Championship rivals Watford and Queens Park Rangers are now both eyeing a move for a title-winning manager who has a 63 per cent win rate.
Watford searching for yet another manager after Still departure
Since the Gino Pozzo era began in June 2012, Watford have been through 24 managers, with nine of them lasting fewer than 15 games at the helm, and the owner is now searching for yet another head coach.
Ed Still was dismissed at the start of May, after just three months in charge, with the 35-year-old guiding the Hornets to a 15th place finish in the Championship and losing his final five games.
QPR also went on a dismal run towards the end of the campaign, losing their last four matches, but manager Julien Stephan still believes in the project, saying: “It was a season with a lot of ups and downs, I think like many, many teams in this league, but the main thing is I don’t know which is the level of this group.
“So it was a strong experience and it’s really important now to think about the future. It’s a good project, good fans, good management, good mentality into the dressing room, so we have some good foundations.”
The R’s haven’t parted ways with Stephan, but they are now on alert to appoint Flamengo manager Filipe Luis, who is also of interest to Middlesbrough and Chelsea, according to a report from A Critica (via Sport Witness).
Luis is yet to obtain his UEFA Pro Licence, which he plans to rectify immediately, as it is blocking a move to Europe, and the Brazilian is looking to test himself in England.
The former Chelsea defender was dismissed by Flamengo earlier this year, despite maintaining a stellar record in charge of the Brazilian club, winning 64, drawing 22 and losing just 15 of 101 matches in charge, which is a 63% win ratio.
The 40-year-old won eight trophies with Flamengo, including the league title in the 2024-25 season, during which time he preferred to implement a 4-2-3-1 formation, and he could now be ready to test himself in Europe.
The loophole Pozzo used in Still sacking
Considering the rate at which Watford go through managers, it would be unwise for Pozzo to hand out long contracts with sizeable payouts, and the details of Still’s deal have now emerged.
Despite putting pen to paper on a two-and-a-half year contract when he was appointed in February, the agreement was actually a “three-month rolling contract”, according to reports.
As such, the owner was able to avoid being forced to pay Still a big sum upon his sacking, but the approach could be off-putting for prospective new managers, such as Luis.
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