I respect your opinion and whilst I don’t share your view on most of it, it is of course subjective and it’s great you enjoyed this season, even if I didn’t. But the bit in bold is simply not true, is it?
Geri D got injured which didn’t help . Everyone wasn’t ready to return after COVID - that cost us. And a poor 45 minutes at West Ham. We almost got relegated- not sure this season was so fun in the end with some odd exceptions.
Capoue was fantastic for us. He only really "downed tools" when we were back in the Champ and he understandably wanted to leave. Deulofeu also didn't down tools - he got injured by van Dijk, and had he not been then we probably would have stayed up. This part is fair though, just not the timeline - it's been more the previous 2 seasons that this has been the major issue (not 5). Prior to that we did have some who lacked commitment (eg Sarr), but it was our more recent relegation season where the issues really came to a head.
Capoue didn't down tools. Blimey o'reilly, the revisionism! Arguably the best midfielder ever to play for Watford, and consistently so for five years. He was apparently told he could leave after relegation but Watford dragged their heels on actually letting him go. He then went on to win a European final for Villareal. And as others have said, Deulofeu was great until he got chopped in half by Virgil van Dijk.
In my life-time at least the best player to ever play for Watford, imo (I can't talk on the first GT era). Underlined by after leaving us him winning the Europa League (against Man Utd in the final) and then bossing it in the CL the following season, despite being a bit past his prime.
There was the the issue with the FA Cup bonuses which another poster confirmed directly with a player in the past couple of days, when you also consider Capoue went on to win a major European trophy after leaving us, I’m not sure anyone can blame him for wanting to get the hell out of there once we’d been relegated, but prior to that he was a great servant. Us getting relegated (twice) is not on the players (they didn’t recruit themselves anyway) it’s on the 1000 or so idiotic decisions the hierarchy made beforehand.
Don’t care. Good riddance to another totally forgettable effort. Go and sign a bunch of exciting youngsters and make us all feel something again. Enjoy your summer all!
Many fans were not happy with the PL and promotion years under the Pozzos and wanted us to go back to where we were. Well we’re now a poor team with players who do at least put some effort in. Happy days
Not a surprising result considering the squad was apparently on the piss last night: https://twitter.com/JordLPM/status/1786734196800536818
I would say that was a fitting end to our season. Glad its over and looking forward to next season. Onwards and sideways.
Rajovic, Livermore and Pollock seem present (from a ****-eyed view of that photo) But I do wonder why people wouldn’t just take photos of something blatant? Rather than long distance shots that don’t prove anything and then a few follow up texts claiming the detail.
Least wins in the division, aside from the relegated sides. Most draws in the division. A goal difference of exactly 0. Two wins kept us from relegation, level on points with a dismal QPR side we smashed in August. Utterly depressing season and I’m not convinced it’s going to be any better next, no matter how much I may lie to myself. Feeling low tonight.
I’m not sure a random text is enough to throw shade? The time-stamp alone on the texts are a bit random? 5 texts in quick succession but the last one suddenly has the name - despite the first four pleading ignorance about any knowledge of football? If it’s true, throw the book at them. But I think there’s enough in this to at least question how valid it is. Like I said, if it was as raucous as being presented, and you were bothered enough to take photos and message a mate about it, why wouldn’t you get the ‘smoking gun’? Need to see more. Given Livermore has a wife and children as you say, I’d reckon the above is the better approach.
2 out of 3 of them came on at 92 minutes which is not really giving them a massive chance to show what they can do.
That was poor, but sums up our season. Not much effort and little enthusiasm. To finish 6 points above the team who took the final relegation spot in Birmingham, who we beat home and away, says it all. Glad to see the back of this season and I just hope that the club back Cleverley. It’ll be funded mainly by the sales of Kone and Asprilla and getting players like Fletcher, although it won’t be much, off the wage bill. Middlesbrough weren’t great but ultimately looked more up for it. Their number 9 (oat milk Latte) was a handful. Their second goal was so easy it was genuinely laughable. Christ
Just 6 home wins out of 23 as well, 1 more than Rotherham who ended up on less than half the points we did. Still, it’s fun, apparently.
