I don’t think it was as bad as people are making out today. We certainly were unlucky not to win on chances .We’ve played worse than that and won this season , Apart from the Cardiff worldy, they created nothing. We hit the post and had some other decent chances . Yes we were way too slow and ponderous first half and up to about 60 minutes After the substitutions we were completely dominant and should have at least got a point . I thought we looked decent with Sema and Dennis wide and Asprilla and Kone and Asprilla , who were both poor came to life as well. We really need to start with that lineup .
I would gladly take 15M for Lewis right now as a parting gift from Klopp before his retirement or whatever he does next season. Right now he's not lived up to the (admit small amount) of hype when he first signed. It's clear where the problems lie in the team, yet they are once again overlooked for a cheap contract extension. That £2M we spent on Chak could of easily gone on a striker/RB from League One/Two for example. Perhaps even that is straw clutching however with the cost of players' nowadays.
Awful game,a missed opportunity for 3 points, from the 1st minute to the last ,build up play was,way too slow ,intensity was miles off ,when we moved the ball quicker we done well but not enough times
Watford’s approach to most games is baffling. Once again we were playing a mediocre team at home but decided to put absolutely no pressure on them for the first hour. The team looks so much better when it plays at speed and keeps the ball moving, but so often the tempo is set by the defence and goalie passing the ball around at the back for no apparent reason. The rest of the team stands and watches this and so it affects the midfield too who often play a wall pass back to the defence because they are facing that way. I presume they are instructed to play like this but it seems they are more interested in keeping possession of the ball rather than trying to score a goal. So frustrating. The sooner Sema and Dennis are fit enough to start the better.
I agree the subs made a differ difference but for an hour we played right into their hands . Draw might have been fairer but we left it too late really .
He just plays safe 99% of the time, whether that's turning back to Hoedt instead of crossing, or holding position instead of trying to tackle. He could be a good footballer but does nothing decisive. I'd rather have Morris developing.
Exactly. You don't deserve to win at home if you don't try and force the game for over an hour. Pathetic effort from Val mainly.
I’d add I’m very dubious about the Georgi signing Not just from today’s performance , but I see very little of substance He carries the ball well , but his distribution is geverally poor and I don’t see much end product
One slight defence of Bayo today - there was one moment in the game when Andrews had the ball on the right of the penalty box and Bayo had found himself unmarked at the back post for a tap-in header had the ball came to him, but instead Andrews shanked his cross and it ended up needing their goalkeeper to tip it over the bar for a corner.
As mediocre as Lewis is, Morris is not the answer. Morris does not have enough potential that is worth developing.
M'eh - who cares. Let Leicester, Leeds and Saints go up this year. Championship will be much easier next year with Sheff Utd, Palarse and Everton.
A little unlucky not to score towards the end, admittedly we didn’t make it easy for ourselves, but we hit the post, Dele-bashiru brought a good save from the keeper and then we had the ball ping ponging around in front of goal, any contact from anyone and it’s in the back of the net! the game was similar to some of our earlier home matches this season, sometimes you score late and win (like v Birmingham) sometimes you don’t!
My second game of the season in person. My takeaways: - Andrews is excellent. Best HG player in years. - Chak is not good. Runs around a lot and carries the ball but weak and wasteful. - We are still allergic to central midfield. No idea why we insist on only playing out down the flanks. Even when switching play it's always missing out the midfield. - We weren't good but still should have got at least a draw out of that performance Mid table mediocrity in full effect.
Can't see Palarse being overtaken by Kompany FC. They will go next season. Ideal time to be promoted.
I think VI is trying to protect certain players from the so called hectic schedule which along with injuries means he's shuffling the pack too much. On top of that we just don't have a strong settled midfield combo, and that's where our main problems stem from, apart from the odd moments of brilliance from a few players here and there.... It's not enough in the championship.
What a ***** game. What a waste of a first half. Sideways, sideways, backwards. I thought Dave was the only one in the first half trying to do anything. as mentioned above Lewis has to be one of the most negative, unimaginative players I have seen in a long time. And with them holding such a high line a ball over the top once in a while must have been worth a try.
Their goal the only big if quality all match. Second half we came out all guns passing backwards until the substitutions. Even then of players were ponderous of thought.apart from Dele Bashiru’s smart shot, we did not work the keeper. Dennis if he had Bern here from the dimmer would be a real shot in the arm. Today he looks ring rusty. Overall we are were we are. The quality is lacking, but we are still a top 30 team, which is better than our historic average. had to do a pit stop at the Railway Arms, to see Sheff Utd dissected by the Villa.
We were always going to miss Healey. The bloke who we got in at the last minute to replace him - Dennis - is clearly not in same class. I bet Huddersfield can't believe we let him go
My pessimistic prediction is that Val will ultimately fail and it’ll go wrong but he will leave with our good graces and fondly remembered because we’ll know it’s not his fault. We’re firmly back to a mid-table Championship side, won’t see players with the quality of the likes of Dennis, Asprilla & Kone around here for ten years. We either go down next year or the club is sold to a prudent, shrewd operator and we hang around The Championship for another decade until the next Aidy Boothroyd style lightning in an bottle moment.
Nothing a decent striker won't sort out . If Raj doesn't score What does he do ? What does Bayo do ? Target man ? Nope Fox in the box ? Nope Silky skilled no. 10 ? Nope . A poundshop Shane Long
The amount of freaks in the Rookery that seem to have notifications on for Luton games is disgusting.
People acting like that isn’t the usual dross served up. This is what happens when the luck runs out and we don’t get a refereeing decision or some half way line goal. Devoid of quality despite all the quality players we supposedly possess, the endless crosses not going anywhere, players looking out on their feet physically and mentally drained with no backups. They certainly didn’t look like they ‘cared’ much today. Still, if our one trick pony coach is trying to turn us into a Barnsley/West Brom tribute act, it’s working. It’s disgusting to watch and isn’t going to get better.
I called that as a one goal game after about 20 minutes and I wasn’t wrong! Bog standard Championship fare for all the family right there. No chance we’ll be in the play-off race after Easter. Despite the pre-match concerns I wouldn’t say our players looked particularly fatigued or Cardiff’s much fresher for their two weeks with their feet up. Instead simply too many of our players had off days today. Even the frantic last 15 minutes stank of desperation rather than building a coherent head of steam to try and put Cardiff under real pressure. It was genuinely bizarre how many times our midfielders/attackers pick up the ball with their back to goal, then want too many touches to decide what to do and then often decide just to take the cop out option and pass backwards. Hard to focus on particular players after that but Asprilla looks completely out of ideas, I hate the non-entity of a player called Lewis with a passion and Bayo seems to have regressed back to the low depths he plumbed first half of last season. Haven’t watched it back but not convinced Bowler’s goal was a worldly either. It was completely avoidable if we’d defended properly instead of presenting him with an opportunity to pick his spot from not that far out.
Subs showed how **** we had been, thing is it wasn't much better after they came on. Just Cardiff holding on to their win.
