Convincing cup win should buy Gracia the time he deserves at Watford

Just three games into the 2019/20 Premier League season, only two sides are yet to win a match thus far. One of said sides is Wolves, who are juggling their Europa League qualifying commitments and crucially are also yet to taste defeat.

Nuno’s side were also one of seven sides that, after three matches last season, were without a victory to their name, with just two points this time last year before ultimately finishing seventh.

At the opposite end of the table were Watford who, after three games, were one of four sides with maximum points - something only Liverpool have managed this season.

The Hornets were the league’s most surprising fast starters 12 months ago, and would go onto secure a fourth win in a row against Tottenham. It was a streak that in all truth they haven’t come close to matching since.

Now, sitting bottom of the table without so much as a point, the pressure is reportedly mounting on head coach Javi Gracia.

When looking back to the tail end of last season, at a time when the club were working their way to an FA Cup final at Wembley, the numbers certainly don’t look good for the Spaniard.

The two wins his side have managed in their last 12 league matches came against Fulham and Huddersfield - last season’s bottom two - while the last clean sheet the team kept in the top-flight was over six months and 16 matches ago.

However, said cup run last season should certainly come into the reckoning when questioning Gracia’s future at Vicarage Road, not only for the achievement in and of itself but its affect on the team’s league form.

So too should a summer transfer window that was hours away from being an utter disaster.

Defender Craig Dawson was the only senior signing prior to deadline day before the club finally pulled their finger out and brought in Danny Welbeck and Ismaila Sarr. Subsequently neither have started in the league without having linked up with the team in pre-season, and for that Gracia cannot be blamed.

Both players started the convincing 3-0 cup win over Coventry on Tuesday, with Sarr netting the opening goal and Welbeck completing 90 minutes for the first time in almost a year.

It was a match which saw Watford shape up in a more traditional 4-4-2 formation than normal, having utilised a narrow 4-2-2-2 system to get the best of the players in the squad until now. It’s a relatively unfamiliar set up to the Premier League but one that Gracia implemented well for much of last season, proving his ability to tailor a tactic that allowed his strongest players to fit into the same side.

It is, however, a formation and style of play that opponents have got to grips with over time, which is why the club record signing of Sarr, along with the arrival of Welbeck, could prove pivotal.

The former, a marquee signing for a club of Watford’s stature, should start in a huge match against Newcastle this weekend. The Senegal international will offer genuine quality from wide areas, the absence of which dictated how Gracia lined up in the past.

He is a stereotypical winger that is unlikely to flourish in a more central role and given the money spent to secure his services, getting the optimum performance levels from Sarr will be a priority.

For that reason, with a change in tack likely to be in the offing, Gracia deserves the chance to work with the best XI at his disposal, which is something that he has been unable to do so far this season.

Deulofeu could also benefit from being handed a role on either of the flanks in a move that would eradicate the need for what now seems an overkill of central midfielders of relatively modest ability.

The front two could remain if Welbeck can stay fit - which is an admittedly huge if - and all of a sudden Watford could be a different proposition.

Last season theirs was a squad many predicted would go down and while Gracia couldn’t ensure his side maintained their early pace they spent much of the campaign in the top half. It was an overachievement by all accounts and one that Gracia wasn’t given great credit for at the time.

He has earned a shot at turning his side’s fortunes around as a result, and the last thing a club that has lacked continuity needs is less of it.

It may have come against lower league opposition but Watford’s win in midweek suggests that the players are still playing for their manager. They may need to do so again against Newcastle if the Spaniard is to avoid the chop and get the chance to move the club back in the right direction.