Kept an eye on the score but in truth hard to be excited about this when we have Sunday to look forward to. Doesn't sound as bad as the scoreline suggested though which I guess is a positive.
It's funny how again people talk about how great a game jurado has and yet still no goals or assists? What's he there for? I'm pretty sure berghuis with his assist tonight has already done more than jurado has in the whole season. Wonderful sideways passer jurado (Southampton away aside)
We played a lot more football than the two away games I have been to Southampton and Arsenal (league) We really shouldn't be giving penaltys away, even if the first one was debatable the Ref gave it and I have never seen a ref change his mind, so was surprised our players were arguing about it with the ref for so long. The Linesman was lucky not to be lynched when he didn't give us an obvious corner in the 2nd half When Anya and Bergious came on they used their pace to disrupt West Ham and it nearly worked. Shame Abdi missed his chance instead of being 2-1, the hammers went straight up the other end and made it 3-0!
Amrabat tried to take the ball from Deeney to take our penalty. Troy clearly told him to "do one" in no uncertain terms. I think Amrabat was still smarting from that when he lunged in not much later to get sent off, given his reaction when Troy's central effort was saved by Adrian.
Sell Abdi as well, out his depth, missed a sitter and gave a stupid penalty when Suarez was covering, thanks for the memories Almen but you're not good enough for the Premier League.
Shame. Back before Deeney was big time, he gave a penalty to Iggy, which started him on a fantastic run.
I have a feeling that Amrabat and Holebas sealed their fates and will be gone. Shame, in a way, Holebas is clearly talented but seems to have attitude problems. Amrabat might well have excelled if played as a winger
Absolutely no one at fault for the first goal .... the pass and the run were exquisitely timed and executed. The luck was that nine in ten Carroll would have gone too early or too late and we certainly paid for the high line as it took Gomez out of the equation. Holobas had a mare but he had every right to jump for the ball for that pen. Arrambat's foul was never yellow, he pulled out.
Hi Guys, It's been a very long time since i've posted here. But just wanted to share my thoughts on this game and on the season overall. Firstly, i am so bloody happy we are secure in the league and will be in the prem next season. That means i will be back at Christmas for a holiday! We are 12th which is fantastic at the moment. And realistically finishing 17th was our main goal and we will achieve or exceed that. The FA Cup semi is a welcome bonus, but as with any cup run it has proved to be a bit of a distraction. But now i want to give my player ratings on the game and will also include some general thoughts on some of the players. I would like to say that we played well in fits and starts against the hammers, and if Abdi took his chance then the story may have been different. Gomes-7- Some great saves again, especiallythe one against Moses in the 2nd half. I was crossing my fingers he would save a pen or 2 again but that would've been crazy. IMO he is our player of the season. Paredes-4- He is nowhere near premier league class. I would even say football league class is a push. For a right back or even wing back he is terrible, and tonight was no exception. He never tracks his runner and always fails to check his shoulder to see if anyone is coming behind him, going back to the everton game, he lost lukaku a couple of times for rebounds and we were grateful to gomes. And tonight he could barely pass a ball. Cathcart- 5 - an uncharacteristically poor game in what has been a stellar season for him. He looks alot more comfortable with britos next to him over prodl. Was at fault when losing And Carroll for the 1st goal. Prodl- 6.5- never going to beat anyone in a footrace, but is solid in the tackle and took his goal well. Holebas- 4- One of the worst games he's played in the yellow shirt. I had high hopes for hom after the everton game, but there is no way he'll be starting against palace on sunday. Lost all his confidence once he gave away the pen and looked shaky after that. I dont think he'll be with us next season. Suarez- 6.5- some nice touches and passes, but drifted in and out of the game. Will be good to see how he is with a full pre season behind him Guediora-6- 2 starts in a row but nothing special tonight. Behrami-6.5- full of running but hindered by lack of effort by other teammates around him. Abdi-5- was a great servant for us in the championship, but i do not feel he is prem quality. Jurado-6- 24 games no goal, no assists, i know the "he's been played out of position" brigade will come out. But apart from a few shots on target the last couple of weeks he offers nothing, and is too lightweight for the premierleague Amrabat-5- couple of ok touches in the first half, but went missing too often and then completely ruined it with that red card. Not sold on him yet. Berguis-6.5- impressive run out for him. Looks like he has a great left peg on him. I think if he should be given more of a run over jurado. Anya-6- you know what you get with him deeney-6- poor penalty. roll on the semi.
