SATURDAY NIGHT’S FIGHTING... UNITED ALRIGHT FOR IN THE CUP Munoz: I’ll use animal magic
Blissett and his Watford team-mates were inspired by Sir Elton when they stunned the Reds in 1978. They are hoping to spring another shock at Old Trafford tomorrow evening
IT was the night Luther Blissett announced himself as a future England striker after warming up for a giantkilling in a field by the M56.
Superstar chairman Sir Elton John embraced the sense of occasion by flying up to Old Trafford in a private jet – with the wife and daughters of Watford messiah Graham Taylor as his co-passengers.
And as Blissett’s pair of soaring headers gave one of Europe’s giants their biggest cup shock, Manchester United felt the Hornets sting for their supper. He came, he soared, he conquered.
On Taylor’s rise from the Fourth Division to Europe with Watford, Blissett’s air raid was probably the moment when a nation realised his magic carpet was Aladdin’s Persian rug, not just a budget shagpile.
The Golden Boys had only just been promoted to the
Third Division when Blissett came calling in the League Cup third round in October 1978.
Tomorrow evening, Championship promotion hopefuls Watford return to Old Trafford in the FA Cup third round, with United anxious to avoid the ignominy of elimination from b oth dome stic cup competitions within four days.
And 42 years on, the Hornets’ favourite son – who scored a record 186 goals for the club - still counts the night he stormed a famous football citadel as the most seismic of his career.
“It definitely changed my life as a player – United were the team I supported as a boy because George Best was my boyhood hero,” said Blissett, 62.
“But football’s a team game, and it also announced to the world that Watford meant business as a club. We had a dynamic manager and Elton, one of the world’s most famous showbiz acts, lighting the path out of the lower divisions and it was a magical time.
“When you have a superstar chairman who goes on stage for 10 nights in a row, and every gig has to be 10 out 10 perfection, you follow his lead.
“Hitting the right note three or four times out of 10 was no good to him on tour, and it was no good to us as a team.”
Taylor arrived at Vicarage Road in the summer of 1977, assessing his squad in one-toone meetings with each player.
When it was a raw 19-yearold striker’s turn, Taylor stared at a sheet of paper, repeating Blissett’s name over and over like an actor rehearsing lines: “Luther Blissett... Luuu- ther Blissett... with a name like that, son, you’re going to have to be a star, aren’t you?” Within 15 months, Blissett had risen to the challenge by felling a football giant in a stunning 2-1 win.
Watford’s final preparations for a major shock were so lowkey motorists speeding past did not even know who they were.
Blissett said: “We travelled up the night before, and instead of milling around in the hotel all day, the boss organised a light training session after lunch.
“It was just a warm-up, a few set-piece drills, nothing out of the ordinary, a gentle workout in a playing field next to the M56. But what mattered ed was the way we played in the e game.
“In those days, there e was no social media and the best way to project t yourself as a footballer r was through your efforts ts condensed into 90 minutes tes every week.
“In the Instagram age, e, too much talking is done e away from the pitch and d people forget it’s performances - on matchdays ys where you are judged.”
NEW Watford manager Xisco Munoz has warned Manchester United his players will “fight like animals” in tomorrow’s FA Cup clash at Old Trafford.
But the Spaniard has promised Watford fans that since his arrival on December 20, he has been working with his players on something much more sophisticated than just that.
And with promotion back to the Championship very much the priority, he sees a test against the team currently joint top of the Premier League as an opportunity to grow up fast.
“The most important thing is we go there, fight like animals and enjoy the situation,” said Munoz (below). “We must work and try very hard because the most important thing is that our fans enjoy watching our team.
“So no, my way is not about fighting like animals. No, that is just the first thing. After that, we need good tactics tactic and different tactic tactics. But the first thing is w we have a good attit attitude to take on board b these tactics.
“W “We need th that, but af afterwards we need the good things in terms of enjoying the football.”
Blissett is backing Watford to follow his lead, and beat United in their own backyard