I wouldn't call finally getting over a hissy fit (mainly due to circumstances, as with Robson at Mexico 86), regarding decent players he has delayed playing for far too long, a cause for praise. Pereyra came off because he got injured, and the fact that he started is proof that Silva is slow to learn. I rate him, but he needs to get over himself, and stop cutting off his nose to spite his face.
Pereyra has never proven what he is capable of at Watford, he has merely hinted at it. He is living on his legend and needs to step up. Why on earth is he not match fit? That seems a very strange assertion when his head coach is picking him before Okaka in games we have to win.
I’m sure Richie is supremely focused on making the most of his opportunities. His coming to WFC has made me watch quite a few Brazilian favela films. If a quarter of that stuff is true for Richie, huge respect from me. Anyway, amateur psychology alert, I suspect he’s trying too hard with his finishing. He seems v tense & head down in the box. Solution? Chill. A long weekend with Janmaat around the Amsterdam coffee shops would be my recommendation.
A hard fought and enjoyable victory. What pleased me in addition to the result of course,was the effort and tenacity we showed. This was essential. I thought all contributed well but Chas really works his socks off and never hides.He will score soon. A word for Sian Massey that was,apologies I forget her married name. She made quite a few bad mistakes today,but I believe she has not long returned from giving birth. She was highly praised before her long lay off and I expect her to regain her level. I changed my turnstile today and take full credit therefore for the victory,that and the libation to Nike!
Very pleased - a fantastic result. 3 valuable points, and going into the Swansea game after a win should help us considerably. I'm not going to repeat a lot of what has already been mentioned, but I thought Gomes & Carrillo were excellent. To whoever it was who said that Cleverley was the worst player on the pitch (Squibba ?) - I disagree; I thought he was terrific. I guess it is all about opinions ...... I despair of Pereyra - I suspect there might be a good player there somewhere, but I haven't really seen it. He seems too slow & too lightweight to me. Beekayess Junior disagrees with me and insists that he is a quality player who isn't being played in his best position (as a number 10) but I guess it is all about opinions ...... It was interesting when Okaka came onto the pitch - the whole crowd seemed to be lifted by his presence, and the players seemed to respond to that. I thought we looked solid at the back with Kabasele & Wague. More of that partnership please.
She did have a shocker but to be fair to her, she's done at least 3 games at the Vic before and was faultless in those games. I was actually please to see her running the line because she'd always been so good in the past. Unfortunately it was just a bad day at the office for her.
That will be the first time giving birth has been used for an abysmal piece of officiating (how on earth did Maguire get away with all those outrageous foul throws?)
I think Pereyra is in a strange place. He doesn't really have a specific role in this side and has been in and out, due to a combination of injury and selection, I think he's clearly a good footballer, but he needs 4 or 5 games playing in a suitable role. Agree that this season he's yet to shine. As for Silva, there's something of a pattern forming with players not getting a chance until his hand is absolutely forced and then they make him look like an idiot. Based on what they've shown in their limited minutes, there's a strong case that Hughes, Zeeglaar, Wague and Okaka should all have been used far earlier in the season. What is happening at training that these players aren't showing that they are worth consideration until they are literally the last option available? It's one thing to overlook the players, but it will be overlooked if Silva shows some maturity and plays the best players according to form and fitness for the next game, putting aside any stubbornness or politics.
Agree with the first bit. Silva didn't want to play Hughes, injuries forced him to and then he claimed that he'd developed him as a player. He didn't want to play Zeegelaar either but then Holebas cost us all three goals at Everton. Same with Wague - clearly didn't want to use him but a combination of Prodl's really poor form over the last few games and Leicester's pace forced him to. Watson is obviously almost finished as a Premier League player - once his contract is up this summer, he'll go to a middling Championship team and won't stand out. Having said that, at least he plays to his potential and gives his all. The fact that he is rightly above the far more naturally talented Capoue in the pecking order should bring a huge sense of embarrassment and shame to Capoue, but he probably doesn't care in the slightest. Not saying much but that was Sinclair's best cameo for us. He didn't look like a 15 year old playing against men for the first time, worked hard and a couple of decent runs.
Here are my thoughts: 1. Phew, massive phew 2. I don't think Okaka is the answer, it's just the alternatives are so underperforming 3. I think Doucoure was still great today. Yes some errors but there were lots of times he intercepted the ball in the middle with speed and strength which made me happy and semi hopeful again 4. I agree that Richarlison has been consistently good and am not concerned about his lack of goals, he is still always a threat and he gives his all. Even in the dismal Brighton game I saw him relentlessly chasing down the ball and harrying to the end, albeit without success. I don't question his commitment or that he's burnt out. 5. We have players to return to hopefully replace some of the weaker fill in players and can push on from here. But we're still teeteting on the edge of meltdown which is why the swansea game is so critcal. Win that and we start thinking of top 8 finish again, confidence returns and we become a more attractive proposition to unsure transfer targets. Lose or draw and all the hounding of Silva et al returns and confidence could spiral again.
