An emotional Troy Deeney had plenty to say after Watford’s comeback bid came up short at Arsenal and the Hornets were relegated from the Premier League after five seasons.
The Hornets ultimately would’ve needed a win to stay up since Aston Villa drew West Ham, and going down 3-0 was too much of an ask against the Gunners in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium on Championship Sunday.
[ RECAP: Arsenal 3-2 Watford ]
Deeney had a collection of issues with the club’s performance on the season from the defending right on up to the board room and the firing of three coaches including Nigel Pearson with two matches to play.
He also questioned whether he’ll ever play in the Premier League again, though maybe his cynical comments about the club’s hierarchy could land him a move elsewhere (That’s quite tongue-in-cheek; The club legend would have to want to leave).
Deeney scored 10 times this Premier League season after missing nine matches (no wins) earlier this season. He has 133 goals and 59 assists in 398 appearances for the Hornets.
Some ‘highlights’ from his post-match, transcribed by the BBC:
On poor defense and worries for the club’s employees
“It’s not about today’s game, it’s a year of not being good enough. We can be frustrated with today but if we can’t defend as a team you’re going to lose more games than you win. But it’s worse for the fans and those who work at the club they’re the ones that might lose their jobs and it isn’t fair on them.”
On firing three managers in one season
“The club from top to bottom will need to do an audit. Because sacking three managers in one season means we haven’t got it right. Something went wrong, is that managers, is that players is it ownership? We need to audit that and go through it all to see what went wrong.”
On his future and an upcoming knee injury
“I’m 32 years old, I have a knee operation next week because I’ve been playing injured for the last month. I honestly don’t know if this is going to be my last game at Watford or in the Premier League. I don’t know, it’s too early to talk about that and it’s not about me it’s about the people at the club who work at the club and will be affected. I’ll take a few days away, assess and take some grief online no doubt.
On his career so far and the Coronavirus pandemic
“But you know if I do ultimately stop playing for Watford as of now I’ve had a great run, next week or the week after is going to be 10 years at this club. That don’t happen often, I think the whole country has had enough of COVID and I’m right in that. Basicallly I’m going to go and get my knee sorted and go and spend some time with my family and at the end of the day they’re the only people whose opinions I care about. If someone wants to give me grief online then please do it. I’m a big boy with big shoulders and I’ve had some real world issues so getting some stick online doesn’t bother me.”
🗣"Ultimately no as it failed"
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) July 26, 2020
Troy Deeney on if Watford were right to sack 3 managers pic.twitter.com/x1ShPesl2j