Watford FC 1-0 Sunderland - 01/04/2017

Good performance and many more chances created than in recent weeks. Doucoure was my MOTM, I see him improving every week. Cleverly had another fantastic game and I though Capoue was also better in the first half.

An important win given results below, and a win on Tuesday would help everyone sleep easier.

 

First win I have seen in a year.

Rather enjoyed it, nice to see attacking players run full steam at the opposition.

Doucoure put in an absolutely flawless performance, he shored things up very well.

Pickford is sensational for his age, future England no1 for sure.

 

Thought Docoure and was really good today. Was a little disappointed with Success today, looked like a headless chicken to me. If we can win Tuesday we are as good as safe

 

Doucoure with 67 passes, next highest being Britos with 43; he seemed to be everywhere today and was very good, MOTM for me.

(Source: WhoScored)

 

Doucoure actually played the holding midfield role with composure, balance and mobility. Something we've lacked a lot! Behrami on his day is superb in the role but his best days are behind him. Doucoure has to start every game in this role.

 

Isaac and one on ones just don't go together. Was a mirror of his days at Granada.

 

Phew.

Happy with the win. Even if it took a lot of efforts on goal to get one goal.

We are still missing an attacking midfielder but minus Pereyra and Zarate that's not a surprise.

 

Trouble is, Doucoure only needs to have an average game and Walter drops him.

 

Did you watch the same game I did? Okaka worked hard and as a lone striker did well, as for Doucoure and Cleverly, I thought they made a good partnership in the middle there, and can't see Berhami, or Watson replacing either of them.

 

So thought Okaka did well and was involved particularly in the first half but tired as the second half went on.

The only player i think is deserving of any stick is Niang, he looked great for the first half an hour until he did that great mazy run and was too knackered to be of any use, he no longer wanted the ball and he consistently failed to track back.

The crossing today was some of the best since promotion, if Deeney had been on the park i think we'd have been 2 up by half time yet paradoxically had he played instead of Okaka then i reckon we'd have constantly hoofed it up to him and ended up not creating anything. I shall call it the Deeney Paradox.

Finally, I'm not normally the one to moan about this but i felt that the 1881 were very quiet today, we played our best game in ages and I hardly heard them until after the goal.

 

I agree if it's against Hull

More to the point WHU will be the unlucky ones to join Sunderland and Boro on the last day ... I can feel it in my toes

 

I know if/when Sunderland go down he is going to be in big demand, but if we are serious about replacing Gomes, then we need to at least make a competitive bid for him.

 

What a relief ! Admittedly Sunderland are a poor side but it was nice to see us play some passing football with a bit of tempo ( compared to the recent sluggish hoofball ) Thought there were some very good performances in there . Doucoure , Okaka, Cleverly, Niang , Capoue and great to see Amrabat back and making a difference though his final ball was poor . I feel like we are very close to being safe now, though shame about the other results below us.

 

All played well today. special mentions to Okaka, Cathcart and Cleverley. But ahead of everybody by a country mile was Dacoure. I watched him a lot for Granada last season and was amazed when he didn't get a look in early in the season. I really think we have our own Kante here. He is going to be a mainstay of this side for a few years to come. Covers so much ground and very rarely gives the ball away.

 

Gomes - solid and did what he needed to when asked. however sunderland were really not all that, but he did catch a few balls today to my amazement. 7

Cathcart - really solid at centre back, didn't really notice him at right back. 7
Britos - his passing at times really is dire, but he did a couple of great tackles and was sound enough defensively. grabbed us an important goal too. 7.5
Kaboul - actually think he had defoe well and truly in his pocket before he had to go off. I expect he will be out for most of the rest of the season now. 6.5
Holebas - can put in a lovely cross and had a nice shot too. was solid yet unspectacular. 6.5

Cleverley - worked very hard, perhaps not as influential as we would have liked but didn't do anything particularly wrong. 7
Capoue - one of his better games recently, actually worked hard for a change. chased down lost causes and gave his all. 7
Doucoure - as others have said, my man of the match by a really long way. he has a great footballing brain, sometimes his execution lets him down. he should remain in the team from now and get some game time. he has the energy to do the job that behrami does, and such does it better. countless interceptions and driving runs. 8.5

Niang - i really don't know how I feel about him, on the way to the ground I said to Ashdon that i thought he was a lazy unlikeable ****. Today he actually put the effort in and low and behold looks dangerous. i have concerns about him for sure, and need to see more from him between now and the end of the season. 7
Amrabat - was ok, still lacking the real ability to make a difference in the final third. really do want him to do more in and around the box. 6.5
Okaka - solid and gave Sunderland's defence a torrid afternoon. won nearly everything that came his way and was able to bring others into the game. should have scored with a header in the first half. 7

Subs:
Janmaat - i don't understand why he is not starting, a better option at right back than Cathcart. 7
Success - i think he is really lacking match practice and confidence. should have scored. needs a run in the team. 6
Zuniga - right sub at the right time as Niang was exhausted, but no time for a real impact. 6

 

I notice when we lose all the blame goes to Mazzarri and when we win his name is barely mentioned.

The manager got it right today and we outplayed a poor Sunderland side. We need to sign a quality striker next season who can finish the multitude of chances we create and we'll be a good side.

Today was also the first day I've really enjoyed a Watford match in a while. The sun was out, Watford were playing well and attacking and we won. Good day.

