Hoedt on Watford exit: 'I really would have loved to stay'

Despite an exit that didn’t look like it would happen at all, and although he would rather have stayed, the Dutchman wanted to make certain that while putting a bit more meat on the bones of the story behind his exit, he stayed respectful and positive about those he left behind.

“I want to be honest, but I also want to be fair,” he said.

“I’m not going to throw mud around, and there are some things I won’t go into detail about. If that means I have to take some s**t then so be it.

“The main thing is I want people to know I only have positive memories and feelings about Watford, and I would have liked to stay.”

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The former Hornets captain left during the summer to join Al-Shabab in Saudi Arabia, and the last memory some fans have of him is limping off the pitch at Wycombe in a pre-season friendly or walking around the perimeter of Vicarage Road before the first home game of the season.

Hoedt didn’t get a chance to say a proper goodbye, although he did post a poignant message on his social media channels, and says he intends to return to Vicarage Road and properly bid farewell.

Leaving Watford was clearly something not in his mind at the end of last season.

“No I definitely did not think I would be leaving,” he admitted.

“I was hoping that my personal season would give me the opportunity to stay at Watford, and perhaps even go back to the Premier League with them.

“I was definitely not planning on leaving, particularly because as everyone will have seen Tom Cleverley has been amazing since he came in and took over the team.

“There was the feeling that we were building something that would be successful and important.”

The Dutch international was voted Player of the Season and also picked up Goal of the Season for his 40-yard matchwinner at Hull City.

He played the full 90 minutes in 48 of Watford’s 50 matches last term, missing two due to an accumulation of bookings.

With a year to run on his contract, it was clear that discussions would be had during the summer because Watford would not want to risk losing Hoedt for free if that contract ran down.

Hoedt against Ipswich last season. (Image: PA)

Being a big hitter in terms of salary, it was also pretty apparent that the Hornets, without the luxury of parachute payments, would be hoping the defender would take a pay cut.

“To be honest, at the start I felt very reluctant to do that because I thought I had played my fair share of matches, I did my job and I was there for almost 50 games last season,” he conceded.

“So in the beginning I wasn’t very open to that idea, but after I spoke to a lot of people at the club and because I wanted to do something to try and make it work then, yeah, I was definitely open to some sort of wage cut.

“But it wasn’t something that ever got to a position where it could be finished.”

It’s understood the club were looking for Hoedt to accept a salary cut in excess of 50%. Is that correct?

“It’s a difficult question because there is a lot of stuff that I don’t want to be saying in public because of the mutual respect between me and the club, and I definitely want to be respectful towards Watford,” said Hoedt.

“Let’s say it looked like we both tried to put in the effort to let me stay, but then other decisions were made and that resulted in me having the feeling in the end that I had to leave.”

Would it be a fair assessment of the situation to say the club were expecting him to give more than they were?

“Yeah, you could say so, but I also understand the situation the club is in.

“I had different opinions on it, but as captain I was willing to take my responsibility to set the right example.

“But it’s finished now, and although I ended up leaving I still have very, very good feelings towards Watford, and I like to think there is good feeling towards me too.

“Things weren’t nice during the last six weeks I was there, and I also had an injury which is very rare for me if you look at my history over the last four or five years.

“It wasn’t a perfect end but as I said in my message to the fans when I left, we did try to make it work. Would it have worked had we tried even harder? We’ll never know.”

Cleverley had said he expected Hoedt to stay, and he played at Wycombe in July.

“My intention, around the time of that friendly at Wycombe, was not to leave Watford,” said Hoedt.

“I don’t want to point fingers and say things now because that’s useless and not the right thing to do.

“But before that game I made the decision to play even though I hadn’t been training for at least eight or nine days.

“In hindsight it wasn’t the right decision and there is always the possibility of injury, but by playing I took an even bigger risk than usual.”

With the sort of salaries mentioned in relation to what clubs in Saudi Arabia pay, the suggestion that Hoedt is greedy and quit for the money have been bandied around.

