League Focus: Watford and Bournemouth Seal Promotion But Who Will Join Them?
After a season that had captured the imagination like no other, the Championship’s final day is going to be something of an anticlimax. Only the final playoff place and, possibly depending on Rotherham’s result against Reading tonight, the last relegation spot will be left to play for. There will be no repeat of 2008, when Watford conceded in the final minute at home to Leeds to be denied an automatic place at the expense of Hull. Instead the Hornets are celebrating with a weekend to spare and will be joined by Bournemouth in the Premier League. Few could deny they are worthy of finishing in the top two, even if Norwich and Middlesbrough could feel hard done by.
Watford’s story was made all the more impressive by the managerial upheaval earlier in the season where they had four managers in 37 days. They started with Beppe Sannino only for things to turn pear-shaped with growing tensions among the squad. Óscar García replaced him but departed after four games due to illness prior to the farcical appointment of Billy McKinlay. That lasted only eight days before Slavisa Jokanovic came in. They lost four in a row soon after his appointment but the former Chelsea player steadied the ship and they timed their run to perfection, winning their last five games.
A lot of their success can be put down to their prolific attack. Troy Deeney reached 20 goals for the third consecutive campaign and is also Watford’s leading creator with nine assists. He was complimented brilliantly by Odion Ighalo’s outstanding run of 13 goals in 11 games after Christmas and Matej Vydra’s 15. It will be fascinating to see how much the Pozzo family will invest now Watford are in the top flight but the current squad and their style of play looks strong enough to survive without much investment.
There have been constant mentions of Bournemouth’s promotion being a fairytale but that is unfair. Eddie Howe is an incredibly talented manager and has installed a back room team, including a bunch of analysts who were greeted with huge cheers at full-time against Bolton, that has been pivotal to their success. It is more an exceptionally well-executed plan than a fairytale. Kenwyne Jones recently described Howe as the best manager he has worked with and Jones has played under quite a few.
While they have had some detractors due to their hefty wage bill, it must not be ignored that they have not spent big on transfer fees. Callum Wilson was signed for around £3m in the summer. His return meant that fee was outstanding value for money even before you factor in that they had sold Lewis Grabban to Norwich for a similar amount. Those detractors may also point out that Wilson has won 11 penalties (all clubs in England's top 4 leagues with the exception of Swindon have won fewer) – but how many of those were considered soft?
Wilson’s strike partnership with Yann Kermorgant has been outstanding, yielding 35 goals, but the big star has been their flying winger Matt Ritchie. He has contributed to more goals than any other player in the country, scoring 13 and providing 17 assists. Inside him, Harry Arter has been terrific too and their style of play should trouble more than a couple Premier League defences next season even if Howe may need to strengthen at the back in the summer. They will also need to become accustomed to not having as big a share of possession having had the biggest average share in the Championship with 58.1%.
And who will join them? Momentum usually counts for so much in the playoffs but both Boro and Norwich appear to have hit brief blips and the disappointment of missing out in such a close-run race could potentially derail them. Norwich still look best placed to go up considering their overall improvement since Alex Neal took over. Ipswich are all but confirmed to join them – unless Brentford can eat up the three goal deficit and finish level on points – and Daryl Murphy alongside a rejuvenated Freddie Sears will cause problems. Derby could yet fall out of sixth position if they are defeated by Reading and Wolves have a slight chance of creeping in, but Steve McClaren’s team have gone from being favourites to finish top to a team struggling for form and suffering from a severe dose of drawitis. They have won just two of their past 12 and look the least likely to advance on recent performances.
Do you think Watford and Bournemouth deserve to go up? Who will join them in the Premier League? Let us know in the comments below
