The squad is terrible, I don't know how anyone can argue otherwise. 11 defeats in a row at home should be a pretty clear indication that this group isn't anywhere near good enough for the PL. Look at the state of the bench yesterday!
That’s enough to give you nightmares. And people are criticising Hodgson for not making subs, I mean he should’ve, but it wouldn’t have exactly helped.
Spot on summary. There were noticeably fewer supporters there yesterday but the atmosphere was very good in the first half. It became increasingly subdued and frustrated in the second half as it became apparent we were going to sit back and try and defend a 1-0 lead and that no fresh legs were going to be brought on. As for those pondering the issue of applauding at the end, it wasn’t a debating point where we sit in the Rookery. As their second goal went in, our section left on mass. I’ve supported Watford for more than 40 years and can count on one hand the number of times I’ve left the ground before the final whistle but I’ve done so twice in the last month now.
I genuinely believed that those four fixtures against our relegation rivals were the key to our survival and that we would save our season by winning them, but the team has let us all down and finally my spirit has been broken by the pathetic abysmal performances the team have produced in those games so far.... I'M DONE
I can take the result and being relegated, but this match was a perfect example of what is horrible about our club at the moment. The team looked up for it in the first half on the whole. They chased the ball down, put the effort in and looked like decent players. In the second half, the players looked like they couldn't be bothered. Passes suddenly didn't complete and the pace dropped off. What we lack is team spirit and motivation. Players are not putting in that extra effort. The sort we last saw with Boothroyd. Combine that with players of the calibre that we now have, but don't show and we'll be decent. But management isn't the issue, we've had them of all styles and abilities. Players aren't the issue we've had wholesale changes. The issue has to be the only constant and that's the club ownership and structure. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Thanks for rescuing us from the Red Helmet, thanks for the 4th stand but could, you kindly sort yourselves out or bugger off please.
Discussing Pozzos leaving is an irrelevance as, to our knowledge, there are no incoming offers to an individual who has not signified he wants to sell get rid of Duxberry Get in a manager who has control of incoming players and can stamp his authority. Clear out most of the squad if possible and concentrate on creating a youthful squad Don’t expect to bounce back up Concentrate on reducing our debt
Just bothered to watch the highlights. This all comes down to the Pozzos. They’ve hired successive managers who are too lacking in talent or awareness to realise Kucka’s legs only last 50-60 minutes. Both Burnley goals were his fault. The first he was too slow to get out to the crosser. Sure it was an excellent delivery, but he was given far too long to look up and pick his spot. The second, he took an age to get up, played everyone onside and meant our defence was in no man’s land. We deserve everything we get when you pin your defensive structure on a player whose legs have gone.
I've heard from a source that Ray had lost the little flip book they show the subs before they come on the pitch and so we were unable to prepare them tactically. Make of that what you will.
Not to mention the plump wood pigeons in my close, who accurately deposit a whole M*ller Fruit Corner on my car daily.
Are you sure ? Molina for instance ? Stryger Larsen would be a great depth at right back alone. The quality in midfield that Deulofeu, Pereyra (when he was interested) and Capoue is sorely missed. Our awful midfield is one of the biggest reasons for the results this season. Nestorovski is a tricky forward, Samardzic @SerbianHornet has bags of promise and I hope he plays for Serbia not Germany while there are other kids in there like Udogie and Soppy as well. It's a balanced side in what is increasingly becoming a more competitive serie A. New stadia for clubs. Better TV deal and more investors. The allure of Italian football is coming back.
Hard to compare different leagues, but Samir was their first choice starting CB. He's come here and shown that he's a starting centre back for a team so bad that they will be relegated with a record home run of defeats and possibly their lowest ever points total at this level. Actually, with Pussetto, Okaka, Sema, Success etc. I suppose we have enough data to say that actually, a team of top 8 Champ players would probably survive in Serie A.
I wouldnt want many of them featuring even in the champ. Absolutely rancid squad building window after window.
Actually, I think you've hit the nail on the head here. If we had won 4 of the games we have lost against our nearest rivals, we would actually be in a better position than we are now and they'd be in a worse one. Can any boffins do the maths on this one, if we had beaten Leeds, Burnley, Brentford x 2 etc would we be in a better position?
The biggest worry was a lack of fitness ! How are these players going to cope next season with 3 games a week regularly against strong physical sides ? And obviously the management didn’t trust any of the subs to make any impact .
I've read/heard a few stories about the squad being unhappy with Gino and Scott etc, mainly revolving around bonuses after the FA Cup Final and after promotion last season. No surprise that the seasons following these disputes have resulted in us being relegated. There could be nothing in it, I'm not ITK. However, it could be that the club promise the players bonuses they can't afford or have no intention of paying.
