Watford FC 1-2 Manchester United - 15/09/2018

No, I'm glad we lost. It means I am now proven to know more about football than you bunch of optimistic freaks.

Night night (for real this time).

 

Nothing to complain about really. Annoying that Mourinho did a bit of a job on us at set pieces getting Fellaini free three times past the far post but these things happen. Responded well and looked strong down the home stretch again.

Thought Hughes was fantastic, as was Kabasele.

Might be wrong but thought Matic had committed two tactical fouls that were clear bookings but got away with the first as the ball stayed in play for a while and Dean forgot to go back and book him. The foul on Hughes was his third clear booking I thought.

 

I think we'd have had them without Fellaini. He seemed to block everything. The number of times we pulled the trigger and there was a wall of United players within an inch. Fair play, good defending.

Frustrating... but only because I'm annoyed De Gea is too bloody good!

Great entertainment all round.

 

Definitely a shame to have lost, on another day we could have got something. Some of their players did pull out some spectacular moments to deny us. Mike Dean also seemed hopeless at times.

That pink kit with white shorts looks absolutely awful. I'm not against pink as an away kit colour, but it's been used shockingly by them.

 

Didn’t think Doucoure looked that good in first half, but was superb in 2nd, thought Hughes looked good and ran continually for 90mins. Kabasele and Cathcart made some excellent tackles. Deeney and Gray almost clicked perfectly and if they had been just that little bit sharper would have had a few goals

Pereya had some moments of brilliance , but don’t think he was at his best, same with Holebas, although for 1 min I did think he had reverted to his former self and was going to do something really stupid.

Kind of gutted, however the pressure would have just kept building if we had won and we have had 5 games with 2 against the top 6 , we have won four of them

 

Frustrating, mainly because I really thought even at half time, that if we got a goal we could win this. I have a feeling this is going to be a really fun season.

 

Watched in a pub
in Warrrington fulll of United fans. Too passive in the first half. Shoud have got something out of that

 

unfortunately, as illustrated in the shoutbox, Gray is often either underestimated or disliked, or both.

 

Thought it's a case of where Man U were value for the 3 points and we were value for a point. One of those games. Foster made some cracking saves, though I'm yet to see the goals conceded to see whether he could or should have done better with any of them. Not saying he should have, just not seen them yet.

We were beaten at our own game for the most part. That human tree which is Fellani did an excellent job and stopping us using Deeney and Gray as outlets to beat their pressing game as we have done so well against other teams. Lukaku also caused us problems and played well.

Disappointed not to get a result and that bodes well as we have established such an expectation from ourselves we haven't had before.

7.5 - Foster

Made some excellent saves to keep the score down to 2 and keep us in the game. Think he was helpless for the goals but did have a heart in mouth moment when a cross went over his head and hands. His distribution was ok but not yet reached the level he was at vs Brighton.

6 - Holebas

Worst game he had since the beginning of this season. Didn't played badly but offensively didn't offer enough and set pieces were poor. Holebas booked is the new Pudil booked.

Cathcart - 6.5

Wasn't bad and made some good tackles and challenges, but 2 goals conceded from corners will fall in the centre backs. Showed grit in making sure he was ready for a corner after a heavy blow stopping a goal on the counter rather than have treatment and be a man down for it.

Kabasele - 7

Better defender of the pair, made some good last ditch tackles and puts his body in the way. Lukaku got the better of him at times he had the better of Lukaku as well. Needs to look across the line more.

Janmaat - 6

Like Holebas, was his worst performance so far. He was caught out defensively too often and was punished with the corners. He did help block some crosses along with the rest of the team.

Doucoure - 6.5

That missed pre season I think is showing. He's not looking as good as he did last season but he's always getting second wind and tries to make things happen. Made a very sloppy pass early on which nearly lead to a chance. Would be the player I'd sacrifice for Chalobah when he's ready.

Capoue - 7.5

Looks to me the stronger of the 2. Makes a lot of tackles and is really putting himself about. Really grown under Gracia into a consistent terrier. Like Behrami but better.

Pereyra - 6.5

Quiet game, though not for a lack of trying. Man U defence marshalled him well and closed him down so he couldn't pull the strings on that wing. Would have taken him off for Sema or Success in the last 10 to give us more directness against a tires defence.

Hughes - 7

Grafted hard on the right wing, making challenges and drawing fouls. Was continually targeted but kept his temper well. Tidy touches and passing but couldn't get anything to show for it.

Gary - 7

Excellent goal and did well against the Man U defence to link up play. Displayed a first touch not seen before and got a deserved goal.

Deeney - 6.5

Tried hard but between Smalling and Fellani he was kept fairly quiet but not for a lack of trying. Think it was his shot that forced a Worldie save from DDG in the first 15 minutes. Would have taken him off for Success earlier.

Subs:

Femenia - 6.5

Looked bright and made some good runs. If Janmaat performs below standard again he will take his spot.

Masina - 6.5

Same as Femenia.

Success - 6.5

Looked promising again, would have liked to see him on earlier

 

What a game that was if you're a neutral!

Think the team can be very proud of that performance! We looked the Champions League team and they looked like the side holding onto three points they didn't really deserve.

Kabasele fantastic, Cathcart grew into it and became solid - them two are the key to the team. Haven't seen a replay of the goal but such a shame that's how they scored, would've respected it if they carved us open but we gave them both goals.

