Who are usually way off fitness and probably injury prone. Nicolas Nkoulou comes to mind and Sanchez the season before.
We’ve done alright. Keeping JP and Sarr is a bonus I don’t think anybody expected, and between them and Davis, we should have forward options that are better than anybody else in this league. Lack of depth behind them is a worry, but Manaj has shown a glee glimmers to give us hope he’ll do a job when required. Jury is out on Gaspar, and he’s not been impressive so far, but with his experience, not sure we can rule out him making a decent contribution once he’s adjusted to the league. Not saying this will be the case, but I remember Cassetti looked well off the pace in his first couple of appearances. Failing to sign a proper RWB is a concern, and I’m disappointed we’ve not got a proper option on that side to help us stretch teams and progress the ball forward. Maybe Ngakia will get a chance between now and January to develop, but we do look weak there. Louza and Davis coming in should see us improve and start to control the tempo of games better, while Hause likely improves us defensively. We’ve got some weaknesses, and it’s really disappointing we’ve not signed a RWB, but having kept Sarr and JP, I think there’s enough for Edwards to work with.
It depends on the circumstances. Kwateng for instance was just released by Bordeaux due to finance issues.
One thing he won’t do is praise the club or if he’s does it will be secondary to something else. I’m aware he posts the odd bit of praise but balance is not the word I would have chosen!
Sorry, what? ‘One thing he won’t do is praise the club….I’m aware he posts the odd bit of praise…’ You realise you just wrote that?
Anyway, he can defend himself. I’m not supporting his overly negative attitude and I’ve questioned it at times myself even when I hold similar views. He knows this and accepts it! You can easily get on with Nath (and many others) when you open your mind to the fact that we all ultimately want a prosperous club. But I will repeat - no one on here WANTS the club to fail or is happy, or celebrates when it does. It’s the most wild accusation you can throw on this forum to be honest - it isn’t true and is quite ignorant frankly IMO. People care, that’s the bottom line.
We've kept Sarr and Pedro, two players worth £25m plus which is pretty much unprecedented in the Championship. We've also signed Choudury who looks good and it's way too early to dismiss Davis. But boo hoo we haven't signed a rwb etc and we got 2 new dodgy strikers so its all a disaster. Ah but the club is so toxic etc. If it's really so toxic why did Pedro came out and say the positive things he said when he could have sought to force through a move. sure I'd have liked some more signings in our weaker areas and more balance to the team but we've kept Sarr and Pedro so considering what looked like happening a short while ago I think it's been a great window and I've a sense of relief. I'd rather be a deluded moron/trained seal clapping along than someone so totally wrapped up in negativity and hatred that I was incapable of any sense of perspective. Try some positive thinking and maybe try and get behind the team/club, you never know you might enjoy yourself.
With not signing a RWB, added to the several other positions many have called for improvements/reinforcement in to a lesser extent, we've effectively left a fair bit to chance when it comes to promotion hopes, and obviously that makes plenty of people nervous, because we don't want to get stuck in the mire. Add to that, as posters have already pointed out, the seemingly now-confirmed fact that we had to crazily bodge a confected transfer/fee just to manage/meet our operating costs (credit to @Burnsy for his reporting of this at the time) makes the prospect of getting stuck down here where we all float and the associated uncertainty even scarier. It also adds another page to the chronicle of the outwardly baffling and inexplicable working of Gino, and perhaps the wider Stability's, minds. There have been some good incomings, with Hause and Davis especially bringing the potential for improvement. If Davis can actually get fit and well enough to get on the pitch at some point, the way he plays could well dovetail rather brilliantly with our roaming Starbois. And, coming to that, I have to acknowledge that I was 100% sceptical about the possibility of keeping them - Sarr in particular, and yet they both remain. In that sense, therefore, of course, there are things to celebrate. It does still feel like we're relying on every one of those new and currently injured players to return relatively soon, stay fit, and perform at the best of their abilities, or we become a far less threatening proposition, and we still seem to be purely going out as a group of 11 players and relying on them to be naturally more talented and express that successfully enough to beat the opposition, rather than developing a clear style of play. Not having a dedicated RWB adds to that feeling, and seems like it has cemented that approach. In terms of the ownership, I feel my attitude towards the window is a net negative, because the stubborn, bloody-minded refusal to successfully and intelligently reinforce the clearest required position and, in the most linear/obvious fashion, support their shiny new project head coach, is an incredibly dull example of plus ca change deja vu that could so easily have been fixed. Why it always has to be this difficult, I will never understand. We'll have to hope for a great many things to fall into and subsequently continue on in place to have any chance of threatening autos, but it's certainly an attractive prospect to imagine a team with Louza, Davis, Sarr, JP, Kamara and Hause in it at this level, so I very much hope that they do.
