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      OPPOSITION VIEW - WATFORD Q&A


Ahead of the game at Vicarage Road, we caught up with David from the Watford fanzine Golden Pages. He gives us his views on the Hornets' prospects for the season, their success during the last campaign, Saturday's match, and more
. You can follow David and Golden Pages on twitter @WatfordFanzine

A quick look back at last season - How did it compare to the club's previous promotion in 2006?

Completely different. In 2006, we were the underdogs and went up through the play-offs. Although we had some very talented players, I think our success was due to self-confidence more than anything. Aidy Boothroyd was notorious for his confidence, which bordered on cockiness at times. Last season, we had built a very strong squad and for some fans play-offs would have been a disappointment. The squad delivered and we went up in second place. Relief was one of the key emotions a lot of us felt.

How confident are you that the Hornets can do better this season than they did in their last Premier League campaign in 2006/07?

Very. Even if we do go down, I can't see it being as embarrassing as 2006/07, when we finished rock bottom. In my (probably biased) opinion, our squad was the strongest of the three who came up and we have strengthened in almost all positions. For all the talk of 'too many signings', we can see that the team is playing well together and there don't seem to be any conflicts. Then again, we've only played 1 game and anything could happen in the other 37.

Talk us through your squad, strengths? weaknesses?

Gomes is a fans favourite but at times his positioning and distribution can be horrendous - I expect a lot of teams will exploit that. We're strong in defence, having pretty much signed a whole new back 4, but probably need cover for Nyom and Holebas at full-backs. Capoue and Behrami look an excellent midfield partnership, but the latter looks like he could miss a few games through suspension this season and so we need more cover than just Ben Watson for that position. We play 4231 most of the time now and our options for the 3 are also decent. New signing Jurado has played under Sanchez Flores at Atletico before and is rated very highly by our head coach. Another new signing, Steven Berghuis, hit double figures last season from AZ Alkmaar's wing but we haven't seen much of him yet. Almen Abdi is back from injury and has always been fantastic in the Championship so I can't wait to see how he makes the transition to the Premier League. Troy Deeney will lead the line and had a fantastic game at Everton. Ighalo and Vydra are his backup but they can also play behind him if necessary.

Fans expectations for the season?

High, perhaps too high. We've obviously got a fantastic squad this year but some fans (especially the few who have jumped on the promotion bandwagon) are now expecting us to stay up comfortably and even reach mid table. I'd probably take 17th.

Highlight of last season? 

There are so many. The 5-0 at Craven Cottage on a Friday night was like a dream. The last minute 4-3 win away at Bolton was a classic. But the best of the lot was probably away at Brighton when we went up. Vydra scored right at the end on a counter attack to make it 2-0 and confirm the victory. I had deja vu from when he did similar at Brighton in his first spell at our club back in 2012-13.

Moment or game you would rather forget? 

Eugh. The final game. We needed to beat Sheffield Wednesday to win the title and were only 1-0 up despite having enough chances to have scored 4 or 5. Obviously a one goal lead is never enough and Nuhiu scored after some poor defending to make it 1-1. We still went up but it was a big shame. It meant the national press forgot we existed again and went to cheer on plucky little Bournemouth. 

Player of last season? 

Deeney. Near enough everyone was fantastic but Troy delivered once again with 20+ goals for the third successive season. He played well up front with Ighalo and with Vydra. In one of the only games he was dropped, he came on and scored the winner in the final minute at Bolton. He was always there when we needed him.

Villain of last season? 

For us? Possibly Lewis McGugan. Nobody knows exactly what went on but it is rumoured that he led the mini-revolt early in the season which forced the changes in manager. He was always pretty greedy and nobody was upset when he was shipped out to Sheffield Wednesday. Oh, and apparently he celebrated when Wednesday equalised at Vicarage Road on the final day and we lost out on the title.

Happy with the club's summer transfer dealings? Anything else Watford need to do before the window shuts?

It seems good so far. As stated previously, I feel we need cover in full backs and central midfield. We could also do with another attacker possibly, though Diamanti is set to join so maybe that will do. We don't want to make too many signings or we'll have to leave a lot of players out of the 25-man squad.

Prediction for Watford’s season? 

Maybe I'm being quite ambitious, but if we play like we did at Everton then I think we can confirm survival with a couple of games to go. 15th.

Prediction for Albion’s season? 

You've made a few decent signings, particularly strikers. Goals win games so I think you'll do better than last season. 12th or 13th but with more points than last year.

Premier League Champions? 

If Aguero stays fit, then Man City. If he doesn't, then probably Chelsea again.

Relegated? 

Norwich, Bournemouth, Sunderland.

Prediction for and thoughts on Saturday’s game? 

We never beat you and Pulis will probably set up in a way that we can't handle. 1-1 with you equalising late, or 1-0 to you. Hope I'm wrong.


 

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