A feeling of satisfaction with yourself or with a situation, so that you do not think any change is necessary.
Complacency, as defined by the dictionary – an easy trap for anyone to fall into.
And I must confess, I sat back in the press box last night and heard myself saying: “Yeah, this has been efficient, decent win.”
Yet for many months last season Watford were anything but efficient or decent at Vicarage Road, so I am as guilty as anyone else might be for allowing this spectacular start to the season to whip me off my feet like the tornado that envelopes Dorothy at the start of the Wizard of Oz.
Is it because it’s largely unexpected? Or impressively deserved? Or because it’s happening so soon after one of the worst runs of form at Vicarage Road left a perma-cloud hanging over WD18?
As Tom Cleverley rightly said, again, after the 2-0 win over Plymouth in the Carabao Cup, we must not take this winning feeling for granted – and within that ‘we’ he includes everybody, fans, players, his staff and everyone connected with the club.
It feels like we’re reaching the point where a run of five victories has gone beyond new-manager bounce and a bit of a fluke, and is progressing towards Watford being a solid, well-drilled, talented side with attacking intent and players who can – and do – change games.
Sunday’s trip to Sheffield United will test that on so many levels, not least because they are a newly-relegated side that has been very busy in the transfer window and Bramall Lane is always a testing, noisy place to go.
- Cleverley pleased to see smiling faces at Vicarage Road
- Watford 2 Plymouth 0 - as the action happened
They will also have seen Watford’s winning start, and if they look up above them in the league table they’ll find the Hornets perched in second, and only on goal difference.
So there is no sneaking under the radar on Sunday. No chance the Blades will have half an eye on the international break because they can afford to take Watford lightly.
They’ll be ready – and that’s before you consider Chris Wilder is a (and one of many) former Hornets head coach.
But, just for now and while not allowing complacency to creep in, let’s enjoy the fact that Watford are actually making us happy again.
It’s enjoyable watching them. The players, equally, seem to enjoy what they are doing. Gone are the regular 90-minute tortures as the Golden Boys move the ball from side to side, and backwards, inside their own half - at home...
The Hornets haven’t morphed into long-ball merchants and they still like to retain possession, but they are doing so for a reason. You can see the point. There is end product.
It’s tempting to say Plymouth weren’t very good, but that risks underplaying that Watford might, in fact, have not allowed them to do much.
How often, when the Hornets were in the Premier League, would we beat a ‘big club’ only for the pundits to tell us it was because the other club had played badly?
Quite a coincidence that: every time Watford beat a big club, they always contributed to their own downfall…
So, while this cup win wasn’t as cavalier and one-sided as against MK Dons, it was still achieved with a fair degree of control and panache.
Plymouth had 52% of the ball but only six attempts at goal – Watford turned their minority share of possession into 17 efforts, seven of which were on target.
That’s what I meant by efficiency, at both ends of the pitch. Watford gave very little away, and created plenty.
The latter was good news for Mileta Rajovic, who refuses to be written off despite the efforts of some sections of the support.
He looks a significantly-improved player this season. His ability to win, shield and hold the ball now matches his frame, he looks more mobile and he’s showing signs of linking play up and forcing gaps between defenders.
Yes, he’s still got that moment in him where he’ll control the ball on halfway and knock it out of play while attempting a basic pass to a teammate.
But he’ll point to the two goals he scored, and rightly so. The first was a very cute and skilful back-heeled flick that made Plymouth keeper Dan Grimshaw look a bit of a muppet, the second a display of strength and skill as he held off a defender to hook home a volley with his left foot.
As an aside, after Grimshaw had let the ball roll through his legs on the boundary for a four, he then pulled off a number of excellent saves which probably prevented his side from suffering a similar drubbing to the Dons.
While there is little doubt another No.9 option is required at Vicarage Road, if and when the Hornets get one it will also allow Cleverley and his staff more time to paint on the Rajovic canvas.
Both goals came from good work by Ryan Porteous, who last night was more like the player that shone when he arrived at the club.
What happened in the Euro 24 finals would have an effect on anyone, and while the Scotsman’s fate was of his own making, he has shown he is working his way back.
The lung-busting run he made for the opening goal was excellent, as was his presence of mind to play a low cross to the near post rather than just thump the ball across and hope for the best.
Numerous times against Plymouth he rekindled his ability to nick the ball in a tackle or even read a situation to intercept. A revitalised Porteous, especially if he can avoid the occasional moments of impetuousness, is a good thing.
The man of the match award went to James Morris, and it was pleasing to see a very accomplished performance recognised – even if Morris was totally oblivious to winning it until I spoke to him after the game!
He’s only played as a left-sided centre back three times, all of them in the last fortnight, but against Plymouth he looked like an old hand at it.
Indeed, he has progressed from just doing the job to throwing in a few feints, step-overs and drops of the shoulder – a sure sign of a growth in belief.
Watford have, down the years, had their fair share of players who get the crowd on their feet just by having the ball at theirs, and Kwadwo Baah is showing signs of being the next.
Oh how refreshing was it to see a yellow-shirted player at Vicarage Road get the ball in the final third, be faced with a defender and simply knock it past him and run?
Baah combines power and pace with a very clear love of beating defenders, and fans latch onto that sort of thing.
It was a nod in his direction from Wayne Rooney when he made a defensive switch at half-time to try and stem the tide of threat that Baah offered.
He’s still raw, there’s work to be done on his work out of possession, and that mildly aggressive streak makes him a good punt to be booked each game – but Baah is explosive entertainment.
If there was one obvious downside to the game it was seeing Imran Louza limp off early on, and then hear Cleverley say after the game that initial prognosis wasn’t good.
That the Moroccan is still here is in itself something of a surprise as he seemed set to leave this summer, but if replacing him had been considered previously it now seems it may have to come into focus, and quickly, given the window shuts on Friday.
Moussa Sissoko and Tom Dele-Bashiru have started the season in excellent form, but the likelihood of both being available for every game is low.
Kayembe can drop back there, but he’s clearly more effective further forward and moving him when he’s in such good form would be a shame.
Leo Ramirez-Espain has shown in his brief substitute cameos what he displayed for the Under-21s last season: composure, skill, strength and, most of all, maturity beyond his years. He is, after all, still eligible to play for the Under-18s…
He will get his chance, but far better it be out of reward than necessity, and so if Louza is to take up camp in the treatment room for a while, then another midfielder would appear to be required before the end of the week.
That was, though, the only negative on a night when victory was achieved with minimal fuss and almost felt inevitable.
To allow that feeling, though, would be to teeter on the brink of complacency. After five games, we cannot afford that.
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