Time for us to check in with Watford so we had a chat with Bradley Hayden from Watford FC Blog ahead of Palace’s Christmas trip to Hertfordshire.
Q. What were your hopes and dreams for the new season before a ball was kicked?
Pretty similar to last season really. The main aim is to stay up and remain in the Premier League for another season but ideally, I’d like us to build on last season’s 13th place finish. We want to avoid the dreaded ‘second season’ syndrome and like Palace, we want to push on and cement ourselves as a Premier League club. Our owners are quite ambitious and have barely put a foot wrong since they took over in 2012, so I fully expect us to consolidate this season. Over the next few years there’s no reason why Watford can’t be challenging for a top ten place in the Premier League.
Q. Was it a successful transfer window for the club or are there areas that still need improving?
The summer transfer window was reasonably successful but we definitely need to invest in January. In the summer, our standout signing was Roberto Pereyra from Juventus and he’s shown glimpses of what he can do so far. We were crying out for a player to link the midfield and attack last season and Pereyra has filled that role pretty successfully. Unfortunately, he’s picked up an injury recently which could rule him out for some time, so an attacking midfielder is definitely on the agenda in January. Our other stand out signings in the summer were probably Daryl Janmaat, who has done reasonably well and Isaac Success, who is a talented young attacker with plenty of pace and power. Generally we strengthened in most departments but that said, we still need to invest in January. I think we need another defender, as aside from Sebastian Prodl our defenders have underperformed this year, an attacking and defensive midfielder and a striker, as Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo are badly out of form at the moment.
Q. How was the appointment of Italian coach Walter Mazarri received by fans?
I think most were skeptical when he was initially appointed. They looked at his time with Inter Milan and some wrote him off as a failure, but he worked wonders at Napoli. On the whole, he’s done okay so far. The past month or so hasn’t been brilliant aside from wins over Everton and Leicester City, because there’s been quite a few poor performances and that means that there’s still lots to work on. I don’t think Mazzarri’s been helped by the fact that we’ve had so many injuries since the start of the season, especially in defence. On the whole though he’s done well and I think most Watford fans would have taken a 12th place spot going in to the Christmas period back in August. The fact he can’t speak the language has meant that it has been difficult for supporters to build up a rapport with Mazzarri.
Q. Was it the right decision to part company with Quique Sanchez Flores?
I think it was in the end. Many will see that as being ludicrous, given that we were favorites to go back down last season and Quique kept us up with relative ease. But following a superb first half of the season, the wheels really came off from January onwards. We only won four Premier League games during the second half of the season and Sanchez Flores persisted with playing the same players in the same formation which hadn’t worked for months. Our performances were becoming worse and worse and Flores didn’t really look like turning it around.
Players such as Nordin Amrabat and Steven Berghuis, who had put in a number of impressive cameos from the bench, were also left out of the starting line-up and in the end Watford became too predictable. Teams knew that by marking Deeney and Ighalo out of the game, then they’d effectively be stopping Watford and that’s what most sides did during the second half of the season. Flores didn’t really have any answer and didn’t do enough to showcase that he could turn it around. Flores’ stubbornness probably cost him his job and our form in the second half of the season certainly alarmed our owners. Their thinking was that if they persisted with Flores and we started the season poorly, then they would have had to make a change anyway, so they would rather have brought in a new manager in the summer and let him stamp his authority on this team, something which Mazzarri has done.
I think most Watford fans are grateful for the job Flores did during his time at Vicarage Road, but we are all in agreement that it was probably the right time to part ways with the Spaniard.
Q. What are your thoughts on the new rule changes for this season?
I think they can only be a positive thing, but it’s up to the referees to consistently impose those rules during games. In order for these rules to be effective, there needs to be consistency from the referees, otherwise we’ll just be back to square one again.
Q. Even though Leicester City managed it last season, it is looking increasingly difficult for an un-fancied team to break into the top six this season but if you were to pick one, who would it be?
If I had to pick one, I’d say Southampton. Their defence is very resilient and they’ve got some excellent players at the club. Despite seemingly losing their best players each summer, they come back bigger and better each season. I really like what is going on down there.
Q. Perhaps you could share your views on Palace as a club, how we did last season and our start to this season?
I like Palace as a club. You’ve got some excellent supporters who are always vocal, whether it be home or away. Getting to the FA Cup final was superb for the club last season but I think you’ve got to be disappointed with how the league season went last term. Given the quality Palace have among their ranks, I really thought you’d be pushing for a top ten spot last season, so I feel you certainly underachieved with a 15th place finish.
Things haven’t really improved this season either and I’d certainly be disappointed if I was a Palace fan right now. A side with the likes of Christian Benteke, Wilfried Zaha, Andros Townsend and Yohan Cabaye among their ranks shouldn’t be just above the relegation zone going into the Christmas period. Your squad is certainly capable of pushing for a top ten finish and I think that should have been the target for the club this season. You most certainly shouldn’t be fighting for your top flight status. I think your owners patience with Alan Pardew is admirable, but it can only be a matter of time before he gets the sack if you continue as you are.
Q. Name one player from each team that the opposition should be concerned about?
A player from Watford would be Nordin Amrabat. He’s been magnificent for us this season and one of the surprise packages in this Watford side. Given that he wasn’t really given much of a chance under Quique Sanchez Flores and was probably one of the fringe players among this squad, most thought that Amrabat would leave the club in the summer. But he’s been a revelation under Mazzarri and has been one of our most consistent performers this season. With plenty of pace and power, Amrabat has terrorised full-backs this season and he has really started to show why he was adored by Malaga fans. He’s also capable of whipping in a number of teasing balls into the penalty area and has a fantastic work ethic as well. Most teams have struggled to handle the Moroccan this season and he is certainly a player Palace need to keep an eye on during the match on Boxing Day.
For Palace, its got to be Wilfried Zaha. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him have a bad game against us and he always seems to tear our defence to shreds. His pace and trickery can cause all sorts of problems and he’s added more goals to his game this year as well, something which can only be a positive for Palace. Zaha is a player that has always impressed me when I’ve seen him play and I’m certainly hoping that he will have a rare off day when he faces us!
Q. Prediction?
2-1 Watford
Q. And finally, tell us a little about your site, what you do and any projects that you are currently working on.
I set up the site (click on the image below to take a look) in 2012 and it has continued to grow and develop. I’m the sole writer and am in charge of all of the content that goes online and on the Twitter feed. I genuinely produce opinion features and other newsworthy content, such as match previews, who the referee will be, match reports and plenty more. It’s proven to be a huge success and I really enjoy what I do. As well as the site, I’m currently at Brunel University studying for a degree in Journalism. I also write for a website called Careersinfootball.com where I interview professional footballers, coaches, managers and other professionals in the football industry in order to inspire people hoping for a job in football to follow their dream. I also write the fan’s view for the Watford Observer, where I give my view on the club every couple of weeks.
