Watford’s woes may not be terminal

Watford may have made a disastrous start to the season although history suggests they cannot be written off as relegation fodder just yet. Last season’s FA Cup finalists have taken just three points from their opening eight games and are yet to register a Premier League win, a run that leaves them already sitting at the bottom of the standings, four points adrift of safety.
Only 11 teams in Premier League history have made worse starts after eight games than Watford. To put that into context, Huddersfield enjoyed a better opening to last term, while the infamous Derby team of 2007-08 also began their campaign more productively.
Hornets fans should not be losing hope, however, as five of the 10 teams that have made worse starts than them ended up surviving in the Premier League, including in each of the last two seasons, with Newcastle staying up last term and Crystal Palace doing the same the previous year.
Southampton, Sunderland and Tottenham have also proven it can be done, with the Saints team of 1998-99 staying up despite only collecting one point from their opening eight games.
However, Watford’s next game is away at Tottenham on Saturday and Spurs will certainly have a point to prove given their much-publicised struggles before the international break.
It is safe to say that not many people will be expecting Quique Sanchez Flores’ side to get anything from that game, which would mean they would only have three points from their opening nine games, with almost a quarter of the season gone.
If that were to happen, it would also mean only six sides in Premier League history would have collected less points than Watford after nine games.
Only 13 sides have ever failed to win any of their opening 10 games of a new Premier League season, a fate that would befall Watford if they were to fail to beat Spurs or win at home to Bournemouth the following week.
Out of those 13 teams, nine were relegated at the end of the campaign, including the Watford side from 13 years ago.
The Queens Park Rangers team of the 2012-13 campaign hold the record for the longest winless start to a season. They went 16 games without victory and ultimately finished bottom of the table, a full 14 points adrift of safety.
The Derby team of the 2000-01 season did survive despite losing their opening 13 matches, while Everton went 12 games without a win at the start of the 1994-95 campaign and were also able to survive.
So there is hope and past history to suggest Watford can still turn their season around, but the longer they go without registering that illusive first win, the more likely it seems they will be starting next season in the Championship.