Contrary to what Watford’s controversial owners think, chopping and changing the manager at Vicarage Road isn’t working.
The Pozzo family’s hire and fire mentality – an easy if nasty habit they got into at Udinese and have found hard to kick at the Hornets – has as yet brought about no improvement in the Premier League.
They say never go back in football yet Quique Sanchez Flores, who spent the 2015-16 season in charge of Watford, returned to Hertfordshire mere months after fellow Spanish coach Javi Gracia guided the club to the FA Cup final.
As perverse as this sounds, that achievement which saw the Hornets somewhat punching above their weight clearly looks to have been the catalyst of their downfall. There was no shame in losing at Wembley to Manchester City, but the Hornets capitulated.
Pep Guardiola lifted all three domestic trophies available to a top flight team in English football. Defeat to the Treble winning Man City vintage was widely expected, but one end of season result looks to have shattered Watford.
The Hornets haven’t won a Premier League game since. Gracia and Flores have beaten lower league opposition in the EFL Cup, but you have to go back to April to find their last top flight victory.
In fact, Watford haven’t beaten a current Premier League side since March as subsequent wins over Fulham and Huddersfield Town were against opposition that were relegated.
Flores is in danger of sending the Hornets down after them. Norwich may be odds-on favourites with bookmakers for the drop, given their injury crisis and lack of depth in defence, but the Premier League table doesn’t lie.
Watford prop that up and, although Newcastle United are also more fancied with some firms in the market, they look the value play. There is at present precious little between the Magpies and Hornets in the relegation betting and both could well lose top flight status.
Odds of 7/5 with Betfair on Newcastle going down and 11/8 at Betfred regarding Watford represent a bit of value. The Hornets have drawn four and lost five of their first nine Premier League games.
That terrible start to the season means https://freebets.uk is well worth a visit for punters looking for free bets and offers relating to Watford and relegation. Indeed, it’s worth noting that everyone 7th placed Spurs downwards is within 4 points of the relegation zone, so there might be some value in backing the likes of Crystal Place (17/2, Betfair), Burnley (11/2, Betfred) and Sheffield United 21/10 (SportNation) to be sucked into trouble.
As for Watford, Flores has inherited a side from Gracia which is the lowest scoring in the Premier League with just five and without influential skipper Troy Deeney.
The Hornets also have the joint worst defence with 21 conceded and It’s a deadly combination for their survival hopes. Surrendering winning positions and squandering opportunities when they have got themselves back on level terms has also contributed to Watford woes.
They let leads at fellow strugglers Newcastle and an out of sorts Spurs slip through their fingers. The Premier League punishes teams that aren’t ruthless; if the Hornets players can’t be, then the owners certainly will be with the coaching staff.
But that is now how to solve the problem. Watford have done remarkably well in spite of themselves to have a lengthy stint in the top flight. That is now under serious threat unless there’s a dramatic turnaround in form and fortunes, so that’s why they are a value bet for relegation
