Vital Reading season preview
Club: Watford
Founded: 1881
Nickname: The Hornets
Ground: Vicarage Road (Capacity: 20,877)
When we face off: Sat 20th December (H), Sat 14th March (A)
Last season finish: 13th – Championship
Manager: Giuseppe Sannino – The Italian manager has had done well in his first nine months in England, despite not having a best grasp of the language. He had an immediate impact when he took over as Hornets boss, especially their home record, but despite Watford declining in form at the end of last season, he will have felt better having had a full pre-season with his players.
Key player: Troy Deeney – It is no surprise a few Premier League clubs were chasing his services over the summer, but it is massive that Watford appear to have kept hold of the former Walsall forward. 43 goals over the past two seasons is a very good record and one he will want to build on once again for this campaign.
Season Preview: Since Watford were taken over a few years ago by Italians, there was expectancy that they would use their foreign talent to make that step up to the Premier League once again, but despite being very close two seasons ago, they have lost some momentum since then. However, Sannino appears to be bringing in new ideas to Watford, bringing more defensive stability than Zola did, as well as bringing Vydra back to the club. The idea of Deeney and Vydra as a partnership is a scary thought – one that would make them good shouts for the play-offs.
