Newcastle United FC 1-0 Watford FC - 03/11/2018

In this moment, things are looking good. We go again.

 

We won't get away with missing that many chances.

We go again, regroup and come again.

 

We had so many good goal scoring opportunities. When you keep missing them, then it's totally down to the players. We don't have a striker at the club that has the necessary composure in front of goal. I can understand it, and accept it if it's a young player breaking into the side, but when seasoned pro's just go brain dead with a gaping goal in front of them, rush the chance and fired over, shoot straight at the keeper or miskick it wide, then you need to sign someone who can do this at a better level than we currently have.

It's missing these chances that's hurting the side so badly. We've been getting away with it in previous matches, when Pereyra scores a wonder goal, it settles the side and gives us confidence to control the match.

Had we been 3-0 ahead at half time, like we should have been, then Javi is a hero. There was nothing wrong with the performance, only the quality of our finishing that is the problem. We don't seem able to take basic, straight forward chances, and this is a problem which I feel can only be rectified in the transfer market.

 

I keep saying it, it's boring! We need a goalscorer. We can't keep relying on midfielder type players scoring spectacular goals, it just isn't gonna happen regularly enough. The most satisfying goal for me last week was Success's. A good move and clinically finished. We had half a dozen similar chances this week, and none taken.

Deloufou was so poor with his finishing today and a 36 year old Jermaine Defoe would have moved more quickly than Gray did for his chance. Success put it in plate for him and he waited for it, and Kenedy came from about 50 yards back to take it off his foot.

We need a natural striker/goalscorer.

But, to my mind, Gracia still is to blame a bit. It isn't much good sending on a striker that hasn't played for months, expecting them to save us. I was saying it at the time when we were playing Deeney and Gray week in week out, even after they lost their way. We needed to bring on Success and Okaka for 15/20 minutes, a bit of rotation. It makes defences think, and it gives our players some match time. Would Okaka have snatched at his easy chance had it not been his first kick in about 8 months? I doubt it. He says we've got the best squad, then prepare them to play for Christ's sake!

 

I said it in the shoutbox as well but I still don't think Will Hughes does enough of substance consistently. He is often neat and tidy but without it really amounting to anything.

He is an intelligent footballer with a lot of ability, but he is wasted in a wide right position and doesn't offer enough. Play him centrally or don't play him at all.

 

Too soon to resurrect the “Gracia Out” and “Relegation Watch “ threads ?

 

Saw that coming after the first 20mins. It’s not down to Gracia I have to agree with Hornetboy if the players took their chances he’s a master tactician for another week. Bringing on Okaka can be looked at as a big mistake as he fluffed his opportunity but we’ve seen it before where players come back from long lay offs and the opposite happens. If okaka was a 17 year old trying to break into the squad would we be saying the same thing? That he should of had more game time in other matches. Apart from the negative result the performance was good lots of positives especially first half.


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But he's not, he's a proven crap, 29 year old.

 

Pozzo simply won’t invest in a good striker. It was obvious we had that gap in the summer and also in central defence. On deadline day we were scrabbling around trying to get Livermore or Arter on loan. We will need to rely on one of our striker prospects blossoming into more than we have right now. Success, Cucho, or the new bloke arriving in Jan.

 

Our narrow wide players worked well against wolves but that won’t work every time.
Today we were doubly hit as, arguably our best player, Pereyra wasn’t in the game.

I agree the subs were poor and it wasn’t clear what they were trying to achieve.
We needed width, and I would have liked to see something like, pushing Success & Deloufou out wide, bringing on Gray or Okaka to play up front, Pereyra in behind, and Hughes off.

I think we were also missing a more commanding captain, playing further forward, directing people to keep pressing and playing to our strengths.

Finally I’d like to apologise for jinxing Mariappa by backing him at 66/1 for first goal scorer...

