The International break has come at the perfect time for Watford, seeking rest and recovery before mounting a charge up the Premier League ladder.
Going into the domestic week-off, the Hornets are winless from their last three league games. Losses to Manchester United, Leicester City and Stoke City have seen them fall to 14th on the ladder, with just 37 points. Granted, a brilliant 2-1 victory over Arsenal in the FA Cup is featured in between these games and should not be counted out, however, Quique Flores’ men seem to be struggling for points and form at a crucial juncture.
On the club’s website, Troy Deeney spoke of how the break will serve the players well, and iterated that the “team have been together for a long time.”
The striker speaks the truth. The team have spent a lot of time travelling together, and if they are not playing in a league match, then they are preparing for a cup outing. The FA Cup win away at the Emirates was huge, but it appears to be taking a toll on the players. They were struggling before the Arsenal cup game and things have not improved. The Hornets have scored just once since February in the Premier League, the Deeney goal against Stoke last weekend.
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The last time they notched a goal (it was two, actually), was against Crystal Palace on the 14th February. For a team that started off fantastic at the beginning of the season, and possesses the likes of Odion Ighalo and Deeney up front who are more than capable of scoring, they are not performing too well. Ighalo has 14 goals and three assists to his name, where he is currently sitting sixth on the top scorers list from this season.
Deeney has had a relatively quiet season compared to his previous totals, where he scored 20+ goals in each of the last three campaign, a new record for a Watford player. 2015-16 sees him on 10 goals currently, with five assists.
For some, it is not quite a break though, as Watford have 10 players off on international duty. Nordin Amrabat (Morocco), Ikechi Anya (Scotland), Valon Behrami (Switzerland), Craig Cathcart (Northern Ireland), Jose Holebas (Greece), Ighalo (Nigeria), Allan Nyom (Cameroon), Costel Pantilimon (Romania), Juan Carlos Paredes (Ecuador) and Sebastian Prodl (Austria) will all be on show for their respective home countries over the weekend. As much as EPL fans detest the international breaks, it at least gives most of the players a chance to recover and energise themselves for the final run into the season.
Things do not get any easier coming off the international break for the Hornets. They travel once again to the Emirates to take on Arsenal, where they will be hoping to perform the same heroics they did in the FA Cup. Following the trip to North London, they then take on Everton (H), West Brom (A), West Ham (A), Aston Villa (H), Liverpool (A), Norwich (A) and their final match is Sunderland at home. They also play Crystal Palace towards the end of April in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Making it to the semi-finals of the prestigious cup competition is another highlight to an already fairly successful season for Watford, it is their first semi-final in nearly a decade and just over 12,000 tickets have already been snatched up by their fans.
It should not stop here though. Watford needs to build on the success of this season, and one the first things they should do is lock up Flores on a long term deal so he can build a squad that can continue to challenge in the Premier League. Looking forward, the club needs to find players with the calibre of Ighalo and Deeney, who both have a commanding presence on the field.
If the Hornets can string a few wins together in the final lot of matches, while holding onto Flores and their dangerous forward duo, it puts the club in a much better position for recruiting in the offseason. Finishing in the top 10 should be the minimal aim for end of 2015-16, with a place in the FA Cup final looking likely (provided they dispose of Crystal Palace).
It is an exciting time for Watford and they are just getting started.
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