Wings constructed of wax, feathers and an out-of-sorts Richarlison

SILVA SERVED

So farewell to Watford then, Marco Silva. A modern-day Icarus, who ignored warnings of hubris by flying a little too close to the sun – well, Everton, who for the purposes of this laboured Fiver analogy will have to serve as a kind of slightly less shiny sun understudy – he plummeted in ignominious fashion when his metaphorical wings constructed of wax, feathers and a curiously out-of-sorts Richarlison melted, fell apart and could secure no more than five points from the past 24 available since the man in charge of them had his head turned by the Goodison Park recruitment department.

Of course unlike the story of Icarus, this one is likely to have a happier ending; Marco did not plunge into the sea never to be seen again and will always certainly bob to the surface sooner rather than later, to resume a promising career that has thus far been thwarted only by the lofty ambition and exalted sense of self-worth that have given the young Portuguese manager chronically itchy feet. Possibly at Everton, who let’s not forget were prepared to pay £15m for him a couple of months ago and, now that he’s available for free, can use some of that lovely lolly to pay Big Sam to head for the door marked “Do One”.

In a club statement that didn’t name Everton, but instead pitched up wearing a “We Hate Everton” T-shirt and matching baseball cap combo, Watford said: “The club is convinced the appointment of Silva was the right one and had it not been for the unwarranted approach by a Premier League rival for his services we would have continued to prosper under his leadership.” Instead, the Hornets are second from bottom of the form table and, after their latest reverse against Leicester, find themselves mid-table, on the slide towards relegation having just appointed their eighth manager in just over four years.

Watford’s trigger-happy Italian owners the Pozzo family were quick to install their next victim, Spanish not-a-typo manager Javi Gracia. The 47-year-old from Pamplona is best known for his time at Málaga, who he steered to two top-10 La Liga finishes, in the process masterminding victory at Barcelona. Fluent in English, he arrives having left Rubin Kazan in June following an unsuccessful spell in charge that he attributed to there not being enough hours in the day for him to wait for all the translators in the Russian side’s dressing room to impart his instructions to the players therein. Now he takes charge of a clearly demoralised team who, despite their 10th-place position, are four points from safety. Having failed in his last job to overcome several language barriers, Gracia must now try to bridge the Watford gap.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“He was such a popular man, such a friendly man. He was the absolute epitome of a football man. He had a superb career with Blackpool, and for England as well. Jimmy was quite proud of the fact that he’d worked as long in broadcasting about football as he did as a player or a manager. He was steeped in both sides of the game. Jimmy had a lovely radio voice; a youthful voice and also a very youthful approach. He was so enthusiastic and enthused by things that would happen in the modern game. He loved exciting players. We send our condolences to his wife, Anne, and all his family as well. We will miss him terribly” – BBC Sport’s John Murray pays tribute to his long-time broadcasting colleague Jimmy Armfield after the former England captain died aged 82.

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FIVER LETTERS

“You haven’t mentioned anything about Phil Brown of innovative-share-incentive-scheme fame working on his tan on a full-time basis since Southend got rid of him last Wednesday. What are the implications for his shareholding?” – Paddy Reilly.

“After this weekend there are 14 games left in this season’s Premier League. And already Southampton, West Brom and Swansea cannot collect enough points to overhaul Manchester City. Stoke can theoretically draw level but they will have to work on their relative goal difference. At present they are 77 behind, or 5.5 goals per game, which doesn’t look quite so bad” – Robert Darby.

Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. And if you’ve nothing better to do you can also tweet The Fiver. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’the day is … Rollover.

THE RECAP

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NEWS, BITS AND BOBS

Former Barnsley chairman Patrick Cryne, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2016, has died aged 66. “Widely regarded among the loyal fanbase as the ‘saviour’ of the club since taking control in 2003, Mr Cryne has been held in the highest of regards both at Barnsley Football Club and across the footballing world,” said the club.

Michael O’Neill has turned down the chance of trying to sort out the genetic limitations of Scotland in favour of carrying on in his Norn Iron Nil job.

Despite having slipped on the No 7 shirt and spent the past 48 hours wandering around Old Trafford, Alexis Sánchezzzzzzz is still not yet officially a Manchester United player as he awaits clearance from the immigration office in Liverpool, where he’s been passing the time with Arsenal-bound swapsy Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

A Middlesbrough fan faces a day in court after allegedly urinating into QPR keeper Alex Smithies’ water bottle and throwing it back on the pitch. “Disgusting act and I will do all I can to remove him from attending Boro games again,” sniffed Cleveland police’s dedicated football officer.

Sam Allardyce has noticed what Everton scouts should have seen last summer: Wayne Rooney and Gylfi Sigurdsson can’t play together. “In actual terms of covering the ground it is difficult – it’s not their strength,” he blathered. “So I have to make a big decision.”

Oxford United have sacked manager Pep Clotet after a seven-month tenure.

And Gareth Bale seemed delighted with the standing ovation he received after starring in Real Madrid’s 7-1 liquidation of Deportivo. “Yeah, instead of whistles, which is always good,” he cheered.

STILL WANT MORE?

Hats off to the fans helping Hartlepool in their time of need.

Amy Lawrence on the enduring magic of football on the radio.

Ten talking points from the weekend’s Premier League action, including Romelu Lukaku doing the business for Manchester United despite not doing any goals.

Oh my, Girona! Here’s Sid Lowe.

Cologne fans are almost as giddy as that time they created an atmosphere at Arsenal. Andy Brassell explains why.

Jérémy Toulalan did one from Bordeaux in support of his sacked manager, report Adam White and Eric Devin.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan may find his missing mojo at Arsenal, reckons floating football brain in a jar Jonathan Wilson.

Alexis Sánchez has similarities to Carlos Tevez and he may give José Mourinho’s attack a bit of bite, writes Jamie Jackson.

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