 

And what other option does Javi have ? I agree with you that he’s ***** but Okaka has scored at this level on another day he puts that chance away and we go home relieved but today was one of those games, Newcastle were as good as Okaka but end up with 3 points, got to take the positive from it and hopefully not let Southampton do the same.


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He doesn’t have another option. When it comes to strikers and centre backs Gracia has to play the hand Pozzo has dealt him.

 

Was 100% agreeing with your post as the most reasonable comments I have read right up until the unnecessary comment about Gracia . Kinda spoiled the post for me .....

 

And he’s done pretty well imo. Where’s Peneranda’s passport ?


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Spurs are spursy, Watford are Watfordsy

A loss at Newcastle was always on the cards

On to the next one

 

I've spent 55 years watching Watford lose to crap sides that they should have buried and beating good sides they should have lost to. Plus ca change............

 

It wasn’t a negative comment at all. I was just saying that after all my misguided hostility towards him, I could easily be one of the first on here after a defeat having a moan at him. I wasn’t though, and haven’t after any of our other defeats or the draw at Fulham. He’s earned enough brownie points this season to have the occasional off day and I was just putting forward an opinion that so too have the likes of Holebas, Gray and whoever else was getting heavily criticised today.

Our summer recruitment left a lot of us feeling we were so close to having a perfectly balanced squad, but were a forward and centre half short of that utopia. Three clean sheets from eleven, and six goals shared so far between our out-and-out strikers show those thoughts are true so far. For any club our size aiming for a top ten finish, there will always be periods of the season where you think you’ve finally cracked it only to have a setback or two like today. It’s just the nature of the beast.

 

Isn't that what's it's all about!

 

Javi doesn't like to change a winning team, as shown by keeping the starting eleven the same for so long at the start of the season. So the fact he took Masina out suggests he saw something he didn't like... I would suggest it was that both Helder Costa and some bloke from Huddersfield no-one has ever heard of, continually got in behind him to get balls into the box.

So he brought Holebas in, who then had a stinker. Doesn't make the reasoning wrong though - Masina looks chronically slow for a full back, albeit he's good in the air and passes it quite well.

 

Gracia set us up correctly today, we were all over them first half. I imagine he probably told them to keep doing what they were doing at half time and a goal would come. When Pereyra hit the bar, it must've felt like it wouldn't be our day, they grew into it and we lost belief.

Chalobah would've been a nice option to have on earlier but we don't know how fit he really is. We have no alternatives in central midfield at the moment, he'll have to start next game due to Capoue's ban and the only back up is an 18 year old centre back. Perhaps if he wasn't fully fit, we didn't want to risk him for too long?

 

Of course, but it doesn't make it any easier.

 

I expect all fans say the same things after a defeat like today:
"If only we had a 20 goal a season striker". " We can't miss the chances we did and hope to win".
I don't disagree with any of them and share the annoyance and frustration.
I don't have a solution and will most probably sulk until we next win or get a point but I do try and look at it from a playing and coaching perspective,albeit in a different sport.
So much of sport,especially elite sport,is in the mind.Elite performers miss easy chances time and time again. Federer and Djokovic made basic errors tonight but managed to keep trusting themselves and continued to be brave and took risks.
We have some very,very talented players at the club but the reason they aren't at the very top clubs is that they have more 5/10 days than their counterparts at Spurs,Arsenal etc.
Today we failed to convert our chances and doubtless will fail again before the season ends.
Should we have won,probably but having lost many a match when I was clearly better than my opponent and having not taken a half chance in the biggest match I ever played,I won't forget how quickly opportunities disappear.
That's the fascination and agony of sport.
And the milk has spilt in the fridge!

 

I feel massively frustrated and on a downer with the result. But it wasn’t a bad performance. In some ways it was a better first half than Huddersfield as we absolutely cut them open with ease and style which was why the result is so frustrating. If we had taken one of those chances early doors it could easily of been 3 or more nil. It’s a game of fine margins and with one better finish we could all be on a massive high.

