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

It's evil alter-ego Harry don't forget. So he keeps the money and, if you try to claim it, he'll send Harriet round to kneecap you.

 

New Harry is *****.

 

He was better today, I'm frankly staggered at how rarely he chases the ball down and how often he runs without looking where he is heading, where the ball may go or without indication of where he wants it.

 

Awesomeeeeee game. Struggling to work out if that or Spurs was more worth the trip down south. I think this was better. We may have lost but we were so amazing.

Immense. Totally bloody love this team. What a great performance. What a come back.

Totally deserved something out of that.

My mate asked me why I could be so happy after a loss (palace fan). Because I came home. I saw friends and family. I had a laugh. I genuinely enjoyed the game. We deserved to win. We played amazingly for the second game in a row. We more than matched a top 6 team for the second game in a row. It wasn't a fluke. We are here to stay this season.

I love this team.

I am drunk.

I am on my way to a hotel in Milton Keynes on a stale smelling train with a lot of weird people where I'm staying for the night before I head back up north tomorrow. I am right by the toilets and it stinks. I'll be staying in a boring hotel without my lovely wife and home comforts.

But I am bloody happy as a really bloody happy person.

 

I have to agree with moog about Gray. He took his goal well today so fair play, but I still think he's comfortably the least competent footballer in the side. I don't see this supposed huge improvement from last season that so many others do - maybe a small one - but he still doesn't have this mysteriously absent "pace" people talk about, still can't pass, still gets the ball stuck under his feet repeatedly when trying to bring it under control/pass/dribble and still completely lacks in general technique all too often. I also think he goes through phases in the game where he becomes lazy in the press.

You can't drop him after scoring, but I'd still like to see Success given a go. Also has a lot to prove, but for me is clearly a better technical footballer and is faster, bigger and stronger. If we can get him working for the team and he really is fit now then I think he can be much more of an asset than Gray.

 

Gray put in his best Watford performance today. You can see that he is a bit limited but as far as I see it, if a player gives 100% then that's fine by me. A performance like today against a lesser team would have brought greater reward.

 

I agree with this. Gray is never going to be a great footballer but this was his best game for Watford. He is benefitting hugely from playing in a pair up front, as is Deeney.

On the match, the best compliment I can pay the team is that it felt like a real top of the table heavyweight contest with both teams going at it to try and get the upper hand. If Watford continue like this there is no reason why the can’t beat anyone outside of the ‘big 6’ (and maybe some more of them in it).

By the way, any criticism of either Hughes or Foster after that display is ludicrous.

 

Try living in Manchester

 

He chased down. He tackled. He hassled. He won headers against bigger players. He gave a Tommy Mooney type performance yesterday and rightly should be applauded for it. Yes the small intricate passes didn't come off but he grafted for the team and it was a noticeable improvement on last year.

He was even the last man off the pitch after applauding the fans.

 

New Harry Hornet.

 

How did New Harry perform?

 

"still can't pass" having made 16 of the 18 passes he attempted yesterday.

 

Gray barely missed a pass yesterday it was Deeney who struggled to find the right passes on the edge of the box. I find it hard to believe there is room to criticise him on the back of yesterday’s performance.

It’s only outdone by someone claiming Hughes played *****.

 

Low profile.

 

I suppose once Kaboul gets his head around what the job entails it'll be like Harry never changed.

 

Passing accuracy stats so far this season

Gray 76%
Giroud 76%
Lacazette 75%
Lukaku 72%
Kane 71%

 

To send Bigfoot to review a decision for a second time. To resquatch

 

I agree Gray gives 100%. Its not lack of effort, it's just that he's completely bereft of football ability and has no footballing intelligence.

 

How many passes attempted? How long were those passes? How many were positive passes compared to passing it 5 feet backwards to Capoue or Doucoure?

 

Gray has scored 2 now. Same as Deeney. If Success is better Success would play ahead of them. The manager knows what he is doing.

 

This. Deeney was also picking up the ball too deep at times.

 

Bereft of football ability? He's scored 2 goals that Aguero would've been proud of.

