Opposition View: Watford
Brighton and Hove Albion kick off the 2018-19 Premier League season away at Watford on Saturday, a side who get through more managers than John Prescott has had hot pies.
How on Earth do they remain a relatively stable club with so much upheaval? That was one of the talking points from our chat with Andy Lewers from Watford blog The Hornest Nest.
Andy also talked Oscar Garcia, that tackle from Miguel Britos on Anthony Knockaert and how the Pozzo Family’s ownership of several over football teams helped Watford’s development. Good news for those of us keeping an eye on Tony Bloom’s latest project over in Belgium.
Here’s the opposition view ahead of Watford v Brighton.
It’s perceived wisdom that stability brings success, yet Watford seem to have done alright changing managers at least once a season. What’s the secret behind it working for you?
The reason behind it working lies with our infrastructure of the club. When the Pozzo family bought the club back in 2012 they hired Head Coaches instead of Managers. This may seem like a petty detail on the outside, but lots of clubs are starting to do the same. The difference being of course that a Manager looks after the club as a whole, organises transfers, wages etc. Whereas a Head Coach’s sole purpose is to coach the team, nothing else. That way when the Head Coach moves on the whole structure of the club doesn’t need to change and only his position needs filling.
We actually had to use Google to find out who your current boss is. Can you tell us about Javi Garcia?
Well, you’re not the first to use Google, as many of us ‘Orns had to when he first came in. And you’re not the first to get his name wrong either! It’s Javi Gracia, former Málaga and Ruben Kazan boss. He came in just a few hours after we had sacked Marco Silva back in January. He’s a very defensive-minded coach and I’ve been lucky enough to meet him on a couple of occasions and he comes across as a very humble, polite individual, who isn’t afraid to try and speak English as much as possible.
Speaking of managers called Garcia – or in this case, nearly Garcia – Oscar is still held in great regard by Brighton fans and he had a very short spell at Vicarage Road. What did you make of him during his time in charge?
When Garcia was announced we were really pleased and excited, as he’d done a great job with you guys. Sadly though it didn’t work out, as he was sidelined for his four games in charge (W1 D2 L1) before resigning due to medical reasons. Guess it just goes to show you how stressful being the Watford boss is!
Our chairman Tony Bloom has just purchased a second division Belgian team. As one of the first English clubs to experience having an owner involved with multiple sides, what are the advantages and disadvantages?
It’ll be really interesting to see how this works. When Watford were bought we were the lowest out of the three clubs our owners owned, the others being La Liga’s Granada and Serie A’s Udinese. The owners have since sold Granada. The aim was to get Watford into the Premier League as quickly as possible and so the main advantage was we were given a plethora of good quality players, for free, from each club to help us achieve that (legally, I might add!). Whether you will send your less experienced players to the other club to help the reach the top I’m not sure. The disadvantage could be that the owner’s attention goes towards the other club, as happened with Granada. Udinese fans don’t really like Watford for that very reason!
How has Watford’s transfer window gone. You must have been delighted to get £50m for Richarlison, a forward who hadn’t scored since November?
Our transfer window has been a mixed bag really. On the plus side getting £50m for Richarlison was great business, as was Doucouré signing a new five year deal, Deulofeu joining permanently and bringing in the likes of Ben Foster, Adam Massina, Ken Sema and Marco Navarro. However, we still desperately need a new striker. It’s no secret that Deeney and Gray weren’t exactly prolific in front of goal last season so it would astound me if we don’t bring anyone in before our game on the 11th.
What are Watford’s realistic expectations for this season?
I think a top half finish is realistic. We should have achieved that last season but for one reason or another we didn’t. I think what a lot of Watford fans crave is just a bit of consistency, for the last three years we’ve started well and then tailed off in the second half of the season, I think we will have some very frustrated fans if the same happens again.
What is your favourite memory of a game against Brighton? That Chris Eagles goal from the halfway line at Withdean was pretty special
We’ve had some good games against each other over the years. Sadly I wasn’t at Withdean on that day for Eagles’ stunner, but the stand out match has to be the penultimate game of the 14/15 season, Brighton 0-2 Watford. A patch of sand diverting a Brighton header away from goal was the difference between Watford getting promoted that day and having to wait another week. I never saw the ball hit the back of the net when Vydra sealed the win in the 90th minute, I think we’d all started celebrating early! Then the euphoric scenes in the pubs of Brighton after a barmy afternoon of football that confirmed our promotion to the Premier League will all live long in the memory. It was a day that just summed up what being a football fan was all about.
Any players that we should be looking out for on Saturday? Andre Gray always seems to score against the Albion
It’s been announced that Deulofeu should be fit for our game, though whether he’ll start is another question. New signing Ken Sema could run rings round your defence given the chance so keep an eye out for him! I would just like to take this opportunity to apologise for Miguel Britos’ ‘tackle’ last season and would hope he doesn’t play on Saturday!
What are this Watford’s sides strengths and weaknesses?
Our main strength is our midfield. We have plenty to choose from in the likes of Doucouré, Chalobah, Hughes, Capoue, Pereyra and on the wings players such as Femenia, Sema, Success, Janmaat are all capable of causing some problems. Our weakness however still lies at either end of the pitch; no new strikers and no new central defenders in the window.
If you could sign one player from Brighton, who would you pick – if any!
Well I can’t say Knockaert, because it’s Knockaert. I would probably go for Glenn Murray, on the basis he can find the net!
A prediction for Saturday?
Hmm… A lot can happen in the final week of the transfer window, but I’ll go for a nervy 2-1 Watford win!
Finally, bonus question – we’ve always struggled to find decent pubs in Watford for games at Vicarage Road. Can you recommend any?
The main away fan pub is The Oddfellows, which is about 100m from the ground. Failing that there are a number of pubs and bars that welcome both sets of supporters along the high street, if you look on Google Maps you want to be at the end closest to the Watford Colosseum and away from Watford High Street station. We can also offer a Nandos at either end of the High Street just for your information…
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