We ve really missed him . The definition of unsung hero . The amount of potential attacks he snubs out . Generally every opposition goal from open play comes from a midfield area that could have been snubbed out but wasn’t .
Sarr scored 13 last time in this division, he’s over halfway there now, Pedro is on 8. Them two could get to 35 together without our dud, wasteful striker.
Good win today, enjoyed that Adeyemo goal was a great moment, one of the best in recent years. Agree with those who said it wasn’t an easy finish either, took it very well under pressure Martins looks raw but made things happen, big involvement in both goals Thought Kone was very good and will look even better with quality around him. Whoever compared him to Chalobah is right as well, similar profile and skill set Shout out to Gaspar, another good shift in the middle. Chowdhury was a very welcome return and glad to see the club finally learn and sensibly sub him earlyish for some extra recovery time Morris very good in defence and attack. I’ve not been convinced by him so far but excellent today MOTM Cathcart, faultless performance. Sierralta decent alongside him as well. The negatives were Bayo and Ngakia, both poor, especially the former who even had the audacity to throw a strop and slowly sulk off after a well deserved substitution Has to be 3 points next weekend to keep this momentum going, hopefully at least one in the door between now and then to give Bilic some more options as well
Clueless is the word that applies to most on here. It never ceases to amaze me just how much many of you seem to think you actually have some sort of understanding of the game.Still, it is quite amusing to watch you embarrass yourselves
Litter picking and smoking behind the sports hall for Bill the caretaker was how I spent many of my teenage Saturday mornings
Yup and if you combine Bayo with Davis who have generally been interchangeable you have 8 goals so far this season .
If we are going with a back three, for me it has to be FS/CC/CK. If CK is error prone, how do you describe WTE? His latest faux pas at Swansea, changed the course of the game and led to the rout. The problem with CK is that for many he is always tarred with the Bournemouth fiasco.......
It looks like that most on the forum are in agreement this evening!! Great to see the young fella score Martins made a difference The hair and Kone make a huge difference. Kone is a brilliant signing so far Gaspar looks good in midfield Cathcart excellent with The Bloke from Chile not far behind Bachmanns quietest game all season Bayo was awful. To walk off like that showed a total lack of respect Ngakia was equally bad Morris played very well and some his passes down the line were exceptional Ferreira was great going forward and ok when one on one. However defensive positions were terrible and bottled out of every header. Better than Ngakia though
I've got no problem with you having a pop at me, I stand by this comment. Good win today but we have been absolutely dreadful under Bilic at times. Still not totally sold on him personally.
Impressive. 45 minutes at a new club, and judgement already made. What is the minimum time you need to see a player before declaring them “crap”? (And what do they need to do, more than creating the first goal and winning a penalty for the second, to avoid being called “crap”?)
It’s more than just that Bournemouth game. He’s done the exact thing a number of times. And even if you totally remove those things, he’s still turd. I’m Convinced that Watford fans have been conditioned into thinking our ‘least-worst’ performing CB’s are good, purely because we have been starved of actual good ones. It’s the same with Cathcart and Sierralta. They are all cack. Just some are less cack than others.
That looked like it meant the world to Adeyemo, fair play to him. Came on and put himself about and chased everything, a well deserved goal. Also a difficult finish so I’m so happy for the kid. Bayo’s walk off the pitch reminiscent of Granit Xhaka a few years ago- Xhaka rightfully got stick for that and so did Bayo. It’s alright to do that if you’re 3-0 up with a few minutes to go but it was 0-0 and we desperately needed that opening goal. Notice your number on the screen and run off the pitch to ensure more time to find a goal. Idiot all in all a decent 3 points- Blackpool weren’t that good and clearly came for a draw. That was for you GT
Well seeing them play together at Norwich last week, I would say that they are more than sufficient unit for this league (but not the one above).
In a season where we went up automatically, Sarr got 13. Jp didn't get 17 or 38. Davis hasn't shown he can even get double figures. The aligning of all the planets to have all 3 start and finish 46 games a season and somehow score 1 in 3 each, which is the peak for JP and Sarr and well beyond Davis - never ever going to happen. Never. Not ever.
