Expectations around Watford haven’t been this low in years, with another farcical season of managerial change and broken dressing room leaving them below halfway and their best players heading elsewhere – Richard Segal and Cam from the Voices of the Vic Podcast run us through their summer.
What went wrong at Watford last season?
RS: Well you know the tried and trusted three managers a season method backfired for the second year on the trot, also the lacklustre and at times disgusting attitude of some of the players.
Cam: Last season was the result of an accumulation of years of complacency and poor decisions from those at the top. We’d built a clearly imbalanced squad full of below par players that couldn’t be shifted due to hilariously long contracts and forged an environment that essentially rewards the failure of the players. Every fan could see that we were continuing to recruit poorly, a shining example being the arrival of Mario Gaspar to play as an attacking wing back. Rob Edwards (you might remember he did in fact manage us) was doomed to fail before a ball was even kicked, leading to his immediate replacement with Slaven Bilic, who proved to be a really poor manager tactically. Chris Wilder eventually completed the hat-trick but brought very little impact.
Watford league results 22/23…
Watford 1-0 Sheff Utd Pedro 56
West Brom 1-1 Watford Grant 55 — Sarr 12
Watford 1-0 Burnley Cleverley 45
Birmingham 1-1 Watford Hall 19 — Manaj 63
Preston 0-0 Watford
Watford 2-3 QPR Sema 27, Pedro 50 - Chair 18, Willock 34, Adomah 70
Watford 2-1 Boro Sarr 24, Bayo 90 — Muniz 4
Rotherham 1-1 Watford Wood 2 — Bayo 33
Blackburn 2-0 Watford Hedges 38, Hyam 32
Watford 2-2 Sunderland Davies 34, O’Nien og 62 — Alese 35, Bennette 87
Stoke 0-4 Watford Sarr 12, Sema 64, Davis 78, Bayo 84
Watford 1-2 Swansea Sarr 34 — Ntcham 52, Cabango 90
Blackpool 3-1 Watford Madine 10, Yates 81, 85 — Louza 29
Watford 2-1 Norwich Louza 18, Davis 31 — Sargent 45
Millwall 3-0 Watford Bradshaw 8, 26, 33
Watford 4-0 Luton Davis 3, Troost-Ekong 45, Pedro 57, Sarr 79
Wigan 0-1 Watford Pedro 87
Cardiff 1-2 Watford Kipre 9 — Sierralta 38, Sarr 59
Watford 0-1 Coventry Gyokeres 50
Watford 2-0 Reading Pedro pen 15, 87
Bristol City 0-0 Watford
Watford 0-0 Hull
Huddersfield 0-2 Watford Pedro 54, 86
Watford 0-2 Millwall Voglsammer 22, Flemming 83
Swansea 4-0 Watford Piroe 39, 78, Cullen 74, Latibeaudiere 87
Norwich 0-1 Watford Bayo 86
Watford 2-0 Blackpool Ademeyo 72, Sarr pen 87
Watford 1-1 Rotherham Ferreira 53 — Ferguson 20
Boro 2-0 Watford Akpom 36, Forss 45
Reading 2-2 Watford Ince pen 66, Hendrick 80 — Sarr 30, Porteous 48
Watford 1-1 Blackburn Hoedt 74 — Dack 24
Burnley 1-1 Watford Obafemi 90 — Pedro 32
Watford 3-2 West Brom Sema 23, 78, Sarr 66 — Townsend 56, Wallace 71
Sheff Utd 1-0 Watford Porteous og 7
Watford 0-0 Preston
QPR 1-0 Watford Iroegbunam 15
Watford 3-0 Birmingham Louza 6, Davis 16, Assombalonga 74
Watford 1-1 Wigan Davis 45 – McClean 51
Luton 2-0 Watford Osho 28, Campbell 90
Watford 2-3 Huddersfield Asprilla 32, Assombalonga 90 – Rudoni 44, Pearson 55, Harratt 82
Coventry 2-2 Watford Godden 58, Sheaf 72 – Pedro 6, Louza 45
Watford 2-0 Bristol City Cornick og 6, Pedro 54
Watford 1-3 Cardiff Sarr 11 – Etete 31, Kipre 35, Kapa 42
Hull 1-0 Watford Tufan pen 25
Sunderland 2-2 Watford O’Nien 70, Roberts 90 – Kabasele 17, Porteous 69
Watford 2-0 Stoke Louza 70, Davis 74
Well known for rattling through managers, it's never seemed to matter before but this time it all seemed to catch up with you and the Pozzo's started getting some stick for the first time - why?
RS: You are right that prior to two years ago the hiring and firing policy from the owners on the whole worked, the six managers since then, the knock on effect of how the players were downing tools and the apathy around the club has lead the club to where we are at the moment.
Cam: The managers issue is obviously everyone’s first thought when it comes to Watford, and I can’t argue with the jokes now even if they are completely unoriginal. It worked for us in the past – we were very reactive when it came to changing managers and it paid off as we continued to improve year on year. However, since Javi Gracia’s dismissal in four years ago its only been downhill and we’ve struggled to form any consistency. The Pozzos are now getting stick and rightly so because most of their decisions of late have been downright baffling. To their credit, they very rarely get the sackings wrong. The appointments, on the other hand, have been a huge factor in our demise.
The team didn't seem to give much of a shit, certainly that seemed to be Chris Wilder's opinion of them. Is that the product of the culture and the constant changes, or do they shoulder some blame?
RS: Some of the players still cared, seasoned professionals like Tom Cleverly, Craig Cathcart and Dan Gosling were trying and in the example of Joao Pedro you do the have the Pozzo business model of buying an unknown player for the cheap and selling for a huge profit working to perfection. If on the other hand you saw Ismaila Sarr’s ‘performance’ in W12 last March you have to question what a new manager every five minutes does to the attitude of some of the less professional players.
