English Premier League: Watford season review – Hornets stinger was dull

Watford was close to finishing in the top-half of the table. Despite a manager change, they plummeted to a 14th-place effort.

Watford Season Review

Under manager Marco Silva, the Hornets had the best of times and the worst of times. The best of times were when Watford started the season losing only one of their first eight matches. This run included a 2-1 home victory over Arsenal, with Tom Cleverley scoring the winner in stoppage time.

The worst of times were when they lost ten of their next 14 games. Despite Watford losing and losing some more, they remained in the top-half thanks to some other terrible performances from mid-table teams. After a 2-0 loss to Leicester on January 20th, Marco Silva was promptly sacked and replaced by Javi Garcia.

Under Javi Garcia, Watford was pretty bad. Despite Garcia picking up three wins and a draw in his first five games in charge, the Hornets plummeted down the table with big losses at the end of the season. They quickly went from tenth to their final season position of 14th. Watford had the same amount of losses (19) as Stoke and West Brom, but 11 wins in short stints kept Watford up for another season.

Biggest Win: 4-1 vs. Chelsea (February 5th)

Watford’s home match against Chelsea came at a perfect time. Chelsea was having it’s worst run of the season and was losing a lot of games. The Hornets took advantage in the game after Tiemoue Bakayoko was given two yellows in a five-minute span. Troy Deeney scored a late first-half penalty and the Hornets stung Chelsea with three goals in the last six minutes. A historic night to be a Watford supporter.

Heaviest Defeat: 1-4 vs. Huddersfield (December 16th)

Things did not go well for Watford in December. After losses to Burnley and Crystal Palace on the road, the Hornets returned home to play newly promoted Huddersfield Town. It was an ugly day to be at the Vicarage Road. Troy Deeney got a straight red in the 33rd minute after Watford were already down 2-0. Two more from Huddersfield and you have the most embarrassing loss of the season.

Best Player: Abdoulaye Doucoure

This guy became a stud this season. Doucoure played in all but one game in the Premier League season and tallied seven goals and three assists for the Hornets. The young midfielder from Mali scored some highlight goals and defended with poise. He was no doubt the best player this season.

Worst Player: Andre Gray

Next: Leicester season review

Gray made a name for himself as a Burnley hero. The Hornets signed him as a second striker option to Troy Deeney and as a replacement for Odion Ighalo. Gray was quite terrible in the 2017-18 season, scoring only five times in his 31 appearances. His ratings were low too. He averaged a dismal 6.17 rating for the season.