Watford 3-3 Liverpool

Watford 3-3 Liverpool

I said I was excited about the new season and yesterday did nothing to hamper my optimism! The Hornets shared the spoils and rightfully took a point in an entertaining draw with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. The Hornets led twice thanks to goals from Stefano Okaka and Abdoulaye Doucoure, but were pegged back twice by The Reds, as Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino found the net. Liverpool completed the turnaround through new signing Mo Salah tapping home from close range, but there was a final twist when Miguel Britos scrambled the ball over the line in injury time to level the scores.

Watford came out of the blocks the quicker and could’ve been ahead when Roberto Pereyra skilfully found his way through on goal but saw his shot blocked. However, from the resulting corner The Hornets took the lead, Okaka found himself unmarked and powerfully headed past Mingolet.

The Golden Boys felt a sense of de ja vu when Daryl Janmaat went down with an injury forcing Marco Silva into an early substitution. Debutant Kiko Feminia took his place but I can’t help but feel a sense of frustration that yet again muscular injuries keep occurring amongst this Watford team. Janmaat himself has had large spells out already with injury since his move from Newcastle, so The Hornets may need to look at recruiting another defensive back up in case we are further hampered by injuries throughout this season. It’ll be interesting to see if there is any more business before the deadline at the end of the month, for sure we can expect 2 or 3 players to move out of the club.

Liverpool levelled with a well worked move where Sadio Mane was put through on goal and he made no mistake as he slotted past Gomes into the top corner. It was a sucker punch because The Hornets looked comfortable but you cannot complain at conceding goals of that quality.

The Hornets showed their rejuvenated attitude since Silva has come in and responded immediately as Doucoure slotted home following yet another defensive mix up in The Reds back line. Liverpool 
were very much there for the taking and Watford looked dangerous every time they attacked which is a good sign going into the next set of fixtures. The score remained 2-1 at half time, meaning I couldn’t resist a half time pint! The bar team at Watford have introduced a new token scheme where you pre order your halftime drink, so you can get your pint quicker (supposedly!). Well I didn’t pre order and had my pint before my mate who had pre ordered so maybe the system needs a little work, not that I am complaining!!

So to the second half and The Hornets were dealt an early blow when Pereyra picked up an injury which forced him off, he was replaced by the Brazillian Richarlison. On the topic of Pereyra I need to add how great it was to have him back, he absolutely ran the show in the first half. He created chances for Okaka and brought others into the game something that we most definitely missed in the second half of last season. We seemed to miss him again when he went off as the whole tempo of the Golden Boys went flat, off the pitch as well as on it.

The Reds took advantage of the drop in tempo and were level 10 minutes after the break, Salah burst through before being upended by Gomes, leaving the ref with no choice but to award the spot kick. Firmino stepped up and sent Gomes the wrong way to level the scores. Soon after Liverpool killed the joyful mood around The Vic, Firmino was set through on goal, and lofted it over Gomes for Salah to tap home from little over a yard out. It sent the away end into raptures and felt like a dagger to the heart for me and the other Watford fans. Football was well and truly back, yet again The Hornets were running us through the mill.

Liverpool could’ve finished it once and for all but Matip headed against the bar and Gomes kept The Reds at bay for a 10 minute spell of domination. There’s been a lot of fans calling for a new number one at Vicarage Road but the Brazillian showed here why he will be the number one until at least January. However, I do believe he needs someone to put pressure on him because arguably he was at fault for both goals in the second half, he was caught in no man’s land for the 3^rd goal. His decision making came into question as he brought Salah down for the penalty which led to the 2^nd, although I do still think he is the man to be number one, he will keep us in games this season, not forgetting he is a central figure around the club.

When it looked like The Hornets were heading to an opening day defeat, they showed one last spell of determination to get the point they deserved. Mingolet could only palm a Britos shot, turning it around for a corner where The Hornets threw all 10 outfielders forward. A near post corner found the Brazilian Richarlison, who smashed it goal wards hitting the underside of the crossbar and the keeper but Britos was there to head home on the goal line!! The Rookery went into raptures and it was the least Watford deserved on the balance of play.

The whistle blew a minutes later and little old Watford had taken a point off Champions League Liverpool. It was a great performance for 70 minutes and if we hadn’t have lost our heads then we probably could’ve had all 3 points. Lots of positives to take down to the south coast next week, where if we play like we did yesterday (Saturday) then we have every chance of winning.