3 x 4 = 12 22 + 12 = 34 Take away the points points gained by Burnley, Leeds and Brentford x2 gained on us, we would be 15th right now, level on points with Brentford with a probable worse GD. To make it even more jarring, had we beaten Norwich at home and got two points out both Spuds games, we would be 9th. NINTH. Wow.
It’s all such a mess. The players we have who you would imagine have the best character and mentality are sadly no longer up to the playing standard required. The few good players we do have are slowly but surely being revealed to have no backbone and poor attitudes. Maybe it’s mother time dimming my memory and maybe it was just as crazy back then, but I seem to think the squad that got us up first time (under Pozzo) was one we’d been building over the three seasons and there was plenty more continuity. We then added to it with a handful of well thought through signings and a few extra leaders. I know there were duff signings too, and the managerial merry go round up to Joka arriving, but still I seem to recall things being a little more normal and planned back then. But from the moment promotion was won this time, it seems to have been one crazy decision after another. Instead of strengthening the squad, I think you could even argue we’ve made it worse. Defence wasn’t improved last summer, we gambled on some very iffy midfield signings and ended up with almost no goal product at all from this area, and gambled on a striker who hadn’t scored all of last season. I accept we don’t know what goes on behind the scenes and there may be plausible reasons for some of the weird decisions. But did we strengthen the squad by not fighting harder to keep Hughes and Chalobah? Was it a sensible decision to let Deulofeu’s loan move become permanent when we had a real chance of promotion? Was it sensible to let Zinck go on loan when he seemed one of the few players we had capable of creating something? Did we recruit well in January, when two of our signings that window can barely get a kick? Personally I’d answer no to all those questions. Personally I think our fate was pretty much sealed when we fired Xisco. Not because I believe he’d have kept us up. But because it showed ‘here we go again’. More knee jerk decisions. More apparent lack of planning (compared to the apparent master stroke of changing coach the summer after we first got promotion, bringing in a top name and sticking with him all season, plus actually giving him a decent squad to work with). I think when the season is over, a lot of dirt will come out about this year. Lots of ‘a source said’ type stories. And none of it will be pretty.
I agree with this. Deulofeu is probably better than all of our attackers and so is Pereyra when he's on it (I still think he was probably our most naturally skilled player in the last 7-8 years or so). Beto is much better than all of our centre forwards, and other players are of about the same quality as our players. I doubt their defenders and keepers are much worse than ours, considering their league position. Samardzic is super talented and I would love to see him here (though I doubt that's possible and his best position is probably "10"). I'd love it if he chose Serbia as well, he has attracted a lot of interest here and quite a few people watch Udinese games because of him. There is a chance he will as well, he said he wouldn't refuse the call up (apparently our new nt team coach Piksi was his favourite player growing up) and the reason he chose Germany before was because he was mistreated by our FA.
I can't find the words to describe this club at the moment. What a toxic mess from Pozzo/Duxbury, to geriatric manager who's slippers are still warm by the fire, to the players who can't wait to get out. I'd like to think the summer will be a time for a great reset yet we've been here before. All the platitudes and hot air from Duxbury, nothing will change apart from winning a few more games next season. At least we will be in the championship and won't have to listen to nonsense pundits with their hot takes and waffle.
Agree. After the mess they made two seasons ago, you could just about forgive them, based on the success they’ve brought us and the possible mitigating factors too such as covid and the break for lockdown etc. What I find unforgivable is them then making all those same mistakes again this season, probably even worse actually. There’s nothing that should lead any of us to believe that the same decision makers will suddenly magically get everything right for next season. Leopards and spots and all that.
Michael Jackson has only been in charge of Burnley since 15 April and already has more Premier League points (10) than any Watford manager has taken this season (Munoz 7, Ranieri 6, Hodgson 9).
So, about that Nigerian curse then, anything in it do you think? Will Gino have to sacrifice his first born in the centre circle to break the curse?
Its the bloody player recruitment and the lack of any future planning in the player recruitment area suchas the academy etc which is the problem. I refuse to blame the head coach / manager any more. The finger of blame should be pointed right in Ginos face and the foot of justice shoved squarely where the sun does not shine. Stop blaming the managers ffs, all our problems start at the very top.
So we're not as bad against good teams as it looks, but even worse than teams that are utter crap. Now I understand.
Correct. It's the Watford way of doing things. Next season expect us to beat Norwich, Leeds/Everton and lose to Birmingham, Rotherham and Wigan etc.
