In a surprising turn of events, Ed Still is expected to be named as the head coach of Watford. The former Kortrijk, Charleroi and Eupen man will take over at the Championship side who are currently 11th in the Championship. It is quite a gamble for Watford, given that in his last two stints as a head coach Still has been sacked after struggling to bring success. However, in Stillโs defence, he was working with two hands tied behind his back. Yet, both of these stints have damaged his reputation as a head coach in Belgium. It was quite surprising that he has been given a chance to rebuild his career with Watford. Both club and head coach appear to be willing to take the risk that this time, things will be different.
Watford fans will hope they can get the Charleroi version of Still, rather than the one that had to battle against the odds with both Kortrijk and Eupen. Still took over at Charleroi in the summer of 2021 and spent a season and a bit with the Zebras. In that time, he won 22 games, drew 11 and lost 22, averaging 1.4 points per game. During his first full season in charge the side played entertaining football and finished the season in sixth place. They missed out on European football through the play-offs, but it had been a big improvement on their 13th placed finish the season before.
Unfortunately for Still, he lost a key player that season in Vakoun Bayo. The striker had been excellent for him for half a season but that summer left to join Watford. Nikola Stulic was his replacement but he struggled early on in his Charleroi career, while the other striker signed, Nadhir Benouali also failed to replace Bayo. Without Bayo and Anass Zaroury, Charleroi struggled and Still was sacked by October.
His next job was with struggling Eupen. Still was only in charge to try and keep the side in the Pro League. He only won two games, losing nine and drawing six. However, despite their poor run under Still, the side finished just above the bottom three and avoided relegation. Still left the club in the summer and Eupen were relegated the following season. Eupen had been poor for some time, and Still joined without the chance to sign players. He was working with a squad that had little belief, and in his defence not many would have done much better.
Still then joined Kortrijk for the season that Eupen were relegated. It was a disaster, as he lost six games and drew two, being sacked without a win. Yet, like with Eupen, Still was working in the trickest of situations. The sides owner, Vincent Tan (the owner of Cardiff City) had been trying to sell the club all summer. This had delayed any recruitment or even appointment of a head coach. Tan looked to have found a seller but it turned out they had no money. In the end he kept the club, but they had done no business and appointed Still late in the window. Still therefore took over a side that had also struggled the season before and had not signed any players. It was no surprise that he ended up taking the fall for the owners poor handling of the situation.
Compared to Kortrijk and Eupen, the situation at Watford is far more secure. Still will know a few players, with the likes of Edo Kayembe having spent time in Belgium with Eupen and Jeremy Petris having played for Charleroi. Kayembe had joined Watford just before Still took over at the Pandas.
For Watford, Still feels like a break from their usual hires, although he is still very much within the Bayat sphere of influence having worked at Charleroi. His job will now be to ensure Watford end a run of four straight seasons in the Championship. There are only three points between the Hornets and Wrexham in the final play-off places. However, the side are on a terrible run of form having not won since the first of January.
Still may well be happy to escape Anderlecht for Watford. The pressure has been mounting and he was being charged with holding the fort after Besnik Hasi was sacked. His lost the two games he was in charge for, with a 1-0 defeat to Antwerp in the cup and a 2-0 away defeat to Genk this past weekend.
Still certainly has had to learn to be resilient in his recent jobs. He will likely need all of this as he joins Watford, a side that have been notorious for giving head coaches little time to settle in and build for the long term.
Perhaps Still can be the one to finally return them to the Premier League? Regardless of how things turn out, it certainly feels like a risk for both Still and Watford.
GBeNeFNย |ย Ben Jackson
