Watford find themselves in sticky waters after their form has seen a sharp decline over the last month and a half. The Hornets and their manager Walter Mazzarri were being widely praised in the initial weeks as they went as high as the 7th spot and it seemed that their lofty ambition of a better finish than last year’s 12th place, was not as far-fetched as one have thought.
The Italian brought about a solidity to the team and things looked really well with goals from midfield and attacking play from the flanks along with a solid backline earned rave reviews from the pundits and a 3-1 win over the mighty Manchester United made people even more confident about their prospects this season.
But since the 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool on 6th November, things have gone wrong for them. In the next 10 matches, they managed to win only 2 and drew 1. Losing the other 7 which sees them in the 14th spot now. And another loss or two will quickly see them spiral down even more. They have had a couple of massive defeats and have lost winnable matches on paper.
Reports of discontent and agitated players have been doing the rounds as the lads are said to be unhappy over the manager’s training routine. And even the owners are said to be evaluating the situation and will be forced to act if the results do not improve.
And after taking a stock of the situation and in a bid to make things better, Mazzarri has reportedly enquired about the potential loan signing of Everton man Tom Cleverly.
The English international is said to have fallen out of favour under new manager Ronald Koeman. He could never quite carve out an identity for himself in the Toffees’ midfield and it looks as if his time is up at the club.
Watford have issues with their strikers but are also faced with a severe shortage of players in midfield suddenly. While apart from Capoue, there weren’t too many who were performing, now even the quantity has gone down. Amrabat and Guedioura have gone off to the AFCON and with Success and Pereyra injured they are running out of options.
Cleverly is not the most dynamic player but his assured passing and his wide range along with his awareness of players around in him midfield will be of value to the Hornets. He will elevate the overall standard at the centre of the park and given his Premier League experience will bring solidity and assuredness to the struggling team.
But it is to be seen whether Everton sanction a loan deal as they are said to be favouring a permanent deal for the player who is deemed surplus to requirement.
