December 11, 1982: Liverpool 3, Watford 1

When they first contacted me, I pointed out that Watford were being heavily criticised for their style, only to be told: "Not in the midlands or the north they are not. Everybody up here is full of admiration for what they have done so far."

We never did win on Merseyside in the old Division I and it is ironic that the Hornets ended that record in a season which proved particularly hapless in terms of playing in the top flight, whereas a better Watford side, or sides, never gained more than an FA Cup draw during those years.

Funny old game.

From The Watford Observer, Friday, December 17, 1982

LIVERPOOL: Grobbelaar; Neal, Kennedy, Thompson, Whelan, Hansen, Dalglish, Lee, Rush, Johnston, Souness. Sub: Fairclough for Thompson after 67 min.

WATFORD: Sherwood; Rice, Sims, Bolton, Rostron, Taylor, Jackett, Callaghan, Blissett, Jenkins, Barnes. Sub: Jobson did not play.

A REACTION save from Bruce Grobbelaar, a slightly off-balance shot by Luther Blissett, and the woodwork, prevented Watford from experiencing an even more thorough examination of both their skills, fortitude and style.

Trailing 3-0 at the interval to an out-of-this-world performance by Liverpool, Watford revived with spirit and purpose, pulled a goal back and appeared to have Liverpool in trouble. But for a couple of close calls, Watford may well have scored a second which, to put it mildly, would have been interesting.

As it was, the game was such a confliction of impressions that the case remained unproven as one attempts to assess both Watford's ability to stay with the leading bunch and Liverpool's suggested invincibility in their chase for the title.

Never before have Watford been so outclassed and relegated to such a secondary role as they were at Anfield on Saturday. They were murdered with scarcely a protest once the Reds gained the upper hand in the first half.

Even at Aston Villa, Watford demonstrated some ability at mounting counter attacks but the first half at Anfield was so one-sided it even seemed possible that Liverpool would match the Hornets' score against Sunderland and reel in an eightsome.

While approaching the second half with a sense of foreboding, Watford's fans were delighted to see an almost immediate transformation. Nigel Callaghan, and John Barnes suddenly began to play, after spending the first half as spectators and Les Taylor, who had functioned as no more than an obelisk in the path of Liverpool's first-half virtuosity, began to make his presence felt.

It was the Watford we knew, left with perhaps the greatest of soccer mountains to climb. Did Liverpool relax a mite after that first half of easy ascendancy? Or was it solely due to Watford's renowned fighting qualities that the visitors were almost as dominant after the break?

Had Watford pulled back another goal through any of the possibilities afforded them, it would have been an even more fascinating contest. Would Liverpool have been able to regain momentum or would they have conceded further goals, to a rampant Watford who would by then have reason to hope for a point?

As it is, we are left with a Watford side which, as their manager admitted, "were overawed" in the first half. Their second-half fight-back received much press praise and an acknowledgement from Bob Paisley.

"They could be 26 goals down but they are the sort of side who will still keep coming at you giving everything they have. And while people talk about the long ball, there is quite a bit of skill on the end of those long balls, collecting them and making them work" he said.

It should be a fascinating contest when the teams meet again if in similar circumstances at the end of the season.

As it is Watford, whose "coach would not make the turn to Anfield but carried on for Tranmere" just four years ago, emerged with considerable credit, having enjoyed a good half of supremacy against each of the most famous clubs in the land - all within eight days.

For Ian Bolton and Steve Sims at he heart of the Watford defence, it was something of an education. They had looked vulnerable at Reading on the Wednesday, but they were exposed to the sort of pace and skill which, as Taylor pointed out, gives world class players problems.

Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush, backed by Sammy Lee and Craig Johnston and the perception of Graeme Souness, put on a superb display of one- touch football, using width and always looking for the forward ball.

"Watford's man-for-man marking system falls down when you come up against really gifted forward players, because they just mark a player ad leave the rest to their own devices. When he's in that sort of form, Kenny will expose the system," said Paisley.

It is debatable whether Watford's system was custom made for the Liverpool approach, but it must be said that he Hornets rarely had a kick after an initial and useful flurry of attacks.

They were so outclassed that could just as easily have been a non-league team. The Division One table does not support such an apparent gap in status, however, and so the obvious conclusion is that, no matter what system Watford played or what sort of mood the home side were in, Watford were just overawed.

"That is quite a natural tendency. But they have come through it. They had a similar experience at Aston Villa and did not quite make it. The next time they get the test of a stadia will be at Manchester United," said Graham Taylor. "The important things for us was to ask ourselves what we wanted from the game after the disappointment of the first half.

Our thoughts were not just about the 90 minutes but from the longer term viewpoint. It's another stage in the learning process."

