Watford manager Roy Hodgson has revealed Pep Guardiola did not speak to him ‘for a long time’ after he won at the Etihad with Crystal Palace in the 2018/19 season. On that occasion, an Andros Townsend stunner helped the Eagles claim a shock 3-2 win that nearly cost Manchester City the title – they went on to win the league by just one point.
Roy Hodgson said: “Pep didn’t speak to me for a long time after Palace managed to steal a win. If we get a win this time, he might never speak to me again!”
He went on to talk about how Watford need to approach the game, saying his team need to play in a pragmatic fashion instead of attempting to match up with Guardiola’s expansive style of play. The 74-year-old explained why it was important for his team to make themselves unlikeable to get the job done.
Roy Hodgson said: “We’re going to try and make ourselves unpopular. Because if we want to make ourselves popular with Pep, and the Man City crowd, and everyone else in the country, all we do really is we just go hell for leather to try and win the game and try and match them at their own game. And that, as at least 99% of people – certainly those working in football – know, is a recipe for disaster. So our only chance really is to go in and give their play the respect it deserves. And to make certain that we make life as difficult for them as we possibly can. That, you know, we seal the spaces that they need to get into goalscoring positions, we try and make it very hard for their incredible quality players in the final third of the field to produce the passes or the crosses they need to produce. And then we hope, of course, like everyone that goes there, that when we do get the ball, there will be enough in our team, especially on the counter-attack, to give them a few problems of their own to solve. But that’s really all you can do. And anything you promise beyond that is just leading people to believe in a fantasy football world.”