This is a laughably hyperbolic description of Nath and his posting, to the point of being essentially meaningless. On the latter point, Burnsy has even addressed this just a few posts ago, not that he should have needed to - the suggestion that in some way Nath does not support Watford, or that there is one correct and particular way of being a supporter, or that expressing misgivings and feeling frustration/annoyance/anger at any of the myriad failings we have all borne witness to over the past few years automatically disqualifies you from being a fan, is disingenuous in the extreme.
Obviously some very good points, Sarr and JP staying is massive. Choudhry looks decent, jury still out on Davis and Hause but admittedly look good on paper. Gaspar may surprise us as could Bayo and Manaj but I'm clutching at straws. No RWB, was essential if Edwards favours 3-5-2. So I'd say a 4-3-1-2 would be the most solid and gives the front three license to interchange. I suppose there still is a few out of contract RB-RWB out there but it's so fookin typical of the club to underachieve in yet another window. Ekong, Kabs and Cathcart will give me enough to moan about until January at least. I suppose it's fingers crossed that Hause comes in and rejuvenates the backline it certainly is going to get any worse with him in. Or have I spoken to soon.
Part of you're point seems to be that I'm suggesting that there is one correct way of being a supporter and that makes my post "disingenuous in the extreme" I refer you to part of the post from Nath that I originally replied to: "........whilst the deluded morons that make up our dribbling fan base clap along like trained seals as usual." (Nath) I've hardly posted lately, The above quote from Nath is part of a relentless diatribe of criticising people for how they choose to support the club. Yet you accuse me of this in defense of someone who is repeatedly criticising people for supporting the club in a different way to how he does. For the record I do think he is a long standing supporter of Watford but i simply don't agree with his polarised view of the club and how he choses to express it and critise others for holding a different view, which ironically is the very point you are making.
I agree with the criticism of the failure to recruit at RWB and that it's a failure of the transfer window. However, I personally hate the idea of playing 3 central defenders, especially with the options at our disposal, so hope RE finds a new preferred formation.
I would much rather have an attacking wing back option available but I think it’s a little too early to write off Gaspar. He is a good player with good pedigree who obviously does not perform the wingback role as Wilson did last year for Edwards at FGR. But maybe he can tuck in and play a bit deeper and narrower giving license for Kamara or Sema at LWB to really push up and join the attack. Things don’t always have to be so symmetrical. Hause being left footed means that he can move across a bit allowing us to be a back four at times when in possession. Certainly seems preferable to forcing Kamara out onto his weak side again. What’s frustrating to me is I really do feel like we were one or two signings away from having one of the strongest squads in the league. RWB and either CB or an extra CM. As I’ve made clear here often I like Bayo but I’d be fascinated to know the terms of his transfer fee. To spend a substantial amount (which I do feel approximates to his underlying value) on one Bayat player and not pay a single other fee this window is absolutely baffling.
When it's clearly the new managers preferred formation it's a bigger faux pas than simply not finding midfield cover for example. I can see why there are certain people getting knickers twisted as your option undermines Edwards rather than the full support he was publicly given a month ago. However I don't think this makes it a bad window overall. Sarr and Pedro will give us an edge, one of Bayo, Manaj or Davis will do much better than people think and all we have to do is find some cohesion behind the front three. I'd rather see Gaspar out of place at RWB supporting Sarr than a more natural RWB supporting an iffy Mogi Bayet deal from Belgium.