 

It's true most have attempted at least 20 more, however he's fairly on par in terms of key passes:

Giroud 8
Lacazette 8
Lukaku 6
Kane 5
Gray 4

 

With that kind of hyperbole and confirmation bias, how can you be wrong?

 

https://twitter.com/eddie1991razo/status/1041024090310533121

Proper scuffed it in

 

Both the front two did OK yesterday, but whatever benefit the 2 up front set up gives them, it doesn't outweigh the fact that they are both limited in ability. I think they both need to work very hard to make their limited ability work for them, and by and large they have done that so far this season and I wouldn't criticise them for that. Deeney, once again, was doing his best, creating some good space with some runs and Gray took his chance really well. But we still need someone else as an option, and at the moment (and based on his appearances as sub) it looks like Success deserves more of a chance. He provides a different dynamic, a different problem for defenders and I think he should start sometimes, as true competition to the others so all three see that the coach will choose 2 from 3 each game.

I said after the Spurs game that we just can't continue to have such a poor first half as we would not get away with it too often, and so it proved the very next game. I'd like to know why it happens. Once again, there was a lack of intensity for most of the first half. Is it tactical? Or is it their mindset? There is something wrong, because when we play like we can, we tend to cause quality opposition real problems and goals have tended to come. Gracia needs to sort it out before Fulham.

So I'm not as relaxed about yesterday as some others are. We gave it a good go, but only for about half the match. But it does demonstrate how fine the margins are. A flukey goal from a glancing touch off Lukaku's hip for their opener, and a brillant save from their keeper right at the end who would not have had chance if Kabesele's header was a mere few inches further away. Such fine margins denied us 3 points and demonstrates why we need to play for the whole game, not just part of it.

 

played brilliantly for the last half an hour, before that United dominated the game and looked very comfortable.

Two very sloppy bits of defending for theit goals. Foster has to be braver and our markers lost Fallani and then Smalling. Lost one is careless, to lose and drop two is stupidity.

To achieve the level that we want to you can't play well for a third of the game, especially against better quality players, and expect to get results.


Refs in general need to get tougher with the time it takes people to leave the pitch when substituted. If a keeper had taken as long to take a goal kick as Valencia did to leave the pitch, then they would get booked. On this occasion it would have been Valencias 2nd booking and he would have received a red. Consequently they wouldn't have been able to bring a sub on. The sooner this rule is changed the better.

 

He's just following your example of confirmation bias; 'completely bereft...' 'worst in 30yrs...'. Pot & kettle.

Your constant refusal to recognise what Gray has brought to the side this season is as blinkered as it is tiresome.

 

That's a nice goal, but anyone plying their trade as a footballer from isthmian south upwards, afforded that much space, should be able to side foot in from just beyond the penalty spot, at least in a decent number of occasions

 

Fair enough. I have acknowledged Gray is playing a role in the side, but I believe that's through deployment rather than ability. He's the footballing equivalent of cannon fodder.

 

Don't agree with those saying that we played poorly in the first half. It was an even, entertaining contest for 35 minutes then we conceded twice in three minutes. Understandably, that knocked us for six and gave them a massive confidence boost and we were hanging on a bit before half time.

Second half, we were the better side and looked stronger and fitter as it went on. This could be why it looks like we're stepping it up as the game goes on, because we're still feeling fresh as opponents are tiring.

 

Oh and does anyone else remembering Mike "All about me" Dean giving us a free kick right at the end of the first half which gave us a chance to get people in the box, letting all our players go up for it and all their players get back, only to blow the whistle for half time before we'd taken it? Class A **** behaviour.

 

It’s not a particularly telling stat if you are rarely doing anything in the danger area.

He’s certainly improving, but he often seems a passenger for large periods of the game. We had a difficult first half and he could have put more effort in then.

 

Might have been, as he certainly wasn't around in the 2nd half. 17:30 kickoffs do tend to bring out the drunk fans

 

Think with that he was going to let us take it but holebas started mouthing off about where to take it, so Dean blew the whistle and ended the half. Honestly thought he was going to give a second yellow for a second.