Geoff Doyle, BBC Three Counties Radio
Roy Hodgson's first media conference this week had a sense of deja vu about it. Javi Gracia, Quique Sanchez Flores (the second time), Hayden Mullins, Nigel Pearson and Claudio Ranieri have all been there before.
Brought in by the club to try to rescue the Hornets from Premier League relegation. What's there to say different? Like all of them before, he'll give it a good go and hope to succeed. But like those others, he'll know it won't be easy.
This could be the hardest of the lot though. Gracia was brought in when Watford had quite a few points on the board back in 2018. Flores arrived much earlier in the season in 2019. Mullins - on two occasions - was just holding the fort and there was little pressure. Pearson was appointed in early December and of course Ranieri was handed the honours in October.
Hodgson has been left to save Watford with spring approaching, 18 games to do it in and with the club six points off the point-per-game objective. The former England boss doesn't have time on his side. But there's no magic coaching wand and it will take him time to get his methods across.
Boring could be good under Hodgson. The Hornets have been too open in the Premier League and it's why they have lost 14 of 20 games and conceded in every one. The new manager has to halt that final stat like all the others tried to; the question is how does he go about that?
Organisation, repetitions of play in training, concentration on shape, awareness, player responsibility on the pitch, understanding, going back to basics. It all sounds fairly obvious and all the previous head coaches will have tried similar stuff. But will they have concentrated on all that as much as Hodgson surely will?
If he can find the right formula then he might do what lots of people don't think is possible and keep Watford in the top flight.
Image source, Getty Images
