Looked to me that we were playing with inside forwards, which would be where Sarr plays in this formation. I wonder if this is gonna be our preferred formation, or if it's just more horses for courses from Ivic
Gray looked decent. And scored. Baby steps but I look forward to this being glossed over or him somehow still being criticised...
This is spot on. Great managers sort out what their players CAN do and maximise it. Poor managers ram square pegs into round holes and call it a system.
Not trying to compare the two as it'll be over the top, but I remember Henry bursting onto the screen, his main attribute when he was a winger was his pace - I can really see Sarr doing a similar transition and will scare the hell out of defences in this league.
Sarr fits in up front running the channels Not if he has a free role to go where he wants across the front
Looked like we finally played to his fabled 'strengths', the kind of ball we played in to him just before he went off is exactly what he needs (difficult chance so I'm not going to slate him too much for it)
The performance was good (which is what you like to see in pre season regardless of results), and unlike basically the whole of last season, there was a coherence there, a real idea of what we wanted to do. We'll all be making the 'piss the league' remarks in jest, but today was very encouraging
He did. There's a pretty glaring criticism to be made though - he looked like he might have pulled his hammy. Would be typical of our luck if he gets injured just as soon as we might need him and he starts looking an asset.
Good thing we have more than one striker, eh? I'd like to think Suarez will be 'next in line' to play next week, why he wasn't involved today I'm not sure
We were immense today. The link up play between Jeremy, Dom and forward to Andre was hot as ****. Imagine what the midfield would be like with Grimes in it.
If the owners believe today’s starting line-up was good enough for promotion, they’d not be looking to recruit. But they are. My bet is at least 5 new additions before the window shuts. Last season the likes of Quina and Del-Bashiru were ‘what ifs’ because they were rarely given a chance. Today was a small chance to see what they can do, albeit yes in a friendly and not against Championship opposition. Estupinan and Suarez were just fancy names playing overseas, getting rave reviews it’s true but again for us they were unknowns. We’ve at least now seen both play for us and can start to form our own opinions. Last season we looked towards Wales and wondered if Wilmot could have done any better in our mostly useless defence. Today we had a chance to see. So after today we know a little bit more about these younger players. And I don’t think they disappointed. That’s the encouraging thing for me from today, with the proviso of course that we haven’t given up for this transfer window.
Bachman - 7 : Couple of indecisive moments but generally solid, should start in my opinion Wilmott - 8 : Played well Kabs: 7 : Solid game but always looked like he would make a mistake Dawson : 6: Seemed slow to me: Experienced player but shouldn't start Estupinian: 6: disappointed but its early days so he'll get better Ngakia: 8: Excellent going forward; looks solid in defence, also coped well all game and didn't seem to tire Cleverley: 7: good idea to make him captain Chalobah: 5: 2 or 3 lovely turns early on in advance positions, but didn't impose himself enough Dele-Bashiru: 6: no stand out moments I can remember Quina: 9 Best player on pitch for either side Gray: 8.5: Played well til he went off, sure that is precautionary Subs: Penaranda : 2 utterly rubbish, looks unfit, big and selfish Murray: 5: Needs to get match fit (if possible) Pedro: 7: good attitude, loved his 'revenge' push on Alli (Alli's tackele should have been a red, it was reckless in a pre season game) Seralta (?) 7 looked good Overall, great result, liked the commitment, defence solid (mainly)
I was pleasantly surprised with how well we played. A very youthful side and a pretty unusual formation but the signs were very good. Bachmann was decent, very vocal and held on to balls instead of just clawing them away. Ngakia was brilliant. Overplayed a couple of times but you can forgive him that. One delightful Beckham-esque pass to Quina at the start of the 2nd half. Dawson/Kabasele you know what you’re getting. Would like a new CB to offer something more. Wilmot was great defensively. A few stray passes (or hoofs) but maybe would’ve been more comfortable on the right of the 3? Estupinan disappointed me going forward. Never showed a great deal of pace and his crosses were overhit. Defended well though and his willingness to get forward is crucial in this system. Chalobah had one of his better post-injury games. We saw some of the confidence back too as he pirouetted away from tackles. Cleverley was really good imo. Top work-rate and his passing was good. Good choice for captain. Dele-Bashiru was alright, can’t remember him doing too much wrong but didn’t get as involved as the other midfielders. Quina was excellent (apart from his finishing). I look forward to seeing much more of him this season. Gray held it up better than usual. Made some smart runs as well and nearly scored his second with his last contribution. Very good penalty. Joao Pedro looked far better on the left than down the middle. I thought he dribbled with the ball very well a few times but either didn’t have an option (as the team was too tired to go and support) or held it too long. He’ll learn with time when to pass and when to play for fouls etc. Very glad he didn’t seem hurt from that awful Dele tackle. Should have left more on the little rat when he got his retribution. Murray was pretty awful but by the time he came on we were defending our own 18 yard box and sending balls in to channels. Not his type of game at all. Penaranda disappointed me. Has he always been that slow? Swear he had some pace as a teenager but now when he gets the ball in behind a full back he waits to be caught up and does some weird rolling the ball under his foot dribble. Not promising but he’ll have chances to do better if he stays. Sierralta is like a less aggressive Prodl. Big frame, strong, flat-footed! I’m intrigued to see who departs in the next week or two.