Who said the saying “football is a rollercoaster” isn’t true?

It is when you follow The Hornets! But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Onto Bournemouth, you ‘Orns!!

Watford 3-3 Liverpool

Man of the match: Abdoulaye Doucoure- Ran the midfield and picked up a goal. The Frenchman has a big season ahead of him.

Away fans rating- 7/10- Liverpool fans were loud in spells but not as good as their reputation probably suggests.

Game rating- 10/10 – I would’ve loved it had I been a neutral

@Adzrowe on twitter.

Watford 2017/2018 Premier League season preview

Football is back! After what seems to have felt like an eternity competitive football returns to Vicarage Road as The Hornets host Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday.

The Golden Boys have had another very busy summer off the pitch and yet another new manager will be in the hot seat at the start of the season. There is reason to be optimistic in the newest head coach Marco Silva, he very much gave a dead and buried Hull City team a chance of survival and had them playing entertaining football. Already he’s made a good impression in his short time at The Vic, the way he spoke in his opening news conference was refreshing to say the least. He is bringing in his style and looks to have a group of players who really want to thrive and compete under his headship. The fact he has the players all speaking (or learning) English on the training ground sits very well with me that he is in charge and not the players. It didn’t always seem last season that the head coach had the control over his players, arguably one of the reasons why last season was as dismal as it was. It’ll be interesting to see whether Watford’s new Portuguese coach can make Vicarage Road a fortress like he did the KCOM last season, it’ll be yet again vital that The Hornets make Hertfordshire a hard place to come.  

In terms of the playing squad there have been numerous changes yet again:

Outs: Permanent transfers

Juan Carlos Paredes – Emelec

Mario Suarez- Guizhou Hengfeng Zhicheng

Steven Berghuis –Feyenoord

Ins:

Will Hughes (Midfield) – Derby County

Kiko Femenia (Defender) – Alaves

Nathaniel Chalobah (Midfield) – Chelsea

Daniel Bachmann (Goalkeeper) - Free transfer

Andre Gray  (Striker) – Burnley (Club record fee)

Richarlison (Forward) - Fluminense

I am personally like many others excited with the business that has been done this summer so far. We have seriously strengthened the squad that finished last season, adding young talent which will significantly boost The Hornets chances of a successful season. What has been excellent is to see the change of transfer policy with so many English players being brought in (Hughes, Gray, Chalobah). Not only do they add quality to the team and they will also understand the importance of the English game in terms of having a connection with the fans something that was largely missing last season and was one of the major criticisms of former manager Walter Mazzarri. Chalobah obviously knows the club after previously spending time on loan at The Vic in 2013, I for one am thrilled to have him return because of his quality and the fact he has age on his side meaning he could become a permanent figure within the club. I for one think the Englishman could easily become the club captain in years to come, another English player Will Hughes has excelled in the championship at Derby County and has been presented with the chance to try his luck in the Premier League at Vicarage Road. I don’t think he will start as a permanent fixture in the first team and will most likely be on the bench but if he lives up to his billing he could be one of the first names on the team sheet by May. Watford’s newest recruit is Andre Gray who joined on a record fee from Burnley earlier this week, he again adds to the attacking options and has a proven Premier League scoring record after a relatively successful first season with Burnley. He can either lead the line on his own with his electric pace or he could play off the skipper Troy Deeney which could be a very exciting partnership as we know that Deeney has excelled when having someone playing off him. Richarlison’s deal came slightly out of the blue but he adds pace and flare, as well as versatility as he can play up top as well as on the wing which significantly adds to The Hornets attacking options.

The squad has outstanding depth and personally all I think we really need now is a new centre back and we look good all over the field. The competition will play a major factor in keeping the squad hungry and there really isn’t anyone guaranteed a starting place with so many quality players waiting in the wings.

My predictions:

First game: Watford 1-1 Liverpool

Final position- 13^th- a successful season where Watford are more consistent throughout the season.

Player of the season- Roberto Pereyra- The Argentinian midfielder is like a new signing for The Hornets after missing large parts of last season with injury. His flare is going to bolster The Hornets midfield and will most certainly create chances for the attacking line.  

Stay connected with my views throughout the season as I will be posting a report of each game this season. That will start Sunday following the Liverpool game.

Football is returning to WD18 and I have never been so optimistic.