Watford managerial chaos left Ben Foster questioning why Troy Deeney told him to sign
If he wasn’t so good at football, Troy Deeney might have been a handy used car salesman – at least that’s what Ben Foster might say. Deeney is a Watford legend with over 400 appearances and 140 goals, including THAT iconic strike against Leicester in the 2013 Championship play-offs. Deeney and Foster ended up working well at Watford, but not without a few teething issuesGetty However, being any sort of great at Vicarage Road during the past 20 years is a pretty tough ask, given the club’s constant and infamous managerial merry-go-round. Such turmoil was off-putting for any manager, so Deeney had to push the envelope when it came to those asking for advice. The talkSPORT pundit recalled: “We had two maybe three times where we had four managers in a year. “For me I’d been there a long time so I kind of understood how it all worked out. “But there were times when we had players like Ben Foster who, when we sacked Quique Sanzhez Flores the second time after he lasted about a month, Fozzy was going to me ‘What the f*** have I signed for?’ “Fozzy was saying to me before he signed ‘What’s the place like? How is it?’ and obviously I was trying to recruit him because we needed a goalie. “So I was saying ‘It’s great, it’s settled, don’t worry about it, it’s all sweet!’ Within three months we had two managers sacked.” Foster stayed at Watford until 2022 in the end, leaving at the end of his contract. Deeney was discussing what it’s like to be between managers, with Manchester United currently experiencing such a phenomenon as they await Ruben Amorim after sacking Erik ten Hag. Starting with a joke, he said: “I can’t really talk about it because Watford had them in the next day, by the time they left the car park they were back in.” Pearson was one of Watford’s many managersAFP or licensors However, he did point out what made the difference and stopped things spiralling out of control. He added: “Nigel Pearson was coming in, as soon as Nige came in and said ‘This is what we’re doing, this is how we do it, so shut your mouths and get on with it’. “Everyone fell into line. “I think Amorim will do that at United. “I think he’s got that confidence and that swagger to say ‘This is what we’re going, get on with it’.”
If he wasn’t so good at football, Troy Deeney might have been a handy used car salesman – at least that’s what Ben Foster might say.
Deeney is a Watford legend with over 400 appearances and 140 goals, including THAT iconic strike against Leicester in the 2013 Championship play-offs.
However, being any sort of great at Vicarage Road during the past 20 years is a pretty tough ask, given the club’s constant and infamous managerial merry-go-round.
Such turmoil was off-putting for any manager, so Deeney had to push the envelope when it came to those asking for advice.
The talkSPORT pundit recalled: “We had two maybe three times where we had four managers in a year.
“For me I’d been there a long time so I kind of understood how it all worked out.
“But there were times when we had players like Ben Foster who, when we sacked Quique Sanzhez Flores the second time after he lasted about a month, Fozzy was going to me ‘What the f*** have I signed for?’
“Fozzy was saying to me before he signed ‘What’s the place like? How is it?’ and obviously I was trying to recruit him because we needed a goalie.
“So I was saying ‘It’s great, it’s settled, don’t worry about it, it’s all sweet!’ Within three months we had two managers sacked.”
Foster stayed at Watford until 2022 in the end, leaving at the end of his contract.
Deeney was discussing what it’s like to be between managers, with Manchester United currently experiencing such a phenomenon as they await Ruben Amorim after sacking Erik ten Hag.
Starting with a joke, he said: “I can’t really talk about it because Watford had them in the next day, by the time they left the car park they were back in.”
However, he did point out what made the difference and stopped things spiralling out of control.
He added: “Nigel Pearson was coming in, as soon as Nige came in and said ‘This is what we’re doing, this is how we do it, so shut your mouths and get on with it’.
“Everyone fell into line.
“I think Amorim will do that at United.
“I think he’s got that confidence and that swagger to say ‘This is what we’re going, get on with it’.”
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