Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Watford may have managed to keep hold of Marco Silva after Everton’s flirting with the Portuguese manager last month but something seems to be now out of kilter at Vicarage Road as their early form has all but escaped them as of late.
It is just one point from a possible 18 on offer, that solitary addition to their points tally coming in the way of a 1-1 home draw with Tottenham at the start of the month. That has been the only chink of light though in what has been a bleak run of results.
They have the worst current form out of all of the teams in the Premier League (last six matches) as they find themselves 10th in the table while now four points behind Everton, who have since leapfrogged them after opting for Sam Allardyce instead.
The worry now for Watford fans is that they have seen this all before, the last two Premier League campaigns have seen them start brightly only to then sink like a stone in the second half of the campaign, which has then gone on to cost the man in charge his job.
Whether lightning strikes thrice remains to be seen, a slump down the table is possible but you do have to wonder if the Watford hierarchy are willing to show Marco Silva the exit door at the end of the campaign should they just once again keep their heads above water.
You could argue that the manager’s stock is too high just to get rid of him in five months time but then again the lower Watford are in the table then the value of Silva will only depreciate. Food for thought for the Hertfordshire outfit who are in desperate need of a win.
Last Saturday saw them travel to Brighton and they were beaten by Chris Hughton’s men who previously to the weekend where in dire need of a win of their own. It may only have been a defeat by a single goal but Brighton were well in control throughout.
And the Hornets will face another test this afternoon when they play host to Leicester side who have not only gone through a resurgence after the arrival of Claude Puel as manager but they will be full of confidence having manage to hold Manchester United to a draw on Saturday.
Harry Maguire’s late goal certainly seemed unlikely when Daniel Amartey was shown a red card late on for two bookable offences, especially as United then laid siege on Kasper Schmeichel’s goal as they looked to put the game out of reach once and for all.
However Jose Mourinho’s side gave us the perfect example of being punished for not taking your chances as Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford missed guilt edged opportunities to wrap up all three points for the team that currently finds themselves second in the table.
But with every missed chance that United had it almost added to the belief that Leicester could well get something out of the game and although there was an element of fortune after Chris Smalling become a lame duck due to suffering an injury it mattered little to Foxes defender Harry Maguire who stabbed home in injury time.
That point means that Leicester find themselves 8th in the table as the decision to appoint Claude Puel seems a shrewd one, it was 8th where he took Southampton to last season and still ended up losing his job at the end of the campaign.
However you get the feeling that 8th will be more than enough after the start that the club had this season under Craig Shakespeare, not only that but cracking the top seven and disposing Burnley of their status is something that is still well on the agenda.
To do so they are going to have to pick up maximum points against a Watford team that cannot buy a win at the moment and I think it may well be an unlucky number seven for them this afternoon. Leciester to continue their recent form with an away win.
