Football is back! After what seems to have felt like an
eternity competitive football returns to Vicarage Road as The Hornets host
Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Golden Boys have had another very busy summer off the
pitch and yet another new manager will be in the hot seat at the start of the
season. There is reason to be optimistic in the newest head coach Marco Silva,
he very much gave a dead and buried Hull City team a chance of survival and had
them playing entertaining football. Already he’s made a good impression in his
short time at The Vic, the way he spoke in his opening news conference was
refreshing to say the least. He is bringing in his style and looks to have a
group of players who really want to thrive and compete under his headship. The fact
he has the players all speaking (or learning) English on the training ground
sits very well with me that he is in charge and not the players. It didn’t always
seem last season that the head coach had the control over his players, arguably
one of the reasons why last season was as dismal as it was. It’ll be
interesting to see whether Watford’s new Portuguese coach can make Vicarage Road a
fortress like he did the KCOM last season, it’ll be yet again vital that The
Hornets make Hertfordshire a hard place to come.
In terms of the playing squad there have been numerous
changes yet again:
Outs: Permanent
transfers
Juan Carlos Paredes – Emelec
Mario Suarez- Guizhou
Hengfeng Zhicheng
Steven Berghuis –Feyenoord
Ins:
Will Hughes (Midfield) – Derby County
Kiko Femenia (Defender) – Alaves
Nathaniel Chalobah (Midfield) –
Chelsea
Daniel Bachmann (Goalkeeper) -
Free transfer
Andre Gray (Striker) – Burnley (Club record fee)
Richarlison (Forward) - Fluminense
I am personally like many others excited
with the business that has been done this summer so far. We have seriously
strengthened the squad that finished last season, adding young talent which
will significantly boost The Hornets chances of a successful season. What has
been excellent is to see the change of transfer policy with so many English
players being brought in (Hughes, Gray, Chalobah). Not only do they add quality
to the team and they will also understand the importance of the English game in
terms of having a connection with the fans something that was largely missing
last season and was one of the major criticisms of former manager Walter
Mazzarri. Chalobah obviously knows the club after previously spending time on
loan at The Vic in 2013, I for one am thrilled to have him return because of
his quality and the fact he has age on his side meaning he could become a
permanent figure within the club. I for one think the Englishman could easily
become the club captain in years to come, another English player Will Hughes has
excelled in the championship at Derby County and has been presented with the
chance to try his luck in the Premier League at Vicarage Road. I don’t think he
will start as a permanent fixture in the first team and will most likely be on
the bench but if he lives up to his billing he could be one of the first names
on the team sheet by May. Watford’s newest recruit is Andre Gray who joined on
a record fee from Burnley earlier this week, he again adds to the attacking
options and has a proven Premier League scoring record after a relatively
successful first season with Burnley. He can either lead the line on his own
with his electric pace or he could play off the skipper Troy Deeney which could
be a very exciting partnership as we know that Deeney has excelled when having
someone playing off him. Richarlison’s deal came slightly out of the blue but
he adds pace and flare, as well as versatility as he can play up top as well as
on the wing which significantly adds to The Hornets attacking options.
The squad has outstanding depth
and personally all I think we really need now is a new centre back and we look
good all over the field. The competition will play a major factor in keeping
the squad hungry and there really isn’t anyone guaranteed a starting place with
so many quality players waiting in the wings.
My predictions:
First game: Watford 1-1 Liverpool
Final position- 13th-
a successful season where Watford are more consistent throughout the season.
Player of the season- Roberto Pereyra- The Argentinian midfielder is like a new signing for The Hornets after missing large parts of last season with injury. His flare is going to bolster The Hornets midfield and will most certainly create chances for the attacking line.
Stay connected with my views
throughout the season as I will be posting a report of each game this season.
That will start Sunday following the Liverpool game.
Football is returning to WD18 and
I have never been so optimistic.
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