Sometimes managerial uncertainty does not translate on to the pitch. So much has been made of the turnover in Championship dugouts this season – Rotherham’s Steve Evans is the only manager in the bottom half of the table still in situ – that it is noteworthy that the team who has faced the most upheaval, playing under four different managers, are suddenly in an automatic promotion place and look well equipped to stay there even if they presently occupy that spot on the basis of goals scored.
It has been quite the campaign so far for Watford. They started with Beppe Sannino at the helm only for things to turn pear-shaped quickly behind the scenes with growing tensions among the squad. Óscar García replaced him but departed after four games due to illness before the farcical appointment of Billy McKinlay.
The Scot lasted all of eight days, earning four points from his two matches in charge. He had spent a decade coaching at Fulham but lacked high end experience and a decision was taken by the Pozzo family, the club’s Italian owners, to appoint the former Chelsea player Slavisa Jokanovic. Jokanovic was officially handed the reins 37 days after Sannino departed. At that point, the Hornets sat in third having suffered only two defeats all season.
Then came a slump. Watford lost four in a row in November and slipped down the table leading to the first murmurs of discontent towards the Pozzos from the Vicarage Road support. Since the beginning of December though, kickstarted by a 5-0 thrashing of Fulham at Craven Cottage, they have won 13 out of 18 games.
Saturday’s 4-1 win over Reading was enough to move them into second. There will be numerous twists and turns and after a trip to face struggling Wigan on Tuesday, they have a terrifying run against three fellow promotion hopefuls. Ipswich, still in touch, come to Vicarage Road on Saturday before Watford face Derby and then Middlesbrough. If they can maintain their current form through that period, a return to the Premier League will look more likely. Following that, their final five fixtures are games they should be winning.
Much of their recent success has been down to the sensational form of Odion Ighalo, the 25-year-old Nigerian striker initially signed on loan from Udinese. Ighalo had scored only four goals before the turn of the year but since then has netted 13, including four in that amazing game against Blackpool where they were 2-0 down at half-time but went on to win 7-2. Ighalo’s loan was for the entire season but Udinese released him from his contract in October and Watford immediately signed him on a permanent deal. Now he is being touted with a call-up to the Nigeria team and his form in 2015 usurps every other striker in the country at present.
Alongside him, Troy Deeney’s 17 goals have been invaluable. He scored one and set up two more against Reading, showing that his link up play has been as important as his goalscoring. He has five assists and four goals in his last five. Matej Vydra has also reached double figures, scoring four in his last four after a barren spell which saw him net only once in 18. Only Bournemouth (78) have scored more but Watford (76) only have the eighth highest shots per game average (14.8).
Defensively, they have been solid – only Bournemouth have a better goal difference – but they rank mid-table in terms of chances conceded (14.2) and only Brentford out of the current top eight have conceded more goals (45). And away from home they have been particularly lax, shipping at least twice in six of their past seven away from Vicarage Road. Then again, they have also scored at least twice in their past four away games. They could do with tightening up a little but their open style and belief that they will outscore opponents makes for a very entertaining watch.
Jokanovic’s appointment has thus far been a success. At risk of veering into Sherwood territory, he has the highest win ratio of any manager in Watford’s history, but he will only be defined by where they finish the season in the table. The next fortnight will tell a lot.
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