They did I agree, we were awful however it was 1-1 and they rarely threatened us in an attacking sense. No real clear cut chances for them in the first half minus their goal and q Mitrovic header that went wide.
Fulhams end was about 25% empty so that's around 600 down, also the S.E.J. Part nearest the rookery was nearly empty, (I noticed at the start not sure if it filled out at all) guess being arranged without much notice may have put some people off, and some couldn't make it, will be interesting to see what Southamptons attendance is like as that's another recently arranged mid week game, but all in all I agree any attendance under 20,000 is disappointing!
I guess you are joking (hope you are) but we have awarded our POTS to a goalkeeper no less than 12 times over the years. That's about every 4th time or so since the award was first given. Andy Rankin was the inaugural winner in 1973 and won it again in 1975. Then Coton in 86, 87 & 90, David James in 91, Kevin Miller 95 & 97, Alec Chamberlain 98 & 2002, Ben Foster 2007 and Gomes 2016. It should be noted that quite often the POTS is awarded to a goalkeeper (or defender) during not so successful seasons. But that's not always the case though.. Coton 86 & 87, Chamberlain 98, Gomes 2016.
Lovely to see you and your beard there last night! The chap to my left comes from Norwich and he wasn't there,so the infirm lady sat there,bless her. I expect quite a few children and parents didn't attend as a school night,again two near me plus their mum weren't there. Two from WH were already booked for Mike and The Mechanicals I believe,a sort of Genesis meets Midsummer Night's Dream I expect? Another friend was ill,so I can account for seven. Perhaps others simply couldn't afford it, given the expense of Sunday?
100% not joking. Anyone who's ever played outfield and in goal knows that goalie is laughably simplistic by comparison. He's a fantastic goalie, the best in the league this season imo, but to compare that position to outfield is daft.
Master stroke turning it around at half time from Javi he certainly knows what he is doing, second halfs when we need to put in a performance kicking into the rookery, we either up the anti, go for it and delight, or carry on as we were the first half and disappoint, there is no doubt we did the former last night! An unforgettable 45 minutes!, sorry for those that didn't make it! Roll on Sunday!
I bet in a kicking competiton, Foster could kick it furthest. Also throw it furthest. That rains on your parade. Otherwise I agree. Has to be Doucoure, Holebas or Capoue.
The club only put tickets on sale less than a fortnight before the match, a day before Wembley tickets went on sale. Anyone who didn't get them the day they went on sale would have then had to sit through the Wembley queues to sort tickets online or by phone. I imagine that put lots of people off. The club originally said Fulham would go on sale with Arsenal and Wolves tickets but then held back for some reason. It was always going to be a low crowd but I think we'd get that for most non-top 6 matches if there wasn't the usual 6-8 week sales period for tickets. It couldn't even benefit from the people who buy all the games when they're put on sale in one go. Add in the normal things - expensive weekend coming up, night match, low key opponent and you're soon whittling the crowd down.
Some great goals last night. Gray deserves a start but I suspect Gracia will go with Deeney and Delo at Wembley and keep Gray as impact sub. I do hope Andre gets some starts before season end though. Doucoure immense as usual - he deserves a shot at a big club in the summer but we will miss him a lot. I hope Holebas is fit for Sunday!
Quite. It’s bizarre some people are shocked at the concept that Tuesday night at home to Fulham might attract less interest than a Sunday FA Cup semi final.
I took off from Schiphol Airport at 17.45 (BST) and was in the ground by 19.29 - courtesy of EasyJet and my wife
PoTS is not about the best footballer, it's about the most important team player over the season. Perfectly valid for a keeper to get the award though I'd give it to Capoue.
But it is about comparing the player to what an average or good player would be in that position. Lots of people would not value defenders etc etc. You look at each player against what you might expect a "good" player in that position to have achieved. On that basis you have to put Foster in the running. Another way to look at it is to think how many points a player has directly influenced - saves, blocked, assists, scored and so on.
