I’ll also say this - 3 at the back, with our options is a disaster. I’m not convinced but I’d go back to a back 4, Sierralta and Hause, with WTE as first back-up. He’s poor but his record in this league is okay. Kamara and whatever RB we have available alongside them. Cathcart and Kabasele should be singled out now as being a very large part of the problem of this team not being able to ever really move on. We have many more poor players we need to see the back of - and sooner rather than later - but I really think the above two are a huge symptom of what we have become on the pitch. They simply should not be considered for selection again.
Cathcart is in as he is good on the ball and can cover at right back. No idea about Kabasele tbh - remember he was captain in one game !! Presume we won’t see WTE or Pollock after their poor show v MK Dons .
Regarding Ivic discussion he has a 5-0, a 6-0 and a 3-1 victory under his belt in the league this season. And beat a decent Nice team 1-0.
And had a good record before he came .’ Trouble is the bloke had no warmth or connection to anyone as there were no fans at games and players didn’t like him . Sure Ivic is a very capable and astute coach .
Yeah, like I said, at the wrong place at the wrong time for both him and us. They play some enjoyable attacking football.
First 45 an absolute joke, our only shot came about due to a defensive muck up by them. Barely even remember any shots in the second half despite us being not quite as bad but still very bad. Won’t go into the ruled out goal coz if we were to discuss poor officiating we’d be here all week. There’s just a severe lack of cohesion between the defence and the midfield, then the midfield and the attack. Nobody apart from Pedro looking for space and he had a shocker tonight. We can’t play with a 2 in the middle, but I also feel like we can’t play with 2 in the back so god knows what formation we’d play. Even if we went 3-5-2 we don’t have the wingbacks to play it properly. Edwards has been utterly shafted by the board in this regard, as has been mentioned so often. It seems to me as if Sierralta lost all his body strength from when he had covid, looks utterly panicked whenever he has the ball and is being outmuscled every game. Bayo was anonymous apart from a few brain dead fouls, Ken had his worst game for a while, Kayembe I’ve been a fan of but he should’ve come off for Choudhury, it’s all been said time and time again about Cathcart, Kabasele and Gosling (although he at least put pressure on which I thought was Edwards mantra at Forest Green last season), rest I can’t be bothered to talk about. It’s all just so disheartening having had so much hope pre season to see some exciting football coming back, yet it feels like we may as well have kept Hodgson. We’ll win a few games and hopefully beat the scum but I can’t see us challenging for promotion unless we have a good January window. Which in fairness I’m not upset by, as sod the premiership until the big 6 get their super league wish.
Craig Cathcart is not good on the ball. I really don’t know where this myth comes from. He smacks it long to no one as much as the others. He’s also arguably by far the worst (alongside Kabasele) positionally. He can’t keep the defensive line regardless of it being a back 3 or 4. The amount of times he is a number of yards away from the striker he’s covering when the opposition attack is really quite something. He was good alongside Prodl for that season. He was then just about passable as a backup until the relegation Covid season. He’s been total and utter dross since. Genuinely believe we could put he and Kabasele up for free transfers and we’d still be stuck with them until the end of their deals.
Classic Pozzo tactic, surround dross with dross so one non playing dross looks better than the playing dross. Give it a few weeks, someone will suggest Troost Ekong come back in as he’s “not that bad” I reckon there’s at least 15-20 centre backs in League One who would do a better job for us than Cathcart & Kabasele.
Scott Duxbury 'losing is just part of football, it's a bit like winning really except the other team scores more goals and you don't get any points. Losing isn't something Watford fans should be at all concerned about. Rob Edwards is heavily involved in transfers, that's why we signed a slow RB to fit his system of playing with quick wing backs. We always said we'd back Rob and we have......we've backed him into a corner he can't escape from. This is a great learning experience for Rob, he's learning how to deal with a toxic board and a total $hit$h0w of a football club. We are already looking at bringing in a new manager and have narrowed it down to any fooker stupid enough to take the job: it's a small pool of managers and we're confident we'll make the right decision. Lessons learned'.
Just back - next time I make a spur of the moment decision to drive to Lancashire to see WFC on a Tuesday evening, I will give my head a wobble and think again! The predicted return time of 3 hours 30 minutes turned into 5 hours, thanks to the lane closures and road closures that seem to be a constant feature of our motorway system. Less said about the game the better, but that has to be JP's worst ever performance for us......
