Roy Hodgson is on the verge of coming out of retirement and taking charge of Watford, according to reports.
#WatfordFC Breaking
Understand Roy Hodgson will be new Head coach on short term deal until end of the season, assisted by ex-Watford boss Ray Lewington. Hodgson previously worked for Pozzo at Udinese in 2001. Due to meet players today. @TheAthleticUK https://t.co/S733JUpO2W
— Adam Leventhal (@AdamLeventhal) January 25, 2022
The 74 year old retired from management at the end of last season, when his reign at Crystal Palace came to an end, but has seemingly been enticed back into action following the sacking of Claudio Ranieri.
As per the Athletic, the deal will see him take charge of Watford until the end of the season, while Ray Lewington will once again be his assistant coach. With experience in the Premier League and experience working with Watford’s notoriously short-fused owners, Hodgson could well prove to be the miracle that hornets fans have been praying for.
What’s the situation at the bottom?
Watford currently sit in the relagation zone, and their 3-0 defeat to direct rivals Norwich have seen them slip down to 19th place. Burnley, the side below them, have two games in hand too and trail by just two points.
Additionally, both Leeds and Everton (15th and 16th respectively) have been performing well below their usual level thus far, and will surely be expecting significant upturns in form over the last 17 games of the campaign.
Newcastle are spending big to try and avoid relegation too, but it seems likely that should they survive, Watford would be the victims and would be spending next season in the Championship.
While it by no means an impossible job for Hodgson, it is perhaps one of the hardest of his long and illustrious career.
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City | 23 | 41 | 57 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 22 | 39 | 48 |
| 3 | Chelsea FC | 24 | 30 | 47 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 22 | 6 | 38 |
| 5 | West Ham United | 23 | 10 | 37 |
| 6 | Arsenal FC | 21 | 8 | 36 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 20 | 2 | 36 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 21 | 3 | 34 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 22 | 30 | |
| 10 | Leicester City | 20 | -3 | 26 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 21 | -4 | 26 |
| 12 | Southampton FC | 22 | -8 | 25 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 22 | -3 | 24 |
| 14 | Brentford FC | 23 | -12 | 23 |
| 15 | Leeds United | 21 | -16 | 22 |
| 16 | Everton FC | 20 | -11 | 19 |
| 17 | Norwich City | 22 | -32 | 16 |
| 18 | Newcastle United | 21 | -22 | 15 |
| 19 | Watford FC | 20 | -17 | 14 |
| 20 | Burnley FC | 18 | -11 | 12 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 16 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 9 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 8 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 8 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 8 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 |
| Smith-Rowe, Emile | Arsenal FC | 8 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 8 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 8 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 7 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 7 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 7 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 7 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City | 7 |
| Silva, Bernardo | Manchester City | 7 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 6 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 6 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 6 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City | 6 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 7 | |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 6 | |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 7 | |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 6 | |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 6 | |
| Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 6 | |
| Alonso, Marcos | Chelsea FC | 6 | |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 6 | |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 6 | |
| Laporte, Aymeric | Manchester City | 1 | 5 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 6 | |
| Llorente, Diego | Leeds United | 6 | |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion | 6 | |
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United | 5 | |
| Ward, Joel | Crystal Palace | 6 | |
| Skipp, Oliver | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 | |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 4 | |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 5 | |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 1 | 4 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 1 | 4 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 9 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 8 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 7 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 7 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 6 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 5 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 5 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 5 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Redmond, Nathan | Southampton FC | 5 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 4 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 4 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 4 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 4 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City | 4 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 4 |