Roy Hodgson: Watford set to name Claudio Ranieri’s replacement and reunite him with nemesis Harry the Hornet
Roy Hodgson is preparing to become Watford’s third manager of the season less than 24 hours after Claudio Ranieri’s departure.
The 74-year-old will take over with the Hornets 19th in the Premier League following a 3-0 defeat to fellow strugglers Norwich City which plunged them into the relegation zone for the first time this season.
It is expected that he will sign a contract until the end of the season, with an option to extend if Watford survive, after spending the morning at the club’s training ground on Tuesday. He is set to be joined by assistant Ray Lewington, who managed Watford between 2002-2005.
Ranieri was sacked on Monday after just three months in charge, having replaced Xisco Munoz in October.
Hodgson left his most recent role at Crystal Palace last May after finishing 11th, 12th and 14th (twice), saying “the time was right for me to step away from the rigours of top-flight football”, though he added that he was reluctant to make any “bold statements” about retirement.
Back in December, Hodgson then hinted he was interested in a return, admitting at the Sports Journalists’ Association’s British Sports Awards: “I don’t know how long I shall continue to be able to watch football without missing it. I’m working hard on that at the moment but I must say I chose the right time to move aside [from Crystal Palace].
“But you can always hope there will be some jobs along the way that people will invite you to participate in, so you don’t have to get the slippers and the pipe out every single day.”
The former England manager is familiar to the Pozzo family who own Watford, having worked for them in 2001 during a brief spell in charge of Udinese. They sacked him after 17 matches in charge but are still on good terms.
As with Ranieri, the club have turned once again to a Premier League veteran rather than a progressive manager from one of the top European leagues, hoping his four decades of experience will keep them up.
Hodgson will be the oldest manager in the top tier – ironically surpassing 70-year-old Ranieri in that role. Sir Bobby Robson, Neil Warnock, Sir Alex Ferguson are the only other coaches to have managed in the Premier League in their 70s.
Hodgson vs the Hornet
The man behind Watford FC's Harry the Hornet has retired! Here's a throwback to his most famous moment in 2016 ????
There is plenty of buzz around Hodgson’s return but there could be a sting in the tail for the latest incumbent of the “Harry the Hornet” suit.
In 2018, the then Crystal Palace boss labelled the Watford mascot “disgraceful” for a cheeky dive on the pitch mocking Eagles forward Wilfried Zaha amid accusations of simulation.
Telling him in no uncertain terms not to “provoke the crowd”, the typically mild-mannered Hodgson insisted: “That’s not what football matches are about.”
“Wilf Zaha does not dive for penalties,” he said. “He gets knocked over sometimes – sometimes he gets knocked over or unbalanced without it being a penalty or a foul – because he runs at such speed and has such agility with the ball. But he certainly doesn’t dive.
“But of course teams try to take every advantage they can. I would be very disappointed if the Palace mascot was doing something like that to provoke the crowd against an opponent. And if I found out about it, I would stop it.”
A month later, Gareth Evans – the man behind the mask – left the nest, resigning as mascot but insisting he was “proud of what he achieved” and adding that he would now return to the stands as a fan.
Hodgson’s ire was unbee-coming of such a learned manager but will provide an intriguing subplot when he takes to the dugout in the vicinity of his nemesis once again.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/344mw5y
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