Edward Still is set to touch down in England today to hammer out the final details of his move to Watford, with the 35-year-old Belgian poised to become the Hornets’ new boss.
The coach handed in his resignation at Anderlecht on Monday morning, clearing the way for what would be his first job in English football.
It’s quite the revolving door at Vicarage Road this season – Still will become the club’s third manager of the campaign after Paulo Pezzolano was shown the exit after just 10 matches, followed by Javi Gracia’s surprise resignation at the start of February.
Here’s the thing though – Still’s track record as a number one is far from reassuring.
Edward Still’s managerial record is not exactly pretty
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GETTY
The Belgian has managed to win just two of his last 26 matches in charge, a run stretching back through his time at Kortrijk, Eupen and his brief interim spell at Anderlecht.
His most recent permanent gig ended rather badly in September 2023, when Kortrijk gave him the boot after failing to secure a single victory in eight league games – losing six of them.
Overall, he’s won only 24 of his 80 matches as a manager, which makes this appointment something of a head-scratcher for Championship observers.
Still’s coaching journey has been anything but conventional, mind you.
He’s a proper football obsessive who grew up buying season tickets to Standard Liege with his brothers, filling notebooks with tactical observations from the age of 17.
“I had notebooks, piles of them,” he says. “Writing down all the line-ups, the changes, the systems, the patterns, why they were winning games.”
Will Still was sacked by Southampton earlier and now his brother is set to take a pop at the Championship
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PA
His younger brother Will, who had that difficult spell at Southampton earlier this season, reckons Edward brings real structure to his work.
“Ed is structured, disciplined,” Will explains. “Everyone knows exactly what they have to do and when they have to do it. Every detail is covered.”
Watford’s season has been nothing short of chaotic, and the pressure is mounting.
Javi Gracia stepped down as Watford head coach, departing Vicarage Road less than a day after the Hornets suffered a 2-0 loss against Swansea City earlier this month
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PAThe Hornets haven’t tasted victory in six matches, with their latest setback coming in a 1-0 defeat at Southampton on Saturday – where Will Still was sacked back in November.
Gracia’s departure left everyone stunned, with the club admitting they were “sad and disappointed” when the Spaniard walked away, saying he’d lost the motivation to continue.
Former Bournemouth defender Charlie Daniels has been holding the fort alongside Dan Gosling and Adrian Mariappa.
There’s hope Still could be in the dugout when Watford travel to Preston North End this Saturday.
