Defenders signed by Gino Pozzo

Discussion in 'The Hornets' Nest - Watford Chat' started by Vicarage Road, Sep 1, 2019.

  1. Vicarage Road

    Vicarage Road Reservist

    below are the defenders signed by Gino. What an absolute pile of **** !

    Cassetti
    Ekstrand
    Neuton
    Pudil
    Angella
    Belkalem
    Cathcart
    Faraoni
    Neill
    Layon
    Paredes
    Savic
    Motta
    Tamas
    Connolly
    Britos
    Holebas
    Nyom
    Prodl
    Dja Djedje
    Janmaart
    Kabasele
    Kaboul
    Mariappa
    Femenia
    Zeegelaar
    Masina
    Navarro
    Dawson
    Foulquier
     
  2. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    I’d say the championship ones were okay and did a job at that level as were the initial batch as an upgrade when we came up. The list since then (Dja Djedde down) is absolutely shocking though. An abysmal effort over multiple years.
     
  3. folkestone orn

    folkestone orn Squad Player

    Harsh. Cassetti, Fitz Hall, Angella, Eggstrang and Poodle were all good for the Chumpionship.

    Britos and Cathcart were free transfers. The former player a big part in QSF season, as did Prodl. Cathcart is a decent player, albeit bang out of form. Nyom was good enough to help keep us up, also. Holebas was an excellent signing/kidnapping for 2.5 million or whatever it was. He's just old now. Layun was a strange one, clearly a quality player, we were just the wrong club for him. Janmaat has quality. Mapps has done a job. That's 9 who have been at least decent and contributed to our side.

    The objectively crap signings: Neill, Faraoni, Belkalem, Neuton, Tamas, Navarro, Motta and Zeegelaar. I make that 8.

    Connolly was solid, Kaboul-decent when fit, Dje Dje- never had a chance. Foulquier the same. Parades had his moments.

    Can't remember who Savic is.

    Pretty even overall, I would suggest. The issue is the unwillingness to spend on quality, in order to improve with other positions.
     
  4. About 50-50 between hit and miss
     
    folkestone orn likes this.
  5. GoingDown

    GoingDown "The Stability"

    #pozzonetwork
    #wellbefine
     
  6. NemoNemo

    NemoNemo Reservist

    I think Gino needs to stop thinking about his pockets and more about the teams benefit when it comes to defenders. It’s unlikely that a defender who plays for us will be sold for big money, unlike a midfielder or striker, hence the lack of investment. This needs to change otherwise bye bye premier league money.
     
    folkestone orn likes this.
  7. Happy yellow

    Happy yellow Academy Graduate

    The problem is as far as the Pozzo's are is concerned is that they did not seem to realise that strengthening our defence was our number one priority this season. Even more so than signing a promising winger - who as yet - does not find a place in our team and even if he did would be unlikely to help to resolve our defensive ineptitude. Investment in the defence was an investment for the future AND our financial situation as it massively improves our chances of staying in the Premier league. Without this status our players lose their value and the clubs income - as well as the Pozzo's - is affected.

    Even when we played well last season it was our glaring weakness. Foster before the cup semi final win was probably our player of the season and helped to mask our poor defence. I remember games at home to man utd, home to man city, away to brighton and away to tottenham where he was easily our best player.

    Holebas is on the decline due to age, Masina at left back has not convinced and would probably be better at centre back for me, Kabasele makes too many errors, Femenia should play right midfield or preferably not at all. What were the Pozzo's thinking of when they thought signing Dawson - a bang average Championship level centre back who is only suited to playing in a system where the defence sits very deep - would sort it out, and and he then gets used as a ball playing centre back? I seriously dont see Gracia or our next manager playing him in the first team for much longer. Mariappa is better - even Britos is better. We would have been better of keeping Britos and Wilmot.

    Before QSF agreed to join Watford he insisted that reinforcements were made in defence otherwise we would be relegated and the Pozzo's DID sign an entire new defence for our first Premier league campaign under the Pozzo ownership so they have done it before but they got complacent with this team and should of strengthened our entire defence for this season but did not.

    Another reason why they probably got complacent is due to there always being a good 4 or 5 much weaker teams than us that were always going to finish below us. This season - so far- there are no obvious teams much weaker than us. Aston villa beat everton, Sheffield United drew with chelsea, Norwich look better than us so far. Palace and brighton were supposed to struggle but look much better than us at the moment.
     
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2019
  8. Chumlax

    Chumlax Squad Player

    He is the guy who came on trial and signed, literally never played a minute for us whilst we were still in the Championship, and recently kept a clean sheet as promoted vice-captain for Partizan Belgrade in the Champions League against Liverpool.

    He has subsequently moved to APOEL Nicosia, who were just pipped to Champions League qualification in their playoff with Ajax, and will now compete in the Europa League this season.
     
  9. wfcmoog

    wfcmoog Tinpot

    My dad's first team (APOEL), before he moved to Ricky in the 50s and took up with the Blues.
     
    Chumlax likes this.
  10. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    Basically we have got worse as time had gone on!

    What happened to Prodl - from player of the season to unwanted deadwood ?

    It's a shame someone like Cassetti wasn't younger ..

    All the guys in the Championship were better footballers than we now ..

    Janmaat is probably the best but doesn't play .
     
  11. SkylaRose

    SkylaRose Administrator Staff Member

    Memories of their younger selfs. We had a decent back line once. God damn father time.
     
