Javi Gracia Breaks Silence on Watford Exit as Manager Expresses ‘Surprise’ at Exit

Javi Gracia has said he is ‘surprised’ at the club’s decision to terminate his contract earlier this weekend, but says the decision won’t taint his relationship with the club or the fans.

Watford’s announcement that they had parted company with Gracia and replaced him with Quique Sanchez Flores seemed to come out of the blue amid the lull of an international break, after they had brought a run of three successive defeats to an end with a Carabao Cup victory over Coventry and a battling draw at ?Newcastle. 

However, despite coming off the back of an historic 11th-placed finish in the Premier League and an FA Cup final, the board were reportedly concerned about the mood in the dressing room, and moved on Saturday to remove Gracia from his post. 


In a measured statement on his departure, Gracia said while he is surprised to have been relieved of his duties so early in the season, he respects the decision and remains grateful to the club for his 18 months in charge. 

?”After the unexpected announcement about the termination of my contract after only four matches, I want to express my surprise after completing the best season in ?Watford’s history,” his statement reads. 

“I respect this decision and I’d like to reassure the excellent relationship I have with (Watford owner) Gino Pozzo and Filippo Giraldi, and this is not going to change despite my abrupt exit of the club. 

“I am grateful to this club for allowing me to manage this great club in the ?Premier League, it has been an incredible experience, with very special moments like the FA Cup final I had the privilege to enjoy.

“I want to thank every single person who works for this club and has made my every day very easy. My gratefulness and love for this club will be eternal. And finally, I want to thank the fans for supporting me the way they did from day one, until my last. I will always wish the fans and these players the best.”

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Crystal Palace Month in Review: August – Best Player, Worst Performance & Overall Rating

The September international break brings with it, an early period of reflection for the clubs. Roy Hodgson will be pleased, but cautiously optimistic, with his side’s performance so far. 

Their campaign began with a credible draw at home to Everton before losing to Premier League new boys Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. That loss clearly spurred Crystal Palace on though, picking up an impressive win away at Manchester United the following week before seeing off Aston Villa the following week. 

These results leave Palace in fourth – a positive start for a side who usually struggle at around this time of year. It’s been mostly good, but there have also been some negatives. All are covered below…


Best Player

Jordan Ayew

You’d forgive ?Palace fans for collectively groaning when the club announced they had signed Jordan Ayew on a permanent deal from ?Swansea this summer. The forward, not known for his goalscoring abilities, joined Palace on loan last season and got just one goal in 20 appearances. 

Hodgson clearly saw something in Ayew however, and he’s repaid that faith by scoring two goals in three games. He bagged Palace’s opening goal in their 2-1 defeat of ?Manchester United, before getting the winner against ?Aston Villa the following week. 

His overall performances have been decent too and, with his goal tally already doubled from last season, who knows what kind ?of season he’ll go on to have. 


Worst Player

Christian Benteke

It’s hard to believe Palace paid £27m for Christian Benteke back in 2016…

In fairness, he had a very good first season at Selhurst Park, getting 17 goals in 40 games, but has scored just four goals in his subsequent 54 appearances. 

He has continued his poor goalscoring form into the current season, failing to score in Palace’s two opening games despite starting. Hodgson, clearly frustrated with the striker, dropped him to the bench for both of the Eagles’ victories. 


Best Performance

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Of course, their best performance came in their 2-1 defeat of Manchester United at Old Trafford. 

Ayew easily slid the ball past David De Gea in the 32nd minute to open Palace’s account for the day, but all their hard work looked to have been undone when Daniel James equalised for the Red Devils in the 89th minute. 

Palace weren’t about to give up though, and Patrick van Aanholt got a stoppage-time goal to give the Eagles a much-deserved victory. 


Worst Performance

John Lundstram


?Despite having more possession and more shots on targets than ?Sheffield United, Palace couldn’t make any of it count as they fell to a disappointing loss to the ?Premier League new-boys at Bramall Lane.

It was a performance that demonstrated their need for a more consistent, quality striker, and there’ll probably be many more performances like this if they don’t buy adequately in January. 


Best Goal 

Jordan Ayew

Having scored just three goals so far this season, there aren’t many candidates to choose from for this award.

Out of the three, Ayew’s winner against Aston Villa stood out the most. Jeffrey Schlupp played a good pass to the forward, who sprinted ahead of Villa’s defenders to collect the ball before hitting a low ball past Tom Heaton to give his side the lead. 


Rating

Jordan Ayew

Solid without being remarkable, there are still many positives to take away from August.  

Palace will be quietly confident ahead of their match against a comparatively out-of-form ?Tottenham Hotspur after the break. Hodgson’s message to their players ahead of that clash will probably be something like ‘More of the same, lads’.

Rating: 7/10 

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Raul Suffers First Loss as Real Madrid Castilla Manager as Reserve Side Continue Poor Start

?It’s been something of a baptism of fire for Raul as he continues his meteoric rise up the Real Madrid coaching ranks, and his reserve side suffered their first defeat of his tenure against Pena Deportiva this weekend. 

