If Watford do go down the domestic route; Blackpool boss Neil Critchley should be the #1 choice

Let’s be honest, the likelihood of Watford appointing an English/British Manager/Head Coach already in a job is borderline fantasy — but going off the sometimes reliable Alan Nixon, especially for Watford news; has said the club are “Seriously checkout out domestic options to get them out of the Championship.” Given our reputation for hiring firing every man and his dog, why on earth would anyone come here? The answer is simple, Watford will have to sell the idea to who they want that the club will change the culture around the place, and that the new man in the dugout will be backed correctly and have full support when we inevitably go through a sticky patch. Watford fans are bored of the current model, mainly because it’s quite clearly not working. At the recent Watford MI5 meeting; Scott Duxbury, who made it clear that he runs the day to day at the club and NOT Gino Pozzo — that they’re making the academy a priority and wish to have at least three academy prospects in the first team squad starting from next season. Scott also admitted to the attitude surrounding Head Coaches at Watford needs to change if we want to kick on, as well as the recruitment needing to target younger players.. you know, the thing he said at the start of the season and then did the complete opposite. Despite saying all of this, who should be the man to lead the new and improved Watford? none other than Blackpool Manager Neil Critchley.

If you don’t follow football outside of the Premier League, you’ll be thinking who on earth is this guy? let me tell you. Before I get into it though — as I alluded to it earlier, firstly, why would he come here when he’s got a great set up going on at Blackpool? I’m not going to be one of these arrogant fans that say “If we want him, we’ll get him” *cough* Everton fans *cough*, Watford would need to convince him and rightfully so. Anyway, back to Critchley. A former footballer himself, retired early at the age of 24, and became Academy Director at his boyhood club in 2007, working under current England assistant manager Steve Holland — where the aim was to develop younger players for the first team, something which Crewe are heavily renowned for within the EFL. Critchley stayed with Crewe for six years before leaving for Liverpool to coach their U18s youth team. Whilst at Liverpool, Critchley developed a reputation for being one of the best coaches in European football, and was even handpicked by the FA take Uefa's first elite badge course, where he’s one of only 16 coaches in the country to have the highest possible qualification within football. During his time at Liverpool, it was Critchley who saw Trent Alexander-Arnold as a playmaking full back rather than a central midfielder, whilst also developing the likes of Neco Williams and Curtis Jones. He explained that he liked to play younger players in various different positions so that they can get an understanding of angles, how to pass with either foot, receive in tight situations and be comfortable with their surroundings. The time finally came for him to leave Liverpool in 2017 to take the reigns as Blackpool Head Coach in 20/21, something he said he wasn’t even thinking about and was happy to stay at Liverpool, but the Blackpool job was too hard to turn down. The statement from Liverpool regarding Critchley was glowing, and rightfully so — seven years of outstanding work. Academy director Alex Inglethorpe said Neil leaving gave him and the club mixed emotions, but also said “Neil epitomises the best qualities of a modern coach: leadership skills, intelligence, compassion and a hunger for individual and collective improvement. Blackpool are very fortunate to have him and we wish him well.” Upon his arrival at Blackpool, Owner Simon Sadler said the following “Neil is a highly-regarded coach who impressed us with his thorough preparation and analysis of the team. We want this Club to represent the town and community by playing entertaining football, working hard and being organised. We firmly believe that Neil can deliver this and lay down the blueprint for our footballing philosophy.” Chief Executive Ben Mansford also said "When you combine his time spent at Crewe, which ultimately saw him become Academy Director and where the target was to develop individuals, with his seven years at Liverpool, the last three of which were spent with their highly regarded Under-23s, where the team was supreme, I feel we have a stand out person to lead Blackpool forwards with our own aims of returning to the Championship and beyond.” Critchley gave an interview to the Guardian and also said “I’m excited by what we have got in front of us here at Blackpool. I want to build a team the people of Blackpool and this area can be proud of. The people in this town, the football club means so much to them; you just sense it. My ambition is to give them a team, a group of players that mirror them.” In his first season at the club, he did just that. Winning promotion to the Championship after winning the play-off final against Lincoln City after finishing 3rd in the league, but it wasn’t always rosy. The team was playing well at the start, but they weren’t getting the points, only winning one of his first nine in charge — but from matchday 10, Blackpool won 21 of their next 30 games. Blackpool currently sit 15th in the Championship on 60 points after 44 games, which is a remarkable achievement considering the budget he’s working on — they’re 4 points off Chris Wilder’s Middlesbrough to put it into perspective. Critchley is excellent at developing players regardless of their age, and getting the best out of them; most of his signings coming from lower leagues or released academy prospects. The likes of Josh Bowler, Marvin Ekpiteta, Keshi Anderson especially have benefited from the man management and one on one work from the 43 year-old. The problem clubs will have is he’s signed a new contract with the club until 2026 — but he’s represented by Wasserman agency, an agency that Watford have used heavily in the past.

Regarding how he likes to set up his teams, he’s quite similar to Diego Martinez in the sense there isn’t a set philosophy but there are core principles. Those core principles being an aggressive press, setting traps to win the ball back in certain situations depending on the opposition. Critchley said to Lancs Live after taking a point at Luton that “Our principles of how we defend, press and counter press, how we try and attack and where we attack from and where we try to get on the pitch remain the same. I think we adapt to, sometimes not always, the game or the teams that we’re facing whether we’re home or away but our principles of how we play remain the same. Whether the formation changes or the personnel changes, we still have our way of playing and I think I’ve said it before, the formation is only the steering wheel for us.” Blackpool can bypass the midfield and go direct, sit deep and counter, or keep the ball on the ground and pass around you.. very similar to GT’s teams. Critchley looks at what he has and decides what fits the best, and at Blackpool he’s used mainly a 442, but has switched to a variable of 433 or 352. Watford’s squad profile is fairly similar to Blackpool’s, which it would make more sense to target him rather than Russell Martin, who would be a disaster with the players we currently have in central defence and central midfield. Once a head coach is appointed, I’ll do a full breakdown of their tactical outlook, but as nobody knows who it’ll be yet, I’ll leave you with this taster.