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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