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I tend to agree. I'm not mad on Janmaat but he's the better option compared to Femenia. At least for now.
Finding it hard to celebrate the team getting out of the hole they dug for themselves against a very poor Arsenal side. We just threw away 2 points.
Souness was absolutely singing our praises on Sky for our second half performance he said we were fantastic and if we can play at 90% of what we produced today we will be absolutely fine this season, no problem
Just spent a couple of minutes reading the meltdown...my favourite post is #2,092 at 5.07pm "Arsenal showing how we should do it against second rate teams. We are rife with bottlers and no marks" Keep watching lad, I know how it ends up. https://www.grandoldteam.com/forum/...ew-match-report-and-motm-poll.107983/page-140
No. He will slow the attacks down and demand our strategy is built round his limited attributes. Simply not good enough. Would be a decent impact sub in last ten mins
I wasn't able to watch unfortunately, where did Sarr play when he came on? From the highlights I've watched it looked like he was up front, replacing Gray? Did he look good? Nice cross for Doucoure on the highlights, and a good turn and shot that he screwed wide. Very good result considering we went 2-0 down, and from the highlights looked like there was some exciting play. Big lol at Arsenal playing out from goal kicks. Incredibly refreshing to see some substitutions early enough to actually change the momentum of a game - one of Javi's worst traits. An angry City with a point to prove next... Perhaps we'll be putting out great fightback on hold again for the following week
Top ******* performance.... after Grey got subbed off. Keep Deeney and Grey out of that team and we'll finish 6th or 7th. TC obviously MOTM
Extended highlights if you've got a VPN set to USA https://www.nbcsports.com/video/extended-highlights-watford-2-arsenal-2
A great day for half our season ticket holders. 4 goals to celebrate and neither of your teams loses!
Lee Dixon was doing that on NBC's coverage. 1st half he wrote the game off from a Watford perspective and said it was basically over as a contest. 2nd half all he did was moan about how bad Arsenal were. No positive words about their opponents. It wasn't a complete performance over 90 minutes by any stretch of the imagination, but the 2nd half performance was extremely strong. It seemed to me things really started to click once Sarr came on; considering he's not fully integrated, nearly scoring and nearly assisting wasn't a bad showing for a sub.
Shocked there isn't more positivity on here tonight. I left the ground with the biggest smile I can remember in some time. For those saying nothing had changed in the first half, you are way off. That was the least long balls a Watford side has ever played in the Premier League, along with our best ever pass completion rate and most ever shots. That was night and day from recent performances and we were great until we switched off after not winning that free kick. No one that was at West Ham or Brighton could possibly think we weren't 100 times better defensively today. We were cut open at will in those games, Arsenal barely had a sniff outside of the two goals. Dawson played just fine, particularly in the second half where he was nearly good. Kaba is a dud though. The subs were great, tactics great, and it felt amazing watching a Watford team playing in a proper system with proper passing angles and some actual incisiveness. Performance wise one of the best since we've been here and only a Doucoure howler away from bedlam. Annoying it's City away next. Must admit I wrote Clev off before the game today but he was superb.
And I rather think it's true. They gave us tje first goal and then stopped attacking, relying on their crap defence, and from that point on we won not only the 50/50 challenges but also the 40/60s and even the 30/70s.
You don't have 31 shots against a team just because they start playing defensively and give up a crap goal. Arsenal might have made a bad call on their game plan, but we still played quite superbly for the last 30 minutes.
Football is enjoyable again, can't get past how negative some people are being on here. We absolutely smashed them second half and it was only a bit of luck or composure that stopped us winning. If Doucouré had lifted that at the end, he'd have scored but in fairness he had just run from one box to the other in injury time after putting in a monster shift. Deulofeu rinsed that Maitland-Niles time and again. Same move every time but just couldn't stop it. Also, great work rate from him, won some tackles, hassled and harried. Cleverley was great and looked like the leader on the pitch. As well as leading the press, he made some really clever runs along the back four. But my word, Etienne Capoue. What a performance. Best player on the pitch by a country mile. You want inch perfect crossfield passes? No problem. Interceptions and tackles galore? Got that too. Quick feet to get round someone or keep possession of the ball? Sure thing. Oh and what a dreadful performance from Anthony Taylor. Any touch at all on an Arsenal player was a free kick. There were numerous times when our players had done brilliantly to hunt them down, got their body in the way to win the ball and he just gave a free kick. Then he gave a handball against Deulofeu when it ricoched onto him at point blank range. And did Holebas even do anything to merit his booking? Looked like Pepe wafted a foot at him so our Greek God stared him down then that rubbish Guendouzi chap ran over and pushed him.
