Posting this before the Spurs game so I am positive and confident still and it gives a few more days for cheesy comments. In only the 8th league game in the new era of Watford FC we face Aston Villa in a league game for the second time, just three weeks since a confident and comfortable 3-0 win at The Vic. So, what’s changed in those three weeks, well, on the face of it, we have got better and they haven’t. That said they did only let 6 in against Man City last time out which we all know isn’t too bad. Aston Villa Team News Spending £110m in the summer transfer window had Villa labelled as this years Fulham, despite a reasonable start to the season this currently doesn’t appear too wide of the mark. Mings has returned since our last game but both Heaton and Wesley have been ruled out long term joining McGinn who has been a miss for them. So far in January Villa have signed 58yr old Pepe Reina on loan to replace Heaton, useful in his day but still known to twitch when faced by one of these: With the passing of annoying watch boy maybe an opportunity for the travelling faithful to part ex their inflatable snakes for a good old fashioned beachball. Midfielder Danny Drinkwater has also joined on loan this month, having gone massively off the rails since being crowned a Premier League Champion with Leicester this is an opportunity for him sample the nightlife of Birmingham having exhausted the same in Chelsea and Burnley. Nothing to see here. Villa went down the tried and tested route of spanking £20m+ on a prolific striker from Belgium, although not exclusively failures, Wesley has followed many of his predecessors in being a bit of a disappointment, and now injured. Not signed and sealed at the time of writing but Villa are poised to prove they have learned nothing from this by signing Tanzanian International Samatta from Genk for c.£10m. If it happens he may or may not be available against us, otherwise they have no strikers, but also has disappointment written all over him. Star Man Jack Grealish. Now, don’t get me wrong, I understand why Villa fans love him, who doesn’t love a homegrown boy done good. However, what an annoying ****. I don’t care if he has good stats this season, get your hair cut, get shorts the right size for you, wear proper socks and put some shin pads on, maybe then you wouldn’t roll around like an idiot every time anyone gets near you. Crap in the last game against us and needs to spend more time playing football than complaining to officials. The triumvirate of Capoue, Chalobah and Doucoure will pocket him for the whole game because he is not as good them, or as good as he thinks he is. Watford Team News Welbeck, Hughes and Kiko all back in training but this may come too soon for them, Kabasele back from suspension. Game 2 of our 8 day quadrilogy but not too many options for Sir Nigel II to mix it up, maybe a little rotation or early substitutions if things are going well with Pedro and Pussetto both needing to be integrated. After the last couple of games it also appears we have a new signing in Nathaniel Chalobah, welcome back. What a midfield we have! Troy Deeney will no doubt be up for this again, Pearson seems to have found Troys shooting boots locked in his desk drawer and returned them to him. By anybody’s standards 5 in his last 3 against Villa is impressive, they hate him all the more for that. Prediction Aston Villa 0 – Watford 2 (Sarr 23, Deeney 86 (P)) Villans Unusual for me to show weakness but I don’t actually dislike Villa fans! I know, right. Most of those I have known have been self-deprecating with a gallows humour that our own fans often show, not met any massive club billy big b@lls but I’m sure they exist. More importantly they have a love and respect of The Great Man, nowhere near ours but they try. Having been at games where they joined in GT songs or applauded our efforts I have felt a fleeting kinship with them, at least until they go back to frothing at mouth over Deeney. Not exactly the GT derby but near the anniversary of his passing it would be emotional to see a unified tribute in the 72nd minute. COYH.
https://www.avfc.co.uk/News/2017/05/12/bree-on-song-and-cheese They are one up on us on the cheeses....
This could happen. Last night I watched the highlights of all our recent wins. The behaviour of the Villa players stood out as being disgraceful. Mainly Grealish, but at points all of them. I hope we have a ref that this time that doesn’t allow them to get away with such petulance.
Ok, we need to get our cheese situation officially recognised on the club website. Is there a player we can get to talk about cheese that sounds like a bit of cheese? journalism this hard hitting is sadly a thing of the past. “My dad got me into it not so long ago. He had some in the fridge. "I said ‘I’ve never tried it, what’s it like?’ I put some on a cracker and it was really nice.”
