In previous years where we have trundled a long in mid table I often wondered if a relegation battle would be more preferable to safe mediocrity. While I would obviously trade our current position for such mediocrity it is indeed making it more interesting. Football can be boring and a good relegation battle is something new to me as a Watford fan. I've only seen 2 relegations before and neither involved a battle. But relegation battles are supposed to involve struggling teams. Where the manager is running out of ideas and the crowd are on his back. Where players are out of form and lacking confidence and play in front of silent crowds. What we have is the opposite and that is very unusual. This team has a manager who has become a hero in a very short period of time, players the fans like and sing for and general optimism on the terrace. What this more closely resembles is a promotion push. Indeed this is feeling like the second half of that wonderful 14/15 promotion season where we got some momentum and didn't lose it. It was great fun. As this will be if we stay up. If we stay up... Confidence is high but there will be bumps on the road and I just pray it isn't tomorrow night. Let's ride this wave longer until we have some daylight between us and the bottom 3. I will be doing my bit. The more tense the games get, the less attention I am able to pay. For this one I won't even check the score till after full time. I did this during the 14/15 run in and it worked. Prediction Villa 0-2 Watford Pereyra (36), Deeney (72, sent off 73); Grealish (sent off 73)
Are you suggesting some sort of punch up between Deeney and Grease ball? If so, all the big man has to do is ruffle his hair.
Never look for logic in Lawro prediction. That is something I have learnt over the years and now embrace. Every week there tends to be 2 examples where he will logically lay out the result and predict the opposite because it has to happen. It is so predictable that it now just makes me laugh.
Back on topic: Grealish sounds like one of those **** poncey cheeses that you see reduced to a quid in Waitrose.
I take offence to this. I criticise Mark Lawrenson for every football pundit related thing he has done. If you read enough of him (which I do not recommend) you will realise he spouts a lot of rubbish. I agree he is not anti-Watford, he just a bit of a tw*t. The only time I like him is on TV during World Cup of Euro tournaments. Then you see a man who appears to hate football and even if you had two of the best footballing nations in the world battling it out, he would dourly point out a few defensive errors.
Back up a second buddy. By the phrase "poncey cheeses" you appear to be suggesting there is not an inherent quality in all cheese that brings it above common offensive comments. To draw a parallel between Grealish and cheese ... I find that rather offensive to cheese. I hope you will apologise soon enough before the whole forum turns against you. I've enjoyed many of your posts in the past. But I have to draw under the line of you denigrating cheese.
If this was to happen, by my estimation if we beat Tranmere at least he wouldn’t miss any league games!
The cr.tin steals a living. Never was there a better advert for compulsory euthanasia at 60. Whoops ...
Let's face it, it's just a boring little pundit column-filler. It's possible he calculates that one or two idiosyncratic predictions will liven it up a bit and, I suppose, it has got you commenting. That, or he hasn't got a f******g clue.
I would take that if there was a logic like... Burnley have been playing well but not getting results, or Muff have lost the last 5 but their xg suggests they should do a lot better but he just pulls them out of the hat at random “Watford have lost their last 5 games 5-0, and are up against a resurgent Villa team unbeaten in 5. [5 paragraphs backing up everything he said]. But Watford really need to win this and their plucky English Manager Pearson deserves some luck, so I back them to win it”. although fair play his decade long Liverpool invincible team is finally coming to fruition, albeit nothing due to him, and after they’ve lost about 50 games since he last predicted they possible could.
For what feels like about the 6th time in 3 weeks this is a ‘must-win, relegation six-pointer’. Come on you ‘Orns, more of the same please.
Duly noted. Please don't put me on the ignore list. It would be Edam shame if you did over bad cheese banter.....
I agree. Lawro is a law unto himself. Recently he said something like ‘Watford are the form team and cannot possibly lose this one.’ His prediction was a 2-1 win to Bournemouth!! Nicholas is another one, but what do you expect from someone called Charlie. He’s predicted a 2-2 tonight though, but usually he says he will lose, no matter who we play and what our form is.
Proper weather for a proper 6 pointer tonight. Cold, frosty, Midlands away game under floodlights. Home crowd desperate for some kind of hope to cling to. Away fans in full party mode as we smash them. 3-0 Chabs Kabs Flabs (missed pen diving header rebound)
Merson is the worst. Never forget his: “If Watford score first, they will win. If Palace score first, they will win. I am going for 1-1”
You've obviously never tried desperately but in vain to find flavour in Vietnamese supermarket chedder. It's a fookin travesty and an insult to cheese everywhere. Some cheesologists argue that it isnt cheese at all, just a flavourless yellow lump of cheap fat. I guess this theory would b consistent with your general cheesofilia as it would exclude this abomination from the table. No Cheesista could eat Vietnamese supermarket chedder without shedding a tear for the global cheese loving diaspora.
Oh I agree. I call for consistency however. He is a miserable old ****. Whether he says we are going to win or lose.
Arguably our most important game yet. Win and the confidence continues to build, lose and we could well be back in the doo doo. It's an important game for the Northerners as well. Nervy 0-0 is my prediction. I'll take a draw as long as we don't get any injuries.
As i posted elsewhere we need to win tonight to complete this turnaround in clubs... Isn't it great how things have turned around ? On 7th Dec we were bottom, 6 points from safety. If we win tonight we will be 4 points clear of the relegation places. On 7th Dec Luton were 4 points clear of the relegation zone after beating relegation rivals Wigan with 2 late goals. Today they are bottom, 7 points from safety. When they went a goal up on Sunday, they would have been dreaming of moving off the bottom and being just one point from safety, knowing Stoke were away to the leaders last night. Instead they are bottom and 7 points from safety. Marvellous stuff !
No way the gaffer will instruct anything other than play for the win & all out attack. Should be a comfortable win. Villa 1 - Watford 3 Any one of the 3 D's will score tonight
I reckon we'll score from a corner tonight for the first time in years. Consolation effort though. 1-4
I am officially nervous. worse, I am out tonight at a pretty tedious party so will have to keep checking for score updates
A change of personnel may be a possibility to keep the players fresh during a busy period. The players worked their socks off Saturday. Pereyra and Gray might come in for Delefeo and Deeney with the new fella on the right. In midfield Doucoure might be rested. We will see.
That would be utter madness to rest Delefou, Doucoure and Deeney, especially with Sarr injured and Gray who can't play up front by himself (among many other reasons). After tonight most of the key first team players won't players for another 10 days.
