Watford Appoint Roy Hodgson As Manager

Watford have announced the appointment of former Crystal Palace and England manager Roy Hodgson as their new manager until the end of the season.

The club made the decision to hire Hodgson following the sacking of Claudio Ranieri after a poor run of results.

Ranieri’s departure means Watford have now sacked five managers since the exit of Javi Gracia in September 2019.

Hodgson has the credentials having managed Crystal Palace for four years before stepping down after the 2020-2021 season. He also guided Palace to a 14th place finish in his last year in charge.

However, the task facing Hodgson is a herculean one. Watford currently sit in 19th place in the Premier League standings and are hoping Hodgson would use his experience to guide them to safety. They are two points from safety with two games in hand on Norwich who are 17th on the log.

At 74 years old, Hodgson is the oldest-ever manager in the Premier League. His appointment at Watford makes the club the 17th different club he has managed in a 46-year managerial career.

He has managed the likes of Liverpool, West Brom, Fulham, Udinese and Inter Milan. Hodgson has also managed Finland, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates at international level.

Hodgson becomes the third manager Watford have had since gaining promotion to the Premier League this season. He would be aiming to do better than his predecessor who lasted only 112 days in charge having won only two games during his entire tenure spanning 14 games.

Issues Hodgson Faces As Watford Manager

• Watford are without a win in nine games in all competitions (D1 L8), their longest run without a victory since December 2013 (10).
• The club have now gone 30 Premier League games without a clean sheet (since a 3-0 win v Liverpool in February 2020).
• Since the start of 2016-17, only Arsenal (19) have picked up more Premier League red cards than Watford (18).

Hodgson will take charge of Watford for the first time against relegation rivals Burnley on February 5. Do you think he will do well in the Premier League? Let us know in the comments section.

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