If you're fat and look like you cant be arsed, you'll get called a lazy fat ****. If you have limited ability but get stuck in and run around loads, you'll be a fans favourite. If you whinge in the press and cup your ears at your own fans while earning £100k you'll get called a prat. If you score ace last minute goals, you'll get called a legend. Football fans are incredibly simple people and it's been this way since Ug and Urk first kicked a pigs bladder around 3million years away. Only a thicko would be confused by this.
He's an emotional guy who had a difficult start, battled hard and is proud of what he has achieved. As one who went through the academic sausage machine and glided into a comfortable lifestyle, I don't feel able to criticise his "me against the world" attitude as it's probably what got him where he is
Agreed. Whatever he can use to light the fire in his belly is fine by me. I don't care if he has a 15 minute angry tirade directed at my mother on Sunday if he scores a couple against those sarf London pond-life.
I don't think Deeney was ever fat, though for the purposes of this forum it is efficatious to treat him as such. However, his periods of bulking up baby whale style do seem to coincide with his poorer form, so, in this irreverent environment, it is innevitable that he will be slated for being a bit dumpy, just as it is innevitable that some on here will take the posts at face value. That said, I can't blame him for our head coach's tactics over the last two seasons, which I suspect is the real root of his poor form. Playing with another striker, like early days with Ighalo, paid dividends, and if Gray keeps running Troy could be in for a good season. He has deserved some of the criticism he received last season, particularly regarding his discipline, but you can't blame the fat **** for everything. I never got the impression he didn't give a poop, and if we are going with two up top, there is no player I would rather see in a Watford shirt.
In good form or bad, inside the stadium, at home games at least, Deeney has been given far more love than hate. I've noted many times, a move which he's involved in with 1 or 2 others, in which he does equally well as them, but does't score, gets chants of "Deeney, Deeney, Deeney." Watford fans want him to do well. I genuinely believe that. Some have been frustrated over the past year and, wrongly it seems, assumed he was past it, but still, most people would rather see Deeney being successful for us than anyone else.
If he logs on here or gets a summary of the threads about him, he'll have got the impression that we're all against him. He won't have caught on to the running gags and catch-phrases. My reading is that the fat-git posters were expressing disappointment that he'd fallen so far from what he was. If he's got it back, we'll all be behind him
I've slagged off Troy a lot because he was useless last year in the same way Zeegelar was. Just because he's a club legend he shouldn't ever be exempt from criticism. If he delivers this season happy days for everyone.
Deserved the criticism last year and deserves the praise so far this year. Simple. Some of the "Troy ate the buffet" puns were cutting but weren't serious, he must recognise that? In the same way, not all forum members are cheese addicts. Just me. and Troy....
Disclaimer: I was critical of him last season and felt it was probably time for him to go. Good to see he has his hunger back if you’ll forgive the unfortunate choice of words. I’ve just come back from holiday in Slovenia where my 6 year old son was irritatingly eulogising about Messi. I decided to google Troy’s best 100 goals on YouTube to get him back on the right path. First of all seeing the Leicester goal again brought tears of happiness to my minces. But what really struck me was the quality of so many of Deeney’s finishes and reminded me what a player he can be other than the big ugly centre forward he sometimes makes himself out to be. Hope we’ve got the Troy of old back.
Ignoring the obviously ironic Deeney is fat jokes, I do think that when he is heavier, he is less effective. He is so much more than the lump that outwrestles burly defenders. His play relies on being agile, making clever runs and playing quick knock ons, as well as being a battering ram. Having a forward partner will help him. Having Foster's distribution will help him. However carrying less bulk, will make him less one-dimensional and defenders have a much more difficult time wrestling him out of the game.
Very similar experience with my eldest - I was maintaining that you can see the parlous state of "English" football as Troy was seriously being considered for an England cap during the run-in to world cup qualification. We then looked at a number of Troy's show reels of goals - many (most?) of which were world-class finishes - the only response I could give was that he was a striker and that's suppose to be his job...
Agreed. He is seen as a big lump traditional no9 CF but the number of goals he has scored with his head over his career is tiny. His strength was having a great touch and being a very good finisher on the ground. His decision to bulk up with his friend AJ was flawed and as a result he lost a yard of pace and his scoring opportunities dried up. The extra yard he has regained by losing weight, plus having a partner to work with, should hopefully make a big difference this season.