Cam: Of course the players shoulder some blame but it’s more or less spot on to assume the attitude problem is a result of the culture. I’d find it very hard to believe we recruited 25 players who all happen to be bad eggs. Motivation in a squad more often than not comes from the manager and if you don’t see a reason to get behind him then why should you? These players aren’t going to battle and leaving everything on the pitch for a man who will be replaced when they inevitably don’t deliver. Chris Wilder was spot on, as he was with a lot of the things he said.
Valerian Ismael, talk to us about that one - a very direct, aggressive, abrasive style of play, does he suit the players you've got? What do you make of the appointment?
RS: Who knows and most importantly are the club going to give him a decent amount of time to implement those plans? As I sit here on another beautiful July morning we have Vakoun Bayo and Rhys Healey as our strike force and it does not matter what style you play that is not going to cut the mustard. I am guessing at least two more strikers to be in the door soonish and if Kieffer Moore is one of them we might be hitting the big man.
Cam: I don’t think it’s a case of him suiting the players we’ve got, but more that we’ll be aiming to build a squad capable of that style of play. The squad he’s been given is absolutely not capable of running their socks off without the ball and playing a direct approach that requires physicality and effort, so it would have to be a no for that one. He has, however, adjusted his style in pre-season so far to be much more possession based. Fitness levels and off the ball work have also looked much better in preseason, and with the additions we’ve made we do look better suited to high intensity football. I think the idea is that he’ll play this way until we build the squad over a few windows to play like his super effective Barnsley team. I like this appointment a lot and I do have a good feeling about all things Watford thanks to Valerien Ismael.
What transfer activity has been done so far?
RS: Jamal Lewis has arrived on loan, some experience in midfield with Jake Livermore and every team’s favourite Tom Ince to.
Cam: The highlight of our transfer window has undoubtedly been in the departures. We’ve managed to shift almost all of our ‘deadwood’ to make room for the much-needed refresh. The likes of Christian Kabasele and Mario Gaspar have been shown the door along with many others. We’ve recouped great fees for Joao Pedro and Ismaila Sarr too and while they will be a loss I trust our new technical director, Ben Manga, to find sufficient replacements. Incomings so far have been lacklustre. Jake Livermore has come in at the request of Ismael which has understandably split the fanbase, but I do see the value of his experience and leadership. Tom Ince also joins with the momentum of a great season at Reading and he seems to fit the system like a glove. The pick of our signings so far is Rhys Healey, a striker who’s been very productive in France: he boasts a fantastic record and looks like a great pickup. Also yet to be announced is left-back Jamal Lewis, who brings fantastic energy and plenty of experience at a good age, and creative midfielder Giorgi Chakvetadze, a young player with bags of ability on the ball. I’m over the moon with our efforts towards this rebuild in what will be a transition season.
Ins >>> Tom Ince, 31, RW, Reading, £50k >>> Rhys Healey, 28, CF, Toulouse, Free >>> Jake Livermore, 33, DM, West Brom, Free >>> Jamal Lewis, 25, LB, Newcastle, Loan >>> Giorgi Chakvetadze, 23, AM, Gent, Loan
Outs >>> Joao Pedro, 21, CF, Brighton, £30m >>> Ismaila Sarr, 25, RW, Marseille, £11m >>> William Troost-Ekong, 29, CB, Salonika, £900k >>> Joseph Hungbo, 23, Show Off, Nuremberg, £200k >>> Domingos Quina, 23, AM, Udinese, Undisclosed >>> Christian Kabasele, 32, CB, Udinese, Undisclosed >>> Ashley Fletcher, 27, CF, Sheff Wed, Loan >>> Britt Assombalonga, 30, CF, Released >>> Mario Gaspar, 32, RB, Released >>> Leandro Bacuna, 31, CM, Released >>> Craig Cathcart, 34, CB, Released >>> Dan Gosling, 33, CM, Released >>> Tom Cleverley, 33, CM, Retired
What's still required?
RS: As mentioned two more strikers are needed, possibly another centre half.
Cam: It’s been outlined in the media that we’re still after a striker, a central midfielder and a centre-back. I can’t argue with that but I also feel that our greatest position of need is defensive midfield. Francisco Sierralta, a centre-back who isn’t the most nimble to put it lightly, has filled in there throughout preseason and Jake Livermore doesn’t look to be quite at the level required either, so I’d love to see an incoming there. I also can’t stress enough that having Daniel Bachmann in goal will make it very tough to play the way we want to – I think he should make way for a more commanding, confident keeper. There’s plenty of work to do and with the sudden sale of Sarr I think we’ll see things pick up over the coming weeks.
How do you see this season going? Can't remember expectations being this low around Watford for ages...
Well, my Watford WhatsApp group (apart from one person) are saying around mid-table. The club is in such a different place from this time last year when Dennis, JP and Sarr were all lining up against Sheffield United. The so-called ‘crown jewels’ have been sold and we may be back to where I and most fans watched Watford for many years as a bang average Championship side.
To the 25-year-old kids sitting near me, even if we go one nil up on Saturday please no signing "Voulez-Vous, Watford’s going to win the league”.
Cam: Expectations are low and I think that’s because fans are understandably very emotional at the moment. It has at times felt like we’re doomed to continue on this downward spiral but if anything this transfer window has been a giant step in the right direction. I’m absolutely confident we’ll be a much better unit than last season even if we do lack some quality. Depending on the rest of the window a play-off push wouldn’t surprise me but I’m gonna play it safe and call a top ten finish.
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