A haunting defeat with all the hallmarks of the Ghost of Away Games Past
While Tom Cleverley is as far removed from Ebeneezer Scrooge as you can get, the last game before the festive season served the Watford boss his own version of A Christmas Carol.
And while the reaction from the Hornets faithful to the bleak Burnley gruel served up by the team was far, far stronger than a simple ‘Bah humbug’, this dark December day may well prove to be the pivot for the season.
Because at Turf Moor, Cleverley was visited by both the Ghost of Away Games Past, and the Ghost of Away Games Present.
It saw them lose their seventh game on the road and concede their 23rd goal on their travels in the process, figures higher than any other team in the top half of the Championship table, let alone those who consider themselves play-off contenders.
It was, as the Ghost of Away Games Past would have shown, a type of performance that has haunted the season ever since that August false dawn when Watford beat Millwall 3-2 and showed the qualities needed to be successful on opposition turf.
Sheffield United, Norwich, Preston, Swansea and then, in a true act of terror, the utter shambolic capitulation at Luton would all have been part of what the Ghost of Away Games Past would have sent tumbling through Cleverley’s mind.
Step forward the Ghost of Away Games Present, to present a spineless surrender at Burnley that was colder than the weather and darker than the slate roofs of the houses that stretched into the distance to those sitting up high in the press box.
And so now Cleverley must hope his players take heed of the Ghost of Away Games Yet To Come, if they do not want to be left staring at the tombstone for their 2024/25 season which would undoubtedly read ‘here lies the remains of a surprise bid for the play-offs which died because the challenge of winning when everything isn’t in your favour proved too much’.
After the 2-1 defeat, which might have made those unable to follow events at Turf Moor think it was a close call when really it was anything but, the Watford boss was asked by one local Northern journalist if this was the low point of the season.
There’s no reason to expect that writer to have known how pathetic the performance at Luton was – and talking to him afterwards he expressed surprise that Watford had managed to transcend several more rungs down their own personal barrel of atrocity than they had yesterday.
Nonetheless, scoring a goal, conceding just two and the opponents not being your arch enemies were the only saving graces.
It was a wretched display for which there were no excuses.
Burnley had no need to be anything more than functional in order to sweep Watford aside, and they doubtless had a few more gears within them.
The Hornets lacked desire. They were slower to the ball, showed minimal determination to win it back and carried out their duties in an utterly perfunctory manner.
The home side pressed with purpose and pace, leaving Watford trapped in their own half and cutting off the supply line to the likes of Giorgi Chakvetadze and Kwadwo Baah.
The only player that saw less of the ball than the Hornets forwards was Burnley keeper James Trafford.
The opening goal set the tone. Two passes down the left from home players who could have been pouring tea they had so much time and space, a cross into the middle and Jaidon Anthony left so unmarked he nearly fell over in surprise as he hooked a shot down into the ground over Dan Bachmann.
The keeper must know he should have done better. He has made some very good and important saves in recent games, but that was a goal teams who want to be contesting promotion places in May cannot concede.
Pierre Dwomoh appeared to switch off in the lead-up to the goal, eventually spotting Anthony in total isolation by which time it was too late.
However, Dwomoh was making only his third start in English football at the age of 20. Alongside him in midfield was the captain, a veteran of more than 500 senior games and brought in to be the leader on the pitch.
Yesterday, Moussa Sissoko had the football definition of a stinker. Only he knows if he’s ever played worse, but when considering that question he has to bear in mind that his role in this young Watford team is to be the figure-head, the conductor, the embodiment of Cleverley out on the pitch.
For most of the time at Turf Moor, Sissoko was hard to spot – a problem his teammates also encountered when they had the ball.
If you’re the engine room of the team, then winning two of 11 duals is like trying to operate the machine without oil.
Sissoko had the least touches of any outfield player on the pitch for the full 90 minutes, yet committed the most fouls.
Being a former teammate of Cleverley and a player the head coach wanted to bring back cannot and must not come into consideration when deciding what changes need to be made on Boxing Day.
