Continuity key for Watford: Why reformed Deeney's 'big lumps' are flying high

When Christian Eriksen placed the ball in the closing moments of Sunday's match at Vicarage Road, you could've been forgiven for thinking it was a foregone conclusion. The free-kick was set near the corner of the 18-yard box, inviting the Dane to post a right-footed, inswinging delivery towards the back stick.

Except Troy Deeney, who had nodded Watford level and was the first to celebrate with eventual match-winner Craig Cathcart when he put the home side ahead, was on hand to deflect Eriksen's set piece over a row of Tottenham Hotspur players waiting to equalize. The Hornets have now won their opening four matches of a top-flight season for the first time in their history.

"We caused them problems and we're big lumps - not many defenders like it. This result gives us confidence. Four wins is a huge achievement," Deeney said after the 2-1 comeback victory, as quoted by the Premier League's Twitter account.

When it comes to captains in the Premier League, few are as synonymous with their club as Deeney, who's playing his ninth season in Hertfordshire.

Hailing from a single-parent family in the rough West Midlands neighborhood of Chelmsley Wood, trouble followed the bulky frontman in the early years of his career. Or, rather, he followed it.

By 15, he'd already been expelled from school and only turned up to the last day of a trial at Aston Villa as his dedication to pursuing girls down the local park tied him up for the other three days. He ended up on £120-a-week as a bricklayer while he bundled in goals for non-league Chelmsley Wood. Despite having scant ambitions of moving higher in the game, one day he was spotted by Walsall's head of youth, Mick Halsall, netting seven in an 11-4 win despite being drunk. Upon seeing how few hours you had to work as a professional footballer, Deeney decided to apply himself more at Walsall.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

He was snapped up by Watford in 2010, but seeing his weekly salary increase five times from what he was earning at Walsall would result in a prison term. One of his many expensive nights out saw him brawling outside a Birmingham nightclub, and ended with a two-and-a-half month conviction. It was then that he reassessed his life, vowing to support his family and repay the club that had stood by him following some indifferent form to begin his Vicarage Road stay.

Deeney's self-rehabilitation has been phenomenal. His goalscoring was relentless after his release, and he's become an incredible spokesperson for the club. His helping of the local community through his foundation continues a Watford tradition championed by the late legendary manager Graham Taylor.

The loyal leader had his minutes slashed by Marco Silva last season as the Portuguese tactician tried to implement his free-flowing attacking football. Javi Gracia, who stepped in for the axed Silva in January, has been vindicated in his decision to reinstall Deeney as one of the first names on the team sheet during his tenure.

What Deeney epitomizes is the new-found continuity and commitment of the Pozzo family era. Since Watford were taken over by the group headed up by Italian businessman Gino Pozzo, they've seen 10 different men (including caretaker appointments) oversee first-team affairs. When each manager wants to build a squad in his own image, a raft of transfers are inevitable.

The vast turnover of players has also been due to deals brokered between Watford and the Pozzo family's current or former business interests, Udinese and Granada.

However, with Gracia being the first Watford boss to handle the opening game of a league campaign after being in charge of the final match of the previous term since Gianfranco Zola, there's been relatively little change over the summer, and it's paying off. The Spaniard's Premier League lineup has been immovable since the opening day win over Brighton & Hove Albion, and eight of those players are survivors from the last match of the 2017-18 campaign. By comparison, Quique Sanchez Flores started Watford's Premier League return with just five players who began the 2014-15 season-concluding visit from Sheffield Wednesday.

The brass resisting the urge to shake things up once more has seen Watford reap the rewards of a distinct identity. The "big lumps" have shaped a solid defense under Gracia, and there were some tidy combinations down the left between Jose Holebas and Roberto Pereyra against Spurs. However, it's an identity and familiarity established and then upheld by 30-year-old Deeney (and, to some extent, veteran Heurelho Gomes, who's now the second-choice goalkeeper) that have got the team and fans enjoying a thrilling upward trajectory in this season's early days.

Watford's concerted push for Europa League football will have to be taken seriously if they see off visiting Manchester United after the international break.