Owner Gino Pozzo replaces Watford FC’s technical director with a German strategist.

Just when things looked to be going relatively normal for once at Watford FC despite their current on-field struggles, the Hornets are making the news again for a sacking.

This time though, it is not the head coach who is unexpectedly departing the club early, with Valerien Ismael in-fact signing a new extended contract despite their lowly position in the Championship of 20th.

Owner Gino Pozzo though, who has a history and tendency to not be a patient man in the world of football is set to let go an individual who was an exciting hire last year in the form of Ben Manga.

As first reported by Italian journalist Luca Bendoni, Manga is set to be sacked as technical director of Watford, having been hired in December 2022.

And this has been backed up by Adam Leventhal of The Athletic, who claims that it is increasingly likely that Manga and his team of scouts, including Helena Costa, are set to depart.

Pozzo has reportedly been looking into the arrangement for a number of months, with Manga working alongside sporting director Cristiano Giaretta all this time, but it now looks to be ending on a sour note.

Who is Ben Manga?

After a low-key playing career in German football, Manga moved into a number of off-field roles with Alemannia Aachen, including as a scout for a number of years, and he ended up also working in that capacity for Hoffenheim and Stuttgart.

In 2016, the Equatorial Guinean was snapped up by Frankfurt as their chief scout, and five years later he also held the role of Director of Football, with the likes of Daichi Kamada, Evan Ndicka, Luka Jovic, Randal Kolo Muani and Sebastien Haller being signed during his time identifiyng talent for the German outfit.

In late 2022 though, Manga departed Frankfurt and a month later he arrived in Hertfordshire, but he was clearly not allowed the same freedom and remit at Vicarage Road than he was in past roles.

Is sacking Ben Manga the right move for Watford?

FLW’s Watford fan pundit Justin Beattie believes that Pozzo is making a complete mistake with the sacking of Manga, and believes it was a mistake to even hire him if he was not going to be used in the correct manner.

“With regards to Ben Manga – they (Pozzo) brought in one of the top technical directors in Europe, his previous track record speaks for itself, and they just didn’t utilise him properly,” Justin said when speaking to Football League World

“I think they brought him in without a clue what to do with him – very, very frustrating to see these kind of things happening within the club, it beggars belief that someone could be brought in to do a job, not tasked with the job and then asked to leave.