In fairness, it's actually not, because at no point in that is Nath claiming or implying the 'deluded morons/trained seals' are not fans of Watford FC, or supporters/supportive of the club - whatever you think of those characterisations. And yes, fairplay, it is of course your right to disagree with them.
We will finish top 6 I agree. If we don’t go up next season doesn’t bear thinking about. Sarr, JP, Louza definitely gone. The options to buy not triggered. Even worse financial circumstances. It will be Asprilla and a load of dross! For someone like Burnley/Sheff Utd if they don’t go up they have a base to build on. We are built on sand foundations so we better go up!
Controversial opinion here from me given the accusations flying around of people not support the club. But I don’t actually want promotion at the mo, we go up and it will be a bloodbath that will make last season look exciting (to be fair we beat Everton 5-2 and United 4-1 last year) We have exactly as you say, a squad built on sand that needs a complete reset. Look at Bournemouth last weekend, 9-0 sod that, the premier league is cancer to the game and we are coming out the back of 6 years out of 7 suffering from cancer. This is why all us fans are fighting each other and why the club appears from the outside to be on its knees financially
People can spin the transfer Window how they like and bang on about the RWB situation. , but having held on to Sarr and Pedro , with Asprilla emerging and Davis to come in we should have more than enough attacking talent to win this league. The important thing is finding a formation and a way of making sure those attacking players are properly utilised. There does appear to be a gap in midfield without Louza but if that means playing more direct and utilising Davis then that’s what we need to do.
Yes, that's what I said fairly clearly. I personally find 3 cbs a little boring especially given the cbs at our disposal. I think it's an over simplification to imply that the formation is the reason why RE was hired in the first place . RE himself has said he is not wedded to any one formation. But I understand why you would seek to make that point.
Fair enough, i agree he's not claiming that. But neither was I seeking to claim anyone was not a fan so I'm not sure where that point has come from. If that's how i came across I apologise as its not something I think or the point I was trying to make.
The simple fact is getting a RWB would’ve been very easy, keeping Sarr and Pedro is completely irrelevant to that fact, the two didn’t need to be mutually exclusive. In many ways it’s actually probably worse that we kept Sarr and Pedro and didn’t sort the RWB position, because if we don’t go up we’ll be in the absolute **** financially and getting in a RWB so our manager could’ve at least had the option to play he preferred formation could’ve made the difference. Instead we lined the pockets of our agent and eschewed plenty of cheaper options at RWB that would’ve seen us have a better chance of promotion. What was point of keeping Sarr and Pedro but leaving ourselves unnecessarily short elsewhere? It wasn’t a binary choice so why celebrate it like it was one?
Overall I'm not unhappy with the transfer window but those in charge still don't seem to value the defence. Lessons learned? I think the fact that we have got points on the board, despite some poor performances in midfield and at the back, has blinded the owners to our fundamental problems. Hopefully Edwards can find a way for the team to work with the players we have but I still think we are going to have issues with the transition from defence to attack. Maybe Louza will help with that. And maybe Hause can pass the ball. 7/10 for me.
Presumably the fact that we haven’t had to sell either Sarr or JP means our finances aren’t as bad as some thought? Had £50m+ offers on them combined.
Isn't about time we have an article about the ones that got away? I always enjoy these BS stories while drinking my coffee.
Why can't people be allowed to be pleased to keep Saar and Pedro whilst at the same time acknowledging there were areas we could/should have improve ie. RWB and ball playing defender? You're making it seem binary even to the point of coming up with the bizarre idea that it's somehow worse to have kept Sarr and Pedro.
Decent window. Cut a load of dross out, made a few decent additions and kept hold of Pedro. A RWB would have been the cherry on the icing on the cake, but overall there is no doubt that wasn't a bad window at all.
Well what is the point of keeping Pedro and Sarr but unnecessarily ignoring a glaring requirement of our new manager? You acknowledge it wasn’t a binary choice, so again, who did we ignore it, whilst at the same time spending £5m on a Bayat brothers player?
Like I used to get on my school report, could do better. Agreed it was a nearly window. Short of a RWB and one CB. Seeing Kabs and WTE gone would've been even better but who would want them.
