Roy Hodgson must save Watford from relegation from the Premier League. The now 74-year-old coach is immediately the successor of Claudio Ranieri, who was fired on Monday, it was officially announced on Tuesday. Hodgson was without a club after his departure from Crystal Palace last summer. His permanent assistant Ray Lewington, with a past as manager at Vicagare Road, also signed on Tuesday. Watford is going through a very difficult season and with eighteen rounds to go, they occupy the disappointing nineteenth place.
Ranieri had been associated with Watford for less than four months. The Italian manager has only scored one point in the last eight league games of the Hornets and therefore had to leave. Watford will start with the very experienced Hodgson on already the third trainer of this season, after Xisco Muñoz was already fired by the club management on October 3. Hodgson will probably be on the bench for the first time on February 5 at Watford, which will take on that day against last-placed competitor Burnley.
We are delighted to confirm the appointment of Roy Hodgson as the club’s manager. Welcome to Watford, Roy!
— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) January 25, 2022
Hodgson is certainly no stranger to the English football world. In addition to national team coach, Watford’s new manager was associated with Liverpool, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Blackburn Rovers and West Bromwich Albion in his own country. He was national coach of Switzerland at the 1994 World Cup and also worked abroad at Internazionale and in Sweden.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 23 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 41 | 57 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 22 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 39 | 48 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 24 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 30 | 47 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 38 |
| 5 | West Ham United | 23 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 37 |
| 6 | Arsenal | 21 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 36 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 20 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 36 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton W. | 21 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 34 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 22 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 30 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | -3 | 26 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 21 | 8 | 2 | 11 | -4 | 26 |
| 12 | Southampton | 22 | 5 | 10 | 7 | -8 | 25 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 22 | 5 | 9 | 8 | -3 | 24 |
| 14 | Brentford | 23 | 6 | 5 | 12 | -12 | 23 |
| 15 | Leeds United | 21 | 5 | 7 | 9 | -16 | 22 |
| 16 | Everton | 20 | 5 | 4 | 11 | -11 | 19 |
| 17 | Norwich City | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | -32 | 16 |
| 18 | Newcastle United | 21 | 2 | 9 | 10 | -22 | 15 |
| 19 | Watford | 20 | 4 | 2 | 14 | -17 | 14 |
| 20 | Burnley | 18 | 1 | 9 | 8 | -11 | 12 |
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