Top 3 funny moments from my time: Issa falling off a stretcher Doyley catching the ball and running away Cullip deliberately booting the ball at the linesman
In the dire days between Furphy & GT we used to run a ‘golden fall’ sweepstake for the first Watford player to fall over for no apparent reason. One game, Charlie Woods won it falling over as the teams trotted out of the tunnel… Then the utterly hilarious McLenaghan falling over taking a throw-in routine…
Anyone noticed that the name Joao Pedro has the same initials (JP) as the name John Prawn? One to think about.
Looks like all non-internationals are back except JP. Not going to lie, I'm getting a bit sweaty here.
Zinckernagel is back later due to the playoff final I think. TDB in prison due to his train ticket misdemeanour.
Could be that they've decided one of this year's learned lessons is to make the exact same mistake as every year previously by allowing their most prized player/s free reign to do whatever they like in the desperate hope it appeases them enough not to kick up a stink about being forced to stick around at a dive like Watford.
One for @Hairyfrog. Nothing for "School boy error" (Was it Carl ****inson?) which got a nice "**** off" from him?
He'd better be down there for a weekend break. If he signs for Muff I'll throw my phone/season ticket at the posh seats during the Sheff Utd game.
Love that he was as fired up as the fans after some inexplicable refereeing. Switched up a couple of gears and took the piss out of Sheffield United. Lovely stuff.
Nice piece in the telegraph: Joao Pedro is the Watford forward no one is talking about – yet Championship ones to watch: Journey from Brazil to Vicarage Road has been well travelled, but few have adapted as easily as 20-year-old No one is talking about Joao Pedro. And, for now at least, everyone at Watford wants to keep it that way. Emmanuel Dennis has now departed. Ismaila Sarr may follow in the coming weeks. But it is the third of last season’s attacking triumvirate that has most potential to be a leading light for years to come. In Friday night’s slender victory over Burnley, Joao Pedro was not at his best. There were occasional glimmers; a drive into space, Samuel Bastien held off, and then a sumptuous left-to-right ball that Sarr wasted; a burst of pace to charge down Connor Roberts; a cheeky flick to Ken Sema greeted by a Rookery End roar. Largely though, it was a frustrating evening. Josh Brownhill and Taylor Harwood-Bellis both paid Joao Pedro close attention, allowing him neither space nor time. Burnley had done their homework. But Joao Pedro is only 20 years old. A lad learning his trade in a difficult division. This season should be the making of him. He is a versatile forward, able to play anywhere across the front line, starting so far under Rob Edwards as the focal point of a three. “He’s best centrally in a trident with two forwards prepared to make runs behind defenders,” explains Roy Hodgson, Watford manager during the second half of last season. “Then he can drop and be a deep-lying target player.” “Give him freedom to float,” agrees Eduardo Oliviera, who oversaw Joao Pedro in the Fluminense under-17s. “He wants to be part of the game every time. He’s not only good in the box, he’s good at building the game.” Aged 10, Joao Pedro caught Fluminense eyes as a defensive midfielder, leading to him and mother Flavia Junqueira swapping a comfortable life in Ribeirao Preto for Rio de Janeiro’s harsher surrounds. A teenage growth spurt stunted his progress, but at under-17 level Joao Pedro flourished. Initially, third-choice striker, Marcos Paulo - now of Atletico Madrid - was promoted and an opening materialised. “I gave him a chance, and he never came out,” recalls Oliviera. The goals flowed freely, 29 that season, his side fired to the state championship final. Among supposed interest from Liverpool, Manchester City and Barcelona, Watford stepped in. Richarlison had previously trodden the same boards and Joao Pedro was signed in October 2018. The deal was done ahead of the youth season closing, but Joao Pedro’s head was not for turning: “He said ‘Eduardo, that kind of money is changing my life, but I want more,’” Oliveria tells Telegraph Sport. “I want to beat records. But before that I need to step up and play in the first team for Fluminense’. He reached that goal because he kept his mind focussed on the process.” Within months Joao Pedro was with the seniors, marking his debut with a headed goal two minutes after his introduction. Then came a spell of seven strikes in 12 days, including a hat-trick on his first start in the Copa Sudamericana against Atletico Nacional. Finally linking up with Watford in late 2019, the world soon went into lockdown. Joao Pedro hired an English teacher and a personal trainer to move in with him. Initially, then-goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes acted as translator, but Joao Pedro now performs that role for others. And he gained seven kilograms of bulk, helping him adapt to English football’s physicality. After several brief appearances during Project Restart, Joao Pedro was a mainstay of Watford’s behind-closed-doors Championship promotion (nine goals, two assists). Opening his account with the winner over fierce rivals Luton Town ensured that, whatever came next, his name would be remembered. Joao Pedro’s first season in the Premier League was a struggle. His team limped to relegation and he was in and out of the starting XI. Days after his step-father Carlos had passed away suddenly, Joao Pedro netted the first of his three top-flight goals, that coming in a 4-1 victory over Manchester United. He earned Hodgson’s trust though, starting nine of the final 11 league games. “He’s got all the things you are looking for in a forward,” Hodgson said. “He’s very skillful; he’s got a very good technique; he’s got good pace; and is able to run past people with the ball.” And according to Oliveria: “He has the most important thing: the heart of a player. His focus is unbelievable. You talk to him pre-game and his eyes dilate. He wants to compete.” That inner steel, the determination to be the best version of himself at everything, will serve Joao Pedro well.
Devon White overhead kick fail where the ball actually rolled down his leg and trickled away. Heidar Helguson falling off the hoarding after scoring. Keith Dublin fouling someone into the lower Rous. Pretty sure the player fouled never made it back and still haunts the spot.
https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/sport/21150468.watford-strker-joao-pedro-feels-part-family/ Nice little interview with Andrew French
Granted it was a poor team performance, and I wouldn't put it down to a lack of trying, but he didn't have one of his better nights for us...
A small pay rise and healthy buy out clause added I'd imagine. Nothing to get that excited about, just guarantees us £35m or so next summer.
Andrew French @androofrench · 38s For those asking, I’m not aware of a release clause in the new Pedro contract, but it’s unlikely #watfordfc will confirm either way publicly. Does add weight to my belief that both him and Sarr will stay the whole of this season at least