Vialli: Moving on again

Once more, he was given significant financial backing but not as much time as he wanted.

He steered the Hornets to a disappointing 14th position in what became a poor season by their recent standards and was promptly given his cards.

But, Vialli has invested heavily to stamp his personality on the squad at Vicarage Road.

In came Italian stalwart Filippo Galli, winger Stephen Glass and Frenchman Patrick Blondeau in a bid to bolster Watford's promotion assault.

But the side never seemed to gel in a season of frustration for both Vialli and the Hornets' fans.

The pizzas may have been selling well in Hertfordshire and the football was flowing. The defence, however, was shipping in goals galore.

Great striker

Vialli is no ordinary manager.

As a son of a multi-millionaire industrialist, he was brought up in a 60-room castle: a far cry from the working class roots of most footballers.

His footballing career started slowly with hometown club Cremonese but he gradually developed into one of the most feared strikers in the world, scoring 140 goals in eight seasons with Sampdoria.

It was Ruud Gullit who brought him to England, sign him for Chelsea on a free transfer after he had captained Italian giants Juventus to victory in the 1996 European Cup final .

After the Dutchman had left under a cloud the size of Turin, Vialli was installed as Chelsea's new player-manager in 1998.

Mild mannered

Vialli gave instant return to Chelsea chairman Ken Bates' plea for glory by guiding the Blues to victory in the Coca-Cup Final against Middlesbrough at Wembley in early 1999.

This was closely followed by victory in the European Cup Winners' Cup against Stuttgart in Stockholm, and Bates was the first to congratulate the new man at the Stamford Bridge tiller.

Despite such a good first season at the helm, the mild-mannered Italian was still feeling the strain as boss as his second campaign got underway in less than emphatic fashion.

Even a strong run in the Champions League and an FA Cup final victory over Aston Villa in 1999/2000 could not help Vialli shrug off the threat of a P45.

A poor start to the season led to Vialli being told by the intolerant Bates that his services were no longer required.

'Challenge'

But Vialli returned to football after being asked to help return Watford to their rightful place.

And though his surroundings were not as salubrious as those in west London, the Hornets' fans were understandably delighted at the appointment.

"It will be a great challenge but it will also be a very exciting time," he said of his new job.

"Last but not least we are going to have fun."

The challenge proved too great to overcome in the time he was allowed - but Vialli would probably argue he never had time to have fun.