The Watford Hot Seat Trivia Quiz

Watford had come second in the Championship and been promoted automatically under Serbian boss Slavisa Jokanovic, but he left after failing to agree a new deal. He was replaced by Enrique 'Quique' Sanchez Flores, the nephew of flamenco dancer Lola Flores and previously manager of Getafe. Flores was awarded Manager of the Month in December 2015, and Watford got off to a promising start under him. Odion Ighalo and captain Troy Deeney were among the top ten scorers that season, with 15 and 13 goals respectively. Flores also took Watford into an FA Cup semi-final, where they were beaten by Crystal Palace.

However, many fans felt that the second half of Watford's season was poor and Flores was running out of ideas. In their last eleven games, they won only two. They finished thirteenth, a decent showing for a newly promoted side, but Flores left the club by mutual consent after the final game of the season against Sunderland.

Walter Mazzarri managed Watford for almost an entire season. Previously, he had only managed Italian clubs; his club before Watford were Inter Milan, who sacked him after they finished ninth. Mazzarri could not speak English and relied on an interpreter for interviews, which made pre and post-match press conferences awkward.

Although Mazzarri was hired on a three-year contract, his contract was terminated after one year due to Watford finishing 17th, six points above relegated Hull City. They were also knocked out of the FA Cup fourth round by a rampant Millwall, who had also knocked out Leicester City and Bournemouth. To add insult to injury, Manchester City thrashed them 5-0 at home on the final game of the season.

The reserved Portuguese manager Marco Silva joined Watford before the start of the 2017-2018 season, after resigning from Hull City following their relegation. Under Silva, Watford got off to a good start, drawing 3-3 with Liverpool and beating Southampton, Bournemouth, Swansea and Arsenal. However, they suffered three defeats in a row in October and early November, were thrashed 6-0 by Manchester City and had a disastrous run in December, losing five games. After a 2-0 loss to Leicester City, Silva was sacked.

Silva then replaced Ronald Koeman at Everton, who were alleged to have approached him while he was at Watford. Watford accused Everton of making an illegal approach for Silva and blamed them for the club's drop in form. Watford fans took Silva's departure badly and when they played Everton, fans brought plastic snakes to the matches to make their feelings about him clear. Everton beat Watford 3-2 away, although Watford got revenge when they beat Everton 1-0 at home.

Javi Gracia, formerly of Russian side Rubin Kazan, took over from Marco Silva on 21st January 2018 and lasted longer than his predecessor. Under him, Watford finished 14th, winning four of their remaining games, although they also suffered a heavy 5-0 loss to Liverpool and lost their final game 1-0 away to Manchester United.

The following season, Gracia took Watford to 11th, their highest league position since 1986-87. In a bizarre twist of fate, their joint top scorer with Troy Deeney was a former Everton player, Gerard Deulofeu. They also reached their first cup final in several years, against Manchester City. They knocked out Newcastle United, Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers on the way, but were humiliated in the final, losing 6-0. They also lost their final game of the season 4-1 at home to West Ham United. Gracia's bad luck continued when he was sacked early in the 2019-20 season, following a bad run of three losses and a draw that saw Watford bottom of the table.

Quique Sánchez Flores had been managing Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua, and replaced his fellow countryman Javi Gracia early in the 2019-20 season. However, his second run at the club was far less successful this time. Although they got off to a bright start by drawing 2-2 at home against Arsenal, Watford only won one of the ten games they played under Flores, losing five and drawing four.

The sole win was a 2-0 victory away to Norwich City. One of their losses was a humiliating 8-0 thrashing away to - who else - Manchester City.

After a 2-1 loss to Southampton, Flores was sacked and returned to Getafe for the third time.

After the second departure of Quique Sánchez Flores, caretaker manager Hayden Mullins held the fort until Nigel Pearson became the new manager of Watford. Although they beat Manchester United 2-0 at home and were one of the few teams to beat eventual title winners Liverpool, beating them 3-0 at home, they went on to have a string of poor results late in the season, which had been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and suspended between March and June. Manchester City and Everton both rubbed salt into the wound by beating them 4-0 at home and knocking them out of the FA Cup, respectively. Pearson was sacked after a 3-1 loss to West Ham, but it was too late. Watford finished 19th, below Bournemouth on goal difference, and were relegated from the Premier League to the Championship.

Caretaker Hayden Mullins managed Watford for their final two Premier League games, and former Maccabi Tel Aviv manager Vladimir Ivic was appointed on 15th August. Watford had a decent run under Ivic, losing only four games: two 1-0 away defeats to Barnsley and Reading, one 2-0 away defeat to Huddersfield Town, and one 1-0 home defeat to Cardiff City.

The defeat to Huddersfield was Ivic's undoing, although Watford were fifth at the time of his sacking. Watford fans disliked Ivic's overly defensive tactics, and he also earned criticism by benching Troy Deeney, citing disciplinary issues.

The board were also concerned about Watford potentially falling behind the other recently relegated teams.

Previously with Georgia's Dinamo Tbilisi, Xisco Muñoz got off to a good start when Watford beat Norwich City 1-0 at home. They only lost five of their following games, at home to Queens Park Rangers and away to Swansea City, Luton Town, Brentford and Bournemouth, and thumped Bristol City 6-0 at home. He was awarded Manager of the Month in March 2021, following several consecutive wins. Watford finished second and were automatically promoted to the Premier League with two games to go, after beating Millwall 1-0 at home. Veteran goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes also retired at the end of the season.

However, Xisco did not fare as well in the Premier League. There was some controversy over his qualifications, as he did not possess a UEFA Pro licence when he was appointed, though he was on the course and did later obtain it (it had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic). He lost four of his first seven games in charge and was sacked after a 1-0 loss to Leeds United, with Watford in 15th. The club claimed that Xisco was responsible for 'a negative trend at a time when team cohesion should be visibly improving'. He was the first of three managers that season.

Claudio Ranieri had won the Premier League with Leicester City in 2016, but had been less successful with Fulham. After stints at Sampdoria and Roma, he replaced Xisco as Watford manager on 4th October. He lost his first game in charge, 5-0 to Liverpool at home, but beat Everton 5-2 away the following week. Following a 4-1 victory against Manchester United at home, Watford went on a bad run with six consecutive losses, and Ranieri was sacked after Watford lost 3-0 to Norwich at home. Watford were in the relegation zone at the time of his sacking, picking up only seven points in thirteen games.

Roy Hodgson was the third and final of Watford's managers in the 2021-22 season and, at 74, one of the oldest managers in the league. Although he drew his first game 0-0 with Burnley, Watford's results did not improve under him and they only won two games, beating Aston Villa 1-0 away and Southampton 2-1 away. They suffered six consecutive defeats in April and early May, and were beaten 5-1 by both Manchester City (of course) away and Leicester City at home. Hodgson decided to leave the club and stated that he would not be taking another Premier League job, though he changed his mind and returned to Crystal Palace (who beat Watford 1-0 following Hodgson's announcement) in March 2023, following the sacking of Patrick Vieira.

Watford finished 19th, on 23 points and with a dismal goal difference of -43. They lost their final game of the season, 2-1 away to Chelsea, and were relegated from the Premier League to the Championship.