As a massive Watford fan, I couldn’t let today pass without mentioning the fact that manager Aidy Boothroyd has been sacked. Well, he has left by mutual consent, but we all know what that means.
Boothroyd, nicknamed ‘Hoofroyd’ or ‘Hoofers’ due to his one dimensional, get it forward quick, style of play, has had an amazing rollercoaster ride since he arrived at Vicarage Road as an unknown back towards the end of the 2004-05 season.
When he arrived Watford were on the verge of relegation out of the Championship, but he somehow managed to lead us to safety and establish himself as a hero straight away.
In 2005-06 Watford were favourites for relegation but Boothroyd led the team to the play-offs where a fabulous 3-0 win over Leeds at Cardiff saw the club enter the Premier League.
The 2006-07 season in the Premier League was not humiliating, but it wasn’t much fun either as the team rarely got off the bottom of the table. Despite our ‘route one’ football not working, Hoofers did not seem able to make any tactical changes to the way we played.
The 2007-08 season was crucial as Watford had to gain promotion back to the Premier League in order to avoid financial difficulties. Despite playing an even more predictable and even more direct style, somehow the season started well and Watford found themselves well clear at the top. It couldn’t last and when teams worked out how to play against us, we had no answers. The early season form just about got us into the play-offs but we were absolutely thrashed by Hull in the semi-final.
This season has started badly and Watford sit out of the relegation zone only on goal difference. The style of play is marginally better but the best players have been sold and there is no money for new ones. It seems likely that we are heading for League One.
In those circumstances, it is no surprise that Hoofers has been given the bullet, but it is difficult to see who would be interested in taking over at a club in so much turmoil. It would be like taking over at Newcastle only much worse.
As a fan, I would like to say a huge thank you to Hoofers for keeping us up in his first season and for taking us up in his second. Since then, in all truth, it has all been downhill. I have no doubt he will have learned much and it may well turn out that Watford’s loss is someone else’s gain.
Having said that, I didn’t lose any sleep last night after I heard the news.
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