Can Ismael buck Watford trend? Interview Thursday, 3rd Aug 2023 16:05 by Clive Whittingham 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? 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… 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? 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. 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? 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. 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 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. 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. Links >>> Watford Official Website >>> WFC Forums — Message Board >>> Watford Observer — Local Press >>> Voices of the Vic — Podcast The Twitter/Instagram @loftforwords, @VoicesoftheVic Pictures — Action Images Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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