With the dust having settled on the news that Slaven Bilic has replaced Rob Edwards as Watford’s head coach, we asked the supporters behind some of the many social media channels, podcasts and blogs that follow the Hornets’ fortunes for their views on the last chapter at Vicarage Road.

Obviously it’s impossible to get contributions from every supporter channel and each individual fan! So, we’d also welcome your comments under this article.

"It’s a familiar story, but this plot twist means the latest chapter isn’t unfolding in the way I expected or wanted.  

"The abrupt dismissal of Rob Edwards probably shouldn’t come as a surprise given Gino Pozzo’s track record, but it’s a clear indication that after a summer that hinted at a welcome new approach and strategy, the owner has absolutely no intention of changing his ways.

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Watford sack Rob Edwards

Hornets appoint Bilic as head coach

"I’d hoped that two abject relegations in three years may have been enough for Gino Pozzo to want to analyse his performance, to look inwards and to try and work out why his approach and recruitment had failed so clearly and so frequently. The appointment of Rob Edwards and accompanying explanation suggested this was the case – his actions in firing him after such a short stint proves that the opposite is true.

"There is palpable anger, frustration and dismay amongst what is an extraordinarily patient fanbase and it’s easy to see why. The same mistakes are being made by an owner who is seemingly unwilling or unable to countenance change, despite being faced with the demonstrable reality that a change in approach - and the patience to allow it to take root and bear fruit - is exactly what’s required.

"I wish Slaven Bilic well, but in all honesty his appointment has barely crossed my mind. Instead I, like so many others, am left wondering – where do Watford, and the fraught relationship with its supporters, go from here?"

Mike Parkin, presenter of From the Rookery End podcast @watfordpodcast

"Rob Edwards represented more than just another Head Coach. His recruitment and the words that accompanied it, indicated that the club hierarchy were listening to the fan base. It suggested that they were analysing and learning from earlier mistakes and willing to instigate change.

"Whilst the football has by no means set the world alight, it’s been clear that the Pozzo hierarchy, who assemble a squad as a distinct project for each season, had wilfully failed to do so this term. The omission to sign any one of a myriad of available free transfer or loan Right Wing Backs, created an imbalance in the politics of the club as large as it did on the pitch.

"Edwards has been playing against an invisible opponent, one that he should have been able to trust. Uniting a divided fanbase may be Gino Pozzo’s legacy, but it has become united against him."

Carl, Justin & Pete, Do Not Scratch Your Eyes podcast @DNSYE_podcast

"Up in the afterlife paradise of Hornet Heaven, Henry Grover (the man who founded Watford Rovers in 1881) always keeps a close eye on events at the club. I think he would probably say: 'I wish I could come back from the dead like Cristiano Giaretta.'

"Also, he’d probably be a bit confused by the sudden change. 'Someone just told me that Watford have got Slaven Bilic,' he’d say. 'Sounds like a disease you could die from. I hope this isn’t going to be terminal.'

"And he might be a bit concerned about the way the club’s going. 'I must say I’m worrying that Gino Pozzo has become a tiger who can’t change his stripes. In the past, Watford changed their black and white stripes to blue, and then to yellow. If we’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that a football club needs to adapt.'"

Olly Wicken, Hornet heaven podcast, www.HornetHeaven.com

"It goes without saying that Rob Edwards’ dismissal in the context of the shifting sands of the early season flies completely in the face of the patient outlook promised by Scott Duxbury over the summer. As such you have to question the alignment between Duxbury and the club’s owner. 

"The detail of Giaretta’s startling return from the dead is also surely significant; it’s not difficult to read this as Pozzo overruling his CEO’s decision to back the manager.

"A bigger picture question is perhaps therefore why so many of our head coaches fail to thrive. For all the notorious high turnover at Vicarage Road, Edwards is unusual in that his dismissal has proven unpopular; the departures of, at the very least, the preceding four were largely welcomed.

"So… do we just appoint bad managers? Or is there something about the Watford environment that prevents our appointees from thriving?"

Matt Rowson of BHaPPY (bhappy.wordpress.com)

"The pre-season content and the interviews conducted by Rob were so refreshing to hear and we got a sense of 'could this be the man'. He breathed enthusiasm into the fans of this football club.

"Yes of course it was a big ask for Rob after making the step up from League Two to Championship favourites but after a statement was released in June which included the sentence 'We will support Rob Edwards come hell or high water' we finally got the sense things were going to change.

"Performances have been far from perfect thus far this season and we sit 10th after 11 games having only won three of those, but signs were slowly coming through that things could be falling into place and clicking.

"To now be sat here writing this after the news of Edwards dismissal is a massive two fingers up to us fans and shows we can no longer have any faith in what we’re told by the hierarchy in a period where communication to fans is meant to be improving.

"I think Mr Pozzo has to take a long look at how he runs this football club."

@MikeDuffy_27 from @VoicesoftheVic podcast

"Ahead of this season, WD18 spoke to Rob Edwards in his first video interview as Watford head coach. We came away feeling like this was a head coach to build with - connecting back with our football club after the chaos of last season.

"This was a chance to give a young, exciting and homegrown head coach the time to build an identity and culture. Statements suggested this was to happen.

"But instead, after 10 league games it appears Edwards isn't the right man. Yesterday confirms both Gino Pozzo and Scott Duxbury were not fully on board with the appointment, despite comments made in the summer. They were not committed to a new direction. I think that probably explains why the last transfer window was such a mess.

"Sacking Edwards and appointing Bilic may prove to be the right decision for promotion, but it undermines every statement made by the hierarchy in the summer.

"Whilst outsiders have always knocked the Pozzo model, in general Watford fans have repeatedly given the benefit of the doubt. Supporter patience is now running thin. It’s time for honesty and clarity."

Jacob Culshaw, Presenter for WD18: Watford Fan Channel @jacob_culshaw

"We can't be too surprised. A leopard can't change its spots, as the saying goes. Nonetheless, it's exasperating and bewildering in equal measure, given Duxbury's comments in the summer.

"We were told that Watford needed its culture back. Now, we can see that the hierarchy are intent on a short-term approach, alienating many.

"Edwards couldn't instil his principles on this talented team in the time he had, which proved to be his downfall. Three wins from 11 isn't good enough for a promotion candidate, but Rome wasn't built in a day.

"Perhaps it will prove to be the right decision for Watford's season. However, many of us feel angry as this continues to make us a laughing stock.

"It feels like we started building a family home with solid foundations but Pozzo has gotten bored and decided to scrap it for a bouncy castle."

Tom Wicks, Editor of Golden Pages Fanzine @WatfordFanzine

"Watford FC is no longer your club. It is the sole property of the owner Gino Pozzo who willfully refused to back Rob Edwards through ‘hell or high water’ as his chairman Scott Duxbury said would happen.

"This is the same owner who took no action when Roy Hodgson applauded the Crystal Palace fans on the day we were relegated.

"As Keith Burkinshaw said when he left Tottenham Hotspur: 'There used to be a football club over there'.

"Be careful what you wish for? Nobody wished for this."

Rupert and Ed from Uncle Ron and Ed’s Sunday Service Twitter space