With three points needed we started the game with a makeshift team, ended the game with three points and a lot of wholehearted displays to give Slaven food for thought with his team selections over the next few weeks, especially when the better injured players start to return. Today gave us hope we can compete, is so much better when Sarr plays on the front foot, Martins looked exciting and Bayo is Bayo!
Why don't you quote the myriad people calling him 'useful,' or 'good' in all seriousness and call them out on their early judgment? He's utter crap. He's not our player and we shouldn't have signed him. I'm not going to wait an arbitrary number of games before nailing my colours to the mast. I saw what I saw. Crap.
Good post thank you. Don’t agree with some of it but it’s what the forum is all about. Intelligent post and we can all debate in a respectful manner. And we must also be open.
To be fair, he hardly ‘won’ the penalty! It was a horrific touch. (Your wider point is valid though - he looks a talent on first impressions)
Loved that moment from Adeyemo. He was playing for Hitchin a couple of weeks ago! Shoutout to Asprilla who has got the ‘pre’ assist for the opening goals in our last two games with brilliant passes. Thought the new RB was nowhere near as bad as some people are making out, thought he was decent actually besides the obvious weakness under the long ball, which he can improve on. Special shout-out to the ref too. Think it’s gone unnoticed because we won, but I think he might be the worst of the season, which takes some doing. Didn’t book their player for assaulting Kone, whilst also stopping a counter attack. Didn’t give a single foul on Sarr I don’t think despite being kicked repeatedly, didn’t give a pretty blantent looking penalty against Sarr. Stopped the first half whilst we had a dangerous attack despite there being loads of stoppages in injury time & booked gasper for a soft tackle despite letting about 6 of theirs go. Awful.
Alright, putting some thoughts down on the players and the performance now had time. Bachmann: Shakey kicking today and didn't go for much in the air, but with Cathcart and Sierralta on form that maybe wasn't a bad thing than letting get on with it. Reminded me of his earlier performances where he was finding his feet in goal for us which isn't confidence inspiring. That said, didn't do a lot wrong and tried to release the ball early when he could so one for him to take lessons from and move on. Ngakia: Think he put in a shift, but his inability to know how to drive forward with or without the ball is killing his career with us. He didn't do much wrong on his side, but maybe just as importantly didn't do much right either. Was maybe isolated from the team at points but whether that's because he isn't able to make himself available or the team not able to find him is hard to say. Cathcart: Best game since Luton. His decision making, passing and actual defending was all well judged and well executed. My MotM for today as he displayed what years of experience and applying it looks like. He's someone who brings the best from others and looks to have found his voice marshalling a defence now. Sierralta: I slated him earlier in the Season for poor performances, but today was a good display. Simple and effective work, thought a back 4 would have exposed him after WTE went off, but I was wrong and he was fine after that. WTE: I will say I thought he had an OK game. Unsure if his substituion was following the collision in the first half or would have been made regardless. Either way, think he played fine and is a good option to rotate with Sierralta as needed between them. Morris: He has to keep his spot until Kamara earns it back now. His delivery was markedly improved today and work rate was unquestionable. Is he as good on the ball as Kamara? Maybe not dribbling wise, but he doesn't make braindead passes across the defence, nor does he mentally switch off which is more important as an attribute. Overall, good work Morris as you've earned your place in this team. Gaspar: How is it that we've managed to procure an RB better suited at CDM, whilst we have a CM better located at RB? Either way, Gaspar looks a far, far better player in this role than previously. Although it begs the question exactly where he'll play once we get some CM's back, it's nice to see him actually look comfortable with his role now with good commited tackles and putting himself about effectively to win the ball. Choudhury: Holy hell have we missed him. Absolute monster of a ball winner and I'd take the £6m buy option regardless of promotion, funded from Pedro and Sarr sales or Prem money in either scenario. He doesn't have the passing range of Louza, Koné or Asprilla but he doesn't hold up our play by playing accurate simple short passes to the right player at the right time thereby keeping an attacking