VICARAGE ROAD — One of the first questions put to Claudio Ranieri last week after he had accepted his 22nd job in management was “why Watford?”
“Why not Watford?” was Ranieri’s cheery response. If the magnitude of the challenge facing the 69-year-old was unclear before Saturday’s 5-0 loss to Liverpool, it certainly wasn’t after the final whistle. It was a brutal, eye-opening 90 minutes for Watford‘s newest boss.
The Pozzo family’s founding principle is that change is good and they will argue that after two promotions and six seasons out of 10 spent in the Premier League, their method works more often than not. Most fans have been won round to that novel way of thinking too.
But on days like Saturday, you are left wondering what exactly the grand plan is here and whether any kind of identity exists beyond the infamous hire ’em and fire ’em strategy in the boardroom.
Ranieri’s first starting XI was a peculiar mix of seasoned Premier League veterans, company men sourced from the Pozzo’s other clubs Udinese and Granada and in Ismaila Sarr, a star in the making.
Xisco Munoz paid the price for a “negative trend” in performances, but this was certainly not any better. Ranieri sought to freshen things up by making three changes to the starting XI and tweaking the system. But it was a horribly muddled performance. This was not so much a new manager bounce as a new manager slog.
“I think at the beginning we were nervous and we conceded a goal,” Ranieri admitted afterwards. “Some of their goals were our presents.”
Sadio Mane and Mo Salah’s goals were both superbly crafted, but each of Roberto Firmino’s three tap-ins were helpfully wrapped for him in yellow and black gift paper. The Brazilian doesn’t score many hat-tricks and he won’t ever get an easier one than this.
“I watched some bad things from our team, but I also watched some good things,” Ranieri insisted, pointing to the final 20 minutes as reason for encouragement. It was a glass-half-full assessment given Liverpool had long taken their foot off the gas by that stage with both first-choice full-backs given a breather.
“The defeats are always difficult but I’m a very positive man and I watched very well my players today,” Ranieri added. “I know where we have to improve and from next week we start to improve. I have to tell my players where they make mistakes but always my confidence is very high.”
A humbling defeat to one of Europe’s best teams is not enough to sap Ranieri’s spirit. The Roman’s sanguine demeanour is a big part of his appeal, particularly at this stage of his career where his assignments are generally in crisis management.
It is bound to be tested, though, given Watford’s hellish run of games over the next two months.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3AQg0Ku
Post a Comment