I have two Manchester United "fans" over for dinner tonight, one's Peruvian and the other lad supporting his local team is from Macedonia
We were lucky, but it's about time that the luck went our way in a match. Sarr's end product is a bit erratic, but at least he got the shot on target which is more than can be said for many of our players so far this season. It usually has to be on target to go in. Also, even if his final ball is sometimes lacking, his pace and dribbling alone causes plenty of problems - it takes some doing to force Wan-Bissaka in to mistiming a sliding tackle as happened for the penalty. A special mention to Kabasele, who was immense again today, definitely our best defender (when not making the occasional nightmare brain-fart). Pearson must have the midas touch if he can sub both Capoue and Doucoure off and we still manage not to concede (even though we gave away more chances once they went off). Only a couple of negatives from today, firstly that Doucoure's yellow means he's suspended for Sheff Utd. He's not on top form yet, but he'll be a big miss still against a physical team like them. Also, Success when he came on unfortunately looked very leggy and very much a player who has spent most the season so far on the treatment table.
I'm not sure it's a good thing but that has given me hope. Everyone knows it's the hope that kills you.
Ah how good it feels to win!!! Truthfully, the performance was great and the same as it was against Liverpool. Intensity, fight, passion and all those Brexit buzzwords. However, this time we had a bit of that old lady luck. Lingard missed a chance Salah or Mane would've easily put away. Sarr scuffs another one but this time De Gea took pity on him. Fine margins really. I can't believe I'm saying this but Sheffield United will actually be a far tougher game than Man United, then Villa at home is just the perfect fixture in every way when you need points. Plus McGinn is injured for a while too which should make them considerably weaker. Momentum building time. Villa vs Norwich on Boxing Day is HUUUGE for us. Shout out to Deeney & Hughes today. Neither technically brilliant but the heart and desire from them both was great. They really set the tempo IMO. Mariappa has now played against Mane & Rashford and done okay. And Kiko Femenia is resembling a footballer again. Bloody buzzing right now!!! Merry Christmas to Mr Pearson & all the fellow Hornets on here. Enjoy it! We're staying up
You could see the change in the teams mentality and overall performance since the palace game for me and with a bit of luck and some more clinical finishing we could of had 4 points from those 2 games ( Liverpool being the other one ) Today we finally got a bit of luck, sure we weren’t as clinical as we would like but hey we just beat united and kept a clean sheet. The boys will hopefully gain some confidence from this and we can come out with that same positivity we have had post Flores Great to hear the Vic buzzing COYH !!!
Get IN! Great game for Sarr and Geri, Troy provided a focal point to work off, and Hughes again was fantastic in this new role. But I'm so impressed by this defence, compared to what we were seeing earlier in the season. Femenia has made a massive step up, Cathcart and kabasele are looking rock solid and mariappa is performing well as a no nonsense right back. Early days yet but that brings some hope and belief back - and I'd imagine a huge confidence boost to the team. Well done Pearson for getting things in order so quickly, and for making decent subs at sensible times!
Like I said, easiest 3 points this season and starts the survival run Hughes, Kabasele and Delefou were quality
Troy Deeney. Asked about pressure & said "My Mum working three jobs so she could buy Christmas presents, thats pressure. This is just football'.
Absolutely delighted for Big Nige. You can tell the players have already bought into what he's about. He'll get them running through brick walls for him
Good news is we have Janmat and Dawson to come back in to the first 11 Thought Gerry D gave a lot today, but wish on a few occasions he had taken on 1 more player and had a shot rather than passing - I’m sure last year he would have just gone for it
My 6 day old little girl has her Watford colours on for her first match! Lucky charm! Fantastic!! Merry Christmas everyone, huge win and positivity returns just in time.
What you want him to do is what he needs to do less often. He needs to just make the right decision rather than the wrong one. If his teammate fluffs it, hes still made the right choice.
They're also without Mings at the moment, who along with McGinn (and perhaps Grealish) is their most important player.
We'll probably still go down but at least we will go down fighting and have a win over United to take with us.
That felt good. If we go down playing like that for the rest of the season, I can live with it. Obviously it’s gone now, but the last few performances (Mullins spell included) show how horrendous the decision to install QSF was. Absolutely destroyed our confidence, belief, and spirit. Pearson made all the right noises, but more importantly, the players have responded to whatever he’s doing with the heart, passion, and desire required to make a fight of this. Made some bold decisions today, in sticking with Mapps/Kiko out of position, and withdrawing Capoue and Doucoure, but the result shows he got it just about right. We HAVE to build on this now. 3 points today is meaningless if we’re not able to go on and win 3 or 4 or next 6 games. Hopefully a couple of new faces in the window to strengthen in key places and we could put together a nice run of games to give ourselves a real chance.
Gerry definitely needs to somehow find his shooting boots again. Who would Dawson actually replace in the first 11 on current form?! Janmaat as well for that matter?
Excellent win and performance. Well deserved win. Nice helping hand always useful! Very solid in defence and Foster did well when called upon. Hughes was excellent and Deeney caused no end of problems. Very welcome early Christmas present!
Absolutely. A diabolical decision. So frustrating. If (still a huge if) we manage to get out of this hole, the Pozzos need to learn some serious lessons about how they've done things recently.
Good stuff. Pearson motivating them and giving them confidence going forward. It's probably too late after we wasted all those games on the diabolical Flores, but at least we can restore some pride.
Would be a contender for ‘most rehearsed line heard on Super Sunday today’ if not for Tyler’s “And it’s live!”
