Here's a very small positive note for this fixture. Away from home we are marginally better organized. We played alright against them at the Vic and actually managed to score a goal against them. We only lost 2-0 at Anfield, got a very fortunate 0-0 at OT and only lost 1-0 at Arsenal and Spuds. Surely - that is a sign we can step out onto the hallowed turf and avoid a smashing? Yes I am clutching at very thin paper straws here, I know that. Or is going to be the general shyte-our-pants performance as per ususal?
Are the PL doing bonus points now for losing "only by a little bit" like they do in Premiership Rugby?
Lost our last 14 matches to this lot by an aggregate of 53-7. Remarkable stuff. Will pretend there is no game this weekend and shrug when someone tells me it was 7 or 8.
Watford slipped to a 53-7 defeat at the hands of Manchester City last night – and ex-City legends have HAILED the clash the ‘game of the decade’. City got off to a flier as Raheem Sterling and David Silva both scored in the opening minute to take the sting out of the Hornets. Then things went from bad to worse when Ben Foster rushed off his line in the seventh minute and brought down Mahrez in the box. Sergio Aguero converted from the spot – the first of an incredible 11-goal haul for the Argentinian star. Foster was by no means the only culprit – the Hornets fielded five goalkeepers to try to stem the flow, but neither Jonathan Bond, Heurelho Gomes, Costel Pantilimon nor Daniel Bachmann managed to keep City at bay. City led 9-0 after 18 minutes as it began to look like they’d done enough to secure the points. Fernando Forestieri did hit back to give the Hornets hope after 21 minutes but City raced into a 13-1 lead by the half-hour mark. The combined coaching team of Gianfranco Zola, Giuseppe Sannino, Quique Sanchez Flores, Walter Mazzarri, Marco Silva, Javi Gracia, Hayden Mullins and Claudio Ranieri must’ve hoped to get to half-time without City inflicting any further damage. But any hopes of a tactical turn-around were dashed as City added another seven before the break (Aguero 36, Gabriel Jesus 37, 38, Sané 40, Sterling 41, Fernandinho 41, Barry 44) to lead 23-2 at the interval. In the second half, things went from worse to absolutely abysmal as the scoreboard struggled to keep count. All in all it was a tough afternoon for the Hornets but the fans never lost heart and the stadium was a sea of yellow and black flags at the final whistle.
After the 53-7 defeat to City, the reaction on social media was predictable. Podcaster Steve Reasonable summed up the supporters’ feelings when he said: “I thought we were unlucky. Perhaps the coaching team of Gianfranco, Beppe, Quique, Walter, Marco, Javi, Hayden and CR70 set us up a bit open in the first half and we never got to grips with City’s trequartista, or false nine-and-a-half as I like to think of them. If we could have avoided the nine early goals we might have stood a chance of coming away with a point. I’d need to look at the stats but I think the xG both for and against suggests we were a bit hard-done-by at the end of the day. We go again.” The Spoonfuls of Golden Slurry YouTube channel said: “You’ve got to look at the positives, which I am sure Gino and Scott will do. We scored seven goals against the best team in the world. If we’d managed to keep a clean sheet people would be reacting very differently, that’s for sure. I think it’s very important we all remember that football is a game of fine margins. Like and subscribe.” On BBC phone-in 606, Ron Supporter said: “Great show, as always, Robbie. I’m incredibly angry right now, Chris. I just don’t know what’s happened to our club, Robbie. I’m not here to single out any one particular player and blame them for absolutely everything, but there is one player I think who’s to blame for everything and if we could just get rid of this player all the others would immediately become much better, you know what I mean, Chris? Cos that’s how football works, isn’t it Robbie.” On Twitter the reaction was harsher. “Just dissolve our club now and turn our ground into affordable housing. Embarrassed to support us right now. Anyone who waved a flag in the last ten minutes may as well have run on the pitch and kicked the ball in our own net,” said one. “Anyone who doesn’t call everyone associated with the club the foulest insults possible and break their fist punching a postbox in anger on the way home is just a happy-clapping COG seal who literally wants to see us lose 53-7 every week and hopes we get relegated to the Herts Senior County League,” said another “All 57 players were a disgrace and my pie was cold in the middle,” another added. “I never want to see any of them in a Watford shirt again and I will be making my views very clear at the next secret meeting for social media personalities on Wednesday, which you can watch on my Tik Tok.” Another said: “It’s cost me over two thousand pounds to watch that rubbish. I’m not spending another penny until the commemorative 53-7 shirt comes out.” WFCForums user QuizzicalRaisedEyebrowWhoNoticesMoreThanYouDo said: “Did you notice Mogi Bayat’s clients were responsible for errors leading to 48 of the 53 goals? Say no more.” Another said: “If you didn’t see us lose 1-0 at Darlington the day we went bottom of the old Fourth Division I really don’t think you’re in a position to comment, do you?” The club’s official website went with: “Exclusive: Ben Iroha doesn’t remember much about second half substitute appearance against Ipswich Town.”