The club legend returned to Los Blancos initially to coach their Under-15s side in August 2018, but after impressing with his management abilities in his first season, he was quickly run up the ladder, and appointed to take over ?Real Madrid Castilla this summer. 

The step up from youth management to coaching a side playing in the third tier of Spanish football is quite a jump however, especially considering the expectation on the reserve side to gain promotion back to the Segunda Division. 

And seems his players may be feeling that early pressure, as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat in their third game under Raul. 

His first match ended in a draw with Las Rozas on opening day before a victory over Marino de Luanco left them on four points heading into Sunday’s match in Ibiza, but Castilla found themselves behind after nine minutes and failed to get back into the game from there. 

The B-team, featuring highly-rated youngsters such as Fran Garcia and Sergio Lopez, will know they need to improve after an underwhelming start, and will be hoping to put it right next Saturday when they host Langreo.


Raul has been touted as a future manager of the first team, remaining highly thought-of after a legendary playing career at the Bernabeu.  

His 16-year spell saw him net 323 goals, a club record that stood until ?Cristiano Ronaldo came along and changed the game. 

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Nemanja Matic Pictured Waiting Outside Portugal Dressing Room So Sons Can Meet Cristiano Ronaldo

?Serbia midfielder Nemanja Matic waited outside Portugal’s dressing room on Saturday so his sons could meet Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo netted Portugal’s third goal in a 4-2 win over Serbia on Saturday which saw Portugal move into second in Group B of the Euro 2020 qualifiers.

?Matic’s sons will undoubtedly have been disappointed to see the ?Manchester United midfielder come out on the losing side, but that will not have lasted too long as ?Mondo Sport captured Matic and his family waiting outside the dressing room to meet ?Ronaldo.

Of course, Ronaldo was happy to oblige and pose for photos with the two children, and he shared a quick embrace with Matic before returning to his team.

If ?recent reports are to be believed, it may not be the last time the two players link up as ?Juventus are believed to be considering a move to sign Matic on a free transfer when his United contract expires next summer.

The 31-year-old is clearly a big fan of Ronaldo, and he told ?Radio Renascenca after the game that he believed Portugal could go on to win the entire tournament and establish themselves as a global superpower once more.

“Portugal can be the best team in the world. They have always had great teams, but in the last three or four years these young players, who play at a great level, have made the team even stronger,” Matic claimed.

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The defeat to Portugal left a huge dent in Serbia’s hopes of qualifying for Euro 2020. They now sit fourth in Group B, with Portugal now heavy favourites to join runaway leaders Ukraine in the tournament.

Matic added: “It will be very difficult, but we will fight to the end. Ukraine already have 13 points, Portugal have a game less than us, but we have to fight until the end and we will see what Portugal will do.”

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J-League 2 Player Hayato Nakama Completes Football With Greatest Goal of All Time

?It’s time for 90min to rebrand itself as 80min and start covering rugby, because football is no more. 

It’s a regrettable development, but we’ve been left with no choice now that the sport we all love has finally peaked out. The goalscoring feats of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Liverpool’s comeback in Istanbul, Leicester’s 5000/1 Premier League title win, Zinedine Zidane’s career-ending headbutt; all hugely memorable, but even combined they cannot hold a candle to the goal scored by Fagiano Okayama’s Hayato Nakama in the J2 League this weekend.

Think this is idle hyperbole? Take a look for yourself. 


To set the stage, Okayama were taking on Kyoto Sanga in what looked like a bit of a run-of-the-mill mid-table clash in the Japanese equivalent of the Championship. It looked set to be a decent game between two of the league’s better sides, but no-one in their right mind would have touted it as the backdrop for the sport’s defining moment. 

That was until, in the 22nd minute, midfield mainstay Kota Ueda picked up a pass from the right and instinctively took it onto his left foot, looking up immediately for the Hollywood ball. Nakama, reading the play and knowing exactly what his mate had in mind, was off before the first touch. He was about to make history and he knew it. 

An exquisitely weighted ball over the top followed, picking out the winger’s run into the inside channel with pinpoint accuracy, but even as he got his head onto the ball with a crouching header that looked to have sent the ball goalwards, the magic was only beginning to happen. 


In a flash, the onrushing keeper wiped him out on the follow-through after disastrously misjudging the flight of the ball. Nakama’s header sailed past him, but itself was involved in a collision – with the far post. 

This is where we would pause the video and ask you to guess what happened next, but since you wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting the answer right, we’ll spare you the embarrassment. 

The weight of the collision means it’s a serious doubt that Nakama knows where he is, what sport he’s playing or what his name is; but none of it matters. 

Fuelled by the momentum of the wipe-out, he appears to pull off a strange variation of a backwards roll, landing just in time to connect sweetly with the rebound on the half-volley. Technically it’s perfect; aesthetically, it goes far beyond that. Before he knows what’s happened, he’s scored the 2019 Puskas award winner. 


Okayama of course went on to win the game 3-0, but the wider context will always be dwarfed by the finest goal that has ever been scored or will ever be scored. There’s no point in anyone else even trying. 

Football is over and we have Hayato Nakama and his unholy banter-goal ability to blame.

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