 

Good post but I was convinced that Niang was exhausted after half an hour.

 

My first comment on the forum!:

I've been viewing this forum for some time now (on my other account 'CaveHornet' which, for some reason won't let me comment due to a lack of permissions apparently) so this is going to be my first comment on this forum woo-hoo!

That aside, I thought Watford played fantastic football today, they easily controlled the game in terms of possession and shots but they do seem quite hesitant in shooting from outside the box and the amount of times we have fluffed 1 on 1s has cost us valuable goals which could literally be the difference between 10th and 16th in the upcoming weeks. E.g. that should have been a certain goal for Success today and would have finished off the game.
That said, I thought we played magnificently on the counter with pace from Doucoure, Niang, Capoue and Amarabat sweeping the flanks and the center. Moreover, I originally thought taking Amarabat off was a poor management error from Maz but Success did prove to be quite efficient in tracking back when needed for defensive duties so it wasn't too bad.

Also,well done to Britos who has finally got his goal, whether it will be his last one will depend on if he is still here by the summer. In fairness, I thought he was solid today.

Okaka seems to be a decent backup to Deeney but I can't see him playing consistent 1st team football for Watford if Deeney is fit, and I doubt Okaka really wants to be a substitute striker at 27 years of age.

Gomes was also decent today; a few good save etc. However, he is definitely not a Captain (not in my eyes anyways). He didn't communicate well with the defenders initially (there was a point where it was Britos holding back a Sunderland forward waiting for Gomes to claim the ball but Gomes just stood there) but he is now more vocal when it comes down to organizing the squad in corners which is an improvement.

In terms of Mazzarri, this forum seems to be quite 'anti' him. Although he isn't that much of an improvement over QSF, I do think he is an an improvement- even if it's only by a fine line. I would personally give him until next season to get things sorted and if it comes down to spending in excess of £40,000,000, then so be it; I would rather have 4 great and experienced players coming in than 8 or so average players from the Dutch and Belgian leagues.

Anyways, that's my first post and I hope I can get into some interesting debates with the rest of ya in the future ;D

 

Definitely, but he did a lot of running and he doesn't have much football in his legs.

Success, Amrabat and Niang should constantly be rotated to keep each of them fresh. The best of the three today was definitely Amrabat, although it was Niang's best game since Burnley.

 

Relieved mostly and pleased for the remainder.

Agree with other posts about good performances from most,especially Doucoure who is improving game by game. If Behrami is keen to leave there is no reason for him to be selected ahead of Doucoure.

Especially good crosses I thought in the first half but frustrating that no one was on the far post.

Nice to see Gino and the suits joining in the GT 72 applause,very noticeable.

Two claret and blue teams looking over their shoulders now it seems.

I think we all know what to expect from WBA!

 

I can't really see a win against West Brom (after the draw they had against Man U) but a draw would be perfectly fine!

 

Tend to agree.

 

A superb performance and a great win - although at 1-0 the thought that we'd gift a goal and an undeserved point to the worst team to visit Walter's Academy of Football Excellence in many months was never far away.

Job done. We're safe.

We should we try to buy Pickford. Apart from making two or three first class saves his distribution was excellent - in marked contrast to Gomez's.

And a word for Lee Probert who was, I thought, the best ref we've had all season.

A top 10 finish beckons - so I trust the anti WM brigade will do the decent thing and f*** off!!!

You 'Orrrrnnss!!!

 

Pickford is an absolute class act and will be going to a much bigger and better side than us. His distribution was scarily good today; exactly what Guardiola or Klopp should be looking for this summer.

 

3 points is always welcome

We still lack something in the final third, i don't think we created a clear cut chance in the box till midway through the 2nd half.

Success scared them ****less, Capoue isn't a player but rhyming slang, the ref had a good game, Doucoure ran the game, Pickford was outstanding and looks a real prospect.

Roll on a borning 0-0 on Tuesday

 

The front three looked like a trio that have never played together, which I believe is the case. Individually I thought they looked dangerous but often a piece of hard work would come to nothing due to lack of support. Encouraging signs and enjoyable to watch, which is the first time I've said that in a while.

 

The recent form of these two teams is pretty dire:
West Ham = 2 points from last 18 possible
Burnley = 3 points from last 21 possible

If we can get a result against WBA watching the scramble to avoid the 3rd relegation spot could be interesting......

 

Agree with you on most things, but I would say a welcome performance, not a great one. There are still things that we do so badly they are difficult to comprehend, like how we see out a game, or position for throw ins. Our highly skilled players sometimes seem plain amateurish.

 

Igloo? Beef stew? Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew?

 

Heavy first touch.

 

Ancients of Mu-Mu.

 

Highlights here
http://www.fullmatchesandshows.com/2017/04/01/watford-vs-sunderland-highlights-2/

 

A very enjoyable afternoon for a change. I thought Niang was a little bit lazy and was a bit fortunate not to come off earlier. Okaka had a very good game as did Cathcart once he was moved to where he should be playing. This definitely the year Sunderland go down. Offered virtually nothing. Pickford was very impressive. Last but but certainly not least, Doucoure. That was the player I saw play for Granada last season. With Behrami leaving at the end of the season this guy has to start every game. I'm almost looking forward to Tuesday now!
Well done Mazarri, got everything pretty much spot on