The improved defensive shape and structure is entirely down to Flores instilling the right methods and mentality into the defence. [Hides behind sofa].
Ole is an idiot. Watford outdogged Utd and we didnt sit deep with 10 behind the ball. He'll be gone soon. Controlled agression from EVERYONE. Wasn't an outstanding footballing show but worked socks off and deserved to win. I think we could win the next 2 with a touch of luck.
Well, the Pearson effect could well be on. Got to the ground a bit early but had a chat with Shane from Watford Fan TV, he said it's a draw I said a narrow defeat. Team sheet announced and I wasn't too worried. The same side that played well at Anfield given another chance which was pleasing. Nice to hear announcements welcoming Pearson to the Vic, and the noisiest it's been for a while. So, setting was good, atmosphere was hyped. First half was quite even but to be fair apart from a Lingarrd' shot that he probably should of scored from, they didn't really trouble us despite having the lioms share of possession, which was expected. We looked confident on the ball, and tracked back well. Sarr looked electric again but needs to work on his choice of movement on the ball a little. Half Time came and there really wasn't much to shout about. Utd hardly troubled us, cannot really remember them getting a shot on target to be honest. Second half started and after dropping my pie on the floor, I looked up and saw Sarr setting up a shot with their goalie well placed. "Shoot!" I screamed and he did, and sort of scuffed it a bit like he did at Anfield, but oh, my god. What the hell.... IT WENT IN!! It seemed to of gone through their goalie's hands, hit the underside of the bar and actually went in. We scored! We scored a goal at Vicarage Road! We were WINNING at home. After the euphoria had settled down, I barely had time to catch my breathe before we got a penalty. Not quite sure, but I think it was Wann Biscuit Akka with a foul on Sarr; Deeney smashed it home and the Vicarage were in Wonderland. 2-0 up, playing with confidence and deserving it. Rest of the game seemed to fly by. They did have their chances mind, when I saw Pogba warming up I got a bit worried, but to be fair it really didn't matter. Again we gave possession to them, but I think we soaked it up well, and defended manfully. It was a great win, and when the whistle went, we knew to a club, to a man that the great escape was still on. It's not a win that moves us up the table, but it's a win that will be a massive confidence boost. Great afternoon, fans in full voice and singing Pearson's name at the end. One swallow doesn't make a summer, or a winter, as we saw after we won at Norwich. But it's a win we need to build on. Great Xmas present to the fans. Well done to the lads, the fans and the management team. If there was one negative, it still appears our finishing is still woeful. We do need to improve it, but hopefully we can work on it.
We won't be beating Derby's record. Sarr terrifies defences with his pace, but he's actually pretty poor at dribbling, passing and shooting, however, a goal and an assist today, seems churlish to dwell on his limitations. Del was typical Del. Looks world class for a bit, but then runs out of puff and dribbles a ball into touch for a goalkick or gets tackled. At least gave them something to worry about on the break. Deeney looks far too slow and ponderous to be starting premier league games. He worked hard, so can't fault his effort, but he just doesn't have anything more to give. About 8 times he wound up to shoot, but the amount of times it takes him to draw back his tree trunk legs and fire, gives defenders ages to get the block in. The formation was spot on - Hughes is a revelation in his deeper role. Man Utd were poor, but that is down to how we broke their play up, pressured them and gave them no space - still, a £500m odd team should be able to find the quality to do more than they showed today. Mariappa was superb, Kabasele looked world class and Kiko, as has been said, has been a different player from Palace onwards. I said after the Palace game, that the level of commitment and effort was exactly what was needed for a team looking to beat the drop. It had been missing in most games up to that point. Now it looks like it's here to stay and it's the least we will need if we are to pull off an unlikely escape. We still look like we struggle to score. A gift from DDG and a penalty, but otherwise we had chances and half chances, but didn't make them count. Mention for Foster, watching him comfortably catch a ball, take a step, fall down, and roll over a few times was pure bliss. He had a few fairy simple stops to make today, but he made them, which is more than his far more highly rated counterpart managed. Subs - I thought they all did their duties. Even Success, who looks like a power lifter rather than a footballer. It looks like Nige is getting more out of Chalobah than we've seen for some time. Could be important with Doucoure suspended for next week. Ref watch - Probert really is a poor official. Capoue booked for a nothing foul and then lots of nasty head contact and other stuff by Man Utd let go. We were lucky the penalty was so blatant as I'm sure any benefit of the doubt and he'd happily have waved play on. Despite his tendency to favour the bigger side, he seemed to definitely hate Pogba and seemed to deny him at least 1 obvious foul. I was completely expecting a mandatory 7 minutes stoppages, but at least he got that right, but the smaller decisions during the game got away from him. Lots of fouls given that weren't and lost of genuine fouls ignored. From here, if we can win at Sheff Utd, then there will really be a new belief at this club. We are better than them man for man and we have now lost our soft underbelly, so if we can find a way to get the ball into the net, there's no reason why we shouldn't be looking to break their unbeaten run (law of averages says they are due to lose soon). I'm hoarse, my kids are hoarse, and I am buzzing for Christmas. What a difference a 2 nil home win against the team who used to win everything when you were a young man makes!
Fantastic passion, spirit and heart shown by everyone today. Hughes and Kiko look reborn long may it last. Amazingly we got some luck today too. Pearson and his backroom staff deserve so much credit in their short period in charge. Can't wait for the next couple of games now.
