aston Villa.
Neither player has that bit of pace that can really stretch teams and their main instinct is to come inside and bring the ball into the centre of the park, which in most cases, often leads to an attack breaking down.
They are both attacking midfielders and in my view, one of them needed to play behind Troy Deeney or Odion Ighalo in the number ten position, as that is where you will get the best out of them. But Flores seemed reluctant to experiment. One of the only things the Spaniard tried was playing Etienne Capoue out on the right, which never really worked and the 51-year-old seemed unwilling at first to move the Frenchman back to his natural position in the heart of midfield.
As a result, natural width in Steven Berghuis, Nordin Amrabat, Ikechi Anya were left on the bench or out of the squad and in the latter's case, he has had to play as a left-back recently, which I feel doesn't suit him.
Berghuis and Amrabat almost certainly deserved a start recently given how well they have performed when given the chance.
They both have a bit of pace, creativity and trickery to take on a man and aren't afraid to cut inside or deliver a cross into the penalty area. We've been craving that all season and yet, Flores seemed insistent on not using them.
Even when we passed the 40-point mark and were all but safe, Flores continued to make them sit on the bench, despite stating in the media that he would release the shackles so to speak. But that never happened. He continued to pick the same side and players such as Amrabat, Berghuis and Guedioura have been restricted to cameo appearances, despite knocking on the door for a start for months in Amrabat and Guedioura's case.
So whilst this has been a successful season and one we shall look back on fondly, I can't help but feel that now is the right time to say adios to Quique Sanchez Flores.
I don't want to sound ungrateful, because I'm not. As I've said before, I'm truly thankful for the work Quique has done this season. He did exactly what was asked of him and he has left us with memories that will stick with us for a lifetime.
Along the way he worked his way into the hearts of Watford fans for his style and charisma and he deserves a big send off on Sunday against Sunderland for what he has achieved with this side.
But for the reasons above, I honestly think now is the right time for both Watford and Flores to part ways. If there's one thing I've learnt during my time as a Watford supporter, it is to trust the Pozzo family.
Since taking over in 2012, they have simply transformed this club and have barely put a foot wrong. We wouldn't be in the position we are today without them. They've earnt our trust for the work they and Scott Duxbury have done since 2012 and they have showcased time and time again that they know what they are doing.
So now it's time to say and fond farewell to Quique and look forward to the next ride on the Pozzo rollercoaster.
Thank you for everything Quique and good luck in the future.