Yeah. Just like Liam Henderson could obviously step into the shoes of the injured Marlon King all those years ago. A few goals in the U23 doesn't mean they're ready to play in the prem. Cassidy has been struggling at U23 level if you read the U23 thread.
That's why I have recently blocked him. I don't know why I hadn't done it years ago! So he can play the keyboard warrior as much as he likes but I will remain blissfully unaware.
Pearson can change the formation if he wants to. One would think he has some tactical nouse. Im with you up front on his own pumping long balls to him isn't ideal. Hopefully its just a 'what if' and the front 3 remain fit in respect of recent results.
Why on earth would Pearson change a formation that is working, and has our stars Del, Doucs, Sarr etc in their perfect roles, just so that Gray fits?
Surprised not accepted offer. He must be behind Gomes, Shakespeare and the training ground security guard in pecking order so unlikely to pay
Speaking for myself, I have nothing against Gray but his transfer fee does bother me. I was disappointed at the time that we chose to spend so much on him and it soon became clear that he was not ever going to be good enough for us in the Premier League. This is not his fault but I am frustrated after all this time that the club has not accepted that fact and has not sought to replace him. I do suspect this is partly down to the transfer fee, which the owners don’t expect to recoup.
I really think that the reason for the exaggerated dislike for Andre Gray is simply because he used to play for Luton and anything to complain about regarding his transfer fee and poor footballing ability is magnified further because of this. However we did not sign Andre Gray directly from Luton it was from Burnley, and if he loved Luton that much he would not of wanted to sign in the first place. If anything it Luton fans who should be annoyed with Andre Gray for scoring goals for us and helping us significantly in our cup run last year. I think Andre Gray is simply a Championship level striker who is OK in a 4-4-2 system. Just because he is not Premier League level it does not make him the worst footballer to play for Watford. In fact I would put the likes of Obbi Oulare, Steve Kabba and Will Hoskins as strikers who contributed far less to Watford than Gray has and also had terrible footballing ability for a professional footballer. Oulare was also far worse value for money in my opinion. Gray has been very poor this season but last season he did reasonably well. He certainly contributed to our good season and our cup run and yet seems to get more dislike from Watford fans than Success despite contributing far less than Gray last season in terms of goals and overall contribution to the team.
The response was in respect of if Deeney got injured. Of course it's currently working. I wasn't replying about that.
It's got nothing to do with playing for Luton! Grow the F Up. Chamberlain, Matty Spring. Great players for the club in their own right. Stop going on about last season, it's the past so live in present. The guy is beyond hopeless and adds absolutely zero to the team. You said it yourself a championship player at best who Plays better in a 4-4-2 stye of which we are neither.
Nigel Pearson has already mentioned his assets to the squad for the remainder of the season and that he has a part to play saying he has pace and can stretch teams. So your quote of adding absolute zero is incorrect. https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/sport/18124551.andre-gray-will-get-chance-earn-place-watford/
No one thinks he's worse than oulare though. What annoys people is we are now a great side and he's nowhere near good enough for this watford team, yet he still appears in match after match making the same mistakes and missing the same chances week after week. He's not improved one bit since he signed. In fact, this season he's worse than he's ever been. How can anyone not be annoyed by that?
Pearson isn't going to critise him while he's still in the squad. Honestly do you think he has those qualities? Pace! Good God he's proved he's incapable of this and all the basics of a Premier league player.
Absolutely correct. In a two, playing off a centre forward, Gray has proven to be very effective. We had a spell at the start of last season playing Deeney and Gray up top and they looked like a very good partnership. I recall when Gray signed he wanted to speak to Silva first to make sure he wanted him and he wasn't a 'club' signing that wouldn't play. Silva was first to play one up top so I'm surprised he wanted him - he just doesn't suit playing as a lone striker. People keep using the Tranmere game as a stick to beat Gray with but that is just looking for fault. We were lumping balls to him with a 6'6" monster behind him heading everything away - we were tactically stupid to be doing that. Gray isn't great, but he is nowhere near as bad as some make out. It seems to be that now Deeney is playing so well people need to find someone else to find fault with after spending so much time slagging him off, which is sad really.
