Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe, Nigel Pearson - these are three of the four managers to achieve automatic promotion from the Championship in the last two seasons.
Their strong character all season long helped their sides into the top tier of English football, but Watford went about it in a very different manner in 2014-15.
The Hornets had a total of four managers last term but still managed to achieve a return to the Premier League by finding some stability under Slavisa Jokanovic, who guided them to promotion after Giuseppe Sannino, Oscar Garcia and Billy McKinlay had only lasted two months between them.
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Astonishingly, promotion didn't work out for Jokanovic, who is now looking for another job after failing to agree terms on a new contract. Quique Sanchez Flores has since arrived at Vicarage Road and although he has pedigree at the top level in Spain and in Europe, keeping a Watford side who haven't experienced top-flight football for eight years will be one of his toughest assignments.
The Hornets' Premier League schedule for next season is out, but here Sports Mole picks apart last term.
Five key results
Fulham 0-5 Watford, December 12, 2014: A nine-game unbeaten stretch between mid-September and the start of November had seen Watford climb to the top of the pile, but they quickly found themselves back outside the playoffs because of a four-game losing streak. A Friday night trip to Fulham was next and Watford returned to winning ways by thumping the Cottagers, who had started the season disastrously but were improving under Kit Symons.
A full house from Troy Deeney - his only hat-trick of the season - and Almen Abdi saw Watford inflict a 5-0 defeat on Fulham, kickstarting a run of three straight wins that put them right back in the promotion mix.
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Bolton Wanderers 3-4 Watford, February 14, 2015: Despite four wins in five games, Jokanovic's men were still five points behind the top two ahead of their Valentine's Day trip to Bolton. The match at the Macron Stadium turned out to be one of the best contests of the whole season, a real helter-skelter that Watford snatched in the 90th minute. The red-hot Odion Ighalo put the visitors in front, but they found themselves behind at the break after a quickfire Trotters double before half time. Two goals in five minutes from Abdi and Joel Ekstrand had Watford back in front, but it looked like they would have to settle for a point when spirited Bolton equalised late on. However, Deeney delivered for his side on the counter by stroking home Ighalo's layoff.
Derby County 2-2 Watford, April 3, 2015: That sensational win in Lancashire was followed by a 3-0 humbling at home to Norwich City, but that was soon forgotten with a haul of 16 points out of a possible 18 that had Watford on top. Their bubble was burst when Ipswich Town scored in the 95th minute to snatch the points and questions were being asked about the Hornets' mettle. Did they have enough guile to win the big games against their promotion rivals?
Although they didn't beat out-of-form Derby, they showed superb resolve to take home a point after Marco Motta was sent off at the end of the first half. Tom Ince appeared to have earned Derby the points, but Ighalo finished beautifully and Watford held out for a hugely encouraging draw.
Watford 2-0 Middlesbrough, April 6, 2015:
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That draw left Watford within two points of the summit and next was a visit from the league leaders, Middlesbrough. Watford knew that victory would take them above the Teesside outfit and that's exactly what they did as once again Deeney and Ighalo proved the difference with a pair of sublime left-footed finishes against the division's best defence.
Brighton & Hove Albion 0-2 Watford, April 25, 2015: That impressive win over Boro kickstarted a run of five straight wins that took Watford to the top and the brink of promotion, the last of which came on the South coast at Brighton. Watford were kicking off at lunchtime before their other promotion rivals and with just three points between the top four, it was a chance to pile the pressure on those below.
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Once again Deeney was the icebreaker before Matej Vydra sealed the win on the counter in the 95th minute. The pressure on the others told as Boro ended up calamitously losing 4-3 down at Fulham and Norwich were only able to draw at Rotherham United, meaning that Watford were back in the big time.
Best Player - Troy Deeney
The Birmingham-born frontman struggled for consistency in his first two years as a Hornet, but this season was his third straight 20-league-goal campaign - the first player in the club's history to achieve the feat.
Now captain of the Hertfordshire outfit, Deeney was joint-second in the Championship's scoring charts with 21 and often came up with the goods at crucial times, also finding teammates when it wasn't quite on for him with nine assists.
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The late winner at Bolton, as well as the nerve-settlers in the closing weeks of the season against Middlesbrough and Brighton, proved that he comes good when Watford need him most and now he has a fully-deserved chance to showcase his talents in the top flight.
Most Improved Player - Daniel Tozser
The Hungarian midfielder first joined Watford 18 months ago and immediately established himself as a regular in the second half of 2013-14.
Hornets fans would have seen glimpses of his set pieces in that first spell, but he went from strength to strength last term and was especially influential in the first half of the campaign. Impressively, all five of his goals were directly from free kicks.
He started fewer games in the closing months of the season but still appeared in all but one of the Hornets' league fixtures and finished the season with far more passes than anyone else. He will always be a danger with that wicked left peg.
Best Signing - Odion Ighalo
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The Nigerian's Watford career started slowly, but once he had made his loan switch from Udinese permanent last October things started to go right and how.
He went on a run of 14 goals in 10 games, including four against hapless Blackpool, and made match-winning contributions in three straight February games against Blackburn Rovers, Brentford and Bolton as the Hornets ate up the Bs.
He is under contract for two more seasons, but that hasn't stopped prying eyes this summer; Swansea are believed to be keen on the former Udinese man.
Best Goal - Adlene Guedioura vs. Cardiff City
Guedioura had two loan spells with the Hornets and was especially influential in the second when he started 11 games to help Watford to promotion. It was in the first stint, though, when he scored this rocket (skip to 3:16 below) at Cardiff as Watford came from a goal down to handsomely win 4-2 in the Welsh capital.
Must Do Better - Lewis McGugan
He probably won't be a Watford player next season, but as the midfielder still has a year left on his contract he could be. He thrived with Nottingham Forest before joining Watford in 2013 and went on to score 11 goals from midfield in his debut season as a Hornet.
The 26-year-old started 2014-15 in the side, but quickly fell out of favour and spent most of the campaign on loan at Sheffield Wednesday, scoring three goals in 22 appearances for the Owls.
With a new manager at the helm, McGugan has the opportunity to impress Flores and perhaps see some minutes in the Premier League.
End-of-season grade: A
From top to bottom, Watford's squad was certainly one of the strongest in the Championship at the start of last season. Still, you have to credit the players for the way they pulled through after having to adapt to new manager after new manager in the first two months of the season. The campaign could have easily derailed, but thanks largely to the firepower of Deeney, Ighalo and Vydra, the Hornets are in the big time once more.
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Flores has a tough task on his hands taking charge of a newly-promoted side in his first year as a Premier League manager and it will be interesting to see the sort of players he goes after. Will he search for a gem back in Spain, or be instructed by the owning Pozzo family to keep it Italian like many of their recent signings? Judging by their pursuit of Genoa's Diego Perotti, the latter seems more likely.
Pascal Lemesre
