Three hopes, one fear: Watford FC
By Sean Maslin
The big fear: That Mazzarri is not the right type of coach for Watford.
Walter Mazzarri is a good coach. But is he the right type of coach for a club like Watford, a club that will at best finish in the top ten and at worst be fighting for relegation? That is the $60,000 question for The Hornets entering this season and thus far the results are not promising.
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The biggest problem with Mazzarri is that he has never really faced the specter of relegation. Although his coaching C/V features names like Sampordia, Inter Milan, and Napoli looking closer at the results there really was not that much success.
A few appearances in the Champions League, a Coppa Italia title and a second place finish with Napoli are really the only highlights for Mazzarri. The rest of his performances as manager have been fine, but not anything that really stands out.
The one exception may be his work with Reggina. Prior to their 2006-2007 campaign the club was deducted eleven points for their role in the Serie A match-fixing scandal. Despite being hit with a death sentence, Mazzarri kept Reggina in the Serie A that season by just one point. Thankfully, Watford are not in such a hole but it should give supporters some hope that Mazzarri can lead this club in their relegation fight.