Yeah we missed a load of chances but at least we created them in the first place. Better to come away pi55ed off because we should have won as opposed to losing because we were poo and they were better. I still think this team is great with more to come and score for improving further.

Still gutted.

 

It won't be a popular opinion but I'll voice it anyway...

Just got back to our hotel after the game a few beers after.

But there is blame on Javi IMO. It's not all on him but as manager and coach, he takes his fair share of the blame. Chalobah should have come on for Capoue early in the second half - Caps is suspended next week and Chalobah should have been blended into the lineup. Okaka is substandard, end of discussion for me. And I really don't think there was a case to bring Holebas back in for Masina after 6 points and 2 clean sheets - sends out a poor message. Holebas was poor and back to his old self today, we can only hope it's a minor lapse in his recent standards but I'm dubious.

But today highlighted two things mainly for me - and they are things we all know. We will remain frustratingly inconsistent because we failed to sign a striker who is vaguely clinical. Isaac Success is full of potential but we are suffering a bit because he hasn't had regular football for years. Deulofeu showed today that he shouldn't be viewed as a striker IMO. We desperately need a striker with a better goal ratio than we currently have.
And the second thing is the other elephant in the room - CB. Mariappa gives his all and he can't be faulted in terms of dedication and effort. But he's not a top-half PL defender. However, Kabasele and Cathcart, whilst more talented, are too inconsistent.

Its been said before but I think we need two better CB's and a far more clinical striker than we currently have to threaten staying in the league positions we clearly aspire to.

 

How fit is Chalobah is though? He was out for 9 months, made a token comeback at the end of last season, couldn't play at all in pre-season then got injured on his six minute England debut. Would've been a brave decision to take one of, if not our best player, this season off for him.

I guess we'll find out how fit Chalobah really is next week. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't start, even though he is the logical (and indeed only) alternative to Capoue.

 

It's all a process. I want it all right now too but we are improving the squad every year, piece by piece. We can't risk spending beyond our means. Cucho, Wilmot, Quina, Dahlberg and co are all good, cheap acquisitions that will play their part in the next two years.

Pains me to say it but Bournemouth, Leicester and to a degree Everton have a guy who consistently puts the ball in the net. All three will finish above us for that fact alone. If we're the next team down and arguably have a weak attack and defence, then we're doing alright. Hopefully this is our first season where the "R" word isn't even mentioned. Add Cucho to it and you've solved one problem I believe.

 

You are very right, I'm on an aeroplane lost wifi at 1516, didn't get it back until 1902, to see we had lost had no idea how the game went but was absolutely gutted when I saw it 0-1. On another day we beat one of the top six and it's a different story!

However at the end of the day we are in a better position than our first, second and third season back in the prem, so can't be all bad!

 

A fair point. I've always subscribed to the fact that if you're fit enough to be on the bench, that means you could be needed after 60 seconds and required to play another 89 minutes. Fit to be on the bench, fit to play as long as needed. But that's just my opinion as I understand not everyone will subscribe to the same view.

I definitely don't think I'm asking for it all right now. I agree with all you've said. But our income to me over the summer tells me we likely had the means to improve the CB position over the summer and failed to do so. I appreciate what the club are doing buying up all this potential talent - but we have to be honest as well and say the First XI could do with 1 or 2 players NOW.

And we can't be banking on Cucho solving any issues for us right now because we have no certainty he'll ever play for us, if he'll get a WP next season even if we want him to, and he's playing for a team that are bottom of La Liga. He has undoubted talent but he'll still only be 19 - and the PL is tough.

I hate to say it, but I'm looking on with envy at what Richarlison is doing up front for Everton and wondering if we should have insisted on him staying for another season, seeing as we did nothing with the transfer fee that couldn't have waited another 12 months.

