Under Pressure: Marco Silva's stock is falling at Watford after such a promising start

It is, despite what Soccer Saturday might have you believe, OK to be a foreign manager. Of course, there are problems that come with being a foreign manager: One, you are not British, which means having failed to grow up around the Queen, the Post Office, and a creeping but undeniable sense of decline, you don’t have the full benefit that the world to offer. Two, you will struggle to get Paul Merson in your corner. Three, you may not get a Christmas card from Sam Allardyce.

Allardyce was guarded in his praise for Marco Silva when he arrived at Everton. He said that there was no comparison between the two of them, mainly because Silva had relegated Hull in his half-season spell at the club. Allardyce was right, there is little reasonable comparison between the two of them. For one, Silva has shown he is willing to embrace a peripatetic lifestyle in order to advance his career. He managed to succeed in Portugal, winning Sporting Lisbon’s first silverware in years and getting Estoril promoted, and won the league at Olympiacos. Allardyce might have kept sides up but he has never done anything like that.

When he came to Hull they had already suffered the indignities of Mike Phelan, but despite Phelan’s apparent lack of aptitude, the overwhelming problem with Hull City has been their ownership. Constantly fighting against their fans, they have also become reluctant owners of the side.

The problems that Leonid Slutsky had to endure before his sacking suggest that the lack of organisation at Hull meant that Silva’s performance has to be seen in that context. The improvement he made in a short space of time was palpable, and the players he brought in made a huge difference to the performance. Being able to coach players to improve them is one talent, having an eye for them in the transfer market is another – it appears that Silva has both of them.

Silva’s reputation in the Premier League, and a bright start with Watford this season, meant that when Everton sacked Ronald Koeman and could – for some inexplicable reason – not convince Diego Simeone to jump ship from Atletico Madrid, he became the next in line. Everton offered £10m for Silva, who seemed to entertain the move. Watford were keen to hold on, and with the Champions League places in sight, you can understand why. The club tend to see managers as transitory figures in a wider plan of their club network, but this time they seem to believe they have alighted upon a potentially excellent manager.

There is no point jumping into a problem and pretending it is a crisis, but since Silva was persuaded either not to leave, or told that he was not leaving, Watford have struggled. Watford are now in ninth, tied on 22 points with Everton. There is a good chance that over the course of the next couple of weeks, Allardyce will leapfrog Silva in the table and start to challenge for the Europa League places.
There are problems to fix at Watford, and this is the first time in England that he has had to turn around a slip in form.

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The goalkeeper, Heurelho Gomes, is one of the more reliable in the Premier League. The midfield has done well enough, too. Richarlison has somehow ended up at Watford despite having the potential, talent and aptitude to succeed far higher up the league. He may only be 20, but he is a strong, technically adept goalscoring wide player. It is easy to believe that this might be his final season at Watford before one of the bigger London clubs take him away.

A more immediate problem for Watford is that Richarlison is injured and therefore will not play against Huddersfield. Without him, the focus will be on Watford’s two biggest problems. Andre Gray has pace, but is not a reliable goalscorer. The defence may have five clean sheets, but fails to instil confidence. Even if the club have seven first-team central defenders, it would be no surprise if there was action in the transfer market to make improvements. Richarlison has played 14 games in the league, and scored five, but he too may need to be rested as he adjusts to the physical rigours of the Premier League.

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The defeat against Manchester United highlighted some weaknesses, as defensive mistakes allowed United them to race into an early lead, but similarly their comeback showed that this isn’t a wretched side. Nevertheless, they are without a win in their last four games. They are conceding regularly and wasting too many of the chances they do create.

Watford have four games which should be easy, in theory, before they play Manchester City in their first game of the new year. Huddersfield are followed by Brighton, Leicester and Swansea, and if Silva is able to get his side back into form then they should be able to take nine points, at least, from 12. Silva may still want to replace Allardyce in the summer, in order to make sure he remains their preferred candidate, now is the time to take advantage of an easy run.