Do you really need this at your age Roy!
Damp squib a reality check for Hodgson on his return
THE only sirens Roy Hodgson can hear now are the alarm bells ringing as Watford fight for Premier League survival.
This clash between the bottom two clubs at the start of the day at a wet and wild Turf Moor was a game Watford and Burnley badly needed to win but could ill afford to lose. So no one here should be too surprised it ended in a goalless draw.
Incredibly, Hodgson’s first game in charge after returning at the age of 74 to become the Premier League’s oldest-ever boss, and the Pozzo family’s 15th permanent appointment since June 2012, brought Watford’s first clean sheet in the league in two years under six different managers.
However, after failing to beat fellow-strugglers Newcastle and Norwich in their last two games — results that finally cost Claudio Ranieri his job — this could be seen as another opportunity missed.
‘Like a siren call from a mermaid as the sailor passes by on his ship,’ was how Hodgson described his return after taking the job earlier this week. He certainly had the look of an old sea captain being battered by a squall as he stood on the touchline in the howling wind and rain continually wiping his glasses so he could see what was going on.
Was he glad to be back? Hodgson smiled. ‘I’m realistic enough to know that as happy as I was to take up the offer, there will be plenty of times I will think “what on earth am I doing?” I’ll deal with those when they come. It was only at half-time when I came in and saw how wet I’d got that I realised how much it was raining.’
Burnley’s situation remains just as precarious at the foot of the table but at least they have two games in hand on Watford and Newcastle. ‘Both teams tried to play in these conditions and this is probably as bad as I’ve seen it,’ said manager Sean Dyche.
‘It’s important we change these draws into wins. We’re one point better off than we were at this stage last year which might not sound a lot, but it may be crucial come the end of the season.’
This was not a pretty spectacle and the atrocious conditions were only partly to blame for that.
Watford are without a win since consigning Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to the sack in mid-November, and came into this game with 14 defeats from 20 games. The last team to survive in the Premier League with a record like that was Southampton 28 years ago. Burnley’s record is equally bad with just one win all season. The last team to survive in the top flight with a record like that was West Bromwich Albion in 2005.
So the pressure of the occasion was a factor in a rather forgettable encounter as much as the wind and the rain.
Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster said: ‘The quality just wasn’t there today as everybody was on tenterhooks. It won’t live long in the memory, I don’t think. But the conditions were hard — I can’t feel my forehead!’
In theory the weather suited Burnley better. They have the more direct style and a new 6ft 6in target man in Wout Weghorst, a £12million signing from Wolfsburg who made his debut here.
The Dutchman used his height to create the first chance of the game in the 11th minute, when Maxwel Cornet forced a smart reflex save from Foster, but did not fare so well in front of goal himself.
The best chance arrived just moments after half-time when Weghorst only had Foster to beat but Hassane Kamara did brilliantly to block his shot and ball looped up against the bar.
Weghorst sliced another chance well wide, Cornet tested Foster again with a curling effort and substitute Jay Rodriguez glanced a header just wide as Burnley pressed for a winner in the second half.
Watford deserve credit for trying to play good football in the conditions, and had the best of an error-strewn first half.
It ended with Watford’s players surrounding referee Craig Pawson demanding a penalty after Connor Roberts clearly blocked Ken Sema’s pass with an outstretched hand.
Was it intentional? No. Was his arm in a natural position? Again no. But VAR ruled against Watford as Burnley tried to do their bit to force the issue by disappearing into
the dressing room before a final decision had been made. Aaron Lennon also cleared off the line at a corner and the visitors had the last chance of the game when Pope produced a fantastic save down to his right in the 85th minute from substitute Tom Cleverley.
It was a crucial stop to preserve a stalemate that only does so much for both clubs’ hopes of staying up. A point gained or two squandered? Only time will tell.