Has there ever been a player who has turned fan opinion around as quickly as Jake Livermore?
It’s fair to say his arrival in the summer after being released by West Brom was not met with universal satisfaction among the Hornets faithful.
His season began fairly inauspiciously too, with three cameos off the bench before starting the 1-0 defeat at Stoke.
That game at the Bet365 Stadium was on August 19 – Livermore didn’t play again until October 7.
Watford have lost just one of the eight games he has played since, taking 15 of the 24 points on offer, and Livermore has been the foundation on which that run has been built.
The former England international has shown every drop of what he learned from playing more than 200 games in the Premier League, and also made folly the suggestion that anyone over 30 can’t hack it anymore.
“Jake is Jake!” smiled Valerien Ismael after the win over Norwich.
“He is fully committed and fully engaged with the team, and is always ready to sacrifice himself on the pitch for everyone at the club.
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“I think the others on the pitch can feel that and that’s why he is so important for us.
“We knew at the start of the season it was all about getting him fit, and getting his fitness back.
“It was a difficult period for him at the beginning but he knew it was just a question of time to get back his fitness.
“It’s a mindset. The way we train, the way we work, and the player himself in terms of how professionally he lives outside of the pitch.
“Jake is a good pro and he shows how to keep consistency at this level, and to be able to go again every three days.”
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