Watford would have been one of the most talked about clubs in the first few months of the season if it hadn't been for that pesky Leicester City.
Little known in English circle, Quique Sanchez Flores swanned in from Spain and did a wonderful job at Vicarage Road, particularly in the first half of the season.
By Christmas they had lost just five times in 18 matches and their style of play with Odion Ighalo and skipper Troy Deeney running riot up front was being lauded form all corners.
But as is usually the case for promoted sides, the bubble deflates in the second half of the campaign - as it did with Watford - who won just two of their next 14 fixtures.
Nevertheless, they achieved their pre-season goal by avoiding relegation and even went on a FA Cup run which saw them knocked out by Crystal Palace at the semi-final stage, having dumped London big brothers Arsenal in the final eight.
Flores met his demise by season's end, paying for a poor run of results, but his legacy in keeping the Hornets in the top flight will surely live on even as Walter Mazzarri poses to become the new Hertfordshire deity.
A successful campaign, it must be said, but 2016/17 will be the testing material for Watford when there are actual expectations weighing on their shoulders.
HORNETS SNAPSHOT
POSITION: 13th
WIN-DRAW-LOSS RECORD:12-9-17
POINTS:45
GOALS FOR-AGAINST: 40-50
WATFORD'S TOP 3
SCORERS:Odion Ighalo 16, Troy Deeney 13, Almen Abdi, Sebastian Prodl both 2
ASSISTS:Troy Deeney 9, Odion Ighalo 6, Ben Watson 4
CLEAN SHEETS (leader):Heurelho Gomes 11
YELLOW CARDS: Allan Nyom 8, Miguel Britos, Etienne Capoue both 7, Troy Deeney 6
RED CARDS: Valon Behrami, Nordin Amrabat, Nathan Ake all 1
EA SPORTS Player Performance Index:Odion Ighalo 709, Troy Deeney 629, Heurelho Gomes 375
TRIBAL'S TOP BOY
TWITTER TALK
Thank you all, for supporting me and the team during this great season that we had!… https://t.co/MRefRsLBko
— HEURELHO GOMES (@hdgomes) May 17, 2016
pic.twitter.com/fcie1um9Tb
— Troy Deeney (@T_Deeney) May 16, 2016
Thank God for a successful season,no injuries and we got the job done,thanks to Watford Fc fans for the support pic.twitter.com/IpZGExS3px
— JUDE (@ighalojude) May 16, 2016
Happy to have won the Young Player Of The Year Award. thank you everyone at Watford and the Fans for this season!! pic.twitter.com/fbKH7sgX45
— Nathan Aké (@NathanAke) May 19, 2016
FROM THE BOSS
"My job is absolutely complete.
"The only target we had is to keep the team in the category and the way we did this was amazing. We didn't suffer, we enjoyed it, we didn't suffer against the big teams.
"Watford was new and now Watford is not completely new. Watford now is established in a good position in the Premier League."
- Quique Sanchez Flores, May 2016
STAT STORY
*Thanks to Opta
1 – Watford survived in a Premier League season for the first time, having finished 20th in both 1999/2000 and 2006/07. Nest.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 16, 2016
