Match Day Thread Watford v Manchester City

Agreed! All I can think is there's some strange rule about whose goal it is when straight from a corner.

 

Isn't that irrelevant Yorkie? If a player shoots on target, say from the edge of the box, it heads towards a defender who deflects it in and the keeper is just behind the defender (so would have stopped it if there wasn't the deflection) it would be the attacker's goal.

 

Think Cathcart should have done better for the header if only to put him off a bit more. The volley was a 1 in 10 shot. We could have been a bit closer but it was sort of 'just one of those'.

 

When we were one up I said to my son I could see us conceding one but at least we shouldn't/won't lose from here...

 

I know... but that is the explanation I was given......

 

Most of our creative play was through Jurado, who looks better with every game. Otherwise we were a bit predictable with long balls up to Ighaol and Deeney--who do well with them, but we need some variety in the forward play--such as a good winger would provide .Transfer needed--Townsend. For the last 15 minutes we looked tired in all departments.. Subs needed --Berghuis and Behrami..Two wins in the next 4 games will ease the nerves

 

Shame they can't use the ball tracker they have in cricket. Watching it on MOTD last night, I thought that it would either hit the outside of the post or the side netting but that may just be the camera angle the BBC chose to use.

 

WATFORD FC / NEWS
Ratings: How the Watford players fared against Manchester City
JAN 03, 2016BY KEVIN AFFLECK0
Heurelho Gomes 8

Made two brilliant saves to thwart two identical grass-cutters from Kevin De Bruyne, the second after a one-two with David Silva eclipsing the first. The best of the lot was probably the close-range range one from Fernandinho he bravely blocked with his body. He was powerless to prevent either of the goals but one wayward goal kick did lead to a first-half shooting chance for Sergio Aguero.

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Allan Nyom 6

City sought a route back into the game down his side in the second period, suggesting that is where Manuel Pellegrini identified a weak link. He rattled Raheem Sterling’s cage early on by pinning the England winger to the floor but he should really have got tighter to Craig Cathcart for Aguero’s goal, allowing too much space for the Argentine to ghost into and produce a prodigious leap.

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Jose Holebas 8Rarely, if ever, can Watford have had two such high-class options at left-back. His last three matches in a Watford shirt have been against Chelsea and Manchester City, twice. They don’t come much tougher than that yet he has stepped up on each occasion, particularly in the last two. He showed some nifty footwork, a willingness to get forward, an eye for a pass and a willingness to keep pace with Raheem Sterling early in the second half.

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Craig Cathcart 6
Shepherded Aguero away from danger twice in the first half, staying on his feet when the Argentine was willing him to dive in. But he will not need us to tell him he afforded Aguero far too much space to head in a cross from Bacary Sagna. He should not be outjumped by someone of Aguero’s size. He’s played every minute of every game. We’d give Sebastian Prödl a run against Newcastle United in the FA Cup.

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Miguel Britos 7.5
Terrific, again. A welcome tackle on Jesus Navas caught the eye as did a cool header over the bar from a Kolarov cross. Strong in the air, composed on the floor and got rid when he needed to.

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Ben Watson 7
More than held his own in high-class midfield company. Perhaps guilty of not screening the back four enough as City chased a route back into the game but had a lot of ground to cover with Etienne Capoue playing a more advanced role. Showed wonderful technique to have Joe Hart scrambling across his line to keep out a sweetly-struck half volley early in the second half.

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Etienne Capoue 8
Average against Tottenham but exceptional here. You knew he was on song when he nutmegged Nicolas Otamendi on the right-hand edge of the penalty box early on. Repeated the trick in a more central area in the second half as he engineered a shooting chance that would have brought the house down had it gone in. Class act.

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Almen Abdi 7Knitted the play together wonderful well with short, give and go passes and, yet again, worked his socks off. Unleashed an early shot from a Jurado pass and then turned architect soon after to send Deeney charging into the penalty area. The sight of him launching into a tackle to fell the giant Yaya Toure showed the dimension Sanchez Flores has added to his game.

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Jose Manuel Jurado 8
Confirmation, if any were needed, that he is a classy operator. Fooled Yaya Toure, of all people, with a drag back and then embarrassed Kevin De Bruyne with a similar trick. He isn’t just a show pony, though. Jurado links defence and attack so cleverly and is the go-to player when Watford want to slow the game down and give the defence some respite. His ability to retain the ball was missed when he went off.

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Troy Deeney 6.5
His herculean second-half effort against Spurs took it’s toll here and no wonder. Gave the ball away surprisingly frequently and was not the driving force he usually is, particularly at home. Teed up Ighalo for an early chance, as he so often does, and felt he was impended by Kolarov when he burst into the box but it was probably the other way round.

