Javi Gracia resigned from Watford Football Club on 1st February 2026 with the club calling for a change in direction.
The first thing that should change following Gracia’s resignation is the inclusion of Javi’s “exiled” group into matchday squads and starting XI’s.
It is unclear as to why players such as Formose Mendy , Namaphalys Mendy , Pierre Dwomoh and Jeremy Petris got very limited game time under Gracia.
N Mendy returned to the starting XI instantly for the Hornets after his resignation on Sunday afternoon, whilst F Mendy has only played 1 game for Watford and that came at Millwall away under Paulo Pezzolano.
He has failed to hit the ground running due to his lack of game time, and the club claims that the reason behind his poor form is that he is “homesick”; however, there must be more to the story.
Pierre Dwomoh’s situation is the more unexplained one.
He started his last game on May 3rd 2025 against Sheffield Wednesday, where he played 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road.
This change lies within the tactical setup, which includes a lack of team inclusion for star boys Kwadwo Baah and Nestory Irankunda.
The dynamic duo only played on rare occasions under Gracia due to him favouring Moroccan U20’s World Cup winner Othamane Maamma and also English 34-year-old winger Tom Ince.
Under Gracia’s leadership, many Watford fans called for Kwadwo Baah and Nestory Irankunda to play due to their explosive and direct play types.
Geoff Doyle of Radio 1’s Three counties radio had this to say about the situation :
“Discipline & shape is key to Gracia’s approach to football & if players don’t do what they’re supposed to do out of possession & in transition, game time is limited.”
Finally, the final thing that should change is the owner The Pozzo family have run Watford Football Club for the last 14 years.
The last seven years fans have started to become angry with Gino Pozzo, the main owner of Watford within his family after he took over from his father in the role.
His ownership has led fans to more desperate measures. For example, the formation of “The Pozzo Out Movement”.
Watford have had 23 managers under Gino Pozzo’s regime and this has raised many eyebrows from the club’s supporters due to inconsistencies within the way that the football club is ran.
As well as this, there are many alleged accusations against the club’s owner regarding potential tax evasion charges.
Many fans demand change now however, Gino Pozzo’s asking price for Watford Football Club stands at 160 million euros.
There was rumoured to be interest from other parties such as John Textor or Anthony Joshua but nothing has come to light about that since first occurrence.
