Renowned for making his sides hard to beat, Roy Hodgson has built a reputation as a survival expert — but the 74-year-old has his work cut out to save Watford from relegation.
Hodgson has agreed to a remarkable return to management on a mission to rescue a side that sits 19th in the table, managed only two wins in 14 matches under Claudio Ranieri and has so far failed to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League this season.
Friday’s abject 3-0 home defeat to relegation rivals Norwich proved the final straw for owner Gino Pozzo and also highlighted the size of the job Hodgson has on his hands.
Watford are onto their third manager of a season that started with Xisco Munoz in charge and, unless Hodgson can turn things around, could end with them back in the Championship.
In Hodgson, Watford hope they have the perfect man to steady the ship and guide them to safety.
Their first priority must be to plug a leaky defence that has shipped 40 goals in 20 matches in the League this season.
Defensive solidity was key to Hodgson’s success at Crystal Palace, where players were drilled to within an inch of their lives on the training ground to give the team a proper structure. His training methods are meticulous, but they are certainly effective. His style is not eye-catching, but gets results.
Palace had lost their first four games of the season when he took over from Frank de Boer in 2017. After a slow start, it was not long before there were specific signs of his influence on the team and, in a rigid 4-4-2 formation, they survived comfortably and finished 11th.
Hodgson also worked wonders at Fulham, who were struggling and in the relegation zone when he took over a week before Christmas 2007. They finished the season with four wins in their last five matches to stay up on the final day. He can also point to his spell at West Brom as further evidence of his ability to keep teams up. They were only clear of the relegation zone on goal difference when he took over in February 2011. In their final 12 games, he guided them to five wins, five draws and 11th place in the table.
Watford have, rightly, earned praise over the years for their recruitment, however recent success in the transfer market has come from buying forward players, not defenders. Their model relies on the head coach being interchangeable, however if the recruitment is not spot on then it breaks down. The Pozzos have got a lot right since they bought Watford in 2012, guiding the club back to the Premier League, but now they are in need of some stability.
Hodgson should provide that in the short-term and, looking at the short list of contenders available, his record suggests there cannot be too many better available for the task in hand.
There have been rumblings of discontent among players and Hodgson should lift the place. Palace players liked him and responded well to his personality as he made the training ground a far more enjoyable place.
It is not overly surprising there has been talk of issues in the Watford dressing room given their form, but also the fact Troy Deeney left last summer cannot be overlooked. Even if he was not playing every week last season, Deeney was still a huge character at the club and his absence should not be underestimated.
Hodgson seems the ideal man to steady the ship and the fact he worked with the Pozzos at Udinese in 2001 means he goes into the job with his eyes wide open.
