Sunday 20 December 2015 07:26, UK
Newly-promoted Watford have taken the Premier League by storm thanks to Troy Deeney and Odion Igalho. Ahead of their Super Sunday clash with Liverpool, Nick Wright looks at the strike partnership firing them up the table…
The contrasting fortunes of Leicester City and Chelsea have been the dominant talking points in a remarkably topsy-turvy Premier League season, but the story of Watford's rise to seventh place doesn't rank too far behind for sheer unexpectedness.
The Hornets were among the bookmakers' favourites for relegation following their promotion from the Championship last year, and the cynics scoffed when Quique Flores said he wanted to achieve "something special" in his first season in England. The Spaniard was their fifth manager in a year, and a hastily-assembled squad of 22 different nationalities did not inspire confidence.
Fast forward four months, however, and Watford are scaling new heights. The Hornets' previous two promotions were followed by immediate relegations, but the perennial Premier League strugglers are 11 points clear of the drop zone after Saturday's 1-0 win over Sunderland. They have taken 25 points from 16 games and sit two places higher than Sunday's opponents Liverpool. Behind them, the Championship is fading into the distance.
But despite bringing in 16 new signings in the summer, their rise up the table has been driven by the two players who fired them out of the second tier. Their old-school centre-forward pairing of club captain Deeney and Nigeria international Ighalo accounted for 41 goals and 12 assists last season, and in the Premier League they have been even more influential.
Ighalo has netted more goals than any other player in England's top four divisions in 2015, with 10 of them coming in the top flight, while Deeney has scored five and claimed four assists since their promotion. The duo have been directly involved in all but one of Watford's 18 goals so far, and as Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher noted on Monday Night Football, only two other players have scored for them this season, one of whom - Miguel Layun - left the club way back in September.
"Flores has come into the league and what he's done has been fantastic," said Carragher. "He's got those two up front, and they play like a proper front two. There are only two other players at Watford who have actually scored, so Flores knows the strength of the team is to get the ball into those two."
Craig Bellamy and Jamie Carragher discuss modern-day forwards on MNF.
In an age of cryotherapy chambers and training ground sleeping pods, Deeney and Ighalo are a throwback to the rough and tumble of the Premier League's early years, when lining up with a lone striker was practically unheard of. As Carragher said, this is a "proper front two". Their methods may be simple, but they are a nightmare to defend against and the bold approach has paid off for Flores.
Deeney is Watford's leader but he has perfected a supporting role alongside Ighalo. The 27-year-old is not as prolific as he was in the Championship, but the statistics show he has won more duels (138) and created more scoring chances (25) than any other Premier League forward. He plays to his physical strengths, unsettles defenders and opens up spaces for Ighalo, who he admits is the "more natural finisher" of the pair.
Deeney and Ighalo are rarely far apart on the pitch, but while the former drags centre-backs out of position, wins headers and provides the service, the latter plays off the last man and constantly looks to get in behind. His pace and instinctive finishing ability are devastatingly effective, and, with Deeney providing the ammunition, only record-breaker Jamie Vardy has had more shots on target.
"It's not one playing in the hole, they are right up front playing against centre-backs," added Carragher. "I think these two have been one of the great stories of the season, especially Ighalo with the goals he's got."
Flores has managed some of Europe's biggest clubs in Valencia, Benfica and Atletico Madrid, but his current strikeforce takes some beating. "It is an amazing connection they have," he said recently. "We have the possibility of playing different styles with Deeney and Ighalo. We can play long ball or we can play with the ball on the floor."
They don't just bring goals, either. Watford have the fifth best defensive record in the league despite playing with two out-and-out strikers, and the 4-4-2 system depends on Deeney and Ighalo's defensive work-rate. "They are not strikers who only play well if they score," said Flores. "It is amazing what they do in defence. They put in so much effort to reduce space and that is why we always defend with 11 players."
But while their impact has been remarkable, there's little chance of them getting carried away. "We do what we do but we don't get caught up in any of the hype," said Deeney last month. "We complement each other very well and both get through a lot of graft defensively, and it works. I can't tell you what it is that works, but it does."
Flores will need Deeney and Ighalo at their inspirational best when Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool visit Vicarage Road on Super Sunday. But in a season shocks, you wouldn't bet against Watford's unlikely lads springing another surprise.
Watch Watford v Liverpool live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 12.30pm on Super Sunday, or watch without a contract on NOW TV
