Quietly and efficiently, Watford were promoted and have held their own in their first season back in the Premier League since 2006/07.
Formed in 1881, the Hornets are currently owned by the Pozzo family, who also own Udinese Calcio in Italy and Granada CF in Spain. With this significant backing, Watford have come a long way in a short space of time. So where did all this start and who takes the credit?
Runners-up in the Championship last season, manager Slaviša Jokanovic left Watford at the end of his one-year contract after he, and the club, failed to reach a new agreement. Jokanovic was replaced by Spaniard Quique Sanchez Flores, a relative unknown and untried manager within the English game. He became their fifth coach inside 12 months, with plenty of experience of coaching in Spain and the Arab Leagues.
The club made 16 signings in the summer and with 22 different nationalities in the dressing room, it was the 50-year-old’s assignment to gel the players into a cohesive unit. This has been attained by trying to keep a fairly settled side; goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, right-back Allan Nyom, centre-back Craig Cathcart, central midfielder Etienne Capoue and strikers Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo have featured in the majority of their league games this season.
The Hertfordshire outfit have been somewhat of a revelation this year after being early favourites for relegation, as are all promoted sides at some point. Their brand of football is eye catching and they seem to be able to nurture the talents of their players. One in particular being, Odion Ighalo.
Ighalo brought in via the owners’ overseas connections, has already scored 15 Premier League goals and it is no wonder that Watford want to hold onto their man with talk of Arsenal and Manchester United being interested circulating. Along with Troy Deeney, he’s been a huge part in the success of Watford so far this season. In defence, Cathcart is a bit of unsung hero and his name is being linked with international honours with Northern Ireland now.
Sitting 9th and just five points off 5th, the club have surprised a few people. Their squad has a vibe of ‘United Nations’ and Flores has made them a team that can be difficult to break down easily. Flores thinks that the club can now attract bigger names. Talking to The Guardian, he said, “The signing of Mario Suárez from Fiorentina shows the perception of Watford has changed. It means Watford is doing something really good, top players like Nordin Amrabat and Mario Suárez want to come now.”
Their cup run has also gone unnoticed by many and it is the first time the Hornets have reached the sixth round in almost a decade, where they now face either Hull or Arsenal away.
“We can win the competition like this if you are able to keep the goal zero and you are also scoring,” said Flores to Sky Sports after successive 1-0 victories against Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and now Leeds.
Watford have a resilience and play with passion on the pitch and that emotion is shared by the manager. Flores is much more than a journeyman coach with an eye for exactness. He has won six cup competitions in his 11 years as a first-team manager, including the Europa League with Atletico Madrid in 2010.
“He’s thorough and makes you think about the game differently,” said playmaker Pablo Aimar, who he worked with at both Valencia and Benfica. “He is a passionate guy,” confessed Watford shot-stopper Heurelho Gomes. “After the games he runs onto the pitch and shakes hands with everybody.”
Not unlike Bilic at West Ham, Flores has given Watford the ‘feel-good factor’ and whereas survival was the aim back in August last year, now it’s about pushing on and seeing how far they can go in the league. The manager, as laid back as he is in interviews, knows his football and isn’t afraid to make changes and rotate his squad. The notable rotation is in the winger position where Ikechi Anya started at the beginning of the season as a regular. Anya moved to left-back for the following games, as Juan Manuel Jurado came into the side. It was Anya and Jurado for Southampton, before Flores’ surprising move against Manchester City, when Almen Abdi and Jurado were in the first XI, but forwards Ighalo and Deeney took up wide positions. And so it has gone on.
There is no denying that with the backing the club now has and a manager like Flores at the helm, Watford can more than just survive each season. They are safe this year, but must be on their guard against the infamous ‘second term syndrome’.
You can’t help thinking that they’ll just get stronger, but quietly and methodically and in their own way. Don’t take them lightly though because they will still have that unexpected sting about them.
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