After our battling draw against Maureen's potatoes, this is still a big game for us. Villa got slapped by Citee last home game but we are not their sort of side. I think it will be a little less one sided than the previous meeting at the Vic and they will almost certainly come at us. We will have to hit them early or on the break late on. Deeney's penalty miss might actually spur him to play a blinder against his most hated of sides. Not an easy game, and going into it without Sarr is quite a blow. Preyera or Pussetto to come in I would of thought, probably the former. Looked good at muff. If we win, the draw today will almost certainly be a point gained. I just cannot see us losing this game. Aston Vanilla 0 Watford 2
Very important match (where have I heard that before?). But if we win this that puts daylight between us and the bottom three. We'd be four points clear, so it's very important. We just cannot afford a defeat here. Villa have improved since we beat them, although they were destroyed by City. This could go either way, but if we do the right things, show the right desire and do not make silly mistakes, we should come out on top.
I have a bad feeling about this game, but lets hope I am wrong as a victory would really start to make me feel that we are staying up.
Agreed. 6 more wins. With the draws we already have in the bag, it should be enough. 41 points. Even with 41 points it will be close, but should be enough...….hopefully. Where will these 6 points come from? Need to build in a bit of contingency in case we mess up one of bankers (if there is such a thing in the Premier League). But my 6 are: Norwich (h ), Newcastle (h ), Southampton (h ), Burnley (a ), Villa (a ), Brighton (a ). The extras, for contingency are Everton (h ), West Ham (a ), Palace (a ). The remaining games look a lot harder, but we shouldn't write any of them off really. The thing is, there are 9 games from the remaining 15 in which I consider we have a decent chance of winning.
I'm actually pretty nervous about this one, and while I try to look on the bright side (if there is one) after matches whatever the result, I tend to be pretty pessimistic about games when we are in a position where every point counts, whether avoiding relegation or fighting for promotion. Given the difference in quality between our sides, we should win this, but Villa could have a big passionate home crowd behind them and the side will be keen to make amends after losing to us in such humiliating fashion last month. Can anyone give any examples of a relegation-threatened team in the top flight taking six points off a rival after playing the last game away? Only one I can think of is Ipswich beating Derby home and then away in 2001/02, and I think Villa, bad though they are, are a better side than that Derby one.
I had recently started taking an interest in club football, becoming a Watford fan in early 2000, and being a late starter I followed closely the results of quite a few clubs up and down the pyramid, probably as a desire to improve my knowledge quickly and make up for all those lost years not being a football fan. Ipswich was a prime example of one of them, and I had a soft spot for them for a while and was really impressed with what George Burley did with them on a limited budget and the football they played (they really should have gone up instead of us in 1999) and for some time looked up to them as the kind of club we should emulate, before it all inexplicably went pear-shaped for them in 2001/02. And the way they imploded that season was pretty incredible and memorable (for me at least), going from 5th place to relegation in one year, I don't think I've seen such a swift decline for any top flight club. The Derby away win was during a run similar to what we are putting together now (and they started their season before that run in exactly the same way as we have done this season) but then Liverpool walloped them for six on their own patch and they never recovered.
Bloody hell you almost made me cry. PK was a player I really respected during my first few seasons as a ST holder proper. Maybe one of the best set piece takers we've had in a long time.
Despite and in spite of all the recent results, feels like this is the sort of fixture that could really bite us in the bottom. We've been down and out and we've battled to where we are now getting quality results against both big and small teams. After a great result against a good team and a high profile manager in front of the TV public, Big Nige needs to get the team fired up for this one as much as any of the other games recently because there's always the fear that games like this are a bit anti climactic and perhaps too easy. Need to make sure we approach this as a cup final as much as any of the previous games if not more so. Gouda.
There'd only be any danger of the team thinking that if they'd beaten Spurs convincingly. Even then I'm sure they'd realize that one mistake from us and Villa could make it very hard for us to come back.
Don’t feel massively confident about this one. I think the home advantage will be massive and they will be well up for it. It would be very Watford to lose after all that hard work.
We're a better side than them - better attackers, better midfielders, a reborn defence now it's being coached properly - there is only one result... away win.
