Watford FC have parted company with their technical director Ben Manga. The former Eintracht Frankfurt chief scout and squad planner only took up his job at the English second division club in December 2022
After less than a year, the Watford FC chapter is already over for Ben Manga. After rumours had already made the rounds, the Championship 20th officially announced the departure of the technical director on Thursday. The 49-year-old had only taken up his job in the city north-west of London in December last year.
The reason given by the club in a press release was to give head coach Valerien Ismael a broader remit “to influence the football department around him”. As the long-serving Bundesliga professional, who took over at the Hornets in the summer, told local English newspaper the Watford Observer, the club was “more about how we wanted to work than about the people. “
“Next step in the process of change”: coach Ismael gets more responsibility
“When you see that something is not working, for whatever reason, then you have to make a decision that you believe is best for the club,” Ismael further explained, calling the decision the “next step in the process of change”.
After six and a half successful years as head scout and later director of professional football at Eintracht Frankfurt, Manga had terminated his contract with the Hessians in November 2022 to join Watford as technical director less than a month later. The club finished last season in mid-table (11th) of the English lower house. After a sobering start to the season, the Hornets, who actually started the season with promotion ambitions, are currently only in 20th place.