Jees, feeling sorry for you! I purchased an international match pass, lost a couple of hours shut eye and still feel well and truly fooked over. Let's hope your day today, is a better one.
Overall i thought Cathcart had been our best defender before last night's game. Does that mean he deserves dropping? In other games Cathcart been ok when Sierralta not. So it's swings and roundabouts really. Kabasele shouldn't start imo.
I rate him as a coach, although the fact that he's gone almost 2 years without a job since leaving us perhaps isn't the best reflection on him (I heard rumours he was linked with the Sheffield Wednesday job but wasn't eligible for a work permit)
Woke up grumpy. 1st half, aimless possession, hopeless long balls, terrible organisation. 2nd half, headless chicken mode, did have some pressure and attacks but once Blackburn regrouped they were able to ********* their way to stopping us with relative ease. And of course capitalised on us throwing 4 up front. Reminded me of the Norwich defeat last year.
I do not want to be promoted under any circumstances so I am happy with the losses and occasional wins to keep us afloat.
https://fanbanter.co.uk/elton-john-tells-watford-players-to-show-more-f-passion-in-epic-gig-speech/ Seems like a lifetime ago.... Maybe Gino is waiting to sell on. Based on last night the sell on value is dropping quicy
Didn't get a chance to watch (lucky me!) but doesn't sound good, and stats seem to tell the story. Poor result, fortunately not massively punished by teams around us, Sheff Utd aside. We desperately need a bit of consistency in the team, and a bit more luck with injuries. Seems like we've been missing 2 or more of Kamara, Sarr, JP, Louza, Hause, Davis in every game so far, which hasn't helped. Glad that Edwards acknowledges poor performances, but hopefully he realises soon that he won't get the style of football he wants, with the centre backs he has at his disposal.
I'm normally one of the more positive people on here, but there was practically nothing positive about that game. Injuries to Sarr and Ngakia, a continued alarming lack of cohesive midfield play and continued defensive concentration problems. The first two can be attributed to Edward's and coach staff management while the latter has been via the same culprits for years, so I'll that isn't on him. However, if we want the culture at the club to change then we need to sit through the rough periods of a coach's tenure here so I'm not Edwards out and won't be for a while yet, especially given the gaping holes the Pozzo's have left in the squad. Regardless off all this, I don't agree with lashing out at the players after the game. Booing is absolutely fine, especially if they walk down the tunnel without acknowledging the fans but if they come over and front up to a **** performance, then it at least makes it more palatable. Doesn't excuse it and the players need to know it isn't acceptable but the point's been made by then.
The players looked like beaten men the moment Blackburn scored, their shoulders were slumped as they walked back to restart the game and they were showing no enthusiasm to get stuck in and try to get back in the match. They were totally lack lustre and passionless throughout the whole game, WHY???
Yup. Completely devoid of leadership and the silent solitary shuffling back to the halfway line after Blackburn went 1-0 up told a massive story.
He said he'll take a break from coaching to one Serbian media outlet. He was offered other jobs like Partizan Belgrade, CSKA Moscow and a few others I can't remember, but he wanted to take a break.
Just watched the Kabasele disallowed goal back. There's been speculation a foul was spotted but it was 100% given as an offside: https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxHjza2Oho7BqbcklCyaN_D0CZeUVb42-H Anyway got the foggiest clue why? It appears Davis is the player the lino thinks is active but he's not in an offside position when the ball comes his way and it came off a Blackburn player anyway. It would have been an undeserved equaliser and only papered over the cracks, but a shocking decision nonetheless.
It was given for offside against Davis on the initial looping ball forward - the flag goes up as soon as he heads it. However it looks like the ball actually reaches Davis from a defender.
Yeah as I said, he's the one the lino things in an offside position... but he's not. The nearby 6yd line provides an excellent guide and there's at least one Blackburn player further back in the 6yd box (and possibly another one closer to the lino but the scramble of players obscures a clear view of him) as the ball loops up.
I don’t read much into that, his record prior to that would’ve easily secured him a job, we’re a basket case so his time with us wouldn’t have put anyone off and it’s not like he even had a bad record. Terrible managers often don’t stay out of work for very long, so I think the fact that he was out of a job for so long was probably down to him being selective over anything else.
Big fan of this. These players have had it so easy here, it's time they faced the music for these half-arsed performances.