Not really when you consider the fact that certain players are not being involved at all with 6 days before the actual season does start.
Clever run to draw the defenders away from Quina for the first goal as well. Encouraging performance.
And yet we still played very well by all accounts, with the players you're presumably unhappy with starting, putting in decent performances. The negativity is feeling a little forced, like you're playing up to the character at this point. There's being a realist, and being a bedwetter for bedwetting sake.
I hope we get rid of all the players who want away and stick with the players who want to be here and play for the team. Results are obviously very important but its the effort and attitude that is most important to me. I’ve seen a lot less talented players give it their all week in week out and become legends. I’d rather that than an overpaid stroppy t w a t that thinks he is billy big balls and too good for Watford. If this is the team that kick starts the season for us than they have my backing 100%. I actually like this youthful team and could give a flying fcuk about the strays.
But then we are just going around in circles, aren't we? I've already made my thoughts clear on the weight of friendly results/performances. I'm not saying it means today is devoid on any positives whatsoever but, again, it's not suddenly going to convince me that the line up is anything like a promotion winning side.
If we are to continue with this 3-4-2-1 we could eventually see something like: Foster Dawson, Kabasele, Wilmot Ngakia, Hughes, New CM, Estupinan Sarr, Quina Suarez Interchange central midfielders / defenders as desired.
Didn't see Gray touch it myself. Unfortunately these highlights don't show Ngakias ball to Quina because that was top draw.
Absolutely , let’s be honest his crossing in is one of his weaker elements but through the middle he would be a real terror not sure how well he would stand up to a champions defence though could end up getting smashed a lot
Around 28 seconds looks like a fair shout it touched him. I imagine VAR would have spent an age going over it.
I was disappointed with the line up as normally you would play your best 11 in the final friendly a week before the season start. But this isn’t normal times and it’s not a normal pre season. Maybe game time is being carefully managed for some players to keep them fresh - this is my hope and perhaps a vain attempt to be positive. Spurs kick off in a week too and the team today is hardly likely to be their starting line up. It may not be as bad as feared by some.
From what I saw, that was genuinely enjoyable. First time in a long time I’ve said that. Up the big bad Vlad’s ‘Orns
Little bit of sympathy with Nath here. That was genuinely really enjoyable, good football, a lot of energy and we were genuinely very well coached - huge credit to Vlad. But on the other front I can understand why one could be upset with that starting 11. It's so important to hit the ground running in the championship, whilst that was fun today and everyone deserves a chance, it was a far cry in terms of personnel from the idea the club is selling. That was good to watch but that team would barely reach top half in the Championship, which is fine, if they don't keep talking about how promotion is the only aim. We're six days away from the start of the season and we've not announced half the players we've signed, barely anyone other than the fringe players have got any minutes, and any senior players staying are a total mystery at the moment. Ivic has coached the hell out of the players he's worked with, but the ones we want out there are nowhere to be seen. If we hadn't been so unprepared for the start of last year we wouldn't be in that mess. Just not a fan of keeping all senior members of last years team away from the squad, Norwich and Bournemouth certainly aren't. Whilst they are here and being paid they are assets and should be out there getting us points - it's hardly a strong negotiating position having them train at home! Ivic looks the real deal, lets give him the team to do the great things I think he's capable of. That midfield would get eaten alive Friday night. Also, Quina is special, very special.