“Of course people can say whatever they want,” he responded.

“This opportunity was one of a number of opportunities I had. There were other clubs that were interested.

“I said no to those offers in the beginning. I said no to offers from Turkey just because I wanted to stay at Watford and play my part.

“To any player, it is important to feel appreciated and loved, and I 100% felt people at Watford appreciated me for what I am.

“I’m not perfect, I make mistakes and I fail sometimes. But I had an amazing time at Watford and I felt I played some great football.

“The results weren’t there but I still felt very comfortable at Watford, and if people think I left for the money then that’s not true.

In his new colours. (Image: Al-Shabab)

“I’m not going to lie. My salary here in Saudi is amazing, and that is important. But it is a very promising league also.

“If you look at the number of big names that are playing out here, then this is probably a one-time chance for me.

“There are only 144 foreign players allowed to play in this league, because each of the 18 clubs can only have eight.

“It was a very difficult decision for me, and it’s not the case that I made it for the money. I said no to a lot more money to go and play in Turkey. If I was only after the money I would have said yes then.”

Hoedt said that, throughout the summer, in the back of his mind was the feeling that Watford under Cleverley could achieve things he never experienced in his time at Vicarage Road.

“If you look at the situation we were in when Tom took over, we were struggling

“I truly believe if we hadn’t changed coach when we did – and I had a very good relationship with Valerien too – then because the team were not taking their responsibilities, we could have been in a very difficult spot, and maybe even going down.

“We were close to relegation. I never had the feeling that it would happen, but we were awfully close in terms of points.

“That is why I think very highly of Tom and his staff, because they put in a lot of work then, and I think they are still doing an amazing job.”

The 30-year-old also admitted he found it hard to leave a club where he felt an immediate connection with the supporters.

“That’s why my words to the fans when I left were filled with thank-yous, because it’s them who made my time so valuable and enjoyable.

“I know that, as a team, we didn’t perform as a club like Watford should have done. Watford Football Club should not have finished 15th in the Championship.

Celebrating scoring on his Watford debut against Blackburn. (Image: PA)

“For me, on a personal level, the fans were always amazing, and I’d say the same about the people who work at the club. I am truly touched by how they worked with me and helped me in my one and a half years at the club.

“I felt the appreciation as a player and as the captain from the fans, and to show me that by voting me as their Player of the Season and also giving me the Goal of the Season award was very lovely.

“That’s why it was so tough to leave. It really was very hard for me to have to leave in the end.

“I had a lot of conversations with Tom, and I told him all the time that I wanted to stay and be part of what he is doing.

“I feel, and many people will see things differently, that Watford is on its way back to the Premier League. I wanted to be part of that, and maybe be the captain of the club in the Premier League.

“Unfortunately things worked out differently.”

Instead, Hoedt was talking to me from Saudi Arabia which he admitted was “crazy hot”, settling into his new surroundings at Al-Shabab, which was the first football club in Riyadh, forming in 1947 as Shabab Al Riyadh before changing their name 20 years later.

They’ve won the Saudi Pro League six times, the Saudi King’s Cup on three occasions and were Asian Cup Winner’s Cup champions in 2001.

They were also the first Saudi club to win three Saudi Premier League titles in a row (1991, 1992, and 1993).

Last season they came eighth in the 18-team league, winning 12 of the 34 games and finishing a place behind Al Fateh, who were then managed by former Watford boss Slaven Bilic.

Head coach Vitor Pereira won two Portuguese Primeira League titles when in charge of Porto, and has also won titles in Greece, with Olympiacos, and China, with Shanghai SIPG.

The Al-Shabab squad has a sprinkling of overseas internationals, such as Italian winger Giacomo Bonaventura, Moroccan striker Abderrazak Hamdallah and Belgium’s Yannick Carrasco, who has 78 caps for his country and won both La Liga and the Europa League during two spells with Atletico Madrid.

On the day Hoedt signed for Al-Shabab. (Image: Al-Shabab)

Hoedt plays in front of goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu, capped 81 times by South Korea, while winger Fahad Al-Muwallad has scored 17 goals and earned 78 caps for Saudi Arabia.

