You seem to like starting petty fights with forum members no good reason. You do this all the time, so I'll take what you say with a pinch of salt and everyone knows your reputation. Now coming out with sexist comments. I only ever want to put out accurate information. It if that upsets you, so be it, I can't cater for the fragility of certain people. But it never ceases to surprise me what tips certain people over the edge on here. It's bizarre but wonderful at the same time. But enough of this, I'm not going to allow you to derail a perfectly good thread. You can have the last word.
Full time 1-1. Good workout for the lads. I think Watford shaded it and were the stronger side overall.
Possibly. It's just the way he carried himself and his kicking style, looked very much like Baptiste.
Bayli Spencer-Adams came on 2nd-half and looked comfortable, as did Sonny Blu Lo-Everton. No idea who number 18 was or the other fella who came on (17 or 19, whichever one wasn't Sonny Blu!) but they looked at home. Still not convinced by Wise (as HB1 said, was #8). The best and worst of Phillips. Good blocks, some meaty challenges, easy on the ball and good when he keeps it simple. Too many stray passes though. Still, it's a pre-season friendly so everyone will have rustiness. Overall I thought they held their own against a League Two side who no doubt will also be working their way through the gears with a weakened line-up as the game progressed. No Dalby or Crichlow that I could see. It could be for any number of reasons but as two of the senior players in the U23s now I wonder if they're training elsewhere with loan moves in mind.
I liked the way he won the second penalty, he looked a bit more agile in his twists & turns in that moment(!) than I remember from last season. As you say, a loan move will do him the world of good and it's probably what he needs at some point this season. Someone in the National League wouldn't do him any harm either. I thought Forster looked sharp when he went on the left in the 2nd-half. He looks quick with the ball at his feet and is the same age as Hungbo so he may benefit from heading out too. He was at St Albans at the tail end of last season after missing a lot of football through injury.
Who was the one on the left in the second half? He waltzed through the defence and one point but curled it wide?
18 did fairly well. Was a bit disappointed by Phillips, as you say there were way too many stray passes. I thought McKiernan had a few very good touches, but he was outmuscled a bit too easily in the tackle at times; he's prob had a growth spurt recently though and seems a case of needs to bulk up. Wise was pretty anonymous. The two CBs in the first half, Perkins and Agyakwa, looked quite composed. They didn't seem that threatened overall. Most of their chances came from them finding space near the edge of our box between CBs and CMs, or getting in behind whoever our RB in the first half was. Being CF definitely didn't suit Forster, he looked lost at times. He benefitted from the game being stretched a bit more later on and moving to the flank. I think Hungbo had a slight edge on him overall.
That's the first time I've seen McKiernan start and he struggled today. Saying that, it's a hell of a leap going from U18 to playing against League Two in 6 months as he hasn't really featured for our U23s in any meaningful way yet. He has something about him though. Agree with the way they were able to threaten our defence. With just Wise & JJ McKiernan either side of Phillips though I'm not surprised it was a weaker part of our play. There was definitely a concerted change in the way they played from last season in passing it out from inside the penalty area with the keeper looking very happy with the ball at his feet too. If we could mould Forster & Hungbo into one player he'd be pretty good! I like Forsters quick feet and dribbling ability but Hungbo looks like he has a better end product in front of goal, penalty miss aside.
A blast from the not so distant past has just come to my attention. Joy Mukena, a tall and elegant centre-back who left Watford at the end of the 2018/19 season before going on to play for Bracknell Town last season, has signed for St Albans in the past week. At U23 level he often looked very comfortable on the ball and timed his challenges well. Though not blessed with great speed his positioning was sound so didn't get beaten too often. I was disappointed he left but I guess we were in the Premiership and he obviously didn't impress enough in training to be kept on. Is that #70 or #71? I can't remember. Anyway, with Callum Whelan currently trialing at Oldham Athletic it just goes to show the level of player the academy has been developing is more League 2/non-League standard and not near the required quality of Championship or Premier League. The overwhelming majority of players released are just not being picked up by sides above or around us in league standing. Here's hoping the current crop begin to buck that trend. edit: Just to emphasise the point, Ashley Charles was with the club at the same time as Mukena, was the best midfielder of the block of players in his age group and was with the first team in pre-season 2018, playing against Brentford. He now plays for Wealdstone.
A couple of things with todays U23 friendly against Crawley Town. Post #1. I didn't think Kane Crichlow had played any part but it looks like he may have been #18.
Post #3 I think this is the guy who played right-back in the 1st-half as he's on the far side from the video camera in this shot, next to the dugouts. He looks a bit like Bayli Spencer-Adams but there's another picture where both are in shot. I'm guessing he's a trialist or a new signing who hasn't been announced. Possibly Marcel Lavinier (below). Probably not.
