I don't think Ivic actually tried to shut up shop, they were starting to dominate as the half went on due to outnumbering us in the middle. I think he thought putting Quina on would help us West wrest control back in the middle of the pitch. It didn't and he got it completely wrong and made us toothless but I don't think he was trying to sit back. Our midfield combinations are all flawed, there's not enough energy in there. Cleverley is our most dynamic midfielder and he's 31.
I don't think it is. We've all been guilty of overrating it I think. The harsh facts are that we don't have a top quality Championship striker (unless Troy or Gray somehow turn the clock back), we have no depth in centre midfield or on the left hand side. Our defence and keeper are now probably our strongest area now we've stepped down a level. But it's also an imbalanced squad, it's less than the sum of its parts.
From what I've seen, Ngakia is OK, no more. A better defender than Kiko nut no good going forward. And Vlad's tactics rely on the wing backs providing the attacking width.
Yes. This passing backwards and sideways when in useful attacking positions is a 'coward's ball'. But it is a whole-squad obsession, isn't it? I have to question the coaching when these safety-first attacks are the norm.
I had hoped that Ivic would be a diamond in the rough. He is simply too negative. We should bury teams like QPR. We score early and then play as if we know we will concede a goal at some point. It is not good enough, but who else is out there to manage us? I keep hoping it will all finally click, but it is just not happening How long will Ivic have to get it right? Bristol City are next, we can only hope they do not take us to the cleaners. At some point a team will do so. We have rode our luck in many games so far. Have a good weekend .
I agree with you to a large extent but certain players are under performing or being asked to play a role that denies us any tempo. Chalobah does not have the dynamism to push forward but Capoue has. I can remember him driving forward once today and winning a free kick when Carroll fouled him. The rest of the time he spent either passing sideways or backwards or,as Smudger said colliding with Quina as he dug himself into the turf. He is a very gifted player but he seems either lacking in desire,woefully short of confidence or being asked not to go forward. Capoue is not the only culprit but he's a quality player and needs to shape up.
I'm not getting this love in with Andre from some of our supporters. Yes he has worked unbelievably hard to get where he has , no doubt But he has had one (1) decent season in the championship and that was with a side that was promoted. At the end of the day there is a reason why Brentford sold to Burnley and Burnley sold to us . Shanked shots is that reason .
Got to go along with this post. But I would say it is the theme for a lot of this squad. Which brings me to the coaching: One of the problems of modern-day coaching is that they are not given any time to develop things and this is magnified with Watford's approach to coaches. Good coaches don't just tell you what to do they tell you how to do it, but this takes time, patience and consistency. I see hesitancy, uncertainty and lack of determination running through this squad like 'Blackpool' through a stick of rock.
And yet a few weeks ago, people lauded Capoue staying as the final piece of the puzzle. That the midfield thing was sorted. Now we've realised he's playing at about 40% of his level and his usual prance around, hollywood pass game will not work at this level it's suddenly a problem area in which we have no depth. Life comes at you fast.
That Chair guy offered more in this game than Sarr has in any game this season. Probably cost QPR a tenner.
I genuinely think he's the worst signing in our history. Not his fault, but the money spent and the negligence elsewhere as a result is why we are where we are.
He's only had 2 games back since injury to show what he can do this season, scored in his first game and got taken off early this game which I don't believe he should've done.
compare our squad to the other teams we’ve played this year. Head and shoulders above the others. Yes there are deficiencies but look at our bench compared to each and every other one. Fault lays with system and the fact that it appears the squad have another manager that they don’t rate and respect (my opinion not fact!)
I remember being told in no uncertain terms that the Chalobah/Quina axis would overrun the championship! Guess our last hope now is Hughes............
I don't think they did. I think most people looked at our malfunctioning midfield and thought that Capoue was going to improve it, which he has even if not on top form.
He will miss some chances for sure, or not get the required service, however 1 goal in 1 and a half games is alrite so far. You wont see a good return if Deeney talks his way back into the team of course or if Ivic continues to chop and change.
Makes you wonder if Doucoure looked so off the pace the last couple of seasons because he was carrying the entire midfield. I'd be surprised if we see Quina again any time soon after today.
Quina looked good further forward against Bournemouth, in and around the edge of their box. Any further back and he’s a complete liability.
Best midfielder in the league was the cry. I even believed it myself, so no accusations of any posters. He's been a massive let down so far. Barely even our best midfielder in a lot of games and that's alongside a completley shot Chalobah and a woefully inadequate Cleverley.
Its time to face facts, it's complete bollox that our squad is head and shoulders above the others. In almost every single match we've been second best. There comes a time when you have to accept the reality of your own eyes. How many players of the teams we've faced have you even heard of let alone seen play before? Yet you confidently state our squad is head and shoulders better. Just ***** lol.
Capoue is 32. and has three years left on £45k per week. He would’ve liked to have left for Valencia for a nicer lifestyle, but there was nothing else to it other than that, at his age it wasn’t any sort of desire to achieve anything. I said at the time be careful what you wish for wanting him to stay. He’s only going to get older, less motivated and lazier, but that £45k a year contract isn’t going anywhere.
That is a bit of an oxymoron though. We could’ve gone top today despite not playing well all season. I’d say that’s because we do have a talented squad but they aren’t playing to the best of their abilities. QPR were 18th but looked better than us, but are they actually better than us? Well their league position suggests not.
Was £22mil rising to £27mil with add-ons. Given they got promoted again, most would have probably been reached.
Thing is, what I hate about it is that for years, I enjoyed watching Watford teams which where unrated on paper, assembled for peanuts, giving bloody noses to recent top flight teams with star names, or big spending teams pushing for the top. We've become that. We've got the target on us, but not the cajones to defend it. We're thr epitome of fancy dan big boys who don't like it up them and who are vulnerable to less talented teams playing decent, open footie with heart.
Our league position is up there with the great mysteries of the world like how did the cavemen carry those rocks to stonehenge, or mick hucknall get to prong Catherine zeta jones. Surely you realise its a complete anomaly?
The majority of our team would walk into every other teams squad. On paper this is a strong championship team. What’s not bloody working is the management of the team, the formation and the players are not pushing anywhere close to their potential...which is a issue we have had for almost every year that the Pozzos have been in charge
There was a quote about Bielsa only signing players that first and foremost had an purpose about them and would run through a brick wall for him. Makes me sick - we seem to statistically analyse possible signings to death and work out how much we could make off them, but forget to consider whether they are lazy, arrogant or a bottle job.
Well it’s not an anomaly is it? We’ve played 12 games of football and lost twice, both 1-0. Generally speaking the teams we’ve played are not good enough to beat us, if we score, then they can’t beat us or at least haven’t managed to so far. I’d say it’s a good bet that it’s because we have players who individually are better than the opposition. We can play badly and incoherently, but if we’ve got players better than the opposition, we can play worse than them but still get results and very very rarely lose to them. Having players of greater quality is surely the only logical explanation for our league position if performances have been that bad?
Why do you think a relegated squad that has lost its best players and that was already old and is now a year older, is head and shoulders above everyone else in the league? Don't get me wrong, I used to think the same. But I've seen enough now to think it's clearly not the case. I guess you just need a little longer.
