As it has transpired, the Czech striker Matej Vydra – borrowed from Udinese – has won full international honours during a season in which he has scored 20 goals and been crowned the Championship’s Player of the Year.
Previously unheralded Ikechi Anya, a Granada loanee, has excelled, and others, including; Marco Cassetti, Daniel Pudil, and Lars Ekstrand, have been integral to a settled team which heads into Saturday’s final match of the campaign with more than a puncher’s chance of securing the second automatic promotion berth to the Premier League, behind Cardiff City.
Equally vital to Zola’s nascent side has been Watford stalwart Lloyd Doyley at the heart of its defence, and the goals and all-action forward play of Troy Deeney – a man rehabilitated after off-field troubles. Even more welcome for English football has been the development of on-loan 18 year-old Chelsea midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah, under the tutelage of his astute Italian manager, into a midfielder capable of coolly dictating play in the typically frenetic Championship environment.
Undeterred by his previous experience of operating under the chaotic rule which prevailed during his time at Upton Park, Zola deserves immense credit for accepting his latest challenge. The wisdom of his decision – and that of Watford in appointing him – was questioned during a tough start which included the shipping of five goals at Derby County amid a string of inconsistent results.
Any doubts have long since been dispelled. Crushing defeats have been inflicted on Leeds United (6-1 at Elland Road), Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest, Birmingham City, and Blackburn Rovers. Perhaps even more impressively, this disparate group have exhibited considerable spirit in recent triumphs over Leicester City and their direct adversaries for that prized runner-up spot, Hull City, which leave them on the verge of a remarkable achievement.
Football is littered with examples of men who could not transfer their on-pitch prowess to the dugout. Early indications are that the likeable and sublimely skilled Zola will not be bracketed alongside the comparably blessed; Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore, Bryan Robson, and John Barnes as one of them.
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