Watching the game live, we were almost in line with the Deeney chance and it was my impression at the time that he was half a yard offside so, if it had gone in, I would have been surprised if it had stood. After a flimsy first 15 minutes from Watford they at least competed well for the rest of the game and a break in our favour for an equaliser would have made a world of difference. However, having seen the replay of the penalty claim ruled out by VAR, I’m afraid that was nothing but a dive by Deulofeu.
Better than I got watching on Bein HD1 - the commentary was in Arabic!!! (at least I think it was Arabic )
Because they weren’t talking about the game, just rehashing their personal agendas about specific players, tactics, formation, manager. The game was something only vaguely going on in the background - i could have spent 2 hours on there and never have known what was happening in the game and it scarcely seemed to matter to 99% of the people on there
They reviewed the penalty incident on Goals on Sunday. They were all in agreement that it should have been a penalty. Deulofeu was pushed in the back. Contact was made and the defender didn't get the ball. Pretty conclusive. The only reason they said why it may not have been given was because of the exaggerated fall by GD. The pundit, who was an Everton fan, said he was happy that wasn't given but a foul is a foul and it shouldn't matter how GD falls over.
Ah, the “he was touched, so he was entitled to go down” argument. I’m afraid we’re always going to disagree on that one.
The banter levels of some on here saying 'we need to seriously upgrade the defence in January' and 'I'm sure Gino knows that' etc etc We've just had a whole summer where that was required and not actioned by the owner. That was preceded by multiple transfer windows where the same was needed and not actioned by the owner. The club have provided more than enough evidence by now to show they are clueless about the issues the club has in defence. I'm no Marco Silva fan. At all. But at least he had the balls to call Gino out for not providing him with what he believed was required. Unprofessional and whingey? Maybe. But it's better than Gracia being mute about the very obvious issue. I'd defend the club if the money wasn't there to do so and they prioritised signing Sarr. But bidding £14m for Rose shows the money was available. At the fan forum last February, Giraldi and Duxbury were very open that they were targeting centre-backs this summer as there was concern from fans that the January window had just closed without signing one. If Dawson was the sole result of that extensive search, then its fair to ask very serious questions of the recruitment team.
You may agree or not, but we all know if that's Sterling, Sala or Zaha what the decision would be. So far I'd say the majority have agreed that both incidents we've had could and probably should have been penalties. Now, I'll wait for similar incidents to occur in our box and wait for the decisions to be the total opposite. I'm sure I'll not have to wait too long.
He's a decent player and would be a big upgrade on what we already have. However, as with all these players, we'll need to get a work permit before he can play. Not sure how certain it is that he's actually coming, although Leventhal seemed pretty confident, so that's a credible source. I suspect a lot will depend on the position we're in regarding what our spending will be in the January window. If we're looking safe, then I suspect it will be minimal, however if we're in a mess, then they will probably do some business with the full back positions as well.
Too expect Javi to say something is ridiculous. I’m sure he knows that he is trying to polish a bunch of turds, but to expect him to say something, won’t happen. What good does that do the morale? Your coach coming out and saying publicly that the defence isn’t good enough, we didn’t invest in the defence like I wanted too etc. Would you want to show up to work the next day if your manager didn’t think you were good enough, but you’re all he/she has? Silva was a little crybaby and he’s still a little crybaby. He wasn’t calling Gino out, he was making a bridge for himself if it didn’t go his way. Everyone knows the defence we have is rancid, it should have been invested into over the summer, Kim Min Jae is supposedly joining us in January (according to Leventhal on his blog thing) which will be helpful. Although I doubt he’s going to go straight into the first 11. Biggest thing is staying in the Prem and if that means finishing 17th this season then so be it.
I watch every Chinese league game and can say he can play anywhere on the pitch including in goal. He's a good player and a big upgrade on what we have already. Until he's **** and I'll say, unashamedly, that he wasn't an upgrade at all.
