I forgot he was playing for about 20 minutes. Doesn't do enough for me. Got the assist today first this season. No goals. Not sure on him, jurys still out for me.
By my calculation we will still be 8th after the Spurs game if the other results go as they should. So that's alrite.
We just lost 4-2 but I'm happy enough. We are clearly improving under Silva. We're so much better than at any point so far in the Prem. A bit inconsistent, but not alarmingly so at all. The enforced rotation in midfield due to injury over the course of this season has me thinking about how impressive our squad is. We have built a good team. We do need a better striker. I hope Gray finds confidence, and for now at least we don't actually need to worry too much about it even if he doesn't because we're still scoring a lot of goals. Tonight he was poor. At Newcastle he was genuinely very good bar those two embarrassing misses. My heart says he just needs a couple of good goals, my head says he's doomed to be a nearly player. We would undoubtedly become a much better team though if we had a more solid defence. We have been lucky that Kabasele has improved immeasurably and out of nowhere, and it would be equally if not more shocking to see another of our CBs take a similar step forward in such a short space of time. Prodl's poor passing is a problem. He does a lot of good stuff but he gives away possession needlessly. I remember him doing that a lot before the injury, and he seems to be a bit of a confidence player as well. Britos s getting on a bit, so I can't see him getting loads better. He's a better CB than a lot give him credit for though i think. Better in a back four, and his lapses in concentration often get punished so his shortcomings are in the spotlight more than others. He's a good player, but if we want to stay in the league position we're in, he should be pushing a better CB rather than one of the first names on the team sheet. Silva clearly rates him though. Mariappa has done better than most of us would have hoped. He's athletic, quicker than Prodl and Britos and has a great leap on him. He's actually good on the ball but not as consistently as Kabasele this season, and without the range of passing or vision (it's mad how decent Kabasele has been this season). Kabasele is far from perfect, but he is also by far the best CB on our books at the moment, and as the youngest he also has the most scope for improvement as well. Get one of the above playing well consistently, or bring in a genuinely top drawer CB (somehow) to play alongside him and our squad is quite easily on the fringes of a European spot on paper as well as on the pitch.
We actually started well but got undone by some quality strikes and bad defending. Plus law of the ex! Actually pleased we didn't just give up and really gave it a go 2nd half. Just a shame we got back into it then let Lingard waltz through us easily. Sums up the season - great in attack but there is a reason why our GD is in - figures.
The tackle was actually ok, but it was the fact Doucoure had a good hold of Pogba's shirt that enabled him to make it. Clear foul I'm afraid.
Never once said he was "sh*t", simply that I thought his best days were behind him and that I'd rather we look at longer term options, but he has been very good so far this season and proven me wrong.
Can I be the first to praise the amount of space created by Grey this evening. What a cracking player. If only Opta rated space-making more highly than it did passing, shooting accuracy, goal scoring, retaining possession, creativity, skill, composure etc, he’d undoubtedly look more like a decent signing.
Pogba is one of the best midfielders in the world so it don't bother me if Doucoure or Cleverley couldn't handle him at times. Sometimes you just have to accept they are up against better players in some games.
Doucoure was just one of many that lost the plot for 10 minutes. Why didn't Cleverly just take Lingard out in the centre circle? Against the top teams we need Deeney up front as he is better with the ball than Gray. However Grey should be the choice against the lesser teams as his running helps create space.
Could have got a draw, could have lost by more and yet 3.0 at half time flattered them. At half time BBC said they didn't think it was possible to play so well and to be 3 down. Sums it up. We weren't bad, they were just clinical when they had the chances. Brush ourselves down and move on. Personally I'm proud we stuck to our attacking philosophy and gave them a minor scare. Deeney still only as a cameo as I've said before
Troy has had two good games this season, both as a substitute coming into a flat game that we are losing. He's found his niche but I don't want him starting.
Mourinhos post game comments on Watford... “They are full of confidence, they have nothing to lose, they are a team that has no pressure, they play the way they do. For them to lose 3-0 or lose 5-0 is exactly the same, so after the 3-1, they come into the game and there were a few minutes where we should be smoking cigars but certainly we were a big team in trouble.”