And yet Spuds still think there's a 'big 6', lol. Edit - just read that @Fuzzy beat me to it. Should have read the whole thread first!
In the time I’ve been a WFC fan we’ve just had two measly draws against them, and even one of them saw us relegated in 2006/07. The reverse fixture wasn’t bad though - not a great game but it was an away point and back then away points in the Prem were as rare as hen’s teeth, or Prem home points these days, the CoM stadium was impressive, there was a good atmosphere in the away stand with people singing old Watford songs, it was my first visit to Manchester since being a student there eight years previously and City were just City instead of the bloated Frankenstein of a club they became not long after. The two defeats against them in the Vialli season were disappointing too, the first during which we were well beaten in front of the TV cameras in a clash of the promotion favourites (hah!) - set the tone for the whole season really. Then a chance to redeem ourselves in the reverse fixture was blown when we squandered all three points through a Heidar og after taking the lead through Tommy Smith.
I for one, am a huge advocate of the European super league. I don't want to compete with this level of corporate monstrosity. I dont want to be like them and I dont want to watch them v anyone, lest of all us. I would be delighted if every year we went out to nobble their players and were hugely open about it. "We've re-signed Holebas for the weekends game and hes raring to get stuck in and end Raheems career". They're about as morally acceptable as the Russian Jimmy Saville Nazi reform party but nobody gives a ****.
Our superstars will put themselves in the shop window, pundits will applaud old woy for how organized he’s got us in the few months he’s had. Citeh 4 Orn’s 1 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Well I for one am looking forward to us at least helping City catch up to Liverpool's goal difference as the extra 10 vs us should help them and could be crucial to denying the scousers the title.
We are going to absolutely roll over, as per. Genuinely wouldn't be surprised if it was a similar score to the last time we went up here.
They will genuinely be thinking this is a game where they can do their goal difference an incredible world of good.
We won't win. Roy won't make a sub until the 75th minute taking off a midfielder for a midfielder. Kiko won't fancy it and will either 'have a knock' or will be injured in the first half. Sissoko will continue to be utilised as a more forward midfielder making us comically bad on the break. Our fans (mad loyal crazy heroes) will outsing Citeh all match.
Unfortunately in this day and age football isn’t about winning things but money, and in that sense Spurs are one of the big 6. Sky are obsessed with the race for the the fourth CL spot, but none of the teams that can get it will have a hope of winning the CL, it’s just the fact that qualification nets them an extra £40m, which of course is the romance of football and what it’s all about.
City will see this as a chance to improve their goal difference and catch up with Liverpool. City 8-0 Loser FC Lets hope we can all make a few quid off a smashing, early Watford red card and penalty would be splendid.
The only small, minute, hard to see chink of light is that they've got a Champions League semi final game on Tuesday that is absolutely massive for them. That means they "could" rest some players and/or have that on their mind. We're 26's to win this which is the highest odds I've ever seen in any league match ever. That's simply ridiculous odds so yes, I'm going to put a couple of quid on that. I fully expect my bet to be dead inside 10 minutes but 26's...........
Or a game to not stress the players and rest them for the remaining games. Go 2-0 up in 10mins then just pass it around the back for the remaining 80. 3 points in the bag and everyone fresh for the games to come.
I don’t care enough to get upset about City’s oil money. I also don’t care enough to pay the slightest bit of attention to the result.
They could play their under 23 side against our first team and still batter us. I think it's their kit... our players don't seem to like Sky Blue. Their subs bench will be worth over twice us much as our squad too - so for our fans and players, it's a day out to enjoy the occasion only to be star struck by their talent paid for by Petrol Dollars.
I think Roy will be more cautious, if I'm honest. First sub will be to take off a forward for a defender, hoping to keep it to a respectable 7-0.
Manchester City, as far as I care, are a nothing club. They are the pay-to-win kid that uses cheat codes. An irrelevance to football.
That's it. No one really likes them, no one really hates them. They're just there and everyone knows how they got there.
I'm hoping that we top our record defeat....at least that will make this season memorable for something
Out of interest, if Pozzos sold up to an Arab sheikh who invested gazillions into our infrastructure and playing squad, and we became a top 6 team over the next 3/4 seasons…would that excite you?