I know that you have the mindset that referees don’t give decisions to small clubs like Watford (interesting that you think Palace are a big enough club to benefit) but this is really not the point here. Whether the player is one of ours or one of Man City’s or whoever, a hand in the back should not allow that player to fall over and expect a penalty.
https://www.watfordfc.com/matches/highlights/highlights-everton-1-0-watford-0 Here are the match highlights. We were certainly in this match and didn't deserve to lose. We caused them problems. But look at minute 41 and 54. Two standard free kicks into our box and Richarlison was completely on his own both times. We were lucky he got his header wrong on both occasions. This is our biggest downfall, IMO. Crosses into the box always cause us problems. I don't really blame the coach for this either, although I would if this was a recent trend. We've always been very bad at defending the cross into the box, so it just has to be down to the players we have. No one really likes heading it. The goal they scored was an extremely soft one from our point of view as well. I didn't see the danger until the ball was in the net. That really should have been blocked/saved. Going toward we created plenty of moments. Not sure why Deeney is getting such abuse. He was involved with all our good moves. Heading the ball on, holding it up and even had a shot on target. Maybe we need even more from a player in his position, but it was one of his better games for sure. I think it's a case of missing him when he's not there. Although I don't think Dawson is a big upgrade as a defensive player, he's certainly a big upgrade on the threat he poses in the oppositions penalty area. In the two matches, he's shown he's a threat. A header and shot both on target against Brighton and a header against the bar in this match. Hopefully when fans see this match on the highlights they wont feel quite so bad about things.
You've not watched too much football I take it? A foul is a foul. He was grabbing at GD and trying to put him off in an unfair way. That type of tackle is often penalised. There are many examples of it, and when a penalty is awarded after this type of coming together, then the pundits/experts all agree that it is a penalty....or the cop out quote of "if you do that type of thing you run the risk of a referee giving it". We'll see how this pans out over a season. If it's a standard thing that VAR will not overturn a referee, then we're not really any better off, as bad decisions/bias/prejudice or whatever term you'd like to give it, will still go on. I think the precedent has now been set. Handballs are not penalties and a defender grappling with a striker is not a penalty. So if anything similar is given against us this season, it will be very obvious that double standards are being set and we're apparently always on the receiving end of it. VAR calls can now be used as a measuring tool. Although I think that in itself causes problems as referees do not want to overrule a colleague as it will look bad on the stats.
Not saying you’re wrong - but you did eulogise earlier this summer that Craig Dawson was more than competent header of the ball in both boxes.
Like I said, we’re never going to agree on the diving thing. I will take a close look at the Goals on Sunday discussion about the Deulofeu incident and be honest about it if it changes my mind about that particular one. I do agree with you however that the existence of VAR is not going to change the way the rules are interpreted in the current fashion. I wish we didn’t have it. Oh, and for the record I have been watching football live for very nearly 50 years, which will equate to something approaching 2,000 matches.
Was once the latter for a bit. Which profession is it that still remains singularly unable to answer the simplest of questions. Bin man? What did you want at 0-2? Derrrrrrrrr ...
Whatever. You're still here. And have, for a week now, side-stepped the most simple of questions. Which leaves the rest of us to draw our own conclusion ...
I didn’t see the game but I spoke to somebody who went and said our best chances involved Deeney. The problem now is that a decision has been made about him but he still seems to very much involved and was hugely important last season, getting in to double figures goals wise.
Why would anyone want to go back so soon? I'm currently in the Master Mariner New Brighton, you've obviously never been to Watford.
To add to this, the fact few were signed doesn't mean attempts weren't made. That's results oriented thinking and it's absolute nonsense. We have one of the lowest wage budgets in the league and as a result, we're likely to lose out to other Premier League clubs if they're also interested. This isn't rocket science, it's a simple numbers game. If I am looking for a new job as a free agent and I get four offers, in almost all cases I am going to take the biggest offer. Footballers are no different. Over the last few seasons, we've signed the following defenders/keepers: Dawson Foster Massina Navarro Wilmot Dahlberg Zeegelaar Wague Femenia Foulquier Janmaat Kabasele Kaboul That's just going back to the 16/17 season and excluding the large numbers of youth signings made (e.g. Segura). The problem isn't a lack of signings. The problem is they haven't worked out as expected (or in the case of players like Dahlberg, arguably not ready to be a full starter at Premier League level yet). These players have mostly come from top level leagues around Europe, in many cases from notable clubs, and some with decent Premier League records. They were likely the best options available that were both within the club's budget and interested in coming. Signings don't come in a vacuum. We sold Lukebakio for a fat wedge. A short while later, we try to sign Rose for a value equating to the Lion's Share of the Lukebakio fee. Coincidence? Highly unlikely, I'd say. The late nature of the Rose bid almost certainly reflected a reaction to funds that weren't previously there. The club accounts released annually make it quite clear (to anyone bothering to look at them, anyway) that we're operating very close to the line. As a result it takes players leaving to facilitate additional spending.
