38 Season Preview 2019-20 FourFourTwoWATFORD
Bynow,mostWatfordfanswillhavelostcount of
how many times they’ve been asked, “Are you over
the cup final yet?”
In truth, most of the fanbase had moved on long
before the final whistle, proudly waving their red and
yellow flags in celebration of the huge achievement
of even being there in the first place.
Emotional turmoil is nothing new for Hornets fans,
but the hope is that the players dealt similarly swiftly
with the disappointment. Certainly, the club are alive
to the prospect of one of those lingering late-morning
hangovers that just refuses to dissipate.WILL THEY SUFFER A HAnGOVER
FROM THE FA CUP FInAL DEFEAT?
PREMIER LEAGUE
2019-20
Ignoring the evidence would be counter-productive.
Javi Gracia and his head performance analyst have
pored over the game four times in order to establish
what went wrong: not to wallow in misery but to seek
improvement, in order to unlock this team’s potential.
The match will understandably be remembered for
City’s ruthless display of domination, but Watford will
feel they were in the game for 61 minutes. Roberto
Pereyra spurning a golden chance when clean through
at 0-0 is indicative of a wider problem. Watford have
the players, and the coach, to bloody the noses of the
big boys, but all too often they have fallen just short in
the crucial game-defining moments against the teams
above them in the table.Clustered below the Premier League’s glass ceiling,
Watford’s closest competitors Leicester, Everton,
Wolves and West Ham all appear to be making solid
progress, and you fear that a sloppy start could see
the Hornets left behind and looking nervously down
rather than optimistically up.
A repeat of last season’s opening-day home game
against Brighton is the first opportunity for the players
(and supporters) to get it out of their system in public.
But the trip to the Etihad Stadium on September 21 is
the perfect chance to demonstrate not just that they
have put the chastening 6-0 defeat behind them, but
also that they can pose a genuine threat to the ‘Big
Six’ on a consistent basis.
Make no mistake, owner Gino Pozzo and chairman
Scott Duxbury will not tolerate any moping around.
They have repeatedly stated their aim is to be ‘best
of the rest’. They want European football. They want
progress. So Javi Gracia and the players had better
load up on Berocca, chalk up the cup final humiliation
as one of those nights that got away from you, and
get back to business.LAST SEASON
PREMIER LEAGUE 11th
FA CUP Runners-Up
LEAGUE CUP Third Round
TOP SCORER
Gerard Deulofeu (12)