Seeing the lowlights just now, all their goals came from our defenders all trying desperately hard to chase down the same ball carrying attacker, with no clue who else was around them. Typical of a weak team with no confidence but our defence really needs to get better organised next season as we look so panicky.... And if you're a footballer it's not really that hard to work out who's going in and who's covering..
As has been pointed out on this thread... 13 league wins, the same as relegated Birmingham City 6 home league wins (only Rotherham had one fewer) In terms of seasons in the second tier, only the ones that have ended in relegation have been worse.
You can't even see the table - there's no indication there's any players with a drink whatsoever. It could just be a team meeting and/or they're saying farewell to Livermore (who didn't play today). The two blokes to the camera's right of Livermore might have glasses in their hands, but they don't look like players.
We made an art out of being as poor as possible, without ever being quite poor enough to at least provide the excitement of a relegation battle, and of course we never at any point troubled the play-offs. Quite an achievement to deliver so little entertainment either way, and be so bad at the same time.
Reading that, then looking at the league table really does show how poor we have been for the majoirty of this season. Yes we trimmed the fat (litterally) in the Summer and we knew this season was a struggle. Although thinking about some of the goals we have conceded, so much of it is down to a basic lack of ball watching and game knowledge. Look at the goals we conceded today. All three were avoidable if the defenders were not stuck like glue to one player and not watching the runners. I know we're potless, have a sadistic owner and a DOF on 950K a year working with a crooked agent, but there is so much we need to get right from a basic standpoint before we can even think about challenging for the playoffs again. I know a lot of us have been concerned about next season and rightly so. This Summer window (or lack there of) will heavily determine how we will do. Players' need a refresh in how to defend and the basics of looking up before you pass. Club talk about a reset, but some of these players' need to take football 101 regarding some of the errors we have seen on the pitch this season.
Despite all that - and despite the repeated proclamations of a poster who has since scarpered - the last time we were even in the bottom 6 (when we were 19th) was all the way back on October 23rd. I do share your concerns about next season, especially if more quality isn't brought in, but Cleverley hasn't done too terribly so far at least overall given the fixtures.
Not sure I agree with some of the more cutting lamentations of our season. We have a mid-table squad and we finished mid-table, as did a number of other teams, many of whom are considerably bigger than us in terms of both their fanbases and/or past achievements. We've had some excellent results and heartening performances, as well as many occasions where we have emphatically stank the place out. Neither VI nor TC have set the world alight, but equally neither underachieved even remotely as much as our stellar line-up of head coaches from last year. Unfortunately, being Watford fans, we realistically have to strap ourselves in for years of mediocrity at a time, which make the highs (if and when we get them) all the sweeter. We have been fortunate enough to experience a number of these over the past 12 years, and are now in the process of readjusting to where footballing gravity always tends to pull us in the end. It's certainly frustrating that, having been 2 points off the play-offs at Christmas, we failed to kick on and had a disappointing 5 months, but talk of an awful season just finished or relegation next time out is a touch pessimistic in my opinion.
There was about one week in the season when the playoffs didn't seem impossible, at around the end of December before we lost Sema and Kayembe. Then there was about one week in the season when relegation didn't seem impossible (before we fired Ismael). Both did only last about a week mind and we were never actually in the playoff or relegation spots in either case. The fact that our goal difference for the season is 0 is what really sums up how middling we were. We also had the most draws in the division aside from Huddersfield. Just middling. Again though, I thought this is what many fans and posters wanted. The true joy of being a bog-standard typical Championship team with a bunch of mostly hard-working, committed players, including "one of our own" as a regular starter, but lacking a bit in quality and inspiration.
I mean, yes, obviously, the caveat 'if indeed this is true and the (relatively small) evidence presented isn't misleading' applies, as generally. 'Smoking gun' wise, I don't think it's that hard to see why you might not do that if you're surrounded by a group of pissed up athletes and possibly documenting them doing something wrong at close range. In terms of suddenly having the name, I did wonder about that, but it's perfectly possible or plausible, even, that he or they said his name out loud at any point in the interaction this person overheard, and that's how they know. Again, don't get me wrong, I'm not arguing for the truth of these claims any more than what we see presented; how could I? But so far, there isn't anything in that argument that actively discounts it, either. (And yes, obviously, it's almost impossible to prove a negative, and that doesn't mean I instinctively believe it as a result) Here's hoping it's fantasy, indeed.