Former Wolves midfielder Daniel Podence has recently joined the club, having made more than 90 Premier League appearances for the midlands club.

They began this season by losing 1-0 at home to an Al-Ettifaq side that included former Everton winger Demarai Gray and ex-Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, while the only goal was scored by Moussa Dembele, who played for Fulham and Celtic.

Hoedt missed that game, but made his debut in a 1-0 win away at Al-Khaleej on August 29 and played as they won again, 1-0 at Al Qadsiah on Sunday.

“I have to say that the level is very high. Maybe people won’t believe me but I have been very surprised by the standard.

“Even the homegrown Saudi players are technically very strong.

“It is very hot over here, and at the moment that slows the game down and affects the rhythm of the play.

“I don’t think there is anyone on Earth who can do 90 minutes at full speed in 40-plus degrees Celsius.

“But the level of play here is very good, and because each team has six to eight foreigners who are usually players from Europe who have been at a high level, that elevates it more.

“Our goalkeeper, Kim, who is a South Korean international, is very, very good. If he had the chance, he would have been a very big name in English or European football.”

Of course, Hoedt will also find himself taking on the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Yeah, I played against him for Lazio when he was with Juventus.

“In my career I have played against some very great players, and I always tell people I am never going to be Maldini.

“But I think I’ve had an amazing career which has allowed me to play against a lot of the top players in many of the top leagues.

“I’m very proud of that.”

As well as being accused of being gold-diggers, players moving to Saudi Arabia are portrayed as going into early retirement.

“I understand that people say it’s retirement or the end of your career to come here,” admitted Hoedt.

“That’s not the case for me and I don’t think it’s really fair because they are building something here that is very interesting already, and moving to a higher level.

“I don’t know what I’ll do after this move to Saudi. I made the decision to come here, and I discussed it with my girlfriend, my family and my friends.

“It was something that I felt I had to do, and I think the level here will only keep rising.

“Ivan Toney has just moved here, and so has Joao Cancelo. At Al-Shabab we have Bonaventura, Carrasco, Podence, so we have great players too.

“I don’t know what the future will bring for me, but right now I am very happy.”

In action for Al-Shabab. (Image: Al-Shabab)

The attendance when Al-Shabab won at Al-Khaleej was just 1,347 in the Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, which has a capacity of 26,000.

 “Some teams have 60,000 fans. If you go to Al Itihaad, the stadium is full with 60,000 people,” Hoedt pointed out.

“That’s the same with some other clubs, and Al-Shabab get good crowds at home as well.

“Right now, a lot of Saudi people are still in Europe because it is so hot here.

“In summer they leave, and then when winter comes and the temperatures drop a little they come back and people will be at the games for sure.

“Maybe it’s not like in Europe, but I still see full stadiums over here.”

Until he returns to the stadium he called home for 18 months – Vicarage Road – how does Hoedt look back on his time as a Watford player?

“I only take good memories with me.

“The results were not what we expected to achieve, but I had a great time with amazing teammates, amazing staff and especially the fans who embraced me from minute one.

“To be made captain for the first time in my career was also a very good moment for me.

Player of the Season and Goal of the Season 23/24 (Image: Alan Cozzi/Watford FC)

"Truthfully, I found it very, very tough to leave Watford.

“I really would have loved to stay, and I know many people know that. But I am also very happy with the decision I’ve made.

“I wish Watford the absolute best and I have the feeling the guys will do amazing this year, and I will be the first one cheering them back to the Premier League.

“I think Tom, the team and especially the fans deserve that sort of success.

“For me there are only positive memories of Watford and even though it was only 18 months I hope the fans will remember me in a positive way as well.

“I gave my all for the club in more than 60 games, and I always tried to be positive.

“I am looking forward to my career in the Saudi League, but I do that with very happy and positive memories of Watford and the fans, and all I ask is that the club and the supporters remember me in a positive way too.”