Watch the chance again. I agree that a good striker puts it away - but it came to him awkwardly on his wrong foot and he had to deal with an obvious sliding block from Billing as well. Once that was done, it wasn’t a sitter. Yes he scuffed his final effort but it was by no means a sitter. I’d argue that it was far better than Deulofeu’s effort that he skied with his left foot.
We’ve been in great form. Gray has played in hardly any of that. As some have pointed out, the system doesn’t suit his strengths - and the transfer fee isn’t his fault. He didn’t dictate what we paid? If you’re mad about the fee, aim it at Gino and Giraldi surely? People saying he should be replaced by Dalby/Cassidy/Penaranda so far - none of whom play as a solo striker either.
Yes he did the hard part really well, then scuffed the easy part. That's what's maddening about him. He is useless at the basics like controlling the ball, and shooting. All his best moments have come when he's had no time to think and just lashed the ball in the goal instinctively. But we need much much more than that from our strikers. He's the most strange player I've ever watched. You'd have thought our top class coaches would have been able to teach him how to do the basics, but in all his time here he still scuffs and miscontrols more often than not so it's clear he is just unable to learn and improve. It's not down to lack of effort I'm sure. I am certain he works hard as evidenced by how he appears to have changed his character away from the dubious homophobe of the past. I admire him deeply for that. And judging from the videos the club put out he also seems like a brilliant bloke to have around the training ground and gets on well with everyone and always seems to make new players feel welcome. But he IS shyt.
I don't believe I've ever slagged Deeney off. Even when Troy is off he still offers something to the team. I've constantly been disappointed with Gray. His fault or not for being here it doesn't stop him from having basic ability. As for knocking the ball up to him while by being marked by a monster. Well he should have a better football brain and made better movement for the ball. Its very simple in all honesty. He's static and looks very heavy legged. So he needs to be able to adapt his style of play but unfortunately he can't. Lower league player at the very best.
This is hugely revisionist, I was at the game and that is nothing like the approach we were taking, particularly in the first half. I also fail to see how 'lumping balls up to him' explained in that match how he could not even once outpace or outwit in terms of movement that 6'6'' bottom of League One monster (who is 6'4''), nor how it caused him at one point, whilst breaking out from our box, to play a pass that perfectly bisected the two attackers rushing past him to counter attack and went straight out of play for an opposition throw in. It was genuinely impressive, I'll give him that; it was, in that situation, far harder to play a ball that neither of them could reach. They had almost all situations covered, and he found the one single outlier that achieved the near-impossible. You don't get to see that kind of magic every day! His movement is also very poor, particularly in sync with his teammates. It's absolutely the majority of times that we see a midfielder advancing, an opportunity arising, only for Gray to run in the exact oppposite direction as they release the ball, leaving us all to watch it go trickling into the goalie's hands or off the pitch and Gray throw his hands up, turn and complain that once again no one saw the same thing that he (and only he) did. I do not hate Gray. I don't even care that he used to play for Luton, it's not like he's from there or supports them. It's purely the fact that it's far, far beyond the point where it was novel to watch a striker who kills almost every attack, doesn't even have the basic, rudimentary skills required to play at the top level such as passing and controlling the ball, and all the while displays an odd arrogance to boot. I don't agree that we should chuck him out the window of the bus back from Tranmere and be done with it, but I do believe that a serious priority should be in getting rid of him and bringing in a suitable replacement. His transfer has been a failure by pretty much any metric, and it would be difficult to bring in someone for any money who offers less to our team as it is constituted. Anyway, the news this morning that Forest are also enquiring after him thanks to not getting lil' N'Ketkets could be a blessing for us; I smell a bidding war (please, lord, give us a bidding war, no matter how unlikely).
I do understand why there are people on this forum who defend him. Some of his goals have been breathtaking. What was the volley he did on the run, was it burnley last year? Not one single poster on this forum could score a goal like that in our wildest dreams, so I can see how it must be infuriating for his fans to see him called shyt. But then 5 minutes later he's miscontrolled a ball that even the forum geriatrics could have handled, so it then becomes infuriating for his detractors see people praising him... Basically there will never be agreement over him. He's the the football player equivalent of brexit.
