Ranking Watford FC's top 7 best managers based on PPG - Zola = 3rd | OneFootball

Watford will once again enter a new Championship campaign with a new head coach in charge.

Tom Cleverley is the Hornets' selection to lead them into 2024/25, having got the job permanently after replacing Valerien Ismael on an interim basis last season and doing a decent enough job.

Of course, the club have had plenty of head coaches in recent history, with some more successful than others. Where Cleverley will rank among them remains to be seen.

With the above in mind, below, we've taken a look at Watford's seven best managers, but with a twist.

Rather than taking in just their achievements, we've only looked at their points per game, according to Transfermarkt - and it's worth noting we've only considered Watford bosses to take charge of at least 25 games

7 Slaven Bilic

The first former Watford boss to feature on the list, kicking us off at 7th in these rankings, is Slaven Bilic.

Bilic took charge of the Hornets between October 2022 and March 2023, managing 26 matches in that period, making him just eligible for our criteria.

According to Transfermarkt, Bilic had a record of 10 wins, seven draws and nine defeats, meaning he averaged 1.42 points per game.

6 Brendan Rodgers

Watford's sixth best ever manager based on points per game is Brendan Rodgers.

The Northern Irishman was in charge at Vicarage Road between November 2008 and JunE 2009, overseeing 31 matches during his tenure.

One of just two pre-Pozzo appointments on this list, Rodgers won 13 matches, drew six, and lost 12, averaging 1.45 points per game, as per Transfermarkt.

5 Graham Taylor

Were this list not based on points per game, Graham Taylor would certainly be much higher. In fact, he would be a shoe in for the number one position.

Taylor had two successful spells in charge at Vicarage Road, first between 1977 and 1987, and later between 1996 and 2001.

Across those two spells, Taylor managed hundreds of Hornets matches, averaging 1.45 points per game across his two spells - the same as Rodgers above, according to Transfermarkt.

As mentioned, though, were these rankings not based on that metric solely, Taylor would top the list - he is a Hornets legend and was also the club's former chairman.

4 Giusseppe Sannino

Given how his overall tenure at Watford went, it might be a surprise to some that Giusseppe 'Beppe' Sannino features on this list.

The Italian was in charge for 36 Watford matches between December 2018 and August 2013, averaging 1.5 points per game during that spell.

By the time Sannino departed Vicarage Road, his record with the Hornets stood at 15 wins, nine draws, and 12 losses.

3 Gianfranco Zola

Into the top three on the list now, and another Italian features in Gianfranco Zola.

Zola was the Pozzo's first head coach appointment following their takeover at Vicarage Road in July 2012, and would remain in charge until December 2013.

During that spell, Zola guided the Hornets to the brink of promotion, only to lose in the play-off final at Wembley to Crystal Palace thanks to a Kevin Phillips penalty - a former Hornet himself.

Zola's points per game in his 75 games as Watford boss was 1.52.

2 Xisco Munoz

Whilst Zola ultimately failed to get Watford promoted to the Premier League, one man who did get them over the line was Xisco Munoz.

The Spaniard took over at Vicarage Road in December 2020 and guided the Hornets on an incredible run to earn automatic promotion.

He would lose his job shortly into the Premier League campaign the following season, but did average 1.86 points per game during his 36 matches in charge.

1 Slavisa Jokanovic

Last but certainly not least, just edging Xisco Munoz in terms of points per game is Slavisa Jokanovic.

Like Munoz, Jokanovic took charge of 36 games and also guided Watford to the Premier League via automatic promotion.

Jokanovic never got the chance to manage the Hornets in the top-flight, though.