The scene was set with well over 36,000 fans greeting Liverpool and Steve Sherwood receiving generous applause from the Kop as he took up his place between the posts. And Watford quickly hit their rhythm, forcing a corner when a half-cleared free kick fell to Ian Bolton who drove in a slendid shot which Grobbelaar could only fumble round the post.

Then it started. Liverpool, moving swiftly and changing positions so quickly that Bolton was later to liken it to chasing shadows, began to probe the Watford defence. Lee and Dalglish combined before Souness shot wide; Dalglish fired a drive wide after capitalising on Rice's hesitation and Sherwood had to move out smartly to save to Johnston.

Dalglish fired over from a fair position before Watford returned to the attack but after Sims' flicked-on a corner, Blissett headed over the bar.

But Liverpool could not be denied and as they weaved and turned in a red symphony of classic, forward looking football, Watford began to look more and more confused. Even from the sidelines, it was hard to follow on occasions because the execution was so swift.

Then Neal headed on to Dalglish. The Scottish international turned inside Bolton and plied a superb ball through the centre, inside Sims and into the path of Rush. "It was", said Taylor, "possibly the best progressive and direct pass I have ever seen." Rush gathered the ball, homed in on goal and wrong-footed Sherwood with a low drive into the net.

Sherwood was soon in action again, saving from Johnston's firm header but in the 33rd minute, Rush sent the ball through to Dalglish who was by now mesmerising defenders. As Sims avoided contact with the eeling striker, Rostron slid in and upended the player. Neal stepped up and blasted the penalty to the right of Sherwood who has a poor record for facing spot kicks.

Souness and Dalglish, combined again to spread-eagle the Watford defence, but Neal lacked the vital touch to give Liverpool a 3-0 lead. At the other end, Watford found Jenkins with their long clearances but for the most part of the half he appeared to be the only forward playing and enjoying a degree of success over his marker.

Liverpool were breathtaking but two minutes from the interval they increased their lead still further with a goal they undoubtedly deserved but one which they were slightly fortunate to be given. Rostron, attempting to block a goal-bound effort, span and fell to the ground, following a move from the right. The Kop kept quite and they too seemed surprised when the referee pointed to the spot. Neal again blasted the ball to the right of Sherwood who made no attempt to dive.

A debatable decision by a referee who seemed reluctant to penalise the stars as effortlessly as he blew up for Watford's failings, but no one could fairly argue that the half-time scoreline was anything other than a fair reflection of Liverpool's superiority. Later the referee was to book Sims for a clumsy, irresponsible tackle while Whelan was to escape caution for a similar foul on Callaghan.

If Dalglish's was a great, progressive pass, Sims excelled after the break with a couple of driven clearances to Barnes which converted defence to attack in the space of a split second as Watford began to get the measure of their opponents.

Callaghan began to assert himself on the right, Taylor started to catch up with Jackett when it came to making interceptions and Barnes commenced to thrive on the service.

It was good because Watford were beginning to show that their rise to the top was no freak of football , but a valid reward for their endeavours to date.

Liverpool made some attacks but were unable to manage an on-target shot after the break. Watford on the other hand, had Jenkins heading just wide; Neal clearing near the line from Taylor's volley before the 54th minute when they reduced the arrears.

Callaghan went down the right, worked the chance to cross from Rice's throw and sent the ball over. Jenkins had a shot blocked, Barnes was unable to reach the rebound but Roston fired the ball into the goalmouth and despite the combined attentions of goalkeeper and Neal the ball arrived in the back of the net.

Was there realistic hope? Watford continued to push forward. Sims found Barnes magnificently and when the winger finally crossed, Blissett was there to head perhaps a shade too perfectly. Grobbelaar blocked and Blissett as he fell, could only poke a deflected shot wide of the net.

Barnes clipped the angle of bar and post; Kennedy almost put the ball in his own goal and there were several near misses as Liverpool looked strangely uncomfortable as they experienced perhaps the unusual feeling of being continually penned back.

Watford's fans, magnificent to the end, mirrored the general feelings with "We're proud of you" while the Kop, who had chanted to Elton John in the first half and cheered every time he signalled the score, remained very quiet in the second period.

The fans maintained the chant "Elton John's Taylor-made army" for 15 minutes, dominating the ground while their heroes attempted to find the goal which would have undoubtedly set the game alive.

It was not to be, but if the first half was men against boys, the second suggested that the boys had passed through adolescence. Or as one Watford fan put it, reflecting on the victories at Spurs and Arsenal as he stared at the emptying stadium: "And we'd have stuffed you as well. . . if you weren't so bloomin' good."