I think Deulofeu and Pereyra both need to have a hard look at themselves in the mirror. I thought that Deulofeu was worse as every time he went forward he would try multiple step overs, stop and then lose the ball; just get it in the mixer! As a result of him losing the ball it put the team under a lot of pressure unnecessarily. Pereyra on the other hand only put us in danger once but was otherwise ineffective, apart from that sublime dummy and turning on his defender before his shot was blocked. Moving Kiko up owing to the introduction of Janmaat and bringing Grey on, meant that the team could play without any of the nonsense we get from the two they replaced. Regarding the Fulham fans, casting my mind back to 2000 and 2007, although frustrated I don't think we turned on the team ever, certainly we didn't carry on like their fans did last night. Having sad that, in our relegation seasons we didn't spend the equivalent of £100m.
The attendance was pathetic last night. It was embarrassing. No excuses necessary. This club has too many plastic season ticket holders. I know of a few die hard Watford supporters who have been on the waiting list for three seasons but can’t purchase a season ticket because these ‘pick & choose games brigade ‘ keep renewing theirs. The club need to ban the persistent no showers
I get what you're saying, but say neuer (or whatever the best keeper in the world is these days) won the world player award over messi or Ronaldo. It would be laughable. What was it deeney said about foster, doesn't train all week and eats junk? No outfield player could get away with that behaviour as their position is miles and miles and miles and miles more difficult.
Ermmmm.. i think people vote for goalkeepers as player of the season for their goalkeeping duties and dont really take into account that they are "shyt at football" Their outfield performance is probably not a factor they take into consideration. Perhaps they should though. Start a new category.. The "Failed Footballer so has to Play In Goal" award.
Foster does exercises throughout the match. Whatever he does, it's enough to enable him to do his job superbly.
Surely Players’ Player of the Season is about the most important team player and the squad vote as such? Player of the Season is more for the fans to say who they think was best no?
The club have said they will refuse to sell tickets to such people. Presume the died hard fans you know couldn't afford season tickets or didn't want one in previous seasons?
Also pleased Gracia took Capoue off. I had it in my mind that Capoue would score a worldie and then get booked for removing his shirt and end up missing two games for it.
The club have been saying this for a while, nothing seems to get done. Two fans I know used to have season tickets, one was made redundant the other went through a divorce, so cost was an issue at the time for them. Another supporter I know worked abroad for six years, came back two years ago. Finally, a lad I know had a season ticket all through the ‘90’s and early 00’s gave up his season ticket but has always been a regular at the Vic decided to apply for a season again three year’s ago, was put on the waiting list and hasn’t heard anything since. So there are fans out there who would turn up for games like Fulham on a Tuesday night
Every club has plenty of no-shows. My mate has a Spurs season ticket but can’t go every week. Difference being, he can always sell/palm off his tickets to someone else due to the fan base so the attendance rarely suffers. Any Watford fan who tried this is likely to get no takers let’s be honest. As I’ve always stated this season, the club needs to make better advertisement to season ticket holders to inform them if they aren’t attending so they can sell the ticket through regular sales. That being said, I doubt last nights attendance was solely down to non-attending S/T holders and has many factors as stated by others above. Banning fans when we don’t have a large fan base and are hoping to grow the club is not the answer.
I dont think the club has made any official announcement as such though. Recently they did. From next season's ticket info.. " ‘No-Shows’ Having made mention of the matter of Season Ticket holders not coming to home fixtures in recent years’ Terms & Conditions, analysis of attendance data from recent years has helped us reach the position where we will – from Season Ticket renewals in Spring 2020 – reserve the right to refuse renewals to those supporters who most regularly don’t attend AND don’t advise us of their non-attendance. Exact details of how this will be managed during 2019/20 will be communicated to Season Ticket renewers after the renewals windows close" https://www.watfordfc.com/matches/tickets/st-renewals-201920-phase-one-now-open
I too get what you are saying. However does that not just show we naturally favour the players who are flashy? A keeper is best when they make it all appear easy but make the Gordon Banks style save once in a while. I suspect at club level many keepers get player of the season because fans see all matches and appreciate the work they do. For FIFA world best we rely on the "flashy". Foster does what he needs to be the best he can be. It is about lightning reflexes not stamina. Horse for courses.
How often is regularly? Also, I've seen people scanning other people's season tickets at the gate so they don't appear to be absent. That's when we were in the Championship. This plan will solve nothing. We have tinpot support, end of.
We'd barely sell half the allocation if the prawn sandwich brigade didn't turn up - giving Wolves an extra 10k seats wouldn't be ideal.
I hope part of this process will include a much more defined process of ST holders informing the club if they are not going to attend.
