Watford must be wary of formation use

Back to the big time, back with a bang. A small bang which grabbed a point, however a bang it was. Anyway, that’s enough banging; for now.

Troy Deeney as lone striker raised the majority of eyebrows and rightly so, it’s a sight we have rarely seen except for when we have been down to 10 men on a number of occasions last season. I heard fans cry it ‘would never work’, ‘we are doomed’ etc. etc.

This time it worked, we pressed high and caused problems, and Everton’s slow build up play was a nice factor for us. The question is, where does this leave us for future matches?

Factors to consider include captain Troy, the ever impressive goal-getter Ighalo, Mexican Layun, who feels like a new signing, and lightning-quick striker Vydra, who has already proven he can be amongst the goals in the Premier League.

For me this causes a headache, simply because we are not sure yet what our best side is, or what formations will work. I am in full pessimistic belief that very soon we will get it drastically wrong and the media/fans will come howling down at winds of 100 mph.

You cannot influx 11 new players, or whatever it is, new formations and a new league and manager without some mistakes. As long as we bear that in mind and remind ourselves of the bigger picture, we should quickly restore sanity.

What I propose for the opening 10 games is the lone striker option for all away matches. It will allow us to grasp a footing in every game and ensures as such that no matches become unreachable of a result by half-time – the classic soak up pressure until we burst forward in true Watford counter-attacking style.

At home I would operate a 4-3-3 which presses extremely high with a focus on a shipshape defensive line and three workhorse strikers. For me, Layun will get found out in midfield, so I would save even putting him in the starting XI.

I would focus on Vydra, Troy and Ighalo as the pressing three with the likes of Fernando and Berghuis as the good fun last 20 minute men. What would you do?

The underdog tag suits Watford, it always has. This is partly why I opt for the attacking stance in home matches. Let’s press and harass the best sides in the world and cause them to make mistakes. We have the squad depth to carry out such an aggressive ‘never say die’ style.

Brad’s predictions: Watford 1-1 West Brom