The Championship 2020-21

Discussion in 'The Hornets' Nest - Watford Chat' started by Markoa$, Jul 26, 2020.

  1. lowerrous

    lowerrous First Team

    A huge part of it is due to how slow and useless our striker(s) are - teams know that increasingly as the game goes on they can squeeze us higher and higher up the pitch because we don't have anyone capable of causing them a goal threat on the counter.
     
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  2. I Blame Pozzo

    I Blame Pozzo First Team

    Rico Henry is the best player in this league I would be so bold to suggest.
    Destined for a top club I would imagine.
     
  3. foxywfc

    foxywfc Reservist

    Very talented. I thought he was motm in our 1-1 game this season.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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  4. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    Brentford knowing how we felt about VAR going against us v Spurs now.

    EDIT; I mean the offside goal they scored - was tight.

    The red card was certainly right.
     
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2021
  5. Hogg-DEENEY!!!

    Hogg-DEENEY!!! Squad Player

    Is Dasilva now suspended for 3 league games now? Could be a bit of a boost for us
     
  6. lowerrous

    lowerrous First Team

    1 FA Cup game + 2 League games.
     
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  7. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

    No need for a psychologist mate. Deeney is Mr.Motiviator and personal counsellor to the entire team. In addition to being a media personality. Shame he cannot be a footballer.
     
  8. LeedsOrn

    LeedsOrn Reservist

    Looks like Morgan Gibbs-White (who was perhaps Swansea's best player before getting injured a month into the season and looked dangerous on his return against us last week) will be returning from his loan to Wolves. Swansea had obviously adjusted well to his injury absence but that's a big loss as he is an excellent player at this level.
     
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  9. lowerrous

    lowerrous First Team

    That's excellent news.

    I'm amazed Swansea ever got him in the first place tbh - I commented before his injury that he looked the best player in the league, he is surely good enough for Wolves' bench or to be starting on loan for a lower-level PL team.

    We'll still need to sign a couple more gems ourselves if we want to overtake the likes of Swansea, or to beat them if we meet in the playoffs, but it definitely weakens them.
     
  10. LeedsOrn

    LeedsOrn Reservist

    For sure. Swansea today linked with Folarin Balogun on loan. A bit of a puzzling one (given that he's out of contract in the summer), unless he's agreed a new contract first but that would be a class signing for them (or us, or anyone in the league). I think with the stable and well-regarded management and coaching of Steve Cooper they've become a very attractive loan destination for premier league sides, and Gibbs-White was clearly a symptom of that.
     
  11. poakley

    poakley Academy Graduate

    They've also lost Kasey Palmer back to Bristol. While he wasn't a regular starter it's another body from the centre of the park missing.

    I also saw that Barnsley are looking the sign Belgian hotshot Obbi Oulare
     
  12. GoingDown

    GoingDown "The Stability"

    No chance Balogun joins a Championship club sneered the relevant forum scouts when someone suggested we should make a move for him.
     
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  13. LeedsOrn

    LeedsOrn Reservist

    I think I was the one who suggested him and was sneered at.
     
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  14. Berkshire Horn

    Berkshire Horn Academy Graduate

    I can’t see us going back up this year.

    My prediction is we won’t have any significant investment in the squad this or next year, Gray and Deeney will be collecting their wages until 2022 which leaves the wage bill higher than Gino would like.

    If once 2021/22 season is finished and we have not been promoted then Pozzos will look to sell.

    Red Helmet Baz will come back and all will be like the Premier League was one big wet dream
     
  15. lowerrous

    lowerrous First Team

    I thought that Deeney's contract mercifully expires this summer.
     
  16. Berkshire Horn

    Berkshire Horn Academy Graduate

    possibly, I just found 2022 on a post on the contract thread!
     
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  17. LeedsOrn

    LeedsOrn Reservist

    There's a bit of debate. I think Leventhal said in the summer he believed it to be longer, but the no club communication confirms that to be the case.
     
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  18. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

  19. bedmond_hornet

    bedmond_hornet First Year Pro

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  20. reids

    reids First Team

    Krul out for Norwich with Covid
     
  21. Chumlax

    Chumlax Squad Player

    A krul blow to their promotion hopes.
     