I skim read a few Crawley comments and it sounds like they had a few 1st team players start with fringe players and the odd trialist. Later in the game more trialists were included and a couple of youngsters too. So not a full strength League Two side but certainly a step up from the usual U23 quality our lot would be used to facing.
I thought Philips was a bit disappointing. Seemed very slow and, as you say, lost the ball frequently.
I found out today Marcel Lavinier played for Brentford B at the weekend, pretty sure it was as a trialist too. Doesn't look like we'll see him here now.
Striker Juan Becerra has signed permanently for Espanyol B on a 3-year deal. https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/s...striker-juan-camilo-becerra-moves-espanyol-b/
I'm not having a pop at you HB1 but I posted that news on Tuesday in the loanees thread/fred, post #1268. How slow are the Watford Observer! http://wfcforums.com/index.php?threads/loanees-thread.52942/page-37
I don't expect them to make too much fuss over the likes of Becerra, Aias or any of the others who've never set foot in Watford but Dahlberg must be feeling a bit left out this morning. On the page they've put up which lists players currently picked for international's, Pontus (not POTUS) he's been left off. I thought it's maybe because he's out on loan but no, Cassidy is mentioned. Their content is haphazard at best with no meaningful depth of information.
I personally think the club's own coverage is diabolical. Everything is under a cloud of secrecy by default, and only tiny snippets get through. They may do a feature on a player and that's fine, but it's all just filler. There is rarely anything of substance, not even the listing of players leaving. Officially we still do not know if Gomes or Mapps have gone. There has been no correction to the signing of Pepe Gueye. If we go by what they say, he's still a Watford player. No interview with Ivic. Giaretta had been with the club for a few weeks, which was mentioned in his brief interview, but his appointment was only announced yesterday. Nothing about who the coaches working with Ivic will be. It's so bad, it's just a joke now.
Harry Hudson was one of the U23s released this year and he's currently on trial at Billericay Town of the National League South. He played there on loan for a short period last season and on Saturday he managed a full 90 minutes as a team made up mostly of trialists beat a Barking side 3-1. Hudson looked a decent centre back and at only 19 I was surprised he wasn't kept on and that he's now trialling in a NLS side. Of those still at the club Spencer-Adams (19) is probably more accomplished with the ball at his feet but Perkins (21) didn't look any better in the few games I saw him play. Derek Agyakwa (18) is an unknown quantity to me. It's another reminder of the level of player we have in the U23s though.
Lewis Gordon has been signed by Brentford. Surprised we let him go, and seeing as he's been signed by a club who are very shrewd at picking up quality young players, it looks like it could by yet another misjudgment by the club. https://www.teamtalk.com/news/exclusive-brentford-beat-derby-forest-lewis-gordon
I've not seen it anywhere other than on TeamTalk but Lewis Gordon, the 19-year old left back released in the 2 hours between this & last season, is set to sign for Brentford. According to their article he had interest from Burnley, Derby & Nottm Forest but has plumped for the Bees after being with the Hornets from a young age. It was difficult to tell how much Lewis was progressing in the last couple of seasons due to persistent niggles and injuries negating his game time. He generally held his own as a quick, attacking left-back with only passing accuracy a slight weakness along with either poor communication or positioning as it wasn't rare for a move to break down with a stray pass to or by him. However, I will add having multiple players play in front of him won't have helped his cause on that front. So if it's true that Brentford have picked him up it will be interesting to see how he develops there. Hopefully he does well as on the couple of occasions I spoke to him he came across as a really decent young man. (TeamTalk isn't a site I rely on so news of this move may be rubbish). https://www.teamtalk.com/news/exclusive-brentford-beat-derby-forest-lewis-gordon
SNAP! The one stand out from Watford releasing him is there not being a natural left-back at that level ready to step in, new academy signings notwithstanding. As I said above, injuries have hampered his progress for a while so on that front I can see why he was let go.
Players joining clubs after trials are beginning to step up so I'd expect some incomings to the U23 squad soon. And up until now it's been very quiet on the #ProudDad front, so I imagine a few tweets proclaiming sons joining the academy will become apparent too.
Not strictly a product of our academy as he only joined before last season, but congratulations to Callum Whelan on his 2-year contract with Oldham Athletic (League 2) following his recent release. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footbal..._custom4=3DB1749E-E950-11EA-913C-02D44744363C
Pleased for the lad, didn't particularly rate him at our level, but hopefully he can make it at League 2 level. Got a mate from Oldham, been to a game with him (was free entry because it was a rearranged game after the intial game was postponed lol) so I wish them well
The U23s lost 1-2 against Fulham this morning. I've no idea who played for Watford and won't be trying to find out. http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2020/august/29/v-watford-u23