Paraphrasing a little, I think it was broadly "....and a special thanks to my friends at wfc forums for giving me the kick up the backside I needed. I will work my socks off to regain your love and respect. Thanks again guys".
This is a very ironic post. Did you stick with him? Or did you call him a fat **** and believe it? The only reason his detractors stuck with him is because they had no say in getting rid, so don't change history now by making out they magnanimously stuck by him through thick and thin only to now face his wrath. Other people did show faith, including Duxbury, Gino and even Gracia, who has shown himself to be willing to change the team's style to accommodate Troy's strengths. Many recognised the reasons why things weren't working for him, and had faith in him as a player and a person, so don't lump us in with the likes of yourself, because we've always had faith in him to perform if he is used to his strengths. And we know the difference between being fat and bulked up.
I wonder whether the likes of Deeney and Grey know they're letting the online trolls win and that they'll keep coming back for more knowing they can get a reaction - every game I go to the majority back Grey and Deeney, sure there's a minority that criticise them but they're heavily outnumbered and you'd never hear it unless you were right next to them. None the less, glad to see Deeney and Grey doing well - was critical of them both last season but was easy to see the system didn't suit either of them.
As one of his biggest critics over the past few seasons and considering our complete failure to bring in a better striker, I am delighted that Deeney seems to be back to his former self. We need him desperately as we enter our 4th season in the Premier League as we cannot rely on Gray and midfielders to score enough goals. I would think, and I sense, that 99% of his critics will agree. In a summary of the various interviews that I have seen recently, he now has his “mojo” back (which I would suggest means that he wasn’t motivated before, like playing in the most popular league in the world on £80k to £100k a week wasn’t enough), that he now has his “head right” (which I would suggest he means that he too easily got frustrated or lost his temper with both his teammates and opponents) and that he is now back to “fitness” and has a much better “physicality” (which suggests that he was too unfit to be playing football at his level), all are admissions that they were not present before this season. Thank heavens for that as his type of football depends on all those personal traits more than if he was more technically gifted. But his admissions make it quite clear that his critics were absolutely right to pick up on the same issues. We had no idea that he would suddenly get his arse into gear. Whilst it is a consideration that he plays better in a two man attack, it is too much to expect three coaches, to build their style, tactics or formation, around a player who admits that he was mentally and physically unfit to play for us. We are also yet to play our 3rd match of the season, far too early to judge his season. So, if he thinks that has critics will start to “beg forgiveness” as he starts to do what he is paid 3 or 4 times in a week what the average worker gets in a year, he has another think coming. It is Deeney himself who should be "begging forgiveness" for letting his club and his fans down over the past couple of seasons. He should keep his mouth shut, let his football do the talking, as that is the best way to win everybody over. He could do worse than looking at the extended highlights of the Burnley match on the official site; https://www.watfordfc.com/matches/highlights/highlights-burnley-1-3-watford At about 6.45 minutes in, as the ball is with Bobby approaching the area, Troy trots into the middle accompanied by a couple of defenders (the commentator said "Deeney waits in the middle") – he is offering nothing to the attack. Bobby, with no better option, has to hopefully float it to a stretched Gray (desperately trying to find space on the far side), who slices his effort wide. Cue Deeney, arms up in the air, moaning at the lost “opportunity”. Compare that with his goal (11:40 minutes in), when he expected Doucoure to shoot as “he normally shoots” yet found himself on the end of a glorious pass, but only because Deeney made a rare run into space creating the opportunity for Doucoure to find him - and he finished off the chance brilliantly. And compare it with our third goal (12:53 minutes in) where, and the ball is with Hughes, Gray busted a gut to create space with a diagonal run which, for a split second, confused the defender Mee enough to open up the chance for Hughes to move it to his left, shoot, and score. Stop looking at the fans Troy. Look at what works and what doesn’t – and look at yourself. You cannot rely on your "legendary" status alone. That is the best way to win over the fans and to shut the critics up.
@zztop i would disagree from the view that at 11:35 when the move starts Deeney manages to draw Mee, who was covering for an out of position Ward, into the middle opening the space for Gray. If anything the down fall in that move is BobbyP's poor ball to Gray Also at 12:50 who is the player pressing Lowton when he made the mistake and passed it to Hughes ?
