Watford are on their third manager in three Premier League seasons. What will Marco Silva be able to achieve with the Hornets?
INS: Tom Cleverley (£9.3 million, Everton), Will Hughes (£9.1 million, Derby), Nathaniel Chalobah (£5.7 million, Chelsea), Kiko Femenia (free, Alaves), Daniel Bachmann (free, Stoke)
OUTS: Sven Kums (£6.5 million, Anderlect), Uche Agbo (£2.5 million, Standard Liege), Rene Gilmartin (free, Colchester), Camilo Zuniga (end of loan, Napoli), M’Naye Niang (end of loan, AC Milan)
THE STORY: Watford have taken a novel approach to ridding themselves of their status as a Premier League yo-yo team. The Hornets enter their third-consecutive season in the top flight in 2017-18 under their third different manager.
They finished 17th last season with Walter Mazzarri in charge, though they were never really in the relegation scrap. Watford were in 10th place after 32 matches, before losing six in a row to end the season, enough to convince the owners to move on from their Italian manager.
The new boss is Marco Silva of Portugal, who impressed last season with his work at Hull. He inherits a side that needs help both in attack (they scored only 40 goals last season) and defense. The Hornets conceded 68 goals in 2016-17, worse than all but three teams in the league, two of which were relegated.
Silva’s been busy in the transfer market to help remedy those problem. He’s brought in Stoke keeper Daniel Blackman, defensive midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah from Chelsea and right-back Kiko Femenia, who comes to the team on a free transfer from Alaves. Watford are also on the brink of adding 20-year-old Brazilian winger Richarlison, who would be a fascinating addition if he can get a work permit approved.
Watford fans can also take heart from Silva’s brief time at Hull last season. The Tigers picked up 21 points from 18 matches after the former Olympiacos boss took over, which pace would have been more than enough to see them to safety over the course of a full season. It was too little too late for Hull, but Watford should be encouraged, especially given the superior strength of their squad.
The challenge for Silva, as it was for Mazzarri and Quique Sanchez Flores before him, will be establishing a clear tactical identity in a team that hasn’t had the same manager for more than a season since Aidy Boothroyd left the club in 2008.
There’s certainly talent in the squad. Troy Deeney, Mauro Zarate, Nordin Amrabat, Jose Holebas, Daryl Janmaat, Roberto Pereyra have all shown flashes, some more extended than others, of top-half quality. In each of the past two seasons, however, excellent starts to the season (Watford have reached as high as seventh both years) have been followed directionless finishes.
It’s hard to imagine that doesn’t have something to do with the fact the men in charge know they’re likely to be out of a job by the end of the season. But Silva is a very promising young manager (more on which below), and will be determined to build something that lasts more than a year. Then again, we’ve heard that before.
KEY PLAYERS: Captain and striker Deeney, who has been with Watford since 2010, is essential to the health and viability of this team. He’s scored 100 goals for the club, but needs to be more consistent if the Hornets hope to go anywhere this year. He had 10 Premier League goals last season, but Deeney is known to go on cold spells and needs to be more consistent finisher.
While Deeney is the target man, the player who also needs to stay sharp is Zarate. The Argentine attacking midfielder has loads of experience playing in Serie A (for Lazio, Inter Milan and Fiorentina), but his time at Watford was limited to just three games last season. Zarate came over from Fiorentina in January, but his season ended a month later when he injured his cruciate ligament after twisting his knee in a match against West Ham, his former club.
Another devastating injury to the club was that of midfielder Roberto Pereyra. The Argentine playmaker, back in training this preseason, injured his meniscus last December against Manchester City. Pereyra’s return is a huge plus for Watford.
If Zarate and Pereyra can get back up to speed quickly, and Deeney remains consistent, the Hornets have the makings of a dangerous attack. Silva’s emphasis on hard work without the ball should improve the defense, while it will be fascinating to how highly-touted Chelsea product Chalobah, still only 22 years old, performs when given a real first-team opportunity.
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THE MANAGER: Silva, a former defender, is just 40 years old, and coming off an eye-catching if ultimately disappointing stint at Hull. It will be interesting to see what he can do in the Premier League over the course of a full season, and with a more talented squad. Silva will also have to get over the fact that Watford managers have a relatively short shelf life.
Tactically, Silva coaches like he used to play. As a right-back, he leaned on traits such as pressing opponents and keeping the ball out of his area. He’s the same way as a coach. During his time managing other clubs (such as Estoril, Sporting, Olympiacos and Hull), Silva has used a 4-2-3-1. He uses the counter-attack as his main offensive weapon with two holding midfielders to help the back four maintain clean sheets.
Often, one of those two midfielders joins the attack and the team’s shape is suddenly transformed into a 4-1-4-1. Indeed, Silva is one of those coaches who can bend to whatever the situation calls for, although a strong defense (again this year led by towering Austrian defender Sebastian Prodl) remains central to his coaching philosophy.
BEST CASE: Silva fixes the defense, and Watford secure a top-half finish.
WORST CASE: The poor finish to last season carries over, and the Hornets get sucked into the relegation battle.