tempo going. Koné: He looks excellent. A midfield pairing of him, Choudhury and Louza is scintilating to think of and his profile of play is what we have sorely, sorely lacked since Louza's injury. Took some nasty tackles today but came through the other side relatively unscathed but his final ball and ability to link the team is something we'll quickly come to rely on as this second half of the Season progresses I feel. That pass for Martins which lead to the first goal was excellent. Sarr: That was the most interested he's look in a game for a long time now. Playing more narrow and asked to press more centrally seemed to get a tune from him as I felt he actually covered Ngakia / Ferreira pretty well during the game. Should have had more fouls called for him and especially the penalty not given and he did sulk a bit afterwards, but overall I want to see this Sarr again because it's a Sarr who actually looked a player we think he's worth. Well executed penalty too after a run-up that didn't inspire confidence. Bayo: There are a lot of people criticising him for not being Davis tonight and that's unfair criticism as that playstyle isn't his. Bayo is a poacher, and during the first half I could see 3 or 4 occasions where he was correctly positioned had the ball made its way past the defence either with a better ball or worse defending. Morris' early ball was going right to him where he had made space between the CB's before a defender got their head to it just before it reached him. On multiple occasions he attacked where the ball was going that would have been a high quality chance had the defence not cleared it properly. He's a good poacher and will get goals, albeit he's also frustrating. That being said, his first touch was poor today and it wasn't always because he was under heavy pressure where it's understandable. He doesn't get involved enough to stay in the game and goes missing for long patches if we aren't dominating the game. But what is not defendable nor acceptable is that trudge off the pitch when his number was up. We're 0-0 at home, frustrated and we want to keep momentum and he has the audacity to trudge. Not acceptable and should be fined a week's wage for that. The team comes before the individual no matter what and that must be clear and crystal. Subs: Ferreira: Alright game from him. Defensively, he was not great. He was weak at 1v1 defending, being caught with balls played behind more than I'm comfortable with. That said, he intercepted the ball more than once in an aggresive position getting ahead of the opponent and carried it forward with intent. That spin he tried to pull off I think will be a good encapsulation for him in future games; high risk, high reward. The polar opposite to Ngakia and one which on balance will gain us more than we'll lose. I liked what I saw overall, let's see how he does if he starts next game. Asprilla: Good 30 or so minutes from him. Played the pass for Martins who was subsequently fouled by their GK and seems to suit an impact substitute role whilst developing his strength and stamina as he can't sustain a 90 minute performance yet. Give him a Season or two to grow into his body and, like Pedro, he'll be a top talent as his quality on the ball is excellent and vision will only improve. Martins: Looked a real threat and know how to attack both on and off the ball. His shot was well saved than a bad miss but his runs and was brave to get to the ball ahead of the GK who clattered him afterwards for the penalty. He'll get goals and assists for sure; I expect come end of the Season he'll be one of our top scorers. No pressure then. Adeyemo: GET THE **** IN LAD! A 72nd minute goal during the GT remembrance game? Couldn't write it any better if I tried. Excellent anticipation and awareness than to assume it would either go in or parried away and a good finish that could have been cleared if it was hit in a less commited manner. Grieves: Can't remember him doing much for his 2 minutes but quite frankly, who cares? It's nice having some youth players to wear the shirt. Good work getting in the team and work hard to get into the XI. I sincerely hope we never get that referee again, and that we put in a formal complaint. The challenges he missed, cards not given to either cynical or dangerous fouls and that Sarr penalty is completely inexcusable and goes beyond just incompetence to me with the volume of them. No injuries? Youth player goal? Debutants impressing? Sounds like a good day at the office to me.
Agree with this. Surprised how much flak Ferreira is taking, when really Morris is similarly vulnerable to high balls dropped in behind him and he’s being lauded.
It has been noted a few times, and was very much discussed on the Shoutbox, tbf. As you say, the grievance driving it is never going to be as strong if we managed to overcome that kind of incompetence regardless.