Sissoko wasn’t alone in being poor though, let’s be clear on that. Nobody in yellow emerged with any great credit, particularly in a first-half that was barely a contest.
The impressive Hannibal should have made it 2-0, the hard-working Zian Flemming could have made it 2-0, yet somehow Burnley only had one goal to show for all their superiority at the break.
Cleverley had decided to go with a back four, and while the first 45 minutes showed that wasn’t a good move, such was the success of that formation against West Brom last weekend that only a classic ‘after-timer’ would have decried it before kick-off.
However, he had to switch to a back three during the break or else Burnley would almost certainly have eventually cut loose.
Rocco Vata was the casualty, which was a shame as he was perhaps one player who displayed some spark and energy – though at least by being withdrawn he wasn’t tarred with the ignominy of the entire 90 minutes.
The changes stemmed the flow of blood but nothing more, and the ease with which Burnley carved out their second was alarming.
Five passes in as many seconds, all in and around the corner of the Watford box and without a glove laid on any of the Burnley players involved.
Josh Brownhill’s finish was superb – a wonderful goal to watch, a painful one to concede, and an awkward one to explain from a defensive point of view.
No team has scored two at Turf Moor this season, so that stat combined with Watford barely entering the final third suggested it was game over.
Maybe Burnley thought so too, as while they didn’t drop their levels they seemed quite content with what they had and looked well capable of seeing out time after Bachmann had denied them a third with his legs when Anthony threatened again.
Suddenly, though, Watford became only the fourth visiting team to score in the Championship at Turf Moor this season.
Baah’s volley from a corner was a good piece of finishing, but while it reduced the arrears it didn’t lead to the ‘grandstand finish’ often seen in such situations.
Indeed, the game ended somewhat farcically with Bachmann sending the ball deep into the stands twice after his teammates presented him with back-passes that were ill-considered on a rain-soaked pitch with the wind swirling around.
It summed the afternoon up – numerous players making poor decisions and not covering themselves in any glory, trapped deep in their own half with Burnley comfortably keeping Watford at arm’s length.
Burnley are a very good side who will almost certainly make the play-offs at least, and very possibly go up automatically.
Watford are a side that can be very good, but can also be alarmingly average or even incredibly bad.
That they have saved most of the latter two for away games highlights where this season is very likely to be decided.
If they can’t sort their away form out, then they won’t finish in the top six. Simple as that.
On home form, Watford sit third in the table – on away form, they are 16th. All the teams above the Hornets in the Championship have picked up at least six more points on their travels.
An average of 2.6 points at home is promotion form. An average of 0.7 points per game away is going to anchor you.
Not only is the lack of performance and points on the road a problem in itself, it also places an increased burden on each game at Vicarage Road.
Three of the next four are at home: nine or even seven points and everything is tickety-boo. Much less, and the meagre return in away games will start to drag the Hornets down.
To be sitting just outside the play-off places at what is almost the halfway point of the season is surely better than could have been reasonably expected given the paucity of success in the last two seasons.
Notwithstanding that though, to have come this far in such a relatively short space of time under a new manager, it would be sad – not to mention avoidable – to see the season peter out.
It’s not unlike the past seasons: a year ago Watford were 10th in the table and five points outside the play-off places.
In 2022, they were fourth and three points clear of the team in seventh.
On both occasions the second half of the season saw a slide and Watford finished 15th and 11th respectively.
Both times that was on the back of less-than-adequate January transfer windows, and how the board approach next month could sit alongside away form as being season-defining.
Cleverley has made the proverbial silk purse out of a sow’s ear this season, but without reinforcements in key areas that he identifies – and those players must be fit and ready to play from the day they arrive – then he will face a mammoth task to keep the Hornets competitive against teams with stronger squads that invest further.
Yesterday’s game was Scrooge-like in what it gave to Watford fans.
There is still time, with January being pivotal, to at least take steps to avoid another second half of a season which will haunt the Hornets and their supporters.
