“A rather surprising candidate” – Watford eyeing promotion winner as Roy Hodgson replacement: The verdict

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Forest Green Rovers head coach Rob Edwards has emerged as one of the leading candidates to replace Roy Hodgson as manager of Watford, according to TalkSPORT’s Alex Crook.

The 39-year-old has led Forest Green Rovers to League One for the very first time in his debut season as the boss of a senior club, and his attacking style has led to serious interest in his signature.

Ex-England manager Hodgson has already confirmed his imminent departure from the Hornets at the end of the current Premier League campaign, with the club set to spend next season in the Championship.

They are eyeing up Edwards, a former England youth coach and Wolves under-23’s manager, as his potential replacement – but would he be a good fit for Watford? We asked the FLW team for their thoughts…

This feels like a rather surprising candidate to have emerged for the job.

With Watford no doubt expected to battle for a swift promotion back to the Premier League again next season, this does feel like a big step-up for Edwards from a promotion battle in League Two.

As a result, there could be something of a risk involved in this appointment, although the fact that Edwards does have fresh promotion experience in the EFL behind could certainly serve him well at Vicarage Road.

Beyond that, there is the potential that Watford may have to give Edwards more time to make an impact, which may not be the worst thing for the club, if it avoids them lurching from one manager, an approach that hasn’t exactly worked for them this season, which could make that