What do George Washington and Tom Cleverley have in common?!
George Washington, Carl von Clausewitz and Tom Cleverley – all subscribers to the maxim that attack is the best form of defence.
The Watford head coach did the opposite at Cardiff and the grim outcome in terms of performance has led him to agree with America’s first President Washington (“Offensive operations, often times, is the surest, if not the only (in some cases) means of defence”) and Prussian military theorist von Clausewitz (“never remain completely passive, but attack the enemy frontally”).
For the time being, Watford will be on the front foot.
“I don’t want to be disrespectful to the defenders we have in the building because it could quite easily turn on its head, that’s the way football works,” Cleverley explained.
“But at the minute, yeah, I want us to entertain as a team.
“On Tuesday with us sitting in a block, trying to absorb and counter-attack, we have the defenders to defend like that but it’s not what I think will bring us success.
“I want to do the best I can to let our attacking players flourish.
“I think that represents our best chance of success.”
Watford have a trio of players in Giorgi Chakvetadze, Kwadwo Baah and Rocco Vata who all pose a threat to any defence.
However, getting all three on the pitch at the same time has proved problematic.
“To fit them all in you have to play four at the back and to play four at the back you have to be a solid defensive unit with players who are valuing defending, along with defensive-minded full-backs,” Cleverley pointed out.
“And that’s why I’ve taken the decision I have because I don’t think we have that in the building right now.
“That’s why I have always felt a back three gives us more balance and stability.
“Recruiting people like James Abankwah and with Kevin Keben returning we have more pace and the option to play a defensive-minded full-back.
“That helps us possibly go to a back four and find a way of getting all three in the team at the same time.”
Does it mean that, for the time being, the head coach will have to rotate because three into doesn’t go?
“I’m not obsessed with rotation. Your hand is forced at times, when games come so thick and fast, and with form to consider,” he said.
“There are a lot of things to balancing the team.
“If you play Giorgi as an attacking midfielder in the No.8 role of a midfield three, Giorgi’s defensive qualities are not the strongest side of his game.
“So if you do that then you lose something else.
“It is all a balancing act, and when we’re in a dip of form like we are then it looks like I’ve not got the balance of the team right.
“So I have to navigate us through this period but I don’t want to compromise what we are as a team and that’s the most important thing for me.”
