Davis - 6: What can you do when the defence in front of you does not pick up the second ball and lets the ball bounce in dangerous areas? Yes, he could command his six yard better, but he is the least of the problems in defence. Still managed to get two top drawer saves in to spare further embarrassement.
James - 4: Looked assured on the ball and put in some dangerous passes going forward, but was all at sea in his own box through lack of positioning and anticipation. He was not entirely to blame, but all three goals were conceded where the right back should be. Still a decent prospect, he looks much better suited to right midfield in a 4-4-2.
Lancashire - 5: Promising performance from the youngster who won numerous challenges on the ground and in the air, but failed to form a convincing partnership with Paul Wotten. Lucky to get the ball on an x-rated challenge that could have earned him another red.
Wotton - 3: Despite being the only outfield player over 22, he failed to command the defence around him and looked slow to pick up the second balls that Watford thrived on. Guilty of letting the ball bounce too often as the simplest of balls into the box caused havoc. The missed penalty summed his day up.
Mills - 5: Another promising performance from the youngster who belied his lack of size with some aggressive challenges. Dealt well with the expected diagonal balls in his direction, but again lack of experience let him down inside his own box.
Cork - 5: Looks a class act on the ball and formed a decent partnership with Surman as Saints had the run of the middle of the pitch. Outmuscled at times by the Watford midfield, he started to run out of ideas as the scoreline mounted up against us. Less convincing when moved to right back and was lucky not to get punished for some poor defending one-on-one.
Surman - 7: Showed some lovely touches on the ball as he showed off his range of silky passing skills, putting McGoldrick through twice, once for the penalty, once for the missed one-on-one. Could do little about the chaos behind and in front of him.
Smith - 5: A curate's egg of a performance, excellent in parts, but rotten in the main. Spent a nervous first half looking like the player that couldn't get into a League One team and then suddenly turned into Robinho for ten minutes in the second half, bursting through the Watford defence at pace, showing off a full range of tricks. A bizarre switch to the right hand side ended his cameo, but there were some encouraging signs, if he can build confidence and fitness.
McGoldrick - 3: Two truly awful misses from the seemingly untouchable striker summed up his day. An over confident penalty, easily saved, and then a wasteful finish when clean through missing the goal when he had done the hard part of chipping the ball over the keeper. Guilty of going missing when the game is not going well for him. It wasn't.
Lallana - 6: The rising star of the Saints side had clearly been identified by Watford as Saints' main threat. He was the subject of some aggressive challenges and some very close attention by Eustace which limited his impact on the game. Lack of ball pushed him deeper where his wonderful balance on the ball was wasted. Still managed to show some sublime pieces of skill almost worth the price of admission, but even he's not that good...
Robertson - 5: A hard working performance from the poor man's James Beattie. Had no real chances in front of goal, but was always a willing outlet and showed some good skill and strength in tight spaces. Needs to learn from Stern John how to get on the end of chances. Better yet, let's get Stern on the pitch.
Substitutes
Thompson - 4: A bizarre substition to bring on a winger when Saints' problems were up front and at the back, he looked as confused as the crowd were, starting off at right back until someone pointed out that Jack Cork was supposed to be playing there. Made little impact on the game and does not look ready for the first team yet.
Pekhart - 4: Added height to a team lacking in it, but did very little else, forming an awkward partnership with Robertson with both players uncertain as to who was playing where and with whom.
Manager
Poortvliet - 3: A poor day at the office for the Dutchman who had failed to prepare his team for the very predictable Watford onslaught from set pieces, leaving out his most experience defender, Chris Perry, with inevitable results. Failed to change things around either in terms of formation or personnel until it was much too late.