Watford Fc 1-3 Southampton - 28/06/2020 - An Effin Disgrace

I wouldn’t be so sure about that, they could be going for the Europa League.

 

2 out of 22 crosses found a Watford man. Considering the flak Deeney gets for not moving you'd have thought he'd be easy to find.............

Sarr need to do better and look up, simple as that.

 

Lol, we've completely ruined him. Taken him from playing week in, week out in senior football to a glorified training partner. He was on loan at Emmen (nope, me neither) until Coronavirus stopped the Dutch league and didn't play for them either. Hasn't played a single minute of club football for two years.

 

The main problem is the only available "Watford men" are invariably static & in totally the wrong position, HIDING..a lot of his "rubbish" crosses are not dissimilar to Burnley's that Rodriguez converted...

 

I agree with this. Not all Sarr's crosses are poor. I think a fair percentage are decent, but there is absolutely no movement up front. We do not have a crafty striker who can sniff out a chance or will get ahead of a defender, who will anticipate and outwit a centre half. It's all too easy and obvious to Premier League defenders. We only look good in training because our strikers play against the worst defence in the Premier League. How can you get better when you train against inferior players to those you'll be playing on match day?

 

I think this was before my time as a fan, what did he do?​

 

It has to be a combination of both, not all his crosses are poor, but the ‘movement’ to get on the end of any good ones is that universally poor.

There have also been plenty of times when he’s put the ball into space behind the players so the ball looks bad because he’s not found them, but they’re standing next to defenders so they’d never get on the end of it anyway. They should be trying anticipate that he’ll put it into space sometimes, rather than just firing it at the first man trying to find a marked player.

 

I think Welbeck would have better movement that Troy, Gray actually makes good runs but he couldn't finish a happy meal.

 

Half the time when IS gets down the flank Troy hasn't even managed to get himself into the box yet.

 

I agree, how can the defence improve when they have almost the worst attack in the league to train against. They are just not used to training against good crosses and good runs in the box.

 

Gifton was running rings round table topping Sunderland, at a point at which we as a team were really no threat to their title ambitions. Butler decided to do the old fashioned centre half thing of hacking a more talented opponent. Apparently told him he'd break his leg but did something even worse and mangled his knee instead. Coward.

 

This is why Deeney has the edge over Gray.

 

So should he look up and hold it up or blindly cross it to nobody?

 

Surely training ground routines come into this sort of thing?

If I do X, you do Y.

It should be autopilot. The most frustrating thing with Sarr, which I think we've seen in each of the three games since restart, is when he's got the beating of his man but then stops to protest under the merest hint of a foul rather than driving on into the box. He's been playing in the PL for long enough to know he ain't getting anything for that.

 

Yup. Should be instinctive and cohesive, and it is neither. And they're all to blame.

 

The reality is most of Sarr’s crosses dont end up out of play. The vast majority end up somewhere on the box so law of averages dictates surely somebody should get on the end of at least couple, but they don’t.

 

Hold it up until the oppo have recovered their shape....sort of negates the point of having a lightning quick winger, really.

 

I think the attacker either has to bust a gut to get on the end of a ball in front that the defence can’t reach, or the attacker has to pull back into space at the last minute to get on the end of a cut back and deceive the defence. We never do either.

 

Fair point. Lets hope he carries on crossing it into the Rookery or an open space then.

 

But maybe subconsciously he thinks better try get a free because it gets people forward rather than crossing in to a box with no one to get on it.
If we had players attacking the box we might see a completely different Sarr who would not stop as there would be opportunity and then we might see more penalties awarded.
At the moment it's more like giving up and arguing as there's nothing else available.
As I say this could all be subconscious

 

I wondered about the CB's myself 'We hate 48'. My thinking is that Dawson is the best header of the ball and Kabasele is the quickest so I would choose them. Cathcart has not been on his game for a while, even before the lockdown, for example the bad errors that led to Everton coming from behind to win at the Vic.

The other area I was thinking about was central midfield and the lack of protection given to the CB's. Didn't Doucoure and Chalobah form a pretty decent partnership there in those first games under Silva? Maybe worth a try?

We hate 48 "I can't decide which of our 3 main CBs are the worst (Mariappa is obviously worse than all 3 though). Can't fault Dawson and Cathcart's effort but they are so slow and awful on the ball too. They wouldn't stand out in the Championship. Kabasele is just as bad.

 

My team for the next game:

Foster
Femenia-Kabasele-Dawson-Holebas
Doucoure-Chalobah (If available)
Sarr-Hughes-Pedro
Welbeck

Refresh at least one of the midfield mainstay, and adds extra movement and pace and directness to our front-line. Bring Deeney on around 60 mins to give defence a different threat to think about when tired.

 

You're right he does need to look up but he also should expect forwards to make runs to near post, back post etc. The crosses he puts in are quite often in good areas but there is nobody attacking in and around the six yard box. I'm not sure Deeney has ever been that type of player but bloody hell we need to find a player who is

 

Open space is where he should be putting it and this what our players should be attacking

 

Yes, the miss-hit into the Rookery was a ****-up, but very often the ‘open spaces’ you refer to are exactly where any worthwhile striker would be positioned...if you expect him to somehow thread a cross through to someone who is simply standing at the back post with 3 covering defenders between him & Sarr, you will continue to be disappointed. It’s not his fault that his team-mates do not make the near post run he’s probably been coached to pick out in his career to date. That type of run should be absolutely basic to any striker at any level. Do you have any confidence in Deeney heading home if he somehow found some space, which he won’t as he takes up hopeless positions in the box.

 

This is still one of the saddest things I've seen in football. I was raised a gooner and switched to Watford in 97 once I moved away and realised I was watching for the Watford score first on Ceefax. Gifton was the bright light coming through at that time, would have probably gone on to represent England, even if not regularly and that challenge ruined him. It was a minor miracle he went on to play for another 10+ years after that injury.

 

I don't think Deeney is the answer anymore, my point is that he's not the only issue though and the solution isn't a current Watford player. Our formation is wrong, our tactics are wrong and our players are weak and out of form.

It seems to be the way now that people will happily have a pop at players that have been with us for a while yet fawn over players who have big reputations and provide equally sod all. This whole squad is rank. Sarr will be a superstar, no doubt about it...but right now he's a sulky, out of form kid. He might well turn it on against Chelsea but since the restart he's been poor. Pereyra has been a waste of space all season. Deulofeu has had about two decent games this season. Doucoure is half the player he was. Capoue is playing like a man who has repeatedly shouted about how much he couldn't care less about football.

At the start of the season our defence was getting slated on here whilst people w4nked themselves silly over our forward line. Our forward line who have managed to outscore only the league whipping boys.

We have conceded two more goals than at this stage last season. So not an improvement but largely similar. We've scored 18 fewer goals. Our attacking threat is woeful and all hype...I include all of them.

 

No Leadership from the Players
No Leadership from the Management
No Leadership from the Administration

Nothing but sound bites and Clichés....

 

I do hope you inform HMRC about the amount you produce for tax purposes.

 

Quina statement:


Gray statement:
"I've uploaded Norton, so I'm ok. I have the anti-virus"

 

Glad to see they're still growing the global brand, too. I've mentally accepted relocation now. Anything extra is a bonus.

 

'Let us all move on'.

Classic Dom.