Indeed. No class and he’s lost his soul. What a shame. Great player tonight though. Used to be head and shoulders above anyone on the pitch in the old days when we were on the up, under Boothroyd. Wouldn’t want him back now though, after those celebrations. Left a bad taste.
Well, on the plus side we had a go and played some very good football at times. Carrillo and Pereyra also looked sharp when they came on which is good, especially with the injury to Hughes which will no doubt keep him out a while. We are (barring another injury crisis) a centre back and a striker away from being very comfortably nailed on for a top 10 finish in my opinion, and 7th certainly isn't out of the question either.
A bit weird from Young and maybe I didn't see the full celebration, but he scored two crackers - the second one was especially great. I'd've gone mental if that was me. Not the best comparison as I'm not a professional footballer, but even so, let him celebrate. It's football.
Sort of agree but I remember H doing an even more ott celebration when we played Fulham and he came back scored goals for us, reinforcing his legend status. Certainly not defending Young by the way but the only reason I wouldn't have him back is because in a year or so he'll have the technical ability but no pace but will still command a huge wage (and I'd rather someone up and coming)
Pleased with the way we played overall. On top until Young's well taken opportunist strike and then his excellent free kick. I don't really know why people were so upset with him. I'd be struggling to keep it inside after two strikes like that! This whole 'respect your former club' stuff is overrated imo. All those who booed and chanted '******' at him - bunch of snowflakes! Who really cares? Anyway, back to the match. A defensive mix up lead to their easy third and Gomes kept us in it with a wonder save just before half-time. I do remember thinking we'll give it a go in the second half and glad we did. I do like all this incisive passing rather than just lumping it up front to no avail. The Deeney factor helped (he's best as an impact sub now I feel, and I think Gray will come good in time) and we could have snatched a draw until we allowed Lingard (sp?) to dance through the defence. Whose bright idea was it to put the Watford-residing X-Factor finalists on at half time? Utterly cringeworthy from start to finish, as was the announcer who must have asked us ten times to 'give it up once more for Ratsick (or whatever their name was). It reminded me why I despise anything X-Factor related and why I bought of RATM's 'Killing in the name of..' twice a few years ago so the 15-mins of fame non-entity winner that year didn't get to number one at Christmas. I digress again. Looking forward to seeing us on Sat v. Spurs. Although at this rate we'll play really well but lose 8-6 with Kane scoring 5....
disjointed we lost but 3 of their goals were crackers i also did not get the boo's for young celebrating scoring 2 cracking goals he left a decade ago and i would have celebrated 2 goals like that
Oh dear Ashley! You can take the lad out of Stevenage but you clearly can't take Stevenage out of the lad. Given that he received a warm reception I was bemused by his celebrations. Odd. Clinical finishing by MU and I thought Young was the best player on the pitch in the first half. I have some sympathy for Prodl;very hard to get up to speed in your first start for two months in such a game. The first two goals knocked the stuffing from us and we lost our composure for the remainder of the half. Another great double save from Gomes. Lovely goal by Doucoure. I have been supportive of Gray but tonight he really struggled and i thought Deeney merited a longer spell. Great shame for Hughes and it looked like a six week injury,which probably means he'll return in May! We needed to show some spirit in the second half and duly did. I'm not sure why Lingard wasn't taken out but it was a fine goal. What on earth was that all about at half time? I think I'll vote for a dog on a unicycle if that is an option.
