Watford, fancied by many for a relegation struggle, are pushing into the early play-off picture, and even more remarkably still have a manager seemingly secure and popular in the division's hottest seat – Richard Segal and Cam from the Voices of the Vic Podcast gave us the latest.
How's the season been so far for Watford?
Cam: So far so good. A play-off challenge is far from what any of us expected but that’s where we find ourselves. Our position is built almost entirely on our home form; we’re unbeaten at home this season, with only two points dropped at Vicarage Road (I’m fully expecting that to change on Saturday). Above the results though we’re finally playing exciting football that isn’t based around just watching our defenders slowly pass it to each other. And most importantly it looks like the passion and the joy is back at Watford. I’d be lying if I said it couldn’t be better: away from home we’re as bad as any, and our form seems to completely go out the window. However, recent away performances (since that horrible day in Luton) have been improved, and hopefully the results follow.
Rich: Pretty decent on the whole. We were tipped for the bottom six/eight so it has been a pleasant surprise to see us in the play-off positions as we approach December.
Watford in the league so far…
Millwall 2-3 Watford Watmore 74, 88 – Kayembe 22, Chakvetadze 55, Rajovic 90
Watford 3-0 Stoke Kayembe 47, 73, Andrews 49
Watford 2-1 Derby Bayo 31, Sissoko 76 – Adams 2
Sheff Utd 1-0 Watford Bachmann og 2
Watford 1-1 Coventry Dele-Bashiru 67 – Simms 4
Norwich 4-1 Watford Doyle 3, Sainz 45, Nunez 54, Chrisene 89 – Andrews 26
Watford 2-1 Sunderland Ebosele 28, Dele-Bashiru pen 84 – Isidor 49
Preston 3-0 Watford Osmajic 53, 65, McCann 75
Watford 2-1 Boro Kayembe 75, Baah 87 – Edmundson 54
Luton 3-0 Watford Clark 11, Morris 47, Brown 90
Leeds 2-1 Watford Ramazani 4, Aaronson 7 – Baah 47
Watford 1-0 Blackburn Kayembe pen 71
Sheff Wed 2-6 Watford Smith 34, Valentin 82 – Porteus 29, Ince pen 52, Bayo pen 58, 67, 85, 88
Swansea 1-0 Watford Peart-Harris 35
Watford 1-0 Oxford Bayo 54
Plymouth 2-2 Watford Gray 23, 90 – Bayo 8, Porteus 41
Watford 1-0 Bristol City Andrews 53
Many tipped you for struggle this season, NotTheTop20 had you bottom I think, so how and why has it gone as well as it has?
Cam: First of all I don’t think anyone tipping us for relegation should feel embarrassed about that prediction. We were in a steady decline, our squad was a mess and we had an inexperienced manager. I can’t stress enough that the squad is still a pretty poor one. There’s a severe lack of quality and balance particularly in that midfield, we don’t have a good enough left-footed centre back and our goalkeeper and striker have been on the end of some harsh but very valid criticism this season. The reason it’s going so well is Tom Cleverley. Everything hinges on him. He’s reinstated that connection between the club and the fans singlehandedly. The system he plays, which has varied in shape but is predominately a 3421 or 352, is incredibly effective going forwards. Defensively we leave a lot to be desired, but I think the open nature of our system is our strength, and against teams who don’t look to control the middle of the park we can be relentless.
Rich: It looks like the players want to play for the manager. Stating the obvious but when the home form has been as good as ours it enables the confidence to spread amongst the fans and players. If only the performances had been better away and a few draws picked rather then defeats we’d be even higher still in the table.
Might Tom Cleverley finally be the manager that stays the course here?
Cam: The only thing that could result in Tom Cleverley leaving is his own ambition. I’m of the opinion that no manager in this league is doing a better job with what they have than Tom. I have no doubt there’ll be Premier League clubs sniffing around and it’s interesting to wonder what his ceiling really is: could he be, for example, a future Manchester United manager? Either way, it’s hard to see his future being with us if we don’t buck our ideas up in terms of recruitment, as Tom is much better than a middling Championship manager. If you’re wondering what the likelihood of him getting sacked is, I’m gonna say it’s zero. And of course with our ownership that could come back to bite me.
Rich: He might be. I like his thoughts on the game and his decision making has changed games in our favour. Being his first managerial job there are mistakes as well but 29 games into the role it is a good start (W13 D7 L9, 43% win percentage).
How do you assess your summer transfer window now looking back?
Cam: It’s a real mixed bag. We addressed a lot of problem areas but, because almost everything was a problem area, we’ve left ourselves seriously short. Barring Festy Ebosele at right back it’s hard to say any of our new signings have really hit the ground running. Yasser Larouci started horribly but, to his credit, has really picked up his act lately, and if he plays could be a threat. Youngsters Pierre Dwomoh and Rocco Vata certainly look exciting but Tom is playing a very patient game with them. Dan Jebbison is the real blunder of the window; we’ve been looking for a striker for years and always go horribly wrong, but this felt like the one that could go the other way. Instead, he’s not even getting into the matchday squad and looks set to return to Bournemouth in January. Moussa Sissoko has been especially poor but because he’s the captain and an ex-France international he has to be on the team sheet unfortunately for us. Never have I seen a midfield player with less defensive work rate than Sissoko and it’s no surprise that he captained us to a 3-0 surrender away at our rivals. Centre-backs Angelo Ogbonna and Kevin Keben look like they could be good additions but they’ve both spent the majority of their team here on the injury table. Arguably the best thing we did in summer was keeping Kwadwo Baah: the kid is dynamite, and he’s come out of nowhere after a few unremarkable loan spells - plaudits to Tom Cleverley for really unlocking his talent.
