Watford rallied to heap additional misery on the weighed down shoulders of Jose Mourinho as Manchester United suffered their 3rd consecutive defeat in about a week. After getting their momentum halted against Manchester City last week, they made their way to face Feyenoord and gain some match practice but were administered a crushing blow in the form of a 1-0 loss. Fast forward to today, the shocking turnaround in fortunes continued for the self-anointed Special One. We take a brief look at the 3 things we learnt from Watford’s thoroughly deserved 3-1 win over Manchester United.
JOSE MOURINHO HAS TO TAKE A CALL ON WAYNE ROONEY
Rooney is one of the best players in the history of Manchester United. He is their current captain and is on the verge of becoming their highest ever goal scorer. But all said and done Rooney isn’t worth his place in the United squad as of now. While this might be a blunt assessment, it is a harsh truth and the player and the management have to take a call. Spending all that money on Pogba and basically booking the striker position after recruiting Ibrahimovic, it is increasingly evident Rooney has to be dropped to accommodate the two new stars. While it does not have to be a permanent measure but any Manager worth his salt will not keep this uninspiring run going with a possible solution in sight and the day is not far when Manchester United will stride out without their captain leading them.
MANCHESTER UNITED HAVE BIG PROBLEMS AT THE BACK
The Red Devils started off in an impressive manner with the team, especially the backline looking confident and assured. Eric Bailly was declared a super hit and Daley Blind was suddenly a Jose favourite. But in the space of 3 matches, they have been torn apart 6 times and look all over the place.
Blind was a spectator for much of the derby while Smalling’s return has failed to stabilise the fast crumbling defence. Bailly will take time and adapt and the naïve pundits should not be covering him in glory as of yet while the central defensive midfield needs to be taken care of as well with Pogba and Fellaini unable to give them any sort of cover whatsoever.
WATFORD LOOKING GOOD FOR TOP-HALF?
The Hornets are currently sat in the 8th place with 7 points after 5 fixtures. They have already faced Southampton, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United and discounting the horrendous first half against the Gunners, they have given a very competitive account of themselves. With the momentum they have generated in their last two matches, a favourable run of fixtures till the beginning of November means they have a golden opportunity to settle in the Top half and then take it from there. Walter Mazzarri seems to be slowly heading towards the balance in attack and defence on a consistent basis the team so desperately strive for.
