"How do we put that right?" - Watford FC boss Tom Cleverley urged to fix frustrating issue | OneFootball

The Hornets have impressed so far this season, but their form on the road has been a concern.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Watford FC have been one of several surprise packages in the Championship so far this season, and despite Tom Cleverley's lack of experience in management, he has got his side into the play-off places.

The Hornets are currently 6th in the league after 15 matches, only six points off league leaders Sunderland, with the second tier now paused for the third international break of the campaign.

Not many had foreseen the Hertfordshire club being a challenger for promotion following an extremely disappointing 2023/24 which saw the side finish 15th, the lowest position that they have ended a season in since 2009/10.

While things are looking good at Vicarage Road, there is one major concern that will have Watford fans sweating as the games start to come thick and fast during the winter, and Cleverley must find a way to fix this one issue.

Watford's away form named as biggest concern

While the Hornets have impressed at home so far this season, on the road, it has been a completely different story.

Cleverley's side are very easy to beat while on their travels, winning only two of their eight away games in 2024/25, losing the other six. They are conceding a lot more goals and do not seem able to quell their opponent's attacking threat.

Football League World's Watford Fan Pundit, Justin Beattie, was asked about his biggest concern at this moment in time, with the Hornets supporter naming his club's away form as the main issue right now.

He told FLW: "No Watford fan is going to complain about where we sit in the table at this stage of the season, because to be in the top six as we go into the international break in November is probably not where most of us thought we would be.

"So, I think we've achieved really, really well this season so far, but we do need to improve our away record.

"We've won two away and lost the rest, so if we are going to be serious about challenging for the play-offs or promotion, we do need to sort out our away form.

"As I say, none of us would have thought we'd be where we are now anyway, so I think we are really doing very well this season. How do we put that right? Honestly, I don't know. That's something for Tom Cleverley and the players to work on."

"Away to Sheffield Wednesday, well, that was a wonderful game to win. 6-2 was not something that any of us were expecting. But then straight after that, we went away to Swansea, and we lost 1-0.

"So, sorting out the away form would be my thing, but I've got no idea how to do it. I think if Cleverley knew how to do it, he'd have sorted it by now."

Watford have to find a fix to their away form

Although expectations may not have been as high as they have been in the past heading into this season, it is incredibly important that Watford do not let this early position slip and stay with the teams at the top of the table as the campaign progresses.

The main issue on the road at the moment is the number of goals that they are conceding, with the Hornets letting in 18 away from home in just eight matches, the joint most in the league alongside Portsmouth.

In comparison, they have conceded only four times at Vicarage Road in seven games, and it seems as though confidence is the issue at hand.

If Watford can get on top of their defensive troubles on their travels, then the wins and draws will start to rack up, but a continuation of this terrible form will only become a bigger and bigger problem the longer it lasts.