“Massive worry” - EFL pundit reveals major Watford FC concern | OneFootball

George Elek believes Watford's habit of conceding early goals is a real concern for Tom Cleverley.

EFL expert George Elek believes that Watford’s habit of conceding early goals is a real concern after their 4-1 hammering at Norwich City last time out started with a 3rd minute effort from Callum Doyle.

Tom Cleverley’s men had enjoyed a fine start to the campaign, winning their first three games, but they’ve now failed to win in three.

And, a common theme has been their tendency to concede early goals. Incredibly, the Hornets have gone 1-0 down inside the first five minutes in four league games on the bounce.

Whilst they managed to turn things around against Derby, the previous three games have proven tougher, with Watford only coming back to pick up a point in that period, which was at home to Coventry City.

George Elek discusses Watford’s early goal problem

Of course, this is something that Cleverley will look to rectify, but it’s an alarming trend, and pundit Elek told the Not The Top 20 podcast that their failure to get going from the off is a ‘massive worry’.

“How a team performs at 0-0 is an interesting indicator as to their strength, because that is your performance level before a goal, where the game changes.

“Watford have shown an impressive resilience at times to come back into games, but the fact they keep conceding so early is a massive worry about how they seem to be set up early on. Norwich continued to be the dominant force within the game after that.”

Watford need to start faster

The importance of the opening goal is well-known in football, so Watford are giving themselves a hill to climb by how they switch off.

You can be sure that Cleverley is analysing this, and he will be questioning himself. Is he sending them out with clear instructions? Are they switched on after the warm-up?

There are many other questions, and, of course, it could just be coincidence, but it is a growing concern, and it is something they need to stop moving forward.

It could also be that they aren’t adventurous enough from the kick-off, so Cleverley will be thinking about the changes that he could implement to try and solve this issue.

Watford can build on positive start

Whilst the past three games have been a concern, particularly the manner of the loss at Carrow Road, Watford have still had a good start to the season, picking up ten points from six games.

So, Cleverley will not lose sight of that, and the players have shown they do have real quality in the ranks, and there’s a nice mix of youth and experience.

Aside from Norwich, they have competed very well, so it’s not about panicking following one game, but they do need to stop conceding early goals.

Next up, the Hornets face a very tough test against Sunderland, who are currently second in the league, so it will be a good challenge for Watford, and a great opportunity for the players to bounce back in front of their own fans at Vicarage Road.