Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
In a week where former Watford manager Graham Taylor passed away after a suspected heart attack, the club he led to the 1984 F.A. Cup Final will want to pay their respects in the best possible way and that will be with a win at home to Middlesbrough.
Taylor who also led the club to a remarkable 2nd place finish in the English First Division back in the 1982-1983 season will be sadly missed by all connected to Watford and Football has undoubtedly lost one of it’s gentlemen this week.
Focusing on matters on the pitch Today though and the pressure is reportedly on current Watford boss Walter Mazzari to deliver a win with newspapers reporting that should results continue to go against him then he could well be shown the Vicarage Road exit door.
They are 5 without a win in the Premier League with 4 of them in the form of defeats. They have suffered back to back losses with Tottenham running riot on their way to a 4-1 while The Hornets offered very little resistance as they lost to Stoke 2-0 10 days ago.
This week has seen Watford being active in the transfer market as they have signed Tom Cleverley on loan for the rest of the season. Watford have been with some injuries in that area of the pitch and the arrival of the England international will no doubt inject some life into a side which has lost it’s spark as of late.
Whether the arrival of just Cleverley is enough to halt this slide a slide that looks all too familiar to last season post Christmas slump remains to be seen but they will look to win Today to keep a comfortable buffer between them and the drop zone.
But their opponents Today Middlesbrough will be looking to do the same as a win for them would see them not leapfrog Watford but they could even go as high as 13th come the end of the Afternoon should results manage to go their way.
And they travel to Hertfordshire with a new striker in tow after capturing Rudy Gestede from Championship side Aston Villa. Attack has certainly been a problem for Aitor Karanka with Middlesbrough being the joint lowest goal scorers in the league.
A situation that will surely have to be rectified if they are to stay out of the bottom three this season. The signing of Gestede is a step in the right direction but they could perhaps do with another forward especially now that David Nugent has left the club to join Derby County.
Another player who could be making his way to The Riverside Stadium is that of Bojan, Karanka has declared an interest in acquiring the services of the former Barcelona and Ajax player but his and Stoke’s valuation of the player seem to be someway off.
That is a transfer saga that could run for a few more days but that is something that will be resolved one way or another further down the line, Today the sole focus is whether they can get an all important win on the road and move up the table.
Watford are in need of a win and ‘Boro are short of goals. The script was perhaps written for Gestede to get off to a flying start but I think that script will have been re-written after the passing of Graham Taylor therefore I’ll let sentiment get the better of me and go with a Watford home win.
