Watford "hypocrisy" serves as first warning to new boss after Forest Green backlash

Rob Edwards must have thought long and hard about it.

The decision to leave behind a team on the up, albeit having only been there for a season, and take up one of the hotseats with the shortest lifespan in English football must not have been easy.

He knew the criticism of his decision to jilt Forest Green Rovers would come. So too will likely follow the detractors who insists he will be out of a job by Christmas given Watford's knack of hiring and firing multiple managers per season. The key now for Edwards is to block out all of that noise as he attempts to do something which no Hornets' manager has had the privilege of being able to do for well over a decade: try to build solid foundations within the club.

The last man to manage more than 100 games for the club was Aidy Boothroyd, whose spell lasted from March 2005 to November 2008.

Since then there have been a few appointments that worked but plenty have not. The lack of longevity and in some cases ruthlessness of the owners has not endeared Watford to many neutral fans.

Edwards becomes the eighth different man to occupy the dugout at Vicarage Road in just four seasons. Since the Pozzo family acquired ownership a decade ago they have swapped bosses no fewer than 16 times.

But this latest appointment does signal a different approach. It is a young, English manager plucked from the EFL rather than an out-of-work left-field appointment that the club's fans are now accustomed to.

Edwards has signed a two-year deal with an option of a third. The confirmation led to plenty of criticism from Forest Green chairman and owner Dale Vince. Speaking to the BBC, Vince said: "I think the rumours had been going on for a week or so. We kept saying to the media that asked us,