Rich: Up and down. The decision to send striker Mileta Rajovic out on loan and bring Daniel Jebbison in on loan from Bournemouth up front has not worked out to date. Cleverley’s first signing was to bring back Moussa Sissoko and he has been good. We have only seen Angelo Ogbonna play a few games but he is quality at this level.
Ins: >>> Pierre Dwomoh, 20, CM, Royal Antwerp, £900k >>> Kevin Keben, 20, CB, Toulouse, £900k >>> Kaky Almeida, 19, CB, Fluminese, £990k >>> Rocco Vata, 19, AM, Celtic, £150k >>> Moussa Sissoko, 34, CM, Nantes, Free >>> Angelo Ogbonna, 36, CB, West Ham, Free >>> Mamadou Doumbia, 18, CF, Black Stars, Undisclosed >>> Yasser Larouci, 23, LB, Troyes, Loan >>> Antonio Tikvic, 20, CB, Udinese, Loan (of course) >>> Jonathan Bond, 31, GK, Unattached, Free >>> Festy Ebosele, 22, RM, Udinese, Loan (etc) >>> Vakoun Bayo, 27, CF, Udinese, Loan >>> Daniel Jebbison, 21, CF, Bournemouth, Loan
Outs >>> Yaser Asprilla, 20, RW, Girona, £15m >>> Ismael Kone, 22, CM, Marseille, £10m >>> Vakoun Bayo, 27, CF, Udinese, Undisclosed (ofc) >>> Wesley Hoedt, 30, CB, Al-Shabab, Undisclosed >>> Ashley Fletcher, 28, CF, Blackpool, Free >>> Ben Hamer, 36, GK, Sheff Wed, Free >>> Jake Livermore, 34, DM, Released >>> Samuel Kalu, 27, RW, Released >>> Mileta Rajovic, 25, CF, Brondby, Loan >>> joao Ferreira, 23, RB, Braga, Loan >>> Jorge Hurtado, 20, CF, PAOK, Loan >>>
Stand out players in the team?
Cam: The standout player, maybe in the entire league, is Giorgi Chakvetadze. After a slow first season with us we’re really seeing the player these Georgian fans don’t shut up about. He’s an unbelievable dribbler and ball carrier, has created the most chances in the league, and is central to everything we do. Even when he’s having what we perceive to be an off day, opposition fans always tell us he was sensational. Kwadwo Baah in the attack is a bit of a cheat code. Due to his pace and physicality he’s unstoppable when 1v1 with a full back and has end product to go with it. I think QPR will be spared from his presence as it looks like the knocks he’s picked up have caught up to him and he needs to be rested. Up front with him is Vakoun Bayo, who has been absolutely on fire lately. He’s scoring for fun and his all-round game has gone up a level recently, giving us something crucial in attack. Down the other end Mattie Pollock is unlucky not to be our player of the season. He’s an absolute rock at the back, wins everything in the air, good in ground duels and a fantastic ball player.
Rich: It is a pleasure to watch Giorgi Chakvetadze, his skill and ball carrying abilities has him onto another level to the majority of players in the championship. If there is a criticism then the one goal from 17 goals should be better. We also have a raw but talented winger in Kwadwo Baah, most left backs are having a hard time up against him. I also want to give a bit shout to Mattie Pollock – two years ago he was thrown under the bus at Millwall by senior players, in January he was nearly sent on loan, in September he is the first name on the team sheet from the defenders and signed a five-year contract.
Weak links?
Cam: It’s probably uncommon to see a player in both the strengths and weaknesses columns, but that sums up Vakoun Bayo really. We’ve seen the upside to his game lately but if he isn’t on it he gives us nothing really. He can be very easy to defend due to not making a nuisance of himself, he doesn’t really threaten the goal and he doesn’t make himself an out ball. You guys will be hoping he has one of those off days, because it really can be our undoing. The midfield is a huge area of concern for us. Imran Louza has come in and done a tidy job but alongside him we’ve got to choose between the lazy, ball-watching, immobile Sissoko or the lazy, ball-watching, immobile Kayembe. If QPR are a team that like to attack through midfield then there’s joy to be had, because it can’t be said enough that our midfield is so so easy to cut apart. Dan Bachmann has been a problem in goal for us since his first season ended, and that is still the case today. He had an improved game against Bristol City, albeit with some flaws, but his shot-stopping is inconsistent, he doesn’t command his box in the slightest, his distribution is appalling and his presence seems to unsettle those ahead of him. There’s definitely joy to be had for opposition sides.
Rich: We can be open too much defensively, but three clean sheets on the trot at home shows improvement.
Revised expectations for the season?
Cam: Well, the revised hope is now playoffs. We’re sat in the top six and we’re playing the best football we have for years, so why not dream. But realistically, with the inconsistencies and lack of quality in our side, it’s hard to see us cementing our place and I think a fall-off will be due. A top half finish would still be a miracle and, thankfully, I believe we can achieve that.
Rich: I think we will finish top half, if we can find and get a better striker in January then we could get a play off place. But, honestly, after watching just five homes wins all of last season it’s just great to be at the Vic and watch a team that cares and to date is winning.
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