THE INDIE - WATFORD CAUGHT OUT BY GIGGS' INSIDE JOB
Watford's bright young manager, Adrian Boothroyd, has insisted his side are in the Premiership "to make an impact, not a little splash" but although Manchester United felt the full force of their uncompromisingly direct play, the new kids on the block were too loose at the back and not sharp enough in attack to halt their visitors' impressive start to the season.
Goals by Mikaël Silvestre and Ryan Giggs on either side of an equaliser by Damien Francis maintained United's 100 per cent record in a game they should have won more comfortably. Sitting on top of the Premiership for the first time in 32 months, they may appear to be missing neither the departed Ruud van Nistelrooy nor the suspended Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes, but must be well aware that there are much tougher challenges to come than those provided so far by Fulham, Charlton or Watford. Tottenham and Arsenal are next up after the international break as United attempt to continue their capital punishment.
Rio Ferdinand will probably miss those games as well as England's next two matches, at least, after apparently breaking his toe. He joins a long list of injured United defenders, though the back-four were solid enough yesterday with the embarrassing exception of the goal conceded to an unmarked Francis.
Giggs has been in vintage form thus far and was equally effective here in two different positions. Cristiano Ronaldo has shown more character than many would have credited him with in ignoring chauvinistic booing, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's return to full fitness has added to Sir Alex Ferguson's options, although he was quiet here.
Michael Carrick, also starting for the first time and substituted before the end, formed a new partnership in central midfield with Darren Fletcher that would have been tested more thoroughly were Watford not so inclined to bypass that area.
THE OBSERVER - GIGGS PROVES THAT UNITED HAVE LOST NONE OF THEIR BITE
There was a school of thought that the sale of Ruud van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid would leave United toothless. Evidently this has irked the squad the Dutchman left behind sufficiently for most of them to chip in with a response.
Mikael Silvestre and Ryan Giggs were the latest to earn a goal bonus, making it eight different scorers in eight days. Without playing at their best, United did enough to leave Watford trumped. The last team to beat the newly promoted side at Vicarage Road were Millwall, which crystallizes how far Watford have journeyed in recent months. The Hertfordshire men go into the international break with considerable food for thought.
Midway through the first half there was abundant room for Carrick and Giggs to spread the ball around, for Cristiano Ronaldo to jink. United might have snaffled a second via Saha's stooping header, but on this occasion Lee was able to smother at close range. Boothroyd acted fast to plug the holes with a substitution on the half hour. Inspired? Within a couple of minutes of Matthew Spring coming on to help get a hold on midfield, Watford conjured their first genuine chance and instantly levelled.
Not the best defending by United. Ashley Young skipped past Silvestre with ease and crossed for the unmarked Damien Francis to tap home his second goal of the season. Vicarage Road erupted. Ronaldo came close to scoring before half-time but lashed a daisy-cutter narrowly wide. The Hornets responded. Spring's header required a smart catch from Van der Sar.
United needed to perk up after the break, as the vision of Sir Alex Ferguson in his shirtsleeves, hands on hips in the dugout, emphasised. There was a signal of fresh intent when Ronaldo's dinked chip fell to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Norwegian, making his first start for two and- a-half years, was just off target. But Fergie had to watch as yet again slack marking let Watford in.
SUNDAY TIMES - GIGGS ON TARGET TO STING HORNETS
Three games played, three victories celebrated with a clench of the fist by Sir Alex Ferguson. In his 20th season with United, he is hungry as a lad to retrieve the prominence his club once enjoyed, and seemingly the extra wealth of Chelsea has only exacerbated that hunger in the old Scot.
Yesterday at Vicarage Road, United found newly promoted Watford a real handful and Ferguson was constantly on his feet cajoling, gesticulating, demanding effort to go with their class. They eked out the narrowest of wins, it should have been more, and from the way the team appeared on the pitch five minutes early for the second half the air in their dressing room had been hot.
After nine minutes Darius Henderson had even tried cheekily to curl the ball into the net from outside the penalty area, against a goalkeeper of Edwin van der Sar's experience.
And yet you sensed there were gears yet for United to go through. Cristiano Ronaldo was coming in off the right wing with devastating pace and dancing feet. Indeed, United's movement, slowly evolving, began to expose Watford at the back, particularly the lumbering Dan Shittu. One moment Louis Saha was centre-forward, the next he was withdrawn to the left wing and either Ryan Giggs or Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were exploiting the spaces.
After 12 minutes, almost at a stroll, the fluidity of United's passing, the mobility of their forwards, created the opening goal. Giggs prompted it, Saha, to his left, linked up smoothly and when he released the ball again to his left, there was Mikael Silvestre. The French full-back glided almost effortlessly, looked up to see Richard Lee advancing to the near post and stroked the ball inside the other post.
Shortly afterwards, Lee, the reserve goalkeeper standing in because Ben Foster is on loan from United and thus ineligible to play against them, made a stunning reaction save from Saha's cunning header.
Within minutes of that, Watford were level. The goal came from a wonderful piece of improvisation from Ashley Young. He, a product of local enterprise, nonchalantly approached Silvestre, outwitted the defender with a masterful sway of his hips, and drove the ball across the face of goal. Neither Rio Ferdinand nor Wes Brown, both in the England squad, got close to it — indeed Brown had twice made terrible, lazy hashes of attempted clearances. But this time they were punished for their complacency, Damien Francis striding in from the midfield to side-foot the ball across the line.
Just after half-time Watford spurned a chance to take the lead. Henderson, at the far post following a free kick, wastefully put the ball behind two of his colleagues.
For such lack of co-ordination Watford paid dearly. They had brought on Matthew Spring before half-time, and when he attempted a back pass, he failed to see Giggs lurking with intent. Composed and ready, Giggs accepted the gift.
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH - FERDINAND TOE INJURY CLOUDS VIEW FROM THE TOP
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will not normally countenance any talk about the Premiership title until the Christmas decorations are up. But perhaps emboldened by Chelsea's slip-up in midweek and his own team's impressive start, he has set the hare running early, happily hyping up their chances.
However, on this performance, their least impressive of the opening week, it is difficult to judge whether Ferguson's disarming smile is a sign that he really believes United are good enough to overhaul Chelsea or is, in football parlance, simply having a laugh. At times United were almost imperious against Premiership newcomers Watford, but they also showed old defensive frailties and for brief periods, when the Hornets buzzed frantically around their goal, looked positively panic stricken.
Equally, it is not easy to gauge whether Watford are headed straight back to the Championship or set for a season of improbable survival. They displayed all the energy and enthusiasm of the newly promoted but also the naivety that tends to go with it.
For much of the second half their manager, Adrian Boothroyd, took up residency in his technical area, clutching a sheaf of rolled up papers as if ready to make his players sit a written Premiership exam after the final whistle. It could not have been any harder than the practical they were put through here. Boothroyd said: "That was our worst performance so far, though that's encouraging in a sick kind of way because there is so much more to come. Now we've got to reflect on this and decide whether we want to be a force in this league or lie down." Ferguson, after two seasons of pointless pursuit of Chelsea, will be delighted to sit at the head of the table, six points ahead of them this morning, albeit having played a game more. And he will be pleased finally to have put £18 million signing Michael Carrick, who surrendered to tiredness in the 74th minute, on the starting grid, and to have the suspended Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes available after one more game. Only the news that Rio Ferdinand had a suspected broken toe after stubbing his foot near the end has clouded the immediate future for Ferguson.