  12. domthehornet

    domthehornet Moderator Staff Member

    Bassong was our best defender.
     
  13. hornetboy1

    hornetboy1 First Team Captain

    That really is a sorry list, but you have to take into account, a lot of them were fit for purpose in the Championship. What we have to see is the quality (or rather lack of) since promotion.

    From memory, the only player we've ever had of real quality for the Premier League was Nathan Ake.

    We've continually under invested in the defence, have got away with it, so have carried on with that policy, even though our defensive record every season has been pretty poor.

    Under QSF he did very well for the first 29 games, only conceding 30 goals, which was an astounding achievement, No other coach has ever got close to something like that. Since that time we conceded 20 goals in the last 9 games, then have gone on to concede 68 (16/17), 64 (17/18), 59 (18/19) and 8 in 4 in (19/20)

    If you add all that up, it comes to 138 matches played and 219 goals conceded. An average of around 1.6 goals per game. That's far too high and the club should really have invested in at least two quality defenders by now.

    Of course, a club like Watford, will always concede goals in the Premier League, and that's fair enough as you have to recognise the quality of the opposition. I never have an issue with a goal scored where the opposition have crafted something very good in order to score it. However, it's the vast volume of cheap goals which is the issue. They are so avoidable, yet we seem helpless to stop it. A free kick or corner is often headed by the opposition. We have always been so poor at defending the high ball.

    The ease in which the opposition can get wide to deliver a cross is far too often also.

    We are poor in virtually every aspect of defending. We cannot head the ball, we lack pace, we cannot play out from the back, we ball watch, it's just dreadful to see and is so frustrating as it's relatively simple to stop. You just need to do the basics right on a consistent basis. That in itself will reduce goals.

    How many times do we see a series of miskicks that leads to a goal. Or a through ball that just leaves Foster completely isolated. Or a freekick that comes in unchallenged. It's regular, and this is why we seldom keep a clean sheet. Is that 16 Premier League games with a clean sheet now? Nearly half a season......ridiculous.
     
  14. Harrow Orn

    Harrow Orn Squad Player

    Bring back Gabriel Tamas
     
  15. davisp2

    davisp2 Reservist

    Personally I don’t know why we haven’t tapped into the loan market if funds are tight.
     
  16. Robert Peel

    Robert Peel Squad Player

    He plays for the gypsies (Red Star), not the great Partizan.
     
  17. HornetMan

    HornetMan Academy Graduate

    Angella for me was the best CB we've had since they took over. Calm and composed on the ball, an eye for goal and was an assured defender who was never given a fair shot at the PL

    The fall from grace of Prodl is astounding
     
  18. folkestone orn

    folkestone orn Squad Player

    Were they? I think it's because we are playing at a higher level more than anything else.

    I wonder if the Pozzos have a belief that defenders will play for longer in this country, because in Italy this is often the case? Seems unlikely at a glance, but might explain the long contracts given to players about to go into decline?
     
    wfc4ever likes this.
  19. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    Fair point but our defenders aren't suited to the playing it around tht back style I feel .
     
  20. Chumlax

    Chumlax Squad Player

    Except he doesn't anymore!

    ****, I was even looking at the wikipedia to check it as I typed. How embarrassing.
     
  21. CarlosKickaballs

    CarlosKickaballs Forum Picarso

    It could be that every club with a loanee worth taking isn't interested anymore because we leave their players in reserve 9/10 times.
     
  22. Lloyd

    Lloyd Squad Player

    Given our vaunted global scouting network, it is surprising that in world football we can't find a couple of centre backs that are an upgrade on Marriapa, Cathcart, Dawson, Prodl and Kabasella.
     
    miked2006 and Jumbolina like this.
  23. Pozzo Out

    Pozzo Out Squad Player

    His lapses of concentration would’ve killed us.
     
  24. folkestone orn

    folkestone orn Squad Player

    Agree, in an unironical way innit. Or do I...
     
  25. Forzainglese

    Forzainglese Reservist

    One thing that does not seem to be considered is that maybe they did try to get new defenders, but the deals broke down. They tend to keep things quiet and we only find out when the deal is done or when the other party blabs. Maybe things went wrong and Gino got caught out. Perhaps that might explain the late bid for Danny Rose, who would not have been cheap (and isn't all that great in my opinion). Maybe a genuine upgrade just wasn't that easy; England is not awash with good defenders and a lot of clubs have been throwing money at transfers.
    Big mistake, though.
     
  26. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    We are regularly told that they identify 3 or 4 players for each position when they go shopping. A deal breaking down for one or two perhaps but all of them?

    Of course we aren’t privy to the full information as we are just fans - but I think we have enough ‘evidence’ now over successive windows to be able to strongly speculate its actively been largely overlooked.

    They are running out of excuses. I was up in arms in the window where we signed Deulofeu on loan that we hadn’t signed any defenders. I remember sitting on a coach in Reykjavik as the window closed and posting that evening that I thought the club were at the limit - they simply couldn’t ignore the lack of quality in defence any longer. We’ve had 3 windows since then and added Dawson and Masina. The window previous to the one I mention is when we added Wague and Zeegelaar. It’s alarmingly bad recruitment and over that length of time, has little to do with funds or missing out on targets in my opinion.

    Last season wasn’t a sign the defenders are good enough. Quite how Gracia managed to get what he did out of them was frankly amazing. But that’s not sustainable every season with the ones we have. Not even close.
     
    wfcmoog, folkestone orn and Chumlax like this.

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