  22. folkestone orn

    folkestone orn Squad Player

    Mr Motivator is (probably) in his 60s now. It's offensive to compare him to captain blobalot
     
  23. Chumlax

    Chumlax Squad Player

    So, having just read a post displaying this on r/soccer, I found it alarming enough to carry over here.

    This is FiveThirtyEight's non-shot xG ranking as of today for the Championship:

    [​IMG]

    (The account that posted this précised 'non-shot xG' as 'Where xG uses actual shots, non-shot xG places a value on a load of the other actions going on in and around the box. Dangerous passes, intercepting the ball high etc.' - here is the link to the tweet, that includes the screenshot of 538's own full explanation: https://twitter.com/BeesTactical/status/1348573914222317569?s=20)

    Essentially, it looks pretty pathetic for us, and does a fairly good job of outlining how lacklustre (to be kind) we have been as a team, despite our current league position.

    Ideally, you would obviously be as far to the right and as far up the graph as possible.

    In reality, we aren't even above the midpoint of the graph for non-shot xG against, with either 12 or 15 clubs above us in that metric, depending upon exactly where in the logos the actual plotted figure really is.

    To balance that out, we would at least want to be rating highly and therefore playing dangerously, creating opportunities in the opposing area - like Norwich, as we can see here - also below the line, but far and away the highest non-shot xG rating of their own, and a place at the top of the league to show for it. And then there's us: this time barely past the midpoint, with between 8 and 10 other clubs ahead of us depending on exact plot point, and that includes Wycombe.

    As you can see, one way or another we are miles away from every single one of the teams who are theoretically our promotion rivals - either they are just better all round, such as in the cases of Muff or Brentford, or they compensate strongly prioritising one approach as part of their style of play, be it offensive or defensive, such as in the cases of Norwich and Reading. We are in the company of teams like Bristol City and Huddersfield far more than any of them.

    Fundamentally, it means that we both allow our opponents to create/practice plenty of dangerous play and opportunities against us, whilst maintaining a very unimpressive and midtable amount of dangerous play and opportunities against our opponents. If this bears out over the second half of the season, the correction will be quite stark. Let's hope it does not.
     
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  24. Keighley

    Keighley First Team

    May be obvious to you m8. I have no frigging idea what it all means.

    Are we ****?
     
  25. The undeniable truth

    The undeniable truth First Team Captain

    That's his TalkSport contract. His WFC contract is in (David) perpetuity.
    upload_2021-1-11_17-17-37.jpeg
     
  26. Chumlax

    Chumlax Squad Player

    Yes.

    It's really quite simple (provided my own understanding is not awkwardly wrong) - the further to the right of the graph you are, the better your own team's non-shot xG is, and the higher up the graph you are, the worse your opponent's non-shot xG is.

    Obviously, it is desirous for a fan of a particular team for both metrics to be swinging those aforementioned ways should they wish their team to have a high chance of winning their games.

    You want your own team to be creating lots of opportunities for goals and effective attacking play, whilst restricting your opponents attempts to do the very same thing.

    Over the first half of the season, we haven't been doing much of either.
     
  27. The undeniable truth

    The undeniable truth First Team Captain

    Well I think it looks pretty. Very pretty in fact.
     
  28. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

  29. Knight GT

    Knight GT Predictor extraordinaire 2013/14

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  30. LeedsOrn

    LeedsOrn Reservist

    I think Carabao Cup semi-finals were only one-legged this year so they're out now.
     
  31. I Blame Pozzo

    I Blame Pozzo First Team

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  32. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    And we will probably all be in the boat soon !
     
  33. I Blame Pozzo

    I Blame Pozzo First Team

    If indeed we have a boat!
     
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  34. Knight GT

    Knight GT Predictor extraordinaire 2013/14

    Didn't know that. Long may they stay in the fa cup then
     
  35. Otter

    Otter Gambling industry insider

    All of our main rivals in the league won their 3rd round ties which was a good thing.
     

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