Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
GRAHAM TAYLOR GAVE THE TEAM TALK IN A FIELD BY THE M56.. THEN WE WENT AND DUMPED UNITED OUT THE CUP
SAYS LUTHER BLISSETT
BENEATH a set of goalposts, in a field by the M56, Graham Taylor delivered the pep talk which has haunted Manchester United for 40 years.
And when Watford put their 100 per cent record to the test against United at Vicarage Road on Saturday, Luther Blissett hopes his mentor’s magic will be in the air again.
Blissett was a raw 20-year-old when his pair of soaring headers dumped United out of the League Cup at Old Trafford in October 1978.
Taylor’s rocket men, then in the Third Division, were gaining altitude on their climb towards finishing runners-up in the league behind Liverpool.
The former England manager died last year, aged 72, but his influence lives on in Hornets heartlands – and he would have relished bookies’ odds which make Watford underdogs to deepen Jose Mourinho’s earlyseason crisis this weekend.
Blissett – now 60 and Watford’s matchday ambassador – had already come off the bench to score twice and shock Newcastle in an earlier round when he stunned United.
He said: “It was probably the night we announced ourselves to the nation and, for Watford as a club, it was a momentous result.
“But there wasn’t a great deal different about the way we approached the game – and that was the beauty of Graham Taylor’s outlook.
“Before we rocked up at Old Trafford, we had a light training session on the morning of the game and he gave one of his greatest team talks – under a set of goalposts in a field by the M56.
“The boss told us not to fear Manchester United, not to be in awe of them, just as you would not shirk the challenge of older boys in the park when you were kids.
“He wasn’t interested in reputations. So when we were 1-0 down at half-time, instead of feeling content that we weren’t being embarrassed, he told us to ‘go out there and represent me properly’ by putting some crosses into the box.
“Happily, I got my head on the end of a couple – and my life was never the same.”
Blissett, who finished on the winning side five times against
United for Watford, agrees with the bookies who make the Red Devils favourites this time.
But he attributes part of the Hornets’ record-breaking start to head coach Javi Gracia pairing skipper Troy Deeney and £18million record signing
Andre Gray up front as twin strikers.
He said: “Despite what the league table might say, there’s no way you can make Watford favourites to beat United.
“But I hope supporters who are old enough to remember what happened 40 years ago believe it can happen again.
“Playing two up top has been a major part of the way Watford have started – Deeney and Gray will mix it with any back four.
“The partnership between them is taking root – and the results have been excellent.”