Gray was uncharacteristically really good I thought, actually had a decent first touch for once to be fair.

Deeney was great too, could've put Gray through with a better ball but other than that was a real menace.

Hughes good, Doccoure & Capoue looked like they should be playing for France, not Pogba.

Fellaini and Matic were bloody exceptional and the only reason United won today, would not be happy watching that every week as a United fan.

Onto Fulham!

 

And off the ball.

Massivley improved in this area compared to what we saw last year.

 

I thought Pereyra was our best player. He looked like he could play for a bigger side the way he was going past players. Looks injury free and happy.

Credit must go to the United defence, as despite Deeney and Gray having a good partnership going I think I can only remember 1 shot each from them on goal. I thought we would score more goals against them today but Smalling in particular was immense.

 

U mad bro??!!! Hughes was the best player on the pitch for either side

 

Holebas when taking corners?

 

Not seen it mentioned on here yet, but Foster was at fault for their first.

In fact Manures 2nd goal today was the only goal conceded this season that I didnt feel Foster could have done better on.

Yes he made some decent saves today, but none of those were saves he shouldnt have made.

 

Thought the opening 15 minutes or so was the best we’ve started a game this season. The intensity that we played with would be enough to unsettle most teams, and we looked very confident.

Obviously lost our heads for a spell at the end of the half, but regained the initiative second half with a really positive display.

We’d have been well worth a point had we managed to force an equalizer at the end there.

Special mention to Gray. Looked much more like a real footballer today, building on some positive performances this season. His touch and hold-up play was a massive improvement on last season, and the passing stats posted above speak for themselves. Good finish for the goal as well.

Kabasele was again immense at the back, and dealt with Lukaku very well for the most part. That said, today wasn’t the first time that he’s been a little slow to get out after we’ve cleared a corner, and if he’s in line with the other yellow shirts, Lukaku gets flagged offside and who knows how the rest of the game goes. I can remember this happening against Palace, and feel as though there have been other instances. I’d expect Gracia to be on this, as those moments where you lose concentration can be the difference in games at this level.

Says a lot about the start to our season that this game didn’t feel like a free hit, but more like a real opportunity to make statement. Very important that we continue to build on this start next week now.

 

Reasons why this season is different from previous good starts:

1. Our coach is humble. He's talented and intelligent but humble. He doesn't have a petard on which to be hoist
2. Fitness - we are a good 10% fitter than I've ever seen us. I commented as much in preseason and it's becoming more and more obvious
3. Depth - the players coming on as subs are offering something else and are giving good showings
4. Defence - any side has a slip up in them, as we showed today for their 1st and arguably smalling had too much time for the 2nd, but our defending is at least 4 times as good as it's been since QSF devoted all resources to not conceding.
5. The buzz - around the squad and the ground. The vic is a noisy, exciting place to watch football this season. Its miraculous. The final whistle went today, confirming our defeat and immediately the crowd erupted into song. We knew we were all disappointed but we all knew it was not for lack of effort or commitment.

Enjoyed this more than most defeats. It's impossible to gauge what is realistic for us to achieve but 7th place would be amazing and can only really see 4 or 5 sides better than us right now. Maybe fewer.

We'll go again next week.

 

He is just an awful footballer.

 

Really good performance and great entertainment. Such a shame we had a poor 15 mins before half time which cost the game. Some brilliant performances - Hughes, Doucs and both centre backs. Man Utd are a very big team. Giants all over the pitch.

 

Also on a side note, experienced racism towards myself for the first time attending a Watford match in my 12 years attending. Super disappointed.

 

That's completely unacceptable. Sorry to hear.

 

Damn. Please report it.

 

I think Foster has been a bit shaky in more than one game to be honest.

 

Very harsh. His hold up play has been far better this season, and you have to admit it was a quality finish for his goal

 

Re the three minutes time added on, I guess he gave 30 seconds for 5 subs being made and 30 seconds for our goal celebration, however if so he didn't give anything for United time wasting, thankfully he did play an additional couple of minutes due to the sending off another United sub and Smalling checking out the turf! But I think we were. Short changed with the award of only 3 minutes to start with!

 

He has no touch, vision or pace. He can't run with the ball. He can't bring the ball down on the move.

Javi is a genius for building a competitive side with him in it. He's one of the worst players I've ever seen for us in 30 years of following us through divisions.

I'm glad he scored, but anyone else could do the little things that he does and so much more. His basic contribution is occupying space by being composed of matter.

 

I called it at 90. I said to my brother that we've not had fewer than 5 min when winning, but I bet we get 3 min when chasing the game.

We were pushing so hard, 2 or 3 more minutes.... who knows?

 

How Dean missed the foul on Pereyra when he was bursting into the box late on was beyond me.

Deeney also took an elbow from Fellaini in the box at 2-1. Might've been accidental but certainly looked reckless. I've never seen Deeney dive and the fact he stayed down showed he'd been clocked properly in the face.

 

Disagree. Young's cross for their first was deflected and span right into the goldilocks zone between the defence and keeper. Not sure what more Foster could do to cut it out.

Overall he's making saves and holding onto the ball in situations where Gomes was making saves and parrying it back out. It's already an improvement.

 

A classic example of a fan not liking a footballer regardless of what he does on the pitch.