I still think that Brentford incident massivly effected him psychologically. He was never the same since then. But I do wish him the best of luck for his new venture in football. Cannot deny the bloke was likable, even if his skill as CB was questionable at times. He brought the squad together when we were falling apart under Xisco, and waved off a caveman in the Bedfordshire Derby at Vicarage Road. We will always have them moments.
Of those, four are absolute garbage. So it’s Porteous plus a converted Bayo as first choices from August then.
Well one of them will probably be injured in no time. Another do ok for most of the game then fall asleep and make a costly error. The other 2 caught out for pace no doubt. Obviously we aren't going to have defenders who are perfect and everyone has bad days but there are clear limitations to be found in all of the back line.
This is why I’m a little surprised Cathcart has been allowed to go, as IMO, he’s better than all bar Porteous or Sierralta on a good day. If we bring in nobody, then we’ve actually weakened our back line. If you consider we’ll be without Pedro, Sarr and a few of the stronger players we had on loan last season, it’s going to be a tough watch this season, albeit, we’ll be trying a little bit harder, for the first few weeks at least.
Cathcart might be a wages/length of contract issue. Interesting to see where he goes next. He does not strike me as a potential coach or manager, so he may be looking for a couple more years playing.
Cathcart wasn't exactly fast in his prime, it was definitely the right time to let him go. WTE is no Messiah, but he's a good lad who cares for the club, and he ain't anywhere near as bad a defender as some on here make out, plus he's definitely pacier than most of our CBs, so it's fair to say I am a bit concerned about our current options
The only issue I have, is on the surface, it appears to make our defensive backline even weaker than before. I think Cathcart was very underrated. He really organised the backline well. I always felt more secure when he was in the side, certainly at Championship level. If we bring in a better CB, then that's fine, but so far I've not even seen us loosely linked to anyone for that position. I remember Porteous stating he could learn a lot from Cathcart when he signed. I would have much preferred keeing Cathcart for another year, with an option to extend, and moved on Kabasele. Even WTE offers more than him, and he's been allowed to go. To remove Cathcart and Troost before Kabs is very odd, IMO.
Cathcart simply had to go, he was declining fast, it was his time. Kabasele, like it or not, has a year left on his deal and with nobody interested in him, nor with us having much cover at CB, was always going to stay. WTE being allowed to leave is a weird one for me, not entirely surprising considering he was allowed to go on loan last season, but it does mean we desperately need some suitable options there
Again history will re-write itself to fit a narrative. I don’t think he was a bad player, merely an inconsistent one. He played a big part in getting us promoted but like many others the next season he found it too big a step up and his form suffered, most notably with the Brentford debacle. A player who quite obviously cared about our club and it’s culture and that was worth something, but ultimately it’s on the pitch that really matters. Good luck for your move and your fresh start. For better or worse we are certainly dispensing with a lot of experience this summer, and beginning yet another new era, to use that lazy phrase. I’d be very surprised if we didn’t add to our defence this window, and I’d also be surprised too if at least some of our current defenders didn’t improve next season under our new coaching team (despite my reservations about then). Things rarely stand still for long. (Apart from our defenders at corners lol)
Oh I beg to differ. Nothing short of a liability. How we're getting a fee for him is baffling. People refer back to the promotion season and the defensive record. My opinion is that it was down to woeful finishing form the opposition and Bachman showing what a good shot stopper he was. Not anymore though I might add.
We definitely did get let off the hook at times (I should add that's certainly not all on WTE), but I do disagree about Bachmann, he's a competent shot-stopper, but he's no Foster (mercifully in some ways!) or Gomes
Captain Fantastic scored a penalty as Nigeria earned a crucial AFCON group stage win against hosts Cote d'Ivoire, guess he must have practiced with Deeney! https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/68011602
I’ve liked this post because I like the guy. Glad he’s doing well with Nigeria. Equally relieved that you weren’t posting to say he’s been linked with a return to Watford.
If he were coming back I'd have posted it in the transfer section! I think he was underrated, he was excellent alongside Sierralta, and I'd rather him than Porteous, but it's the other side of the CB partnership we need numbers
He definitely had some good performances. I was at Bristol City last season for a very drab 0-0 before the winter World Cup. Troost was outstanding that day. But unfortunately - for me - his blunders, especially in the Premier League, overshadowed the good player that he could be. I think Porteous could mature into a better player than WTE. Just my opinion of course.
Yep, the raw materials are there with Porto, but he's a hothead (not that he's constantly getting into fights or anything, but going walkabout and lacking a bit of discipline at times)
A very dramatic semi-final for Nigeria, WTE's initial penalty looked like getting them through, but a Nigeria clincher in the last minute got called back for a South Africa penalty which was duly converted and the match went to pens where WTE's confident shot helped the Super Eagles to the final
Nigeria 1-0 up, that man again, this time he scores with his bonce, an absolutely towering header from a set piece! Just as well, because Nigeria are not firing!
I’ve always liked him. Wasn’t a great player, but I thought he was a perfect character for VI. It was a shame to see him go as I think he’d have been excellent in the team we have now.
Sounds like he has a lot to say about his time here . https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/sport/24191933.troost-ekong-interview-wanted-give-watford-fans/