I agree with nearly all of this apart from your comments about his movement. His ability to sniff out a chance is actually very good, and his movement to get there is excellent. The trouble is, he cannot strike a ball cleanly, he nearly always shanks it, even when he scores it's nearly always a mishit shot. The only goal I can remember him scoring that looked like an orthodox shot was against West Ham this season. He broke clear and placed a firm hard shot past their keeper. All other times he either swings a leg at it, it rolls down his shin or he miskicks which deceives the keeper. One v one, he nearly always hits the ball straight at the keeper. I've never understood that. Can he not see the keeper there? But I do find it hard to give the guy a real kick in. Is he a Premier League striker? No. Is he worth £70k per week? No, but he is useful. He does have pace, he's an annoyance, not only to his own supporters, but to the opposition. He does chase lost causes and he does put a shift in most times. However, just look at the clubs who are being linked with him in this window. None are Premier League club. All are Championship and fans of those clubs think he'd be a huge signing for them. That shows how far we've come as a club really. We've completely outgrown a player like Gray. He's there for the top end of the Championship or newly promoted club. That's his level. We can't be too cocky though. There is still a danger of relegation this season, and a player like Gray would be very useful to us in that situation. But if we do not go down and firmly establish ourselves in the Premier League, then we've just outgrown him.
Unbelievable that you say his movement is excellent. I'm honestly truly shocked at that statement. He doesn't have pace to go past defenders or the composure in front of goal and this is a must if you offer nothing else. But I will give you that he chases lost causes. But I will state it yet again that he doesn't have a football brain to offer my club, our club anything apart from a few instinctive goals. Pedro showed me more in 45 than Gray did in the entire match . Touch, poise and even created his own chance. I wouldn't hesitate in him occupying the bench instead of the clown Gray.
This. When he is one v one I have zero confidence that he'll score. When Aguero is one v one you're pretty sure what will happen - the keeper will be picking the ball out of the net, and you're stunned if he misses. I realise that Aguero is different level, but I'm not even expecting Gray to score half the goals one v one that Aguero does. Just a third would do me - enough so there's a glimmer of hope he'll score. After all, scoring is basically his job description, and he gets paid handsomely not to do it.
The issue is not that Gray is rubbish. He's not great but the issue is that we don't have anyone better to act as back up striker while Welbeck is injured. The youngsters are too raw and inexperienced to throw in, Success is pointless, and Pena doesn't seem to be trusted. It's not Gray's fault that he's not great and that we paid £18m or £12m or whatever the final fee was. No one can fault his effort or his attitude.
Well that's going to have to go down as a difference of opinion. I think he's the best striker at the club in terms of being in the right place at the right time. If he was even competent at shooting by getting his feet and balance ready 'in the moment' he'd be like Danny Ings and would certainly be a top quality Premier League striker. But he's not able to do this, which is the big thing that lets him down. Deeney is a much better finisher than Gray, but he doesn't often get into those scoring positions. Whenever Gray gets on the field he'll invariably engineer a very good chance for himself. That tells me, his positional play is excellent. The rest of his game does not match that sadly.
Confirmed by Nigel Pearson in his press conference that Gray remains in his plans. Should infuriate some on here...
Looking around at what deals are realistic and within our reach in terms of moving Gray on and getting a replacement in... If the club did want to do it, I’ve no doubt they would pluck a name out of nowhere. But if it was a straight swap either permanently or on loan, I don’t think exchanging Gray for someone like Benteke would be a bad idea. He’s not great and he lost his way at Palace - but he’s got a pedigree of PL goal scoring and also can play the lone striker. Decent in the air too. Just reading on SSN that he is available for 500k on loan. Pretty sure we could get that for Gray.
Can the moaners please stop moaning about Gray for the remainder of the season after seeing this. https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/11910170/andre-gray-still-part-of-pearsons-plans yours faithfully, manatleisure
