The Opposition View: Watford
For the second season running, Brighton will begin the Premier League campaign away at Watford – although both clubs are in very different positions to where they were a year ago.
On that occasion a year ago at Vicarage Road, Chris Hughton was at the helm and the Albion gave a very Hughton-esque away performance, failing to have a single meaningful shot on Ben Foster’s goal.
Before the game, many Seagulls fans felt that Watford was the sort of place we could pick up three points as the Hornets might have been an outside bet for relegation.
Fast forward nine months and that looked pretty silly as Javi Gracia secured a highest number of Premier League points for the Hornets and led them to the FA Cup Final at Wembley.
They’ll be no underestimating them this time around as the Graham Potter gets underway in Hertfordshire. Ahead of the game, we spoke to Andy Lewers from The Hornets Nest about Watford’s record breaking season last time out and what the Albion can learn from the Hornets in terms of how to become an established Premier League club.
What a season Watford had last time out. An 11th placed finish and reaching the FA Cup Final. How did it go down with Hornets fans?
Unsurprisingly, last season was an incredible ride for Hornets fans. Despite the heavy defeat in the FA Cup Final, I think we all felt an enormous sense of pride having reached the final for only the second time in our history and whilst the Premier League season ultimately ended in disappointment – dropping away from Europe and finishing in the bottom half on the final day of the season – to have reached a record Premier League points total was a fantastic achievement.
What would constitute a successful campaign this time around?
I think it’s important to be realistic this season, so I would love a top half finish to reflect our progress over the previous few seasons. We should have done it last year, so this year anything other than finishing outside the top 10 I would constitute as a disappointment.
Javi Gracia has done what most recent Watford managers don’t and managed to last into a second season. Is that a sign of a little more stability at Vicarage Road than in recent times and what difference can that make to you this season?
Definitely; but it’s not just the stability with the Head Coach that’s helped, but also the stability within the squad. Fewer signings in recent seasons means we have a cohesive team that know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Last season gave us a good foundation to build on and this season with the continuity of the squad and Head Coach can only be a good thing and hopefully bring another successful season to Vicarage Road.
4) Brighton are at the stage now where they need to take the next step forward from perennial relegation battlers to a comfortable mid table Premier League side. That’s something Watford have done pretty successfully. What’s the secret to doing so?
Watford’s recruitment since being promoted has been exceptional and has been the difference between survival and relegation. I can’t recall many of the players who came up with us being able to adapt to the Premier League, and so they were sold back to Championship clubs – Matěj Vydra, Ikechi Anya, Fernando Forestieri, Almen Abdi and the like.
The owners’ scouting system is renowned for bringing in unheard of talent from around the world and selling them on at a greater price with Odion Ighalo and Richarlison the perfect examples. Whilst admittedly some signings just don’t work out, the likes of Etienne Capoue, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Roberto Pereyra and Gerard Deulofeu have been the difference for us and why we’ve never really had to look over our shoulder since being promoted.
At this point in time, Watford have been one of the quieter sides on the new signings front. Is that a concern?
I don’t think it’s a huge concern as I think we’ll be fine this season, the only concern I do have is that the likes of Everton, Leicester, West Ham and Wolves arguably have stronger squads than us after this window; so I’m worried we may lose ground on them. I would like a couple more signings before the window closes, our defence is still an issue for me.
What should we expect from Watford on Saturday? Has anything changed in terms of approach or playing style over the summer?
By the looks of our pre-season our playing style hasn’t changed. Javi is a big fan of a 4-4-2 but where our wingers are able to cut inside and play through the middle in more of a 4-2-2-2 style. It will likely be the same on Saturday, hopefully with the addition of pacey winger Ismaila Sarr, who we’re rumoured to be signing for a club record fee.
If you had to give Graham Potter one piece of advice for beating Watford this weekend, what would it be?
Work on your counter attacks. When we advance and our wingers cut inside, we’ll be exposed down the sides. If you can also overload the midfield and stop Capoue and Doucoure getting hold of the ball you’ll have a very good chance of controlling the game.
If you could sign one Brighton player, who would you pick?
I’d have to take Lewis Dunk. As I said I think we’re still a bit light at the back, he would add some much needed height and physicality to our back line.
Who do you think will win the Premier League this season and who do you think will go down?
I think Manchester City look good for their third title in a row, going down I’ve gone with Sheffield United, Newcastle United and Norwich City
Finally, a prediction for Saturday please?
A confident 3-1 win for the ‘Orns!
Thanks to Andy for answering our questions. You can follow The Hornets Nest on Twitter – why not drop Andy a tweet if Brighton manage to confound his prediction on Saturday?
