Watford so-called fans like you annoy me. You hang on and hang on, giving the head coach way too much time and leeway to make mistakes. Then suddenly you join the majority calling for his sacking when his position becomes untenable. Can't believe you've allowed him 4 games.
https://highpressnews.com/new-watford-manager-javi-gracia-injures-gel-squad/ Next level man management.
Made the right substitutions today, it wasn't working so made a positive change that slowly improved our attacking play. Big Sam on the other hand was happy with a point and was going to bring on a defensive midfielder when Deeney scored. Defensively we still have brain farts but do seem to make a real effort to recover from them and the players do cover each other. Lets not kid ourselves that suddenly we are particularly solid but we do seem more organised and seem to have a collective desire to keep the opposition out. As for the last five minutes of running down the clock that was well done with three or four players involved, it was smart play and having more players there meant if someone lost it one of the others was quickly in to win it back or put it out of play. Again this suggests organisation and work on the training ground and is something we haven't seen for a while.
It's now 3 goals conceded in 4 league games under Gracia, having conceded 44 in 24 prior to his arrival. I'm not sure you can read too much into the stats after only four games, but it's plain to see that the entire team are now working as a defensive unit. Under Silva, the back three/four was constantly exposed, whereas yesterday I noticed that the wingers were the deepest players on a number of occasions, working back in behind the defence and offering real protection. Same goes for the central midfield duo. Sometimes the opposition will simply be there for the taking, as with Chelsea, but I'll wager that we'll win more points from similar performances to yesterday's. Hopefully with a touch more quality and confidence in the final third.
Richarlison first half with a chance stopping defensive tackle. His main contribution to the game but a bloody important one! This team are well drilled defensively alright.
I think much of our issue there lies in the confidence, with another healthy chunk coming from not being familiar with the new tactical instructions. I think we'll improve, given time.
...and he always looks happy too, a pleasant change after Slither the snake and poor old Walt, who I never saw smile once.
He smiles He smiles He smiles And thats the way we like it We like it We like it He's loyal to the Hornets The Hornets The Hornets And that's why we follow We follow We follow
Not a bad start from Javi. He has the joint 2nd highest points* gained from any managers first 5 games since the the start of 1950. No prozes for guessign who is at number 1, a few surprises in the top ten though! * all wins counted as 3 points
Thing is - on top of his understanding of the game - he is clearly a very nice man - his interview today suggest a humble / grounded / trustworthy person - i like him - he deserves to succeed
He is fast becoming a manager that you want to keep around for a while. Ironically thats not whats been on his cv and he's at a club that pulls the plug a fair bit. He's so far made it look easy with the media in a situation that he had to hit the ground running in and to be fair he has. Expect this opinion to change if we lose the next 2 games of course....
Hello everyone, first post here. Pleased with Gracia at the moment, early days but as things stand I'd like to see him stick around. I do think the upturn in form is more than a new manager bounce, he's clearly done his homework and is making up for Silva's mistakes. I suppose the football ain't been great last few games, but he's got the job done against very unambitious sides, here's hoping we'll see more Chelsea-type performances as we find our feet under him
That said, with how he does against big teams, and our recent record at the Emirates, if we don't win, I'll be #gracious
Welcome! I'm glad you've abbreviated your name from the option which starts 'Knockeart, Almunia, Knockeart'.
It's put in perspective for me by the players who are absent. With Deulofeu, Femenia, Cleverley and Hughes (fully) available, we might have looked a bit more zippy, let alone the long term absentees. Javi has shown an ability to get a win from the resources available and at the moment that's enough for me.
Nothing better than a manager who knows how to "grind out" solid 1-0 wins (Everton, West Brom). The Hornets might be on to a winner with Gracia. Time will tell.
