Vata injury left Watford light in attack
When the teams were announced at 2pm on Saturday, the Watford starting XI took many by surprise.
And an hour later quite a few were waiting to see exactly how the Hornets would line up, and who would play where.
“In attacking areas we’re really thin at the minute with Rocco unfortunately getting a seven to 10-day injury and Baah out for a while,” said Tom Cleverley.
“We had a team full of midfielders but I thought the performance was excellent.
“Sometimes you can take positives out of that as central midfielders are usually intelligent players that know when to press and when to stay solid.
“I thought structurally we looked good, but we maybe missed that bit of spark in the final third.”
Vata will remain a doubt for the trip to Sunderland on Sunday, with Cleverley saying: “Honestly it’ll be very touch and go.”
It means that transfer deadline day is shaping up to be a busy one, somewhat different to the close of the last two January transfer windows.
“I pretty much guarantee that two more players will be through the door by Monday evening and my work here after the game hasn’t finished today as I’ll be on my phone for most of the evening I think,” said the Watford boss.
“I’ll speak to Scott and Gian Luca because we’ve obviously only got one striker if, as we sit here, Bayo is suspended.
“It’s something we’ll have to speak about, and technically I’ll have to talk to the staff about alternative ways to get the best out of our team.
“The main thing is the character and never-say-die attitude from today is something we will need in the next three games.”
Against Norwich, there was the unusual sight of Moussa Sissoko attacking down the right flank.
“It’s no so unfamiliar for Moussa: I remember him bombing down the right for France and Newcastle, and I was up against him on the left-hand side a few times,” said Cleverley.
“It’s a position he knows well, though maybe not in the last four or five years.
“It wasn’t a right-wing role, it was more of an inside-right and I thought he played really well.”
At the heart of the midfield, Imran Louza was in top form again, covering a lot of ground display both quality and composure on the ball.
“Imran was excellent again,” Cleverley commented.
“He is one of the league’s top midfielders, if not the top.
“Certainly in the last 15 games unfortunately our results probably won’t mean he gets many plaudits.
“But his level of consistency recently has been very, very high, and he’s been a good character in the dressing room.”
