Last season they finished 15 points from safety. Already in March they started to lose contact with the group of teams in the middle of the table and in May their relegation was definitively sealed. After two months, midfielder Dan Gosling evaluated the unsuccessful season of Watford footballers.
The 32-year-old midfielder came to Watford a year and a half ago from Bournemouth and was one of the more experienced players in the Hornets team. He was on the verge of promotion to the Premier League, where, however, the club lasted only one season.
Gosling talked about the mood the team was in especially in the second half of the season. “Players came to training and said they had enough. The team was under the blanket. There were players who knew they were going to leave. There were also those who said: I’ve played 20 games, the team is in a bad place, let them try someone else,” the experienced midfielder shook his head.
“The approach was shameful. A lot of our performances were really shameful and it’s definitely the main reason why we got relegated,” the former Everton or Newcastle player is convinced.
“It wasn’t about our abilities. More about the fact that some players probably didn’t play at the level they’re capable of. It was the attitude of individuals that sunk us,” he thinks.
Watford, even with Slovak Juraj Kucka, ended up scoring only 23 points for the entire season. 38 points were needed to save, which was recorded by Leeds United. Only Norwich have scored less than Watford.
“It was a shame really. Definitely the worst dressing room I’ve ever been a part of. Now that we’re going through a renaissance and trying to build something new, it’s a real relief,” summed up his time at Watford Gosling, who is already looking forward to the new season at the team .
There were three coaches in the past year. Gosling couldn’t find a good word for Italian coach Claudio Ranieri, who put him on the stand. In the end, the team lost 11 out of 14 games under the famous coach.
“It was a very unpleasant time. Misery. The training and the atmosphere that came with the new implementation team was terrible. I was actually surprised that they lasted four months. I have been playing football for a long time, as have several other players in the team. And this was the worst possible to be,” referring back to the period between October and January when Ranieri was in charge of the team.
After that, the former coach of Inter Milan, Liverpool or the English national team, Roy Hodgson, took over the team. According to Gosling, the atmosphere improved, but the methods of the experienced coach were outdated. “A lot of exercises were repeated, but at least they were real game situations. But it needs to be revived a little, it’s 2022,” he criticized.
“They kicked us in the beginning, but then it looked like they gave up too. When you see that and hear the fights, what chance do you have?” Gosling asked in an interview with the Watford Observer. He will try to return to the Premier League in the Hornets team. So far, he has praised the arrivals of predatory players and new coach Rob Edwards.