It was a strange game. We started on the front foot and looked really lively. United scored completely against the run of play, but it changed everything. Watford became disjoined and a little bit nervous. Young's free kick killed the game for me......and after playing so well we were 2-0 after 20 odd minutes. The third goal was just a joke. Just so easy for United. By this time we were all over the place and had to thank Gomes for another wonder save to stop it from being 4-0. The second half United decided to sit back. Not sure why they did that, as they had Watford on the ropes. We are such a soft touch defensively that had they gone for it, they could have outdone City. Mapps was caught in possession and gifted United what should have been a fourth. How they didn't score then was incredible. Gray was very poor again, and he's just not the striker we need. His first touch is so heavy, and most of his passes were misplaced. Things did improve when he was replaced by Deeney. Deeney bullied United a bit and we started to get a bit of a foothold. From nowhere we got a chance from the spot, then scored another, which woke United up a bit, so they just decided to take a stroll up the other end and to kill the game once more. I like the way this Watford team plays, and it's successful against the bulk of the teams in the EPL, but against the elite, we are so na*ve. Games look like they could be record defeats. City, United, Liverpool, Chelsea have all scored bucket loads. It's obvious where our weaknesses lie. We need to be a little more savvy, but it's a learning process. We can score goals, and we can concede them in equal numbers. It's the latter that will hold us back. Unless you're solid defensively, you'll always have these big defeats, especially against the powerful sides.
My 2 cents.. - Watford started well, but felt like we had the stuffing knocked out of us after the 2nd. Still created chances though, and should have scored more than the 2 today. - I hope that Hughes is ok. - United weren't even that great, but when we have calamitous defending and gift them chances like that, of course they are going to score. Deserved winners. - Was Lukaku even playing? He is woefully out of form. - Turns out that Young is nothing more than a little *****. Genuinely disappointed with his body language and celebrating this evening, as he was one of my favourite Watford players growing up. He should show a bit more respect to the club that nurtured him and gave him his shot at professional football. 2 well taken goals but his celebration was horrible to watch. I look forward to booing him the next time he comes back to the Vic. ******.
I thought only the third goal was avoidable, (Kabesele could have headed back to Gomes instead of aimlessly into the middle of the park). Ashley Young demonstrated why he would have been a cracking signing for us this summer. Great deadball delivery and good defensively too. On that form might be worth a call up to an England friendly as a potential squad member for the World Cup. I thought Deeney was good tonight in his cameo role. Overall play like that and we will be competitive against all but the very best in the Premier League. Pity Gray has the touch and control of a brick, as he works hard and has the pace to unsettle defenders. To improve our team and squad will cost a lot of money next summer.
If we were going to go three goals down in the first 30 minutes then I guess most of us would settle for the final result, score wise they won the first half we won the second but unfortunately football doesn't work that way! Tonight was a reality check, with 59% possession we looked very entertaining but when push comes to shove it's all very well us playing it around and keeping the ball in defence and midfield, however most goals are scored when the ball is released from the final third. This season the football is infinitely better than last and it was good to see the home support applauding our players at the end of the game! I'm sure that the coach will have learned something from this game, however don't put any money on Saturday's game finishing 0-0! Which would be a good result for us!
Agree with this. I've said it before, I'l say it again. Can we please spend a week throwing balls at Gray? Not a big fan of his, but if he can improve his touch, then he could be a good option. Though I still want to see a string of games with him alongside Deeney....
I imagine that was more to do with the massacre that was carried out in his home country the day before. But yeah, Ashley's celebration was disappointing and really weird more than anything else. He's always got a decent reception from us and did so before the game once again today. Shame that he felt the need to act the ****head, but spending years playing for Man Utd tends to do that to a player. Maybe he read some of the laughable comments on here over the summer from people saying they wouldn't want us to sign him?
Just a quick reminder that Ashley Young is a Man United player and has been for many years. He can celebrate two belters however he bloody likes, I can’t feign offence at that. As far as I know he’s never been anything but complimentary about his boyhood club over the years, but why he should hold anything in puzzles me.
Nothing should replace the club that brought you through their youth academy and gave you the opportunity to play professionally. Nothing. Clearly Young meant a lot more to our fans than we ever did to him. He's just **** on any fond memories I and most other Watford fans ever had of him, and I can't wait to boo him every time he even goes near the ball the next time he comes to the Vic. Those 2 celebrations, and his dragging our player down when he was on the halfway line were too much.
All their goals, while well taken on their part, were very poor from our point of view. Bad defensive mistakes, missed tackles, poor decisions all contributors to the goals and once again we shoot ourselves in the foot. Expecting more of the same against Spurs who i suspect will be alot better than this average Man u side.
Gray either has a very bad cross or a very bad first touch . I'm not sure which, as they both look the same when he does them.