Great result today, but we mustn't take our eyes off Swansea which is another big game. Especially as our inevitable pants pulling down at City will probably drain any fresh confidence again.
Hindsight. There's no telling how the likes of Hughes, Wague and Zeegelaar would have fared if they'd been chucked in at the deep end early on. Imagine Hughes, for example, having a shocker on his debut just after making the step up from the Championship - that's his confidence gone. Sometimes it's advisable to let certain players get their head down, wait for their chance.
Not the best performance, but a massive improvement in attitude, and this is what kept us in the match. We got lucky at crucial moments, which allowed us to win the game. Today technology ensured Watford got a goal they would never have got without goal line technology. The assistant didn't give it nor did the referee until his watch bleeped. Not sure what it is with the officials that operate in the South West corner. This is where all the poor decisions occur. In the past we've seen the ghost goal, numerous offsides missed, and the girl doing it today had a mare also. I was happy when I saw it was a no mark referee today. I love these officials as he's a no mark because he doesn't do things that causes attention. Give me a referee like this all day long. Someone that doesn't referee a game to further his own career are the best ones for clubs like Watford. Wague's goal lifted everyone. Had Leicester gone two up, it would have been all over, but his goal changed the belief. Richarlison hit the post soon after. Our second goal was lucky, but I think we are due some of that after recent events. Cleverley could have made it 3-1, but Leicester threw everything at us in those final minutes and this is where Gomes had to earn his corn. Last week he cost us a point, but this week he earned us two with two incredible saves. The one from Morgan was incredibly brave just throwing himself point blank at his shot, then a wonderful save from the corner was top drawer. Only one shot on target, gives us a 2-1 win, which is the weird nature of football sometimes. I just don't get why Carrillo is so hated on this forum. Once again, he had a very good game for us. I only see a quality player when I see him play, and he got MotM, so others must see that too. There were one or two weak performances, like Janmaat in defensive mode. He's shocking and is beaten all too easily. Okaka did help us a bit, but no more than Deeney would have. I can see why he doesn't play too much, as he is slow and ponderous. He's technically excellent in the box though, and is the best finisher at the club, but I just don't think he does enough throughout the match in other areas. Cleverley was industrious as was Doucoure. They make such a difference to this side and give it much needed energy. Watson did well, but is limited these days. Richarlison is a wonderful player. It's not going for him right now, and that is actually quite good as it may stop clubs from making approaches. But if you look closely, you'll see it was his foot that created the chance which led to our equaliser. I believe Leicester are one of the best sides out side of the top six, so to beat them is even more pleasing. Excellent result and a gritty hard working performance. Beat Swansea on Saturday then all the fear and tension goes away.
Relieved we have stopped the rot. Can't wait to get Chalobah back. Good to see Carrillo affecting the game positively. Was beginning to doubt him.
It should also be pointed out that Hughes had an absolute stinker against Bristol City in the cup. Not the only one granted but those questioning why he wasn’t included earlier I suspect were not doing so at the time. Also, we were actually playing well and winning games. Hardly surprising he had to wait his chance. The fact that he has grabbed this chance shows the qualities any club would want of a player. He’s always said he’d work hard for his opportunity. Hopefully Wagué and Zeegelaar have the same mindset. The only player who seems to be publicly angling for a move is Okaka (via his agent).
Just surprised we got 3 points. Was not expecting it at all Win against Swansea and should remove any relegation doubts. 1st t8me in 6 weeks I have watched MOTD
Your comments are fair, though you could also have brought up the subject of demotivation (given his negative comments on the signings) but you need to redefine hindsight for yourself because it is not what you are describing. The pattern described is easy to see, and it is not a case of saying 'he should have picked them from the start'. Silva has made disparaging comments regarding players brought in, and because he has only played them when he had no option, and they have turned out to be decent acquisitions, it is fair to point out that his reluctance seems to have been point scoring over Gino. He needs to get over himself and learn the lesson, if he wants to improve himself. I believe he'll do OK for us, but I wish he'd stop spitting his dummy.
