'Ranieri Is Providing Watford With An Identity On The Pitch'

Watford can approach Sunday's visit to Leicester City in a positive mindset as former Foxes manager Claudio Ranieri's ideas continue to make an impact at the Hertfordshire club, says Ryan Gray from the Watford Observer.

2021-11-28T08:56:00.000Z

Watford can approach Sunday's visit to Leicester City in a positive mindset as former Foxes manager Claudio Ranieri's ideas continue to make an impact at the Hertfordshire club, says Ryan Gray from the Watford Observer.

2021-11-28T08:56:00.000Z

'Ranieri Is Providing Watford With An Identity On The Pitch'

Watford can approach Sunday's visit to Leicester City in a positive mindset as former Foxes manager Claudio Ranieri's ideas continue to make an impact at the Hertfordshire club, says Ryan Gray from the Watford Observer.

2021-11-28T08:56:00.000Z

'Ranieri Is Providing Watford With An Identity On The Pitch'

Watford can approach Sunday's visit to Leicester City in a positive mindset as former Foxes manager Claudio Ranieri's ideas continue to make an impact at the Hertfordshire club, says Ryan Gray from the Watford Observer.

2021-11-28T08:56:00.000Z

'Ranieri Is Providing Watford With An Identity On The Pitch'

Watford can approach Sunday's visit to Leicester City in a positive mindset as former Foxes manager Claudio Ranieri's ideas continue to make an impact at the Hertfordshire club, says Ryan Gray from the Watford Observer.

2021-11-28T08:56:00.000Z

- Watford visit King Power Stadium to face Leicester City on Sunday (2pm kick-off)- Claudio Ranieri will return to Leicester for the first time as an opposition manager since his title-winning feat at the Club- Ryan Gray, from the Watford Observer, believes the Italian is getting his message across at Watford- Live coverage of the game is available, for free, on LCFC Radio from 12:30pm

Ranieri took over at Vicarage Road in early October after the early-season departure of Xisco and, while the Italian's new side were comprehensively beaten by Liverpool on his debut in charge, some hugely encouraging results have been secured over recent weeks.

The Hornets left Goodison Park with a 5-2 triumph over Everton in October before, last time out, defeating Manchester United 4-1 at home in Ole Gunnar Solskjær's final game as the Old Trafford club's manager. Ranieri's tactical insight is starting to make an impression, according to Gray.

"It’s pretty positive," he told LCFC Radio's Matchday Live show, which starts at 12:30pm on Sunday. "They’re in the middle of a run which they perhaps weren’t expected to get a lot from. Their last two games were against Arsenal and Man Utd and they’ve got Leicester, Chelsea and Man City coming up.

"When the fixtures came out, that little run was viewed with quite a lot of trepidation. Obviously, last week, they put four past Man Utd and pulled off a terrific performance, so it is very positive. They’re still in the early days of Ranieri’s time at the club.

"His philosophy and ideas and his way of playing is really starting to come through now. He’s providing the club with an identity on the pitch which they perhaps didn’t have before. There’s a real feeling of positivity around the place because of that."

Ranieri is likely to get a warm welcome on Filbert Way on Sunday as Leicester fans show their appreciation for the role he played in securing the Club's first-ever Premier League title glory in 2016. Gray believes that reception could also function as a reminder to Watford's players of his pedigree.

"I can’t see him getting anything other than a terrific ovation from the Leicester fans after what he did and that incredible season," he added. "Obviously, nobody really expected him to guide Leicester to the title, so I think he’s obviously going to be given a great reception I would hope.

"That will do good for the Watford players to see how revered their manager is elsewhere, how special other teams consider him to be. His career speaks for itself, his CV is ridiculous... not only the number of clubs, but the standard of clubs he’s managed.

"It will, if anything, help the Watford players realise, if they don’t already, who this character is and why he’s perhaps worth paying attention to."

While Watford have secured some notable victories under Ranieri's guidance, they have also suffered some frustrating defeats - most prominently a 1-0 home reverse against Southampton. The determination on show against Man Utd, though, can give them confidence, Gray says.

"It's been a bit of a mixed bag," he explained. "In his first game, they shipped five against Liverpool. There’s no shame in losing to Liverpool, but the way they lost that game was really disappointing. There was no fight and no effort and the way it happened was very disappointing.

"Then, similarly, they lost against Southampton, 1-0 at home, and it was a game they didn’t show enough determination in. In the other games, they won 5-2 at Everton, and they were absolutely incredible.

"They went behind twice and yet still fought back and managed to score five goals at Goodison Park, which is not an easy thing to do, especially against a Rafa Benítez team. He’s obviously well known for setting up defensively and keeping it tight at the back. It was the same with the Man Utd game.

"Their heads could have dropped because they missed the penalty. It looked very nervous, but Ismaïla Sarr particularly recovered excellently and he scored a goal. The team performance, tactically, was absolutely spot on.

"There’s these shoots of positivity starting to emerge from Ranieri and he’s starting to get them playing in an attacking way. At the back, though, they haven’t kept a clean sheet all season and it’s something Ranieri is concerned about.

"He famously took the Leicester players out for a pizza when they got their first clean sheet and he’s offered to take them for dinner when they manage to do that. It’s still looking a little disorganised.

"At the back, injuries haven’t helped and they’ve got a couple of players who are departing for AFCON. It’s something they’ll look to address in January I think.

"They’ve brought in a free agent, Nicolas Nkoulou, midway through the season and he’s just starting to play after working his way towards fitness and that will help. That is something which Ranieri frequently talks about. He does have his eye on it, definitely."

As Watford await news on Ismaïla Sarr's fitness, Gray pointed to some of the other attacking talents in their squad. While clean sheets have been hard to come by this term for the Hornets, scoring goals has rarely been an issue.

"Ismaïla Sarr might not be back in time for the game," Gray continued. "He went straight down the tunnel against Man Utd and, from what I’ve been told, they’re still assessing him. There’s a chance he could play, but it’s not looking too positive. Away from him, you’d have to look at Emmanuel Dennis.

"He’s averaging either a goal or an assist every 93 minutes. They picked him up for relatively little and he’s been a real gem of a find. When they signed him, there were questions over his attitude, but there’s been none of that since he arrived. He’s applied himself brilliantly and he’s a good finisher.

"He’s really adapted to the league. Josh King as well, he scored a hat-trick against Everton and scored against Man Utd. He’s been playing really, really well as that central lone striker. He could cause one or two problems as well. If Sarr is playing, he’s a threat to anyone.

"The front three have been terrific all season and surpassed expectations I think. If they can do as well as they did against Man Utd then Leicester could be in some problems."

All times GMT.

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