News about Slaven Bilic

A shock contender has reportedly emerged for the Manchester United role should the club swing the axe on Erik ten Hag. The Dutchman has overseen United's worst-ever start to a Premier League season as they sit 14th with just eight points from seven games and are winless in their last five matches across all competitions. However, Ten Hag has avoided the sack after United's senior officials held a six-hour meeting at minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS headquarters last Tuesday.

Slaven Bilic (inset) believes England's wealth of attacking options makes the Three Lions one of the leading contenders to win Euro 2024 this summer. The former Croatia and West Ham manager believes Gareth Southgate's side should be considered among the favourites to win the tournament in Germany. Bilic said England were in a 'very positive' position following impressive performances at recent international tournaments, including reaching the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the final of Euro 2020.

West Bromwich Albion is also haunted by a feeling of anxiety as they look forward to resurrecting one of England's most formidable rivalries against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday. For the first three years, Albion's supporters have been worried about the city's very existence. However, although this 146-year-old team is still in danger, there is growing hope that Albion will be sold in the coming weeks to bring an end to one of the most troubling chapters in modern history. Shilen Patel, a US businessman, is expected to be the front-runner to take over. However, there is still some mystery and worry before the agreement is concluded.

Al Hazm was defeated by Al Fateh, who are ably managed by former West Ham boss Slaven Bilic. In the 11th minute of the game, Al Fateh defender Fahad Al-Harbi appeared to be innocently running past his keeper. But rather than running back into place, he decides to slap the ball into his keeper's hands while in the penalty box, in what seems to be a failed high-five. As he asks what on earth he was thinking, goalkeeper Jacob Rinne looks in astonishment at the player.

ADRIAN KAJUMBA: As Borussia Dortmund blew the Bundesliga title on the final day of last season, the retaliation was felt at their manager Edin Terzic's former club West Ham. 'He has a passion for that club that is very similar to mine at West Ham,' former Hammers captain Mark Noble and now sports director Mark Noble said of Dortmund fan-turned-boss Terzic.

Al-Ettifaq of Steven Gerrard lost 2-1 to Al Fateh in the ninth round of the Saudi Pro League as a result of injury time. Slaven Bilic's side won all three points on Thursday night after former Trabzonspor striker Djaniny scored a 93rd minute goal. Thanks to a Moussa Dembele goal, Al-Ettifaq, who are captained by former Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson, had taken the lead midway through the second half.

MATT BARLOW OF VICARAGE ROAD: This being Watford, it promises little, but Valerien Ismael, the 19th permanent boss hired through Gino Pozzo's overtly lubricated revolving door, may not have had a better start to his new role. Ahead of a minute, four up before half time, and Ismael's crew were able to cruise through the second half of the year, conserving electricity and blooding new signings. Rob Edwards will no longer have to be told about his win and a clean sheet at Vicarage Road, only to be sacked ten games later, nor that Slaven Bilic lasted just five months after beating Stoke 4-0 in his first game.

Before a lengthy tenure in south Yorkshire saw him lead Barnsley to a surprising Championship play-off spot in 2021, the Frenchman, 47, had spells in Germany, Greece, and Austria. He joined West Brom but only played 31 games before being restricted to 19 games at Besiktas. 'Being able to appoint a new coach so soon in May means we will be able to plan really well for next season,' Ben Manga, Watford's sports director.

It had been expected that the 55-year-old Wilder would be Vicarage Road's new managerial casualty, with Italian Francesco Farioli joining the company. The Hornets haven't won in four games and finished 12th in the Sky Bet Championship, six points behind the play-off positions. 'The rumors are completely disrespectful to Chris and his employees,' Watford's technical director Ben Manga said.'

Adrian Blake, a Watford teenager, is one of the club's under surveillance. After joining Watford's academy aged seven, wingser Blake, 17, has made his way into the fringes of the club's first team. He made the bench for the team's penultimate home game of the season against Everton after impressing for their youth teams last season.

SPORTS AGENDA: The taxman will be one of those closely monitoring the Gary Lineker situation closely. HM Revenue and Customs is suing Lineker for £4.9 million, according to the firm, who claims it should have been paid on income received between 2013 and 2018. Lineker should have been classified as an employee of the BBC and BT Sport rather than a freelancer, according to HMRC, with a legal hearing ongoing. Indeed, the lawsuit and Lineker's suspension have parallels, given the pundit's insistence that he is not bound by the BBC's editorial policies even though he sees himself as a self-employed contractor.

SAMI MOKBEL: Watford workers and players were furious after the club withdrew funds from their wages without permission as a token to food at the training ground. Last month, workers were stunned to learn that their monthly salaries had been cut by up to £300 because the club felt they should be contributing to the food they eat at the club's London Colney headquarters. Players and employees were unaware of the impending deductions in their paychecks, and they were left ill.

Following Slaven Bilic's dismissal, Watford's new boss, Chris Wilder, has been named. Bilic, 54, was relieved of his duties after fewer than six months as boss of the Hornets, with former Sheffield United boss Wilder taking over immediately. Watford, who have won just three matches since Christmas, are ninth in the Sky Bet Championship.