That could be true if there was one example. The fact that it’s happened to a number of players suggests a pattern. I take your point about Hughes, but I cannot understand not playing Okaka, Zeegelaar and Wague earlier, especially because the alternatives were so out of form. They’ve comfortably stepped up and improved the team. I’d guess that the latter two were discarded unfairly by Silva, as they weren’t what he wanted at the end of the window.
HB, ffs, come on. I, for one, wrote immediately after full time that I had been impressed by Carrillo today, and I've pretty much only seen praise for him after my comments. I have seen very little hate for him on these forums, and a fair amount of recognition that he has been working hard and positively affecting games recently. The only questions were after he came back from international duty with Peru and appeared to have lost some application and workrate through tiredness. You can't deny the level of his performances have improved again in recent matches, and yet I still would not at any point have described him as 'hated' from what I've seen on this forum.
Thank **** for that 3 points, hard fought victory, if Vardy had put that 1 v 1 away first half might of been different but he never. I've got to agree with squibba great analysis for me Tom Cleverley did excellent pressing and some promising touches but he did screw up a lot and it seems to be since the Everton game, I expect better from him and hopefully that wI'll come and he will make a late push for an England call up. Thought Zeegalaar Carrillo and Gomes were great today but Kaba was my MOTM apart from his booking I thought he was very good today. And well done Marco your tactics payed off
That may well be the case. But it may very well not be either and you are making assumptions about Okaka being out of the team because Silva doesn’t rate him. I’d say from Silva’s comments that there may very well be extenuating circumstances that aren’t being given full public disclosure. Out of interest, who do you think are the other ‘decent’ players he delayed playing? Zeegelaar was never going to come straight in for Holebas when we were winning games but he took his chance when he was given it - and was straight back in after suspension today. Who else? Wague? I’d say 90% of our fanbase were sceptical of him before today and certainly no one was screaming for his inclusion. Today was a happy surprise, much the same as when Zeegelaar came into the side. I’m not saying Silva is without fault. and I accept people wanted Okaka in before today due to our mid-firing strikers. But I really don’t agree with the rest of your post. Silva has been roundly criticised when he gets it wrong. Only fair he’s praised when he gets it right.
Football goes around in circles sometimes. Even though we should have got 3 points against Huddersfield, we instead got 3 against Leicester who most would have perceived as a loss. Although we didnt get any points from Brighton, we did get 3 from Arsenal. One could argue that we SHOULD be 6 points up, but to be honest, wherever we lose points, we tend to gain those lost points elsewhere, in sometimes very lucky victories This season has been a bit of a karma season for us, and it was evident when we became the victim of last minute goals when beforehand, we were the best at scoring them ourselves. What i'm trying to say is, that Huddersfield game was a shocking result for us, but we will no doubt hand out the same to another team in the following months; it's just the way football is. Now who it's against and when is unpredictable but I wouldn't mind seeing us thrash Swansea 4+ nil. Or even better, end City's unbeatable season by beating them 1-0 away with a last minute handball goal which came from Richarlison lying on the ground trying to wave for a foul. I dunno, maybe i'm a bit of an 'unrealist', but the thought of such results are what people love about football. Even that Deeney goal against Leicester would have been unimaginable beforehand. Oh...We'll get spanked 10-0 by City now and lose 1-0 to the worst team in the league (again) so thank me later.
Totally disagree. All players need time when returning from bad injuries and get match fit. Pereyra has been below par but in a struggling team. I think he played well second half against Huddersfield when a man down. He dropped deep and sprayed passes wide or tried to go on mini runs. He is still one of our most creative players and technically adept. Was really poor against Brighton but who wasn't? Don't understand mentality of some on here after an excellent win. Personally I would rather praise say Okaka or Wague rather than have a pop at Pereyra or Prodl. More telling for me was Silva choosing to put on Sinclair rather than Gray.
By the way, how nice to play Leicester and not have to endure 90 mins of tiresome homo-erotic wrestling and competitive cojones measuring between Deeney and Wes Morgan.
Okaka is miles better than Troy. It's so glaring slap you in the face obvious I'm astonished that you can't see it. He's quicker, wins headers, actually makes the ball stick up front and as you say, is a better finisher.
I would add that Silva is giving the whole squad a chance at some point or other. He is challenging them to deliver, which of course does not always work out. It seems most of our players appreciate the fairness of that approach. Contrast with QSF or Mazzari either sticking with favourites through thick or thin, bordering on stubbornness or a need to stay with a system. Silva does try and mix it up and it was refreshing to see the unpredictable Okaka causing the Lester defence the kind of problems Liverpool faced in match one.
Not sure how you can argue that giving Okaka an 18 game near total exclusion constitutes giving players a chance. Players have only been given a chance as a last resort.