 

Top of the assists for us by a country mile and should have had another today. I’m not a fan of his at all but credit him where it’s due, he started the season very well but today he was poor but the reaction to him on here is incredible.

 

I think the reaction is because he showed a worrying lapse into old habits. When combined with the fact that he was brought back at the expense of Masina who'd done nothing wrong and played in the last 2 games where we garnered 6 points and 2 clean sheets, I can understand fan's frustrations. By being put back in the team today, Holebas had to show why Gracia was justified in taking that decision - and he really did not do that sadly. Masina should be very angry IMO and would have every right to ask Gracia of his thought process.

 

When you look at the forwards we had in the Championship, being Vydra, Forestieri, Deeney and Ighalo, compared to what we have now being Okaka, Deeney, Success and Gray…...have we really improved? I'd say we have actually regressed a little. This is an expensive area to furnish, but we've made fantastic strides in improving the side in every aspect apart from the forwards. This really needs addressing or else this season of promise will go down the drain, just like previous seasons.

I agree with the comment over Richarlison. He's single handily winning matches for Everton. Without him they'd be struggling. Just imagine a forward line of Pereyra, Richarlison and Deulofeu. It's mouth-watering.

That's long gone now, but all our strikers are Championship standard in terms of finishing. They do have good attributes, but then it's their job to score goals, and none of them have the ability to do it.

 

I agree, that's definitely how it should work, just not convinced we have the resources to cover it. I think at any point we need to be playing a minimum of two of Doucouré, Capoue, Chalobah and Cleverley - Pereyra and Hughes are too lighweight and not dynamic enough to play in a central two.

Cleverley's injury and Chalobah's fitness concerns hugely hamper us. I can definitely see Chalobah being put on the bench but only fit enough for 20-30 mins, as where do we turn next in the pecking order? It's Ben Wilmot, who for all his promise, is an 18 year old who was playing as a centre back at Stevenage last season.

 

As usual a defeat is followed by a load of over the top reaction.
We had the best start to a top division ever. Not over the last few seasons, ever. Better than Sir Graham even managed. We battered Newcastle for the first half and yes the finishing let us down but let’s not pretend we weren’t utterly dominant and looked a class above them just so we can have a good old moan on here.
It was frustrating to lose but we still looked a very good team but I would slightly question the subs and I do feel it’s a failing of JG. However he shouldn’t have had to make those decisions had we taken our chances but it happens.
What we need is a proven goal scorer according to many and they are absolutely spot on. However, getting a proven goal scorer is a little more difficult than some seem to think. Basically they are out of our price range and we have to look more at players who might come good rather than one who has already done it. On that note Alcacer was never coming here so can we stop wishing he had signed. I’ve seen a lot of players get stuck on here today but Mariappas double miss was the worst miss of the day but doesn’t get mentioned.
Look on the bright side, I’m currently on holiday!!

 

We don 't appear to have any game plan. No structure in our play. I read the behind the scenes piece on line this week, but we seemed have lost all idea in the second half. All the talk from some of the players during the week was complete bull.
Our defence is poor, a very weak unit. I am not sure we are improving as some fans feel. I am not convinced by JG, but he has the job right now, so it's tough luck for some fans.
Ok, we could do with a goalscorer, every team wants that. Paco Alcacer was not going to sign for Watford. He made that very clear, so there no point in any fan bleating on and on.
The thing is that you can just see a 5hit performance coming from Watford. That what 's so disappointing and leaves most fans frustrated.
We have been totally awful at Southampton on our a last few visits. Christ! Who can forget the FA Cup game last season? It was embarrassing. They was more fight from the team after the final whistle than during the game..
We are in the 'Strugglers Section' in the Premiership. Yes we are. We cannot play $hit next week against another struggling side.
We have sold 2700 tickets so far for next week game. We can only hope that JG and his players keep their mouths shut in the press and play with some heart next week.
I know the fans don't pay their wages, but they should at least give some effort.
We can live in hope l guess