Richard Buxton: Manchester United play Santa to present Watford gifts

Manchester United are now football's very own answer to Robin Hood.

They steal points from the English Premier League's rich and give them to the poor.

Table Caption

WATFORD	MAN UNITED
2	0
(Ismaila Sarr 50, Troy Deeney 54-pen)

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side are loved by the bad as much as they are feared by the good.

In the spirit of Christmas, they also gifted something to those less fortunate than themselves - like a 2-0 defeat last night that handed Watford their first league victory at home this season.

The Red Devils had arrived at Vicarage Road around half an hour behind schedule.

On the pitch, too, they failed to show up in the latest and most damning nadir in their campaign.

A lack of urgency against a Hornets side initially willing to bide their time was rightfully punished after half-time, as Solskjaer's players fell away in four minutes.

Scrappy goals were once a hallmark of United's success, with Solskjaer scoring more than his fair share of them.

Those glory days under Sir Alex Ferguson increasingly feel like a lifetime away as the Red Devils are now guilty of conceding them with alarming regularity.

David de Gea, similarly, appeared to be the rightful heir to Old Trafford's goalkeeping throne; a fitting modern successor to Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar.

But his mishandling of Ismaila Sarr's scuffed shot at the start of the second half belonged far more to Massimo Taibi's short-lived spell in the No. 1 spot than such vaunted company.

TRACK RECORD OF ERRORS

The Spain international's track record of making errors leading to goals continues to rise.

He has now racked up six in the league since the beginning of last season. No goalkeeper has a worse record.

Watford's second came from another mistake, as a woefully misjudged Aaron Wan-Bissaka tackle gifted Watford a penalty, which Troy Deeney converted.

United's toothless attack, however, compounded de Gea's personal statistics as they failed to register a single shot on target in the first half.

Both Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford snatched at rare chances while Jesse Lingard's continued failure to contribute even a single league goal in over a year did not come as a great surprise.

Even Paul Pogba's first outing for United since Sept 30 no longer raises eyebrows.

The World Cup winner's second-half cameo was typical of where United currently find themselves.

Noise without substance is a recurring theme at the Theatre of Dreams and Pogba's lax attitude in the 84 days between appearances, epitomises the conflation over priorities.

Illness laid low the midfielder for the League Cup quarter-final with Colchester United in midweek, but seemingly not before he had appeared footloose and fancy-free at his brother's wedding.

United are now a club devoid of collective responsibility, with self-interest coming to the fore.

At least Solskjaer can still spend Christmas Day basking in Ferguson's shadow.

Three decades apart, United's master and apprentice steered the club to their lowest league positions.

Fans openly revolted against Ferguson before his reign was pulled back from the abyss.

But not even a festive miracle would afford the Norwegian his own Mark Robins moment.