Similarly, I am afraid that the League of Nations just won't prove robust enough to enforce the doctrine of collective security in the face of German re-armament.
3rd and 5th placed teams in the Championship on show tonight. Just goes to show how s**t the Championship is this season. Probably at its weakest for many years. Perhaps it is time for Ivic to go. Another pedestrian performance by players who seem not to care. Something is not right with the club and everyone who watched or listened to the game would have seen/heard it.
COGs - we were much better than that terrible performance against QPR! After they spent the last four days trying to explain how we did well against QPR.
Sorry mate no idea.... I would guess we just have a 15pct increase in confidence at home? (I think playing away during covid is a bit off-putting esp when travelling by coach for say 3 hours on the day.?) don't forget we've had some lucky wins at home.)
Whether Ivic stays or goes remains to be seen but to say the players do not care,was,on that showing,patently not true. Too ponderous and lacking numbers in the box yes but there was certainly an improvement in work rate and desire. City,as many have noted,were very defensive.
In a vacuum a decent point. First half was good I thought. Second half shocking. Gray was absolutely abysmal. Unforgivable performance it really was. My feeling is that Ivic is limited. Two games in a row where we have been strong first half and then lacked urgency and cohesion after that. Manager sits on his hands. Sarr was also awful. Amazed he can’t impose himself down here. Dreadful Pozzo signing which was not what team needed last summer. Quina and Garner did well.
It is the same in all levels of football. If you know a team is weak upfront, then the opposition doesn't care how much possession they give up. We do not look like scoring, teams know this. Is it the players? The Manager? The tactics? The training? It is awful football no matter what the reason .
We look better in 4-2-3-1 , suits our players better and is the way forward for me. Gray was woeful, as was Chalobah, luckily we have players that can replace them. I can see what Ivic is trying to do, seems to be that if we have the ball then the opposition cant attack which isnt a bad idea if we looked better in the final third. Quina looked good in parts and was unlucky not to score but too many mistakes or holding on to the ball too long. Neither defence was troubled too much i thought. In the end a draw was a good result for both teams. I hope Vlad sticks with the 4-2-3-1 as we dominated the first half.
Our decision making when attacking is appalling. Sarr is totally devoid of confidence and/or just not that good. Gray has never had a footballing brain cell. Pedro is better but doesn't get into the right positions enough. Even late on today, Perica did so well to win a ball off the defender and was heading towards goal. So Deeney made the worst run possible down the line into the space that Perica was heading. Ok, he overhit the pass anyway giving Deeney the chance for his usual "my team mates are ****" scowl but even if the pass had been perfect Deeney would've been at the bye line on his left foot with no-one to cross to. Why he didn't run away from Perica and drag the defender with him is anyone's guess. Particularly frustrating as Deeney's usual movement is always towards the back post. The one time he came shorter, it was a terrible run.
I’ve been playing “bedwetter bingo “ tonight. So far picked up 2 points . One for a “he’s a disgrace to the club and the human race “ and another for “ cancer in the club “. Am waiting for a “ throw my season ticket in Ginos face “ for a House!
One Bristol City fan has it spot on talking about us passing the ball ! https://www.otib.co.uk/index.php?/topic/209743-watford/
When we play at a walking pace, it is ponderous. This comes across as if the players are not bothered or don't care. It is the most common complaint along with the complaint that we lack firepower. I do not see the desire you claim was on the pitch tonight. Chalobah is my new Mariappa. I did say that Chalobah was finished a long time. ago. Let's hope for a change in fortune real soon or Ivic will be getting his P45. The manager always pays the price .
Time to resurrect the comedy moment of the game shortlist. Think there's only one winner here though. a) Cathcart missing a header from 2 yards b) Andre Gray airshot back heel c) Andre Gray shanked left foot lay off to set City off on a counter d) Quina cushioning the ball straight off the pitch e) Ben Foster passing it along the floor straight to their player Vote now!
You are right. Their fans do not rate us at all. Even they feel Ivic is too negative. Surely our board can see the problems.
He will be for a little while longer as he has recently come back from injury. If he underperforms once he is up to full speed then he will be dropped. If Ivic prefers Deeney or Perica in training sessions in the immediate period then he will be dropped sooner without having had a decent run of games.
B) but add into it that it nearly created him a chance if the defender hadn’t got his toe to it, turning it from an inept attempt at a backheel into a step over dummy, Andre Gray football genius. Thought we looked ok at times but completely lacking in the final third. Sarr for 90% of the game didn’t look like he could be bothered, would rest him on Saturday. I’ve tried to stick up for Gray but tonight was the final straw, passing and first touch was even worse than usual, if he was making a cup of tea he’d have put the teabag outside the cup. Pedro was quiet, then started dropping deep to collect it, then overdoing it. Also drifted inside far too much. Midfield was ok, bit limp at times but as soon as the team was announced it was always going to happen. Quina best player, ends up at right wing back, lack of depth is horrendous. When the centre halves had the ball none of them were going short to pick it up resulting in a lot of farting around. Defence were fine except that 10 minute spell their winger put 2 good crosses in, Foster did brilliantly to get a foot on the first one. Other than that he had nothing to do but his distribution wasn’t great tonight. Switch Deeney and Perica for Gray and Sarr for Saturday and just hope that Ngakia is fit. Tonight was miles better than QPR although not saying a great deal whatsoever. Hughes and/or Cleverley on the bench would be nice.
To modify a phrase: Long periods of frustration, interspersed by brief moments of terror. We've just drawn away against the team in third place; why am I so dissatisfied? It's not because we are not getting it all our own way, it's because of the way we play. Bristol City didn't have much to be proud of, either: Two teams playing variations of anti-football.