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Odion Ighalo 7
An absolute handful, again. He doesn’t look the most strapping of strikers but he punches way above his weight and bullied Mangala and Otamendi here. Some stats placed Otamendi as the best performing centre-back in Europe this season but Ighalo left him for dead in one first-half move. The Nigerian had one chance in either half you’d have expected him to bury but, it seems, he is human after all.

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Substitute:

Adlene Guedioura 6
Watford had not lost this season when he had been on the pitch but that run is now over. The fans rejoiced when it was the Algerian who got the nod to replace Jurado but, on reflection, it probably should have been Valon Behrami who was summoned to help screen the back four


....


Yorkie Questions:

Nyom should have cut out the ball come in for their first goal?

Nyom and Cathcart failed to shut out out Aguero and so have to take responsibility for second goal?

Does Cathcart need a rest?

Deeney was tired... can we start a game without him?

Should Behrami have come on as sub to strengthen the defence ?

 

I thought we played excellent and I don't want to have a go but where were the other two subs to give us legs? Or the reactive subs to them going very aggressive up front? Surely Anya on the left and Guedioura on the right and if you are going to shut up then off with a forward and put Prodl on. I'm not saying that's right, but Holebas had a good game but was tiring and the cross for the second came from his side and he along with Ighalo let Toure get in front of them at the corner.
I'm not blaming either of them or anybody but subs may have helped.

To move forward and improve you always have to be critical, just as long as it's constructive and I hope the Boss considers his use of subs more in the future.

 

Still very frustrated this morning - we just cannot seem to concentrate enough in the last 10 minutes. Hard to criticise for the first goal, but the second should have never been allowed to happen - how did he out jump or defence?
I really like Durado as well, but he is very right-footed. When he does not have an option outside to his left, he always cuts inside onto his right foot and the City players soon realised and played him against his left foot - it night be an option to switch him to the RHS during a game and swap him over with Abdi.
I'm with you Chris, it's right to discuss mistakes and see how to improve - this season has been brilliant and far better than we all dared to hope for, but nothing wrong in wanting to continue to improve.

 

We need 3 wins in the next 18 games there should be no nerves yet

 

On a side note it was great to see Tony Coton introduced to the crowd at half time. Of course it helped that the City fans loved him too!

 

I have not seen all our games but I felt this was the best we have played this season, at least for 75% of the game. The passing, especially in tight situations to move the ball out was excellent and there was very little hoofball today. We should have been 2/3 up at half time and that would have killed the game. Felt Iggy was not getting the usual service and City I felt tended to push him wide which stopped the direct approach but it was good to see other players taking a few chances. Was amused by Nyoms attempts at being a wing back, seemed a bit lost when he got to City's penalty area and was reluctant to cross but he got the idea eventually. Not sure he dived but just fell over his legs, more work required on this . I was worried when City got corners, we did not deal with them very well and we paid for it. The defence seemed to come unstuck in the last 10 minutes which was unusual but perhaps tiredness played a part?

We may not have beaten the top 7 teams but we have matched them very well and because of that I am not worried, especially if we continue on in this manner, it is very entertaining. Spurs and City robbed us of at least 2 points.

Ref was good.

Am getting really fed up with Sky and MOTD focussing on our opposition more than they do us - I long for the day in a few seasons time when they say - oh dear City (or whoever) are playing Watford today, they have better be careful......

 

I should not hold my breath if I were you. The better we did under GT the more we were hated - nasty little non-London upstarts

 

I blame the Rookery End: defending a corner to the strains of "Can you hear the city sing... "

 

And the eejit behind me who kept saying aguero and De Bruyne were useless. Did warn him it could come bank to haunt us

 

TBH Scullion, I'm getting used to it. What gets me is I saw four different MotM yesterday, the most ludicrous being Toure (Watson, Capou and Holebas were the other three). Apart from his (admittedly well struck) goal, Toure had a stinker. Similarly, in the Spuds game one rag gave MotM to the equally ineffective Kane. I can only assume therefore that certain parts of the media feel the need to pander to the so called bigger teams and their so called stars in order to secure interviews and co-operation. For the record, Toure wasn't even MCFCs best player, let alone MotM.

 

The Star thought it was Sagna...

 

One thing I didn't miss about sitting at the back of the Rookery was the same old guy, in his fifties, sitting in front of me effing and blinding slagging off Deeney. Although Troy didn't have his best game he never stopped trying.

Now in my twilight years I need the calmness of the SEJ stand. A rug for my knees and a brandy hip flask is wot's required.