Gerard Deulofeu

Discussion in 'Former Players Archive' started by hornmeister, Jan 31, 2018.

  1. kVA

    kVA Reservist


    Sounds like Public Enemy
     
  2. hornetboy1

    hornetboy1 First Team Captain

    I agree.....he's a bit of a mixed bag, but I'm delighted with him. He makes things happen and is a constant threat to the opposition.

    Fans of other sides often point him out as our most dangerous player, which I agree with. If he could finish these 1 v 1 chances consistently then Barca would never have let him go in the first place.

    He's at the best club who will give him game time, Premier League football and patience to develop.
     
  3. zztop

    zztop Eurovision Winner 2015

    I agree. He is giving it everything, despite his petulance and hang-dog body language. He is a threat and so he ties up one or two players throughout the game. I prefer him more right than central though and would like Quina on more often.
     
  4. Leighton Buzzer

    Leighton Buzzer Reservist

    Some ways he reminds me of Stewart Scullion. Same number (7) too.
    Even found myself shouting "Pis* em Scull" on Saturday.
     
    RookeryDad likes this.
  5. Otter

    Otter Gambling industry insider

    I'm too young to remember Scullion, but he reminds me of Ramage in the 90s. On his day miles better then anyone else in the team but on an off day a complete passenger.
     
  6. RookeryDad

    RookeryDad Squad Player

    I was Stewart Scullion when I was about 8.

    Earliest hero.

    The only difference is that we poached Scull from Chesham Utd.
     
    Leighton Buzzer likes this.
  7. Leighton Buzzer

    Leighton Buzzer Reservist

    You are getting confused.
    If you were 8 you would have been Dennis Bond. (Or perhaps Dixie Hale).
     
    RookeryDad likes this.
  8. Steve Leo Beleck

    Steve Leo Beleck Squad Player

    That was just a comment by the BT Sport commentator who appeared to have never seen Peñaranda play, as shown by when he bigged up his long range shooting just before a free kick and that he pee-rollered through to the keeper
     
  9. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

  10. hornetboy1

    hornetboy1 First Team Captain

    #watfordfc has a certain profile but for now it’s not a top club. We’re 8th in the table, fighting to finish 7th and qualify for Europe, but I cannot close the door to other teams. I’m focussed but of course my objective is to play for a top team.”

    - Gerard Deulofeu [@Reuters]

    Not exactly a glowing endorsement.
     
  11. UEA_Hornet

    UEA_Hornet First Team Captain

    I know a lot of footballers are just a bit thick but I'm pretty sure a lot of subtlety and nuance is often lost in translation. If you add 'one day' to the end of that quote it's basically what I would expect.
     
  12. Otter

    Otter Gambling industry insider

    I don't see what's massively wrong with it. He acknowledges that we strive to be as high as possible and so does he. I'd rather that than a player who doesn't push himself and is content with picking up his wages while he can.

    This is the Pozzo model from a player's perspective, we buy decent players they improve and use the club as a vehicle to a bigger club and we make a profit. The club's profile goes up as the stepping stone club to be at.
     
  13. I Blame Pozzo

    I Blame Pozzo First Team

    Gerard is the image of Dan Evans.
    Both have talent in spades but seemingly cannot produce it consistently.
    I wonder if by any chance they are related?
     
  14. Hornet4ever

    Hornet4ever WFC Forums Last Man Standing Winner 2018/2019

    It's the truth. So what.

    As far as we're concerned it's about maintenance from here & I can't see a problem with that. We are now in a fortunate enough position to attract exciting players & so the wheel turns.

    Think for a moment if you will, about going back to the dog house of the Championship, having to rebuild, in order to get back to where we are currently. No thanks.
     
    Leighton Buzzer likes this.
  15. domthehornet

    domthehornet Moderator Staff Member

    Nothing wrong with what he has said. Hopefully he plays well for us and earns a big money move and we get another player in from the Pozzo conveyor belt.
     
  16. Knight GT

    Knight GT Predictor extraordinaire 2013/14

    That's exactly what he should be aiming to do and if he gets the move it will probably mean he's been successful here. It is basically what we say to a lot of players I would thing when attempting to sign them, you give everything to the cause and we will help you get a big move when it's the right time.
     
  17. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    Apart form Troy, Foster and Mariappa are any of our players going be that loyal to us? - if they can get a bigger move (I know some wouldn't!)
     
  18. hornetboy1

    hornetboy1 First Team Captain

    It's a good attitude I'm seeing from fans over GD. I think most of us buy into the fact we are a selling club. In order to get to the next level, we have to be like this. I suspect it's the only reason we can sign very talented players in the first place, is the promise of letting them go when a bigger club comes in for them.

    The way we treat Deulofeu/Pereyra/Doucoure etc can be used as an example to convince future stars to sign for us. As they know we can be trusted to develop them and not to block their path when the time comes to move on. Once agents trust Watford as a club, and this becomes our reputation, we would be seen as one of the best clubs to send young talent to, in order to let them grow at a strong mid-table (or higher) Premier League club before they move on to the bigger stage.
     