Yes. Very apposite. I don't think I'll live long enough to recover from last night's display from Mr Gray. I've only just got over the disallowed Poskett goal at The Kennel!
Pedro is still very young and inexperienced. He's still learning the game. Hence his form will dip on occasions, like it has at the moment. So he needs a spell on the bench. Gray, on the other hand, has to decide whether he really wants to be a footballer and put the effort in to his game, or is content being the other half of a popstrel.
The formation changed helped, and seemed to give us more options to plate between the lines and try to progress the ball. That said, Pedro is the only striker capable of controlling the ball played into him under pressure, Garner is the only midfielder capable of playing a ball through spaces, and Ngakia transitions the ball well simply by dribbling into space. Our play lacked fluidity, but we looked more comfortable in 4-3-3 and I think showed enough to say it’s worth persevering with. Gray was disgustingly bad. The attempted back-heel, multiple misplaced 5 yard passes, and some laughable attempts at controlling the ball combined to produce one of the most inept performances I’ve ever seen. He was shocking. Not even through lack of trying, just a player devoid of basic ability. Horrendous. Quina was decent, though so wasteful and frequently in danger of giving the ball away in dangerous areas. Credit to him though, he doesn’t hide and continues getting on the ball. Garner is our best midfielder. Good on the ball, pretty tenacious and able to play the ball between the lines. He has to start. I remember watching Sarr ruin Arsenal in the Europa League a few years ago, simply knocking the ball into space and running onto it. He was devastating that night. I don’t understand why he’s repeatedly refuses opportunities to knock it beyond the defenders and burn them for pace. UEA said it best the other day when he brought up the lack of conviction (or words to that effect) in everything he does. There is a terrifying footballer in there, but his belief is completely missing. As I said above, Joao Pedro is the only forward we have capable of receiving the ball with his back to goal, and bringing it under control to continue the move. With more experience, better service, and a better strike partner, I think he’s going to be really good. It’s been so long since Deeney scored goals regularly, I’ve honestly forgotten how he used to get goals. I know he used to score plenty. He’s finished. Hopefully we stick with a variation of 4-3-3 or 4-3-2-1, but we’re still a long way from looking any good.
Andre Gray was on the pitch for 66 minutes last night. These are his stats: Shots: 0 Dribbles attempted: 0 Crosses: 1 Accurate crosses: 0 Touches: 15 Passes attempted: 11 Accurate passes: 5 Passing success: 45% Key passes: 1 (think this was the miscontrol that allowed Sarr to get a shot off in the first half) Headers won: 0 Tackles: 0 Interceptions: 0 Fouls committed: 2 Fouls won: 0 Possession lost: 7 Given the amount of possession that we had first half, the fact he touched the ball only once every four and a bit minutes is shocking. In 66 minutes, we got 5 accurate passes out of him and that was it. One of the worst individual performances you will ever see in a Watford shirt.
However, on the flipside this guys comment will get the BWs frothing at the mouth... “Perhaps they did look better on the ball, moved it quicker, and as Tinman said on Robins tv, they had real quality and we had to remain committed and keep concentration levels high. We did that and perhaps deserved that point. I thought Watford looked better than Norwich from few weeks back, and perhaps best side we have played to date? Defending is an art as well. We did well.” FWIW I’m a part time BW now.
I actually think that was a perfectly weighted pass from Perica, for any normal professional footballer. Unfortunately it was Troy running on to it instead, a player with the acceleration and top speed of Westminster Abbey. It was somehow simultaneously hilarious, embarrassing and sad to watch, conveniently also a good way to describe Gray’s performance.
Sarr is currently playing like a player totally devoid of confidence, Gray can't do the basics and Deeney's legs look like they are going. Christ.
There was one point when Sarr did a great turn with acres of space behind but just turned back inside. Why on earth not put the ball into space and use his pace? Is Ivic telling him not to? It can’t be a confidence thing about just running surely?
If it’s more than a loss of confidence, I’d guess one of the following: Carrying a minor injury Told to limit the amount of sprinting he does in a match so he doesn’t burn out Has been clattered one too many times and wants to make it through to the January transfer window in one piece Hates Ivic
If we were to name our best 5 players, Capoue, Hughes and Sema would be on nearly everyone’s list. Therefore to dominate possession away at a team above us in the league, but lack some creativity isn’t so bad. The biggest crime is how long it has taken Ivic to drop three at the back, which has led to countless unnecessary draws and make results like tonight seem worse than they are.
Foster Ngakia Kabaselle Cathcart Kiko Capoue Hughes Sarr Pedro Sema Perica Subs if needed: - Cleverly or Garner for Hughes last 15/20 mins (if Hughes tiring) Quina for Pedro last 10/15 mins (if Pedro tiring) Also late on we could possibly opt for a formation change depending on how the game is going, which would mean more substitutions TBA.
Tough to disagree with any of that. Our problem last season was a powderpuff attack and a lack of chances being created by our 'creative' midfield players. That issue has run into this season, defensively ok but no flair in midfield or up top.
A lot has not been right for a long time and multiple changes of head coach hasn't solved it, changing Ivic would have zero effect. The squad is what needs ripping up and that will take a few windows and some unpopular decisions. I suspect we will finish around about 10th this season and will need a couple more seasons to rebuild before we can flirt with promotion again. If people are serious about going up then they need to be serious about the squad and who is good enough. Unfortunately the ones who are good enough, Pedro and Sarr, are on poor form. The rest are mid table championship players at best. Of the team that started last night who could truthfully hold their own in the PL? Foster, Sarr if he can be bothered and sometimes Pedro. The rest are mid table Champ players.
I just now hope this is a reality check that no matter how good our players think they are, they don’t have the right to win any games in this division
