At first glance, Watford's approach to their first
top-flight campaign in nearly ten years has all the hallmarks of an absolute
disaster. The club has appointed a new manager, Quique Sanchez Flores, who has
so far mostly plied his trade in Spain and has no first-hand knowledge of the
Premier League (Juande Ramos, anyone?). Further to this, they have spent
presumably a good chunk of their TV rights money on flashy overseas signings
with, yet again, little-to-no experience of English football. To cap it off,
Watford's style of keeping possession and creating chances through relentless
movement and passing is a lot easier to pull off when fighting for a title
than when fighting relegation.
So with all this seemingly erecting a giant signpost to
failure, it could be said that Watford's unbeaten start to the season is mildly
surprising. The Hornets followed up their impressive 2-2 draw away to Everton
with a dominating performance over West Brom, albeit one they fell short of
capitalising upon with victory. You would be hard pushed to find anyone who
really believes these two results are indicative of how the rest of the
campaign will transpire, but there certainly are signs that Watford won't
finish bottom this year, as they have done in their last two cracks at the
Premier League.
1. Strong midfield presence
One of the most impressive aspects of Watford's display
against West Brom was the strength they showed in midfield, particularly with
Etienne Capoue and Valon Behrami. Both home-debutants occupied the central role
in Watford's 4-2-3-1 formation, and were at the heart of every Watford attack. The central duo showed superb awareness, but most certainly have different styles
which complement each other. Capoue is constantly seeking the ball, creating
space for himself and offering an option for players across the pitch. Behrami
does this to a lesser extent, but is a physical presence in the same position
who fights to win the ball back, and makes himself a problem for the
opposition.
Both Capoue and Behrami have Premier League experience,
which is made all the more valuable by the fact that they are in the midst of
both Championship graduates and overseas inductees.
2. Creative flair
Although Watford lacked the cutting edge in and around the
penalty area on Saturday, there was no doubt about their ability to move the
ball forward in dynamic and interesting ways. Some players stood out in this
regard - Jose Manuel Jurado picked up the plaudits in the media for his
persistent display, although in truth his contributions became a tad sloppy as
the game went on. Nevertheless, a player who is willing to try new attacking
approaches during a game is guaranteed to create a lot of chances over the
course of a season.
Another player who showed a different kind of threat was
Cameroonian full-back Allan Nyom. He used excellent pace and technique to
bamboozle West Brom on a number of occasions, and was certainly able to get the
crowd excited. Add to these the unknown quantities of Steven Berghuis and
Alessandro Diamanti, as well as players who had this spark in the Championship,
such as Ikechi Anya, Almen Abdi and Fernando Forestieri, and Watford should
remain a effectively creative side this season.
3. Keeping possession... at the right time
Watford are used to having the ball at their feet for the
majority of their matches, but it is only sensible to realise that this is
going to change in the Premier League. Indeed, captain Troy Deeney spoke of how
the team were adjusting to this in his pre-match programme notes. Nevertheless,
The Hornets did show on Saturday that they were capable of out-passing an
established top-flight outfit, successfully completing 411 passes to The
Baggies' 182. It is debatable as to whether or not this is down to Tony Pulis'
gridlock approach to away games, but the reality is that Watford controlled the
game well beyond what the grizzled old gaffer would have liked.
In their first tie, away to Everton, Watford experienced the
very opposite. Everton controlled possession, keeping 67% of the ball. If
Watford had attempted to dominate possession at Goodison Park, it would have
been both bold and reckless, so instead the team looked to soak up pressure and
find chances on the break. The fact that this worked, and nearly bagged Watford
all three points, shows that not only is Quique Sanchez Flores a shrewd
tactician, he also has the resources to pull it off. It's easy enough to
approach a tough game with the right set-up, but getting the result is
another thing altogether.
4. Counter attacking initiative
Leading on from the last point is the fact that Watford have
already shown they can create effective counter-attacks, something that will
doubtless be essential to getting results in the trickier games. Watford were
able to advance the ball up the pitch quickly to create (admittedly spurned)
opportunities against West Brom following a handful of their attacks, and also
demonstrated their ability to make chances when the tides are against them at
Goodison Park.
With pacey attacking full-backs and midfield players who can
pick a pass, Watford will be reliant on quick moves to steal results in places
where they have no right to score points. If they can make this happen just a
few times, it could be enough to see them beat the dotted line by the end of
the year.
5. Ighalo
Few teams have entered the Premier League successfully
without a standout player or two who spearheaded their campaign. Many observers
tipped Troy Deeney to make a big impact, and there's no reason to suggest that
this won't still happen. However, one player who has appeared to make the jump
to the Premier League seamlessly is Odion Ighalo.
Beyond boosting Spandau Ballet record sales in the
Hertfordshire area, Ighalo has already won the hearts of Watford fans,
finishing joint-top scorer last season. As an established favourite, supporters
will be getting even more giddy over seeing him effortlessly gliding past
defenders in his first two games of the season. It seems as if Ighalo has been
waiting for this opportunity all his life, and is now unleashing the talent he
knows can confound defences. All of this was capped off by his excellent goal
against Everton, and if he can keep up such a level of class all season, he
could be the difference between sink and swim.
So will Watford stay up?
As an article, this is championing the 'Yes' vote with
outrageously sycophantic bias. The truth that everyone can agree on is that
it's too early to tell. What can be said, though, is that Watford have a better
chance of survival than they ever did in both 1999-2000, and 2006-2007. They
will need to work hard, and will definitely need some luck along the way, but
the first signs are good. The Hornets are creating a buzz, but can they keep
flight?
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