Watford’s Alessio Dionisi has expressed his frustration and apologized after his side’s 1-0 loss to Bristol City on Friday night.
Dom Ballard scored the only goal of the game to help Bristol City move up to fifth in the table with 13 points from eight games.
Watford are 17th with 8 points from 8 games and we still have the rest of the weekend to play.
There were two shouts for a penalty, with Manchester City’s Rob Atkinson going down in the box in the 11th minute after a challenge from Mamadou Doumbia, and then just before the end of the game, Watford’s Myron Boadu claimed his shirt was pulled in the box and the referee was not interested in either of them.
After the game, Alessio Dionisi said: sky sports:
“In many games we played with the same players, the same lineup. Today it was difficult to ask other players.
“It’s not easy because, for example, today there were no midfielders on the bench, no defenders. It’s difficult.
“Sometimes I wasn’t happy with the last 20 meters because we got close to the penalty area and then we counterattacked. It’s not good, but we have a lot of young players.
“There are six young players in the squad today. Two 19-year-olds and two 20-year-olds. It will not be easy, but I believe in our future because it is important.
“I speak every day to my director, my boss, the club. The club understands the situation because at the beginning I was not happy. It is difficult to start when we have a few players.”
“I know a lot of players arrive at the end of the season [window]but now it is important to recover a lot of players.
“I talked to my team in the locker room. It’s about believing, working together, because I believe in this team and I believe in our work.”
Dionisi said he was “sorry” for the defeat but believed they had done their best under the circumstances. #watfordfc @BBCSport3CR pic.twitter.com/lrX6dMNLAy
— Jeff Doyle (@GeoffDoyle1) September 18, 2026
See the full interview here#watfordfc
— Jeff Doyle (@GeoffDoyle1) September 18, 2026
Bristol City’s Michael Skubala:
“Dom moves very well in and out of the box and I think he can play from both sides of the two centre-backs. I think he can link up really well. [Lorent] Toraj did a good job as well, but Dom is a very good runner off the ball and he created some chances for himself.
“I think this goal is a typical Dom Ballard goal that I’ve seen over the past few years.
“I’m really happy. It’s not easy to come back from the couple of games we lost but it did show some bounce back. A win is a win and a good clean sheet.
“I thought we showed good intensity on the ball, especially in the first half. We moved really well, changed the way we played and looked threatening. In the second half, naturally we were a little low, but we had some quick transition moments to get our second chance.”
“We challenged the team with a clean sheet and made sure we defended our box solidly and I thought the lads were great. The other thing is I made seven changes, which shows the depth of the team. Not many people make seven changes and some of the lads were outstanding.”
Here’s the reaction on social media Watford’s Alessio Dionisi spoke of his frustration and apologized after losing to Bristol City…
@MalekWFC_: I really feel for this guy. The poor guy can only do so much with what he has. His body language said it all, he looked completely exhausted by the situation, but there was only so much he could say without making it worse. Screw Bozo for putting him in this situation. #watfordfc
@botopatrick: Dropped by 4 points. Pozzo, I leave this matter to you. Instead of sacking the manager during the international break, why not change the formula and announce that you are selling the club…? #pozzoout
@mahornet1978: Thanks to Dionisi and our players who stayed the course. The team struggled due to injuries and gaps in the lineup. Players need to be brought back during the break. If that game had been played at the end of last season, we would have lost 5-0. #watfordfc
@willmanags: Giving the poor guys a chance to run on empty after a Week 8 game is a joke, somehow Dionisi will be fired after being asked to build a house out of fucking plastic spoons
@WFC_Thomas:Thank god for the international break, I haven’t watched that shit for three weeks.
@Jossy_Herts: We’re going down. The club has been tiptoeing towards League 1 for some time and this will be the season it happens. The only unknown is whether this will be with three or four head coaches. Our January transfer window is going to be busy.
@watfordtalk: The result of the worst lineup you can find. There were numerous injuries. Replacements won’t fit for weeks. It is unlikely that our best XI will be available at the same time. We were just playing firefighting one game at a time. Dionysius was assassinated by the royal family
@tomwhite001: Pozo has ruined my club over the past few years. I’m not even interested in gaming. The cracks were covered in the first place. For the first time in a long time we have a good coach, we have our own style of play and you come out and lie and say the team is good enough
@TBBodell: I have feelings for Dionis. Not only does he have to deal with the consequences of the transfer window on a weekly basis, he also has to discuss them with the media and bite the bullet because he knows this will be the reason he is eventually sacked, despite all his efforts. #watfordfc
@rio_woolf: Dionisi has a worse record than Pezzolano after 8 games. Really think the three games after the international break are make or break. No matter how high he is among the fan base.
@BradleyHayden11: Dionisi operates with his hands tied behind his back. It’s a terrible sign for recruiting when only 2 new recruits are healthy, 2 of them are semi-healthy on the bench, and the rest are either injured or not ready. If Dionisi walked away, I wouldn’t blame him one iota. He deserves better. #watfordfc
