The Tigers are on the road in search of their first away win of the campaign
Hull City will head to Watford this weekend full of confidence after last Saturday’s tremendous 3-1 win over promotion favourites Southampton.
City‘s first win in four games was crucial and backed up a deserved 2-2 draw at Swansea City the week before, and they now travel to Vicarage Road looking to make it back-to-back wins for the first time in 12 months.
Standing in their way will be a Watford side struggling to get to grips with life under new boss Paulo Pezzolano, having suffered successive defeats to Blackburn Rovers and Millwall, following a 2-2 draw at home to the Saints.
Hull Live spoke to Hornets reporter for the Watford Observer, Adam Drury, to get the lowdown on Saturday’s opponents…
Watford are winless in four. What’s your impression of them so far?
The four games prior to the international break were decent enough, with five points picked up from four games and some positives from each of the performances, but things have tailed off over the last fortnight. The home defeat to Blackburn was a very bad day, with no redeeming qualities, and though it wasn’t quite as poor at Millwall on Monday, they just aren’t creating enough. Statistically, they’ve had no big chances in either of those two matches.
Where has it gone wrong so far?
The effect may be a lack of penalty-box action but the cause is a fair bit more complex. Paulo Pezzolano’s unpredictable line-ups were viewed as a positive early on but have reached the stage where the team lacks an identity and familiarity. He has switched from a back four to a back three to a back four and now a back three again within six league matches, making five changes against Blackburn and another six against Southampton. There is a fair amount of mitigation with new signings, returning internationals and injuries, but it does seem like they’re struggling to find a rhythm.
What have you made of Paulo Pezzolano? Is he popular with supporters?
The problem is with his broken English that he isn’t able to communicate with them as well as he’d like. I don’t think fans feel much of a bond with him, which isn’t anyone’s fault, really, but means he doesn’t have much goodwill in the bank. Combined with the team chopping and changing, lacking identity, and – ultimately – not winning games, it’s not a happy recipe. It can only be fixed by better results, so this is a big game for him.
Personally, I find him a warm, engaging person and I hope he can get things moving forwards.
What are Watford’s ambitions this season?
The club couldn’t have been much clearer with their expectation of a promotion challenge. That was the ambition laid out by owner Gino Pozzo at the end of last season and has been backed up by other executives throughout the summer. At the moment, stabilising and winning a few games needs to be the first step, but ultimately they expect to be knocking on the door of the top six at least. I actually think their best XI stacks up in comparison with the teams in that pack, but we haven’t seen it yet in terms of personnel or performance.
Who are Watford’s danger men?
Imran Louza is the player who makes it tick from midfield. He’s the one you want touching the ball the most, setting the tempo and controlling the game. If Hull nullify him, they could be in business. Nestory Irankunda has taken the headlines, deservedly so, and Kwadwo Baah is a seriously exciting winger but hasn’t quite caught fire this season. There are a number of good players, it’s a case of the team finding the rhythm to get the best out of them.
What do you think are the weaknesses Hull City will be looking to exploit?
Watford have been decent defensively so far but their Achilles’ heel has been set-pieces and crosses. They look solid from open play but it’s often been panic stations when the ball is delivered into the box. Oli McBurnie is an obvious danger in that regard. Both Blackburn and Millwall have defended with numbers, watched Watford fail to work it out, and then taken their chances in attack.
From the outside, what is your perspective of the Tigers?
Actually fairly similar to Watford, in the sense that things can seem fairly chaotic but that some talented players and coaches come through the door and make it work often enough. Sacking Liam Rosenior and Ruben Selles felt like the kind of moves Watford have made headlines for in the past but that doesn’t mean you can’t have success. I expected Hull to struggle ahead of the season but the vibes seem quite good and I know from experience here that it’s easy to judge from the outside when it’s only those closest to the club that really know why decisions have been made.
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