Watford Football Club are set to appoint former Liverpool, Crystal Palace, and England manager Roy Hodgson as the manager of the club until the end of the season. The 74-year-old will be Watford’s 3rd manager of the 2021/2022 season and will replace the recently sacked Claudio Ranieri.
Ranieri had taken charge of The Hornets in October 2021, after owner Gino Pozzo sacked Xisco Munoz due to a poor run of results. A similar run of results led to the removal of Ranieri as well; he was in charge of the Vicarage Road side for just three-and-a-half months.
A Premier League-winning manager, Ranieri was in Watford dugout for just 12 games. During his time in charge, Watford won just two games, drew one, and lost nine. One of those wins came against a poor-performing Everton side, while the other was against a struggling Manchester United team.
Watford had beaten Manchester United 4-1 on the day. That result led to the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the manager of Manchester United. Nine games later, Ranieri is now gone after his team lost 3-0 to relegation foes, Norwich City.
Roy Hodgson – Watford manager #15
Hodgson will be Watford’s 15th managerial appointment since the Pozzo family took charge of the club in June 2012. Fourteen managers in less than 10 years is a stat Watford fans will not be proud of. This is a stat that speaks volumes of the instability, and poor decision-making that exists behind the scenes at Watford Football Club.
Hodgson had announced his retirement from football management after 45 years of working in the industry and after his four-year spell at Crystal Palace concluded.
"After more than 45 years of coaching I have decided that the time is right for me to step away from the rigours of top-flight Premier League football,” he announced at that time.(Via: eurosport.com)"
He will sign a six-month contract at Vicarage Road, and his only task will be to ensure Watford stays in the Premier League at the end of the campaign. They will be Hodgson’s sixth Premier League club having worked at Blackburn, Fulham, Liverpool, West Brom, and Palace in the past.
Hodgson will be well aware of the task at hand; the expectations from the fans and the board, and is also familiar with his bosses, having briefly worked with the Pozzo family in the past during his time with Udinese in Serie A, back in 2001.
✅ JC: “It’s a smart appointment. He’s experienced, a safe pair of hands.”
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) January 24, 2022
❌ AG: “I don’t know if Hodgson is the man to keep Watford up.”
Andy Goldstein & Jason Cundy react to news that Roy Hodgson is the new favourite to be #WatfordFC boss pic.twitter.com/Zs8oTgWkCU
Roy Hodgson comes with tons of experience to Watford
Hodgson has experience of battling relegation in the Premier League — most notably with Fulham and West Bromwich Albion and will be more than happy to have an extended amount of time with his players during the two-week-long Premier League winter break to get things in order.
However, Watford will continue to be without the services of William Troost-Ekong (Nigeria have just lost in the round of 16), Adam Masina and Imran Louza (Morocco), and Ismaila Sarr (Senegal), who are out on AFCON international Duty, and have had their countries progress to the knockout stages of the competition.
It is understood that Roy Hodgson will bring long-time assistant, Ray Lewington as part of the backroom staff. Reports also suggest he will be meeting the squad and will take training starting Tuesday afternoon.
His first game in charge of the Hornets will be against relegation rivals, Burnley. The Clarets are placed 20th in the league and are 4 points off safety, but have more than a couple of games in hand over their rivals in the relegation battle.
Watford are placed 19th and are two points above Sean Dyche’s men. Some game to start your reign at a football club.