After 13-and-a-half years of service to Croatia, Dejan Lovren has announced his international resignation. In that period, the centre-back won 78 caps for his country, scoring five goals in the process, and participated in every game of his team's humiliating journey to the 2018 World Cup final, where they were defeated 4-2 by France. The veteran defender, who has 563 appearances for club and country, made his debut in an international friendly against Qatar against Slaven Bilic, which his team won 3-2 in October 2009.

Watford defeated West Brom 3-2 to advance to Championship play-off positions, with Ken Sema scoring twice, including a heavily delayed winner. Slaven Bilic's 200th game as a boss in English football could not have been more enjoyable, as his new club defeated him in the Premier League in 2020 and fired him before the year was over. On a night when Conor Townsend and Jed Wallace were the scorers for Albion, who remain 10th. Ismaila Sarr was also on target for Watford.

JON WEST OF VICARAGE ROAD: Tobi Adeyemo, a teen striker, was both stunned and elated to score a Watford goal on his first appearance in the league. With Ismaila Sarr's late penalty securing the victory, the 17-year-old replacement struck four minutes after coming on in the 68th minute. With Blackpool, winless in the league since October, Slaven Bilic's injury-plagued Hornets moved to third position in third place, putting them second lowest in the league since October.

Watford has signed Brazilian forward Matheus Martins, 19, who is on loan from Udinese for the remainder of the season. Since the 2022 World Cup took place in Qatar, the youngster, who is both a Brazil U16 and U20 international, was linked to Watford last month. However, he was unable to participate in Norwich's Championship game or their FA Cup tie against Reading due to a problem with his work permit.

KIERAN GILL: When the players were distracted by the whirring of helicopter blades, West Ham manager Avram Grant was training at Chadwell Heath. David Gold, a £1 million five-seater Eurocopter EC120, was parked on a neighbouring pitch and out came the pilot. 'Determination' is the word used to describe a £700 Dolce & Gabbana blazer. Perseverance is the result of tenacity. Courage's embroidery on the breast, West Ham's co-owner stopped for a chat with a group of reporters who had attended Grant's weekly press conference, embroidered on the chest. Grant, who was befuddled by it all, was fired two days later, but at least had to follow this rite of passage. You are not a West Ham boss until your training has been interrupted by Gold and his helicopter, as Sam Allardyce and Slaven Bilic will confirm.

JOE BERNSTEIN: Kolo Toure will be remembered as one of Arsenal's Invincible, but it is not a badge you could throw at his Wigan Athletic players. In tomorrow's match against Hull City, the versatile Ivorian is in last place in his first managerial job, and he's looking for his first victory. Toure came from Britain 20 years ago and hasn't looked back, enjoying a fruitful career with Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Celtic before learning the coaching trade under Brendan Rodgers and taking the plunge at Wigan a month ago.

Watford had to be content with a point from a goalless draw at home to Hull, who pushed themselves further from the Sky Bet Championship's relegation places. If they had won, they may have finished third, but instead they landed fifth, while the Tigers blasted Wigan and are now two points clear of third-bottom West Brom. Both teams had a chance to win, but Vicarage Road was certainly not a masterpiece.

Although technically the Championship returned from its World Cup hiatus with Sunderland's 3-0 victory over Millwall last Saturday, the second tier will be back in all its glory this weekend. The majority of teams have played 21 times, implying that another 25 rounds of games for absolutely everything to change at both ends of the table. Here's a look at what to expect in the second half of the season.

VICARAGE ROAD – KIERAN GILL vs. Luton Town in the Championship, a remarkable win under new Watford manager Slaven Bilic in the Beds-Herts Derby. Keinan Davis, a striker on loan from Aston Villa, got off to a good start in the 3rd minute as he charged past Ethan Horvath and put on an anorthical finish. Davis had a great deal in the 43rd minute but Horvath stopped him from doing so. However, the hosts would take their second from the following corner as William Troost-Ekong returned home after Joao Pedro's demise. Pedro hammered home the third time in the 56th minute, putting Watford's chances of winning the lottery even higher.

Norwich defeated Norwich 2-1 at Vicarage Road, denying them the opportunity to climb to the top of the Championship table. Imran Louza, who had earlier seen a penalty saved by Canaries goalkeeper Angus Gunn, volleyed Slaven Bilic's hosts ahead of Keinan Davis's doublet lead shortly after the half-hour mark. In the final minute of the first half, Josh Sargent pushed one back, but Dean Smith's visitors now rank third, ahead of Sheffield United and new leaders Burnley. Watford went from 17th to tenth in the table.

Slaven Bilic, the Watford chief, got off to a promising start when they thrashed Stoke City on the road. During the international fortnight, the Croatian, the former manager of West Ham and Everton, replaced the fired Rob Edwards. The Hornets, who were on the verge of the Championship play-offs when Edwards departed early, took the lead through Ismaila Sarr. Ken Sema was bundled home for their second before late strikes from Keinan Davis and Vakoun Bayo brought the game to an end.