Five thoughts from yesterday's game.
Following yesterday’s draw with West Brom, here are five of my thoughts, after attending yesterday’s game.
1 – Encouraging Signs
Yesterday’s performance was certainly encouraging and it showed that Watford aren’t out of place in the Premier League. They dominated proceedings for large parts and played some fantastic football. If the Hornets had managed to get the three points yesterday, I don’t think Tony Pulis or West Brom fans would be complaining, as the Baggies were poor and it looked that they had come to Vicarage Road to play for a draw. New signings Etienne Capoue, Valon Behrami, Allan Nyom and Sebastian Prodl all looked impressive and already look at home in the Watford side.
The Hornets defence was rock-solid all game. Rickie Lambert and Saido Berahino barely had a kick and the Baggies record signing Salomon Rondon, didn’t have a great effect either when he entered the frame and that is a testament to the Watford defence. Prodl and Cathcart have already built up a good partnership and the latter has made the transition from the Championship to the Premier League look seemless.
Etienne Capoue and Valon Behrami never stopped working yesterday and battled well in the centre of midfield. Capoue bossed the centre of the park and played some superb balls which released Layun, Jurado or Deeney. The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder’s performance yesterday is one certainly to get excited about and he already looks ten times better than our previous record-signing, Nathan Ellington. Mind you, that isn’t exactly hard!
Jurado had his moments and looked bright in the first half and Ighalo and Deeney rekindled their prolific partnership, linking up well especially in the first half.
On the whole, it was an encouraging performance from Watford yesterday and they certainly didn’t look out of place.
2 – Prodl could be Hornets best signing.
Whilst Capoue, Nyom and Behrami impressed for Watford yesterday, it was the former Werder Bremen defender Sebastian Prodl, who really caught my eye. He was a rock at the back and it is no coincidence that the Hornets back line looks a lot stronger with the Austrian in it. For a tall guy, Prodl is comfortable on the ball and the Austrian has already built up a good understanding with Craig Cathcart, who were both rock solid at the back for the Hornets yesterday. The former Werder Bremen man made a crucial tackle in the first half to prevent West Brom from breaking through the Hornets defence and Baggies strikers Rickie Lambert and Saido Berahino barely had a kick all game. Prodl has seamlessly fitted into the Hornets side and he could prove to be our best piece of transfer business come the end of the season.
3 – Crosses/Final ball needs to improve.
There wasn’t a great deal wrong with Watford’s performance yesterday, but the one thing that the Hornets’ do need to work on is their crosses and final ball. The Golden Boy’s got into some good positions during yesterday’s game only for the final ball or cross to be poor, meaning that all their good work had been wasted. Jurado was the main culprit, with his corners failing to beat the first man and his crosses didn’t improve either. If the quality of the cross or final ball had been better yesterday, the Hornets may have been able to carve out that golden chance which was so difficult to find yesterday.
4 – More support needed for Deeney.
Captain Troy Deeney cut a frustrated figure up front yesterday. In the second half, Deeney was isolated for large parts, as West Brom put ten men behind the ball and frustrated the Hornets. As the game went on and the Hornets ran out of ideas, the Golden Boy’s lumped the ball up the pitch to Deeney, who battled hard to win some headers, but he had no team-mates for his flick on’s to go to, meaning that West Brom could easily tidy up and build their attack again. In the first half, the Hornets dominated and worked more to Deeney’s strengths and the Watford captain rekindled his strong partnership with Odion Ighalo, as they linked up well on a number of occasions. But in the second half, Deeney became more and more isolated as Watford became desperate and West Brom continued to frustrate. In my view, the Hornets need to find a way of playing to Deeney’s strengths and give the striker more support up top.
5 – Next week’s game should be more open.
Next week’s home game against Southampton should certainly be more open and attacking. Both the Hornets’ and the Saints’ like to play free flowing and attacking football and it should mean that next weekends match should be more open. West Brom came to frustrate yesterday, with the Baggies sticking ten men behind the ball and defending resolutely. This made West Brom difficult to break down and meant that chances were few and far between. They came for a point and that’s exactly what they got, in what was a typical performance from a Tony Pulis side.