Ever since Claudio Ranieri took Leicester City to the most unlikeliest of Premier League titles, the ‘Tinkerman’ has retained a special place in the heart of every football fan.
The Foxes succeeded in winning the title despite starting the season as 5000/1 outsiders.
Since those heady days, Ranieri has managed at Nantes, Fulham, Roma and Sampdoria, but all have been relatively underwhelming appointments.
Watford owner, Gino Pozzo, has employed nine managers in the last seven years, and appears to insist upon a knee-jerk reaction when the team dips a little in terms of results and form.
That’s hardly the sort of environment in which Ranieri can flourish, particularly when you consider that in six of his first eight Premier League games with the Hornets, he has to play Man United, Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Leicester and Chelsea.
Pozzo has handed the Italian a two-year contract and he can’t realistically expect too much from him with a run of fixtures like that.
Ranieri is long enough in the tooth to understand football remains a results business mind.
If Pozzo wants to move his club forward, perhaps he’ll come to understand that some longevity in terms of his managerial hires is the way to go too.
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