Championship Preview – Watford

Posted on | July 29, 2010 | No Comments

They may have been in the Premiership a few years ago, but Watford’s situation has changed enormously in recent times. The Hornets, once a feared promotion force, are now tipped for struggle and Malky Mackay is the man charged with turning round this struggling outfit. The former defender experienced his first full campaign in charge last year and while the club started in good form, results towards the end will have concerned the Vicarage Road faithful ahead of the new season. What’s more, with rumoured financial troubles off the field, there is little hope of many players being brought in which puts the club at something of a standstill at the moment.

This time last season we were predicting the worst for Watford, although that was mainly due to their inexperienced new manager. Having taken over towards the end of the 2008/09 season, Malky Mackay didn’t really make much impact so it came as quite a surprise when he was given the reigns on a full time basis. Financial problems meant that his transfer budget was going to be low and he had to be applauded for bringing in striker Danny Graham on a free transfer and utilizing the loan market to sign the talented Tom Cleverly and Henri Lansbury from Manchester United and Arsenal respectively. They enjoyed a very good start to the season as well and after being up in the top half for a prolonged period, Mackay’s reputation was growing. However, things slowly started to turn sour and after an abysmal second half to the season, the Hornets dropped like a rock and finished in 16^th position. On the positive side, they did beat Reading and Coventry 3-0 and 4-0 respectively in their last two games of the season, so Hornets fans will be clinging onto the hope that they’ll be carrying those results into the new campaign.

As expected, there has been little transfer activity at the club this summer and you can only assume that Malky Mackay will attempt to rely on the loan market again. However, one player who he looks certain to lose from last season is youngster Tom Cleverly, who is back at parent club Manchester United and aiming to go on loan to a Premiership side. Cleverly was one of the success stories for Watford last season, with his eleven goals from midfield being key to their survival. Mackay has publicly stated that loaning youngsters will be the policy for this campaign, although very few moves are likely to occur before the end of August when Premier League sides have named their new 25-man-squads. So far two permanent transfers have been arranged for the Hornets though, with youngsters Rene Gilmartin and Tom Aldred arriving from Walsall and Carlisle respectively. There is much more to report for the outgoings though after Mackay was instructed to slash his wage budget. That meant that the likes of Jay Demerit, Jon Harley, Nathan Ellington, Richard Lee and Will Hoskins all left the club on free transfers, despite the majority being first team players. The loss of Demerit in particular will have been a blow after the defender represented the USA at the recent World Cup. Bearing all this in mind, it’s certainly been a tough summer for Mackay and his team and it looks as though the only way forward is utilizing the loan system and risking youngsters from Premiership clubs. Obviously, it worked with the likes of Cleverly and Lansbury from last season, but it’s a risky method and Mackay will know that he still needs some experience and extra quality to compliment youth.

Malky Mackay has gone on record himself to state that the club has gone from expecting a playoff finish, to more of a side focussed on developing youth. That’s what poor finances have done to Watford and it’s also meant that the bookies are tipping a season that could be tinged with relegation. The Hornets are priced between 7/4 and 9/7 with most bookies for the drop, which ranks them as fourth favourites. We completely agree and even if Mackay does replicate the previous campaign and manage to bring in a few loan gems, his squad has still been depleted massively over the summer. With that, we can predict nothing more than a relegation place for the Hornets.

Related posts:

1. Championship Preview: Watford
2. Watford v Norwich Preview
3. Watford v Barnsley Preview
4. Crystal Palace v Watford Preview
5. Watford v Crystal Palace Preview

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