    Happy bunny and Leighton Buzzer like this.
  19. Cassetti's Beard

    Cassetti's Beard First Team

    You can literally swap out Delefou and put any in any Watford player there - no way none of them would turn down a move to a top club.

    Enjoy GD while he lasts!
     
    PowerJugs and reids like this.
  20. Steve Leo Beleck

    Steve Leo Beleck Squad Player

    I suspect he'll get a move to a bigger club at some point, will find himself a squad player, then loaned out, then make his way back down to a club like us. Rinse and repeat.
     
  21. Lukabakio could slip nicely into the role vacated by Delia if he does go
     
  22. cfdr0ftaW

    cfdr0ftaW Academy Graduate

    I'm ok with this attitude from GD. The same thing has come out from most of our "top" players at some point or another (usually from questionably-translated interviews). It aligns with what Duxbury has said is the vision for the club: he wants player to be ambitious, to perform well for us and move on to big clubs for big fees. One day this model may lead us to a place where we're able to challenge those big clubs ourselves, just as Udinese did, but for now we should accept who we are.
     
    PowerJugs likes this.
  23. zztop

    zztop Eurovision Winner 2015

    In some ways yes, but he hasn't mastered how Scullion would beat three players, miss-control the ball, and wait for them to come back so he could beat them all again.

    My hero.
     
    RookeryDad and Leighton Buzzer like this.
  24. NathWFC

    NathWFC First Team

    I'd be more worried if he was happy to completely settle and didn't have the drive to improve and earn himself another step up the ladder.
     
  25. Happy bunny

    Happy bunny Cheered up a bit

    Are you Sema now?
     
  26. Happy bunny

    Happy bunny Cheered up a bit

    Harry is the best in the business but I think he will stay
     
    RookeryDad likes this.
  27. davisp2

    davisp2 Reservist

    No problem with Gerard looking for the next level, but he is overdoing a bit, with constant references to possible moves. Maybe another season with us wouldn’t be a bad thing , so he can improve his consistency.
     
  28. Bore

    Bore Reservist

    For me I think we are his level. Can be great e,g Cardiff but is too inconsistent for my liking. Comes across sulky and cannot imagine he is grea5 in dressing room. If money was good I would sell.

    I really cannot see him c9nsistent enough for a top 6 and we are as good as rest
     
  29. I Blame Pozzo

    I Blame Pozzo First Team

    I agree he is over doing it but is this just his way of trying to convince himself that he is good enough for a better level?
    Smacks of insecurity to me and his sulky way is not helping him impress possible suitors.
     
  30. luke_golden

    luke_golden Space Cadet

    This exactly. We’ll sell him for decent money, and then have him back on loan 12 months later when he’s not getting a look-in.
     
  31. NathWFC

    NathWFC First Team

    Whatever his failings I still think we'd be far worse off without him, and I think he will continue to improve.

    The most skilful, quick and exciting player we've had in years. He's one of those players that has enough ability and flair to make something happen against any team at any time.
     
  32. wfcmoog

    wfcmoog Tinpot

    On his day, Pereyra is the better player, but an off tune Deolefou still gives you a threat and work rate, whilst an off song Pereyra is dead weight. Given how many bad days Pereyra has had recently, if there was a choice of keeping one and losing the other, I'd prefer Del, as over a season he gives us much more IMO.
     
  33. PowerJugs

    PowerJugs Doyley Fanatic

    He needs another year to complete his conversion to a more central position. His development over the last 2 months shows that he could be a very capable striker, but his finishing is still hit and miss. His work rate though is so much better than it was, as is his stamina. But what he lacks is what Gray does well; timing a run into the box and sniffing out a chance for a tap in or a simple finish as those are what take you from 5-6 goals a season to 15+. (Until his hat trick v Cardiff he had only 4 goals this Season) Our wins against Everton and Leicester came from a striker's mind knowing when to run and where to be and that is what he still lacks. Bear in mind he's still a damn good natural right winger so he can play in more than one position already.

    He'll get there if he continues as he has shown so far, but if he moved to another club right now it would undo a lot of his good work as he would be under higher pressure to perform and less leeway to make mistakes and learn. As moog said, out of Pereyra or Deulofeu, if we had to let go of one to keep the other then Pereyra should be the one to go. Next Season, if he wants to leave then he should go with our blessing and a massive payday a la Richarlison and Barnes way back when.
     
  34. From The Times 14 march

    [​IMG]
    Gerard Deulofeu knows pressure. He was the most hyped prodigy in his crop at La Masia, the Barcelona academy where the walls groan with the weight of history and expectation. He was a key player, then a captain, in Spain youth teams where nothing less than tournament victories are expected. He was instantly recognisable at an age when most of us are still taking driving lessons.

    In that context, you can understand why last year, at the age of 23, he moved to Watford: a club in the unconstricted middle of the Premier League, in the penumbra of the media spotlight, on the outskirts of a city with probably the most diffuse football loyalties in Europe. You may say he traded the straitjacket for the commuter belt.

    But here is the thing about elite football: you can never really escape pressure. There is the pressure to keep his place in one of the Premier League’s most upwardly mobile sides. The pressure to turn his skilful performances into goals and assists. And as if all that was not enough, Deulofeu has to contend with the pressure of being the cornerstone of his team-mate Will Hughes’s Fantasy Premier League team.