That's was a marvelous 2nd half. If we got the third I might have lost my pants, so pleased it stayed 2-2. Looking forward to my 45 min wait for change of trains at bath spa in an hour.
31 shots, two goals, a gift and a pen, and half of the 31 ending up in the Rookery. Yes we played well and it was exciting, but Cov gave us more of a game than Arsenal did after Clev's goal.
Of course they did. If they did not, we'd have won by double digits. They were all good shooting opportunities and the notion that we somehow contributed nothing towards it makes no sense. It's possible for Arsenal to stop playing AND for us to have played well, they're not mutually exclusive.
Wasn't the Deulofeu handball just the new rule in action? Without seeing it back, I think it could have fallen foul of either of these bullet points explaining when an accidental handball is still handball...
Got there and sat down and had a chat with the bloke next to me who was muttering something about Dawson playing. I then gave him my matchday programme as he wanted it for some reason, then he started cheering,, got up and walked out... I mean WTF was that about? Anyway... Thought we started the game really well. We pressed high and Arsenal were finding it hard to contain us. The football was fluid and for the first time in ages It looked like the Watford of old was back. Hughes had a good half chance and Delafoo flashed wide. We were on top and Arsenal hardly had a shot. Then, they showed us why they are a good side, I have to say the finish from Abangayang was top draw. No way was any keeper saving that, the shot on the turn was quality and they had us pinned back for quite a bit. Our good start quickly faded as they got a foot hold on the game and started in a gear above. The second goal should of been avoided. A mere tap in from a wing cross across the box... it seemed a nailed on defeat with barely the first half gone. We however had never really lost the die hard commitment, despite being two down at the break. It was a real surprise and a pleasure to see and hear Watford fans really getting behind the side for what had seemed like ages, perhaps not since the FA Cup Semi. Second half started, I sat there wondering what QSF had said to the lads... but whatever it was it worked. Arsenal were almost immediately on the back foot. We played with passion, determination and a guile that has been missing from our play for so long now. Delafoo turned into a terrier unleashed. Shot after shot (most off target but still), we continued to batter them and finally, after one of the most bizzare pieces of play from them I have ever seen, Delafoo nicked the ball, squared to Cleverley who smashed in a well deserved goal for our dominance. Vicarage road roared and continued to push the boys on. It looked as though we were going to have to face a spirited defeat, but then David Luiz had a blonde moment. PENALTY!! Hang on, Watford don't get them... I was looking for Delafoo to take it, but fair play to Preyera, he rammed it home and the score was even. Could we actually win this now? My lord, how we tried. We had almost all the ball, had some close encounters and I think the Vic was one to a mam when Sarr swung in a peach of a cross for Doucoure'.... any other part of the goal, we win. Full time blows and QSF and the lads get a rousing applause for what had to be the best half of football at the Vic since we beat Chelsea. GSF giving each player a slap 0n the back was good encouragement too. Great determination to come back from what looked like another loss. QSF got a point on his return, something only a few of us predicted, on another day, we would of won. Two draws now, three games unbeaten in all competitions. Things look better, but that elusive first win evades us still. BTW what the hell was that brawl about at the end of the first half? I know Holebas got booked, was it retaliation for something?
But according to Souness in the pre game capoue isn’t a skillfull player and is merely an ‘up and downer’
Would have to see it again but live time, he was sprinting and the ball bounced up after a couple of deflections and hit his hand as he was running. Nothing he could do about it, certainly not above the shoulder or unnaturally bigger.
Excellent match! Any moaners here can go sit in a corner and eat worms together. Tonight is a time to celebrate the positives and there were far more than any negatives. So no 'Yes, but....'s, plenty of time for Quique to work on those. Just be happy we look like an exciting and effective team for the first time in ages. Long may it continue!