I am surprised how ineffectual our beloved Abdi has been this season. Unfortunately he has not been right since his long term injury so, based on that, I would be surprised to still see him here next season
Match action here (if anyone wants to watch it!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3b2P7G4BCg EDIT: I say that - is seems to end before Deeney's penalty miss and the red card!
Am I detecting a vast gulf in reaction from those who went and those who saw it on the telly/listened to the radio? I thought that for he first time in ages the midfield looked excellent, some really fluid, nay exciting, movement. We were playing without a striker (effectively). If we can combine that sort of flair with a proper strike force, and if our defence can get back to their normal levels, we could have a dangerous team that's good to watch. And Abdi's miss was a tap-in? No.
Oh well, last ever visit to Upto. Park, a ground that will be missed, just seems a shame they are going the flatten the place, what a waste of three good stands, won't miss a dreadful view standing up for 90 minutes and paying £45 for the privalidge, thought it was a good game, they are chasing a champions league place and we are looking at Sunday's game as we are safe. Pretty impressed with West Ham and their side, they were pens, harsh but pens, was impressed with Andy Carroll and the space he covered. Never feel confident when deeney steps up to take a pen kick but think he has six out of six this season and they stats don't lie, luckily don't think that miss makes any difference to our season. Villa fans would love to be in our position but all we seem to be doing is moaning. Pretty disappointed we did not sell out of our allocation. Will be interesting to see how the new ground goes down next season, was there for the rugby last year and it is not a football stadium in my opinion, I had front row seats behind the posts in the upper tier and was miles from the ground. Upton Park has some. Happy memories for me and will always be one of my favourite away grounds, been taxed there, seen us win there, John barns taking them apart, I think we won 4 2 in a midweek game, the dreadful view from the away terrace corner.
Agree totally. This was generally a much more positive performance with significantly less sideways and backwards passing, probably because Capouie was not playing. We pushed forward in numbers and only ran out of ideas in the final third. Surprised and pleased to see Berghuis look so good. Amrabat is very average I'm afraid. They never really opened us up that often and at the end of the day it could easily have been a draw with more luck.
Agree with this. I'm actually quite shocked at how badly he's adapted to the premier league. I thought he'd make the step up comfortably. Perhaps the gulf between the premier league and the championship is actually wider than we thought. Credit must go to the players from last year who have made the step up I guess. He'll do well for some tinpot team in the championship. My tip: he'll go to derby. I'll not angry with him, just disappointed.
We stunk the place out. Tell me, how can players get worse over the season? How can so many passes go to the opposition. How can we completely forget how to defend? If we're giving away penalties like Christmas gifts then god help us against palace. What the **** is Flores doing?
Spot on. It was a good match to watch. We wont concede two penalties every week so I am quite calm about this loss. All we need is a very good striker (easier said than done of course!) and next season looks bright. If only we'd splashed the amrabat cash on a top striker, we'd be on 50 points+ by now I reckon.
I did not go or listen so interested in your view- was it the case that with effectively 5 in the middle we looked good as only one up front whereas we have been playing 4-4-0-2 ( to illustrate the gap between the attack and midfield) I did read we had 4 shots on target compared to West Ham 7 so maybe it was more effective
With an effective striker it would have been different - the attacking midfield was certainly more attacking/closer in support of Amrabat than they have been with D & I.
I kind of agree. I thought there were plenty of positives, Holebas aside who really was poor last night. Wouldn't be surprised if that is his last appearance in a Watford shirt. I also thought Paredes was guilty of being a little slow on the ball at times. I often thought it was calling for a quick pass up the line to Berghuis but he always seemed to linger and get closed down, even if we keep possession, those micro-mistakes ultimately limit chance creation. Up until the second penalty I was really impressed. Jurado looked decent, Suarez was having his best game in for us, I was pretty happy. Unfortunately the penalty changed the game. Shame about the penalty miss, but hoping it will light a fire in Deeney for Sunday - and given his cameo I wouldn't be surprised to see Berhuis on the bench. Thought he looked very promising... maybe there is hope left in him!
I didn't see or listen to the match either, which may be why I'm so positive - but apparently we had 4 more shots on target than Palace last night.