    “Hughes sometimes is like, ‘Oh, nice weekend, you gave me a lot of points,’ ” the 25-year-old laughs. “I saw some mentions in my social media, where guys say, ‘You’re doing really well in fantasy, you’re my captain,’ and that’s good.”

    Deulofeu is doing rather well, in the virtual currency of fantasy points and the old money of goals. He has seven this season, with two months to go, by far his most productive season since he scored 18 for Barcelona B in the Segunda Division in 2012-13. He is the second-leading scorer in what is on track to be Watford’s best Premier League season. He even has a shot at FA Cup glory, with Watford facing Crystal Palace on Saturday in the quarter-finals.

    Does he play fantasy football himself, I ask? Instantly his mood changes. “No, I don’t like this game, because after, you are thinking too much,” he says. It’s a trivial question, but the answer is, in its own way, revealing: of a player who has finally found his equilibrium and fearful of admitting even the slightest complication.

    Deulofeu has been searching for that balance for a while. In his teens he seemed destined for superstardom: he made his La Liga debut for Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona in October 2011 and his Champions League debut followed two months later. He won the Golden Ball award for the best player at the 2012 under-19 European Championship. That was followed by his prolific season with Barcelona B.

    But emerging from the gilded chrysalis has been a slow, fitful process. In the subsequent seasons, he had loan spells at Everton and Seville, then a permanent stay at Everton, then a loan at Milan, then a brief return to Barcelona, never staying more than 18 months in one place, and never fulfilling his potential: four goals for Milan in 2016-17 was his best return until now.

    What has changed this season is that the prodigy has stopped trying to break the mould, and instead allowed himself to be moulded.

    “I’m so happy with my stats right now,” he says. “I’m adapting myself to Watford, to [our] characteristics: we play a little bit direct with Troy [Deeney], I’m on the second balls. My style is different, a different type of play, but I’m feeling good this season. Maybe the first six months I suffered for the style of play, but here at Watford, I learnt that you have to adapt to be successful.”

    The influence of Watford’s Spanish head coach Javi Gracia has also been important. “For me, it’s a great deal with him: my relationship with him is really good,” Deulofeu says. “He is a quiet guy, but when he has to be intense and aggressive, he is. And that’s good because you know what you have to do with him.”

    Was his development stunted by the extraordinary pressure of being anointed the ‘next Messi’? Bojan Krki*, one of those who had to wear that onerous tag before Deulofeu, told The Guardian last year he suffered anxiety attacks and psychological damage because of the weight of expectation on him as La Masia’s golden boy. Did Deulofeu experience something similar in kind, if not extent?
    [​IMG]
    “It’s normal [to have the pressure of expectation] — I’ve said it a lot of times,” he replies with a hint of exasperation. “Barcelona is one of the most important teams in the world, and there you’re going to have the best players, so if you want to be there, you have to be a really good player, so you will have pressure there, it’s normal.

    “I’m so proud for being part of Barcelona. But it’s past, and I have to continue my career. I want to succeed, and I’m so happy to have played there, but it’s finished. Now it’s my period to play here in the Premier League and grow up. It was a great time there but it’s finished.”

    The Barcelona question clearly induces a mild level of discomfort, and, whether he’s swivelling from side to side on his chair or picking up the sound recorder to see how much time has elapsed, Deulofeu in person gives the impression of someone who is never quite at ease; who is, essentially, restless. Perhaps that is why, even at a club where he is playing the best football of his first-team career, where he feels understood by the head coach, where he has adapted to the style of play, he still can not quite settle.

    “I’m the type of player who wants to succeed and wants to be in the best teams of Europe,” he says frankly in response to a question about his future objectives. “I want to be a really good player in the world. For this, you have to dream. Watford, to be realistic, is a great team but it’s not a top team. Let’s see what happens but at the moment I respect Watford and I’m so happy here.”

    Arguably Deulofeu’s best football has come in the red shirt of his country. He won two consecutive European titles at under-19 level, winning that Golden Ball in 2012; had a phenomenal record of 17 goals in 36 games at under-21 level; and scored against France on his second appearance for the senior team in March 2017. He has not pulled on the jersey of La Roja since September of that year, but his recent form has given him a realistic chance of being named in Luis Enrique’s squad for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Norway and Malta when it is announced tomorrow.

    “Spain was successful six, seven years ago with an amazing squad, but now those players are finishing their careers and there have to be young players who want to take responsibility,” Deulofeu says. “I’m a different player and I can help the national team with my type of play.”

    For now though, his focus is on finishing the season strongly. “At the moment, it’s a great season,” he says. “We are happy, we are fighting for the seventh position, we are in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, but we know we have to finish the last two months in that way. If not, all the season is going to be killed.” No, there is no escaping the pressure of football; least of all when the life of your season is on the line.
     
    kVA and Steve Leo Beleck like this.
  35. vic-rijrode

    vic-rijrode First Year Pro

    Next, an article on Kevin McCarthy & Guy Bristow....
     
    The undeniable truth likes this.

Share This Page