If he wasn't on a yellow I'd have kept him on a bit longer. But with him already struggling a fair bit to get in to the game and being on a yellow, with their LWB being close to their most dangerous player, I agree that it wasn't too surprising a decision.
We've looked a bit more leggy in general from Chesterfield. I said on here last week after the game vs QPR that "There seemed a few tired bodies out there". We should have rested more players vs Chesterfield really.
This team are nowhere near ready for the playoffs and to be honest we would get destroyed bar a freak bit of luck in the games going our way. We still really struggle to create good chances and it really shows with Sema and Kayemebe out of the side. I think a good midtable finish this season is not beyond us however and I cannot see us totally collapsing and fighting relegation come May. We need at least three or four replacements/additions in the right areas to even consider being a side capable of challenging even next season. With our limited funds and debt I would expect little if any movement in this Window or the Summer. But that's where we are right now as a club, and we know why. If this is the start of the re-build, we have done alright so far considering how unlikable this team were last season.
A slow start for the Merchants of Doom today saw Watford take a 1-0 lead against Bristol however the 'wetters faught back to equalise soon after leaving the CoGs with a nervous last 65 minutes. Honours even between the CoGs and MoDs today although a point away against a team chasing the play offs should be seen as a good point . Key word *should* . Unbeaten in the first three of four consecutive away games in January should be a positive although the MoDs will point out that in their view Plymuff , Queue Pee Aah, and Brizzle are all shyte. We go again .
We desperately need some pace on the wings. When Bristol were on top in the second half they were pressing so high because they were confident we didn't have any pace to counter them with. There were points were Martins had acres of space that he doesn't have the pace to exploit.
Mixed feelings. As others have stated, I would have taken a point before the game also. Some very good & very frustrating parts to this game, but we are not boring . We are also looking up, even the ultra negative Pozzo out brigade are not mentioning relegation anymore! Let's keep the point tally ticking over and see where we are in the final run in. So, bring on Wednesday! (not bothered about the cup)
Whether we are able to make the top six or not is not relevant yet, as nothing is decided in January. Plenty of teams have made late runs,Palace under Dowie for one and it's usually the team with momentum that takes the final spot. Like most things it's about timing. Given how things are panning out in the PL,this season would be a good time to be promoted. There's a good chance of some very average teams surviving, especially if Everton receive another points deduction. This team do appear to be improving but with a number of inexperienced and young men in the side, they will be inconsistent. They do seem to be more hard working,more likeable and more positive. I'll take that,play offs or not. Regarding luck,well as Gary Player said " the more I practice, the luckier I get". If you prefer a Gallic approach try Napoleon who preferred " lucky generals" to good ones. COYH!
I agree I also called for this for the same reasons. Especially because they look to be more dangerous down that side. Not really so much today but Pring tore us apart at the vic down their left.
Frustrating game which highlighted our biggest shortcomings: - We get into good positions but are not really threathening in the final third. - Squad is paper thin. Morris and Rajovic shouldn’t be starters for a Championship team. No CMs on the bench and limited options elsewhere. - We’re consistently terrible at both attacking and defending set pieces, yet we give away endless cheap free kicks. We need: - A proper striker - A dead ball expert - Proper cover at both right and left back - A creative CM to replace Louza - Tell Asprilla, Chak, Martins where to goal is and be more direct!
I was disappointed we didn't win that, as they were there for the taking. We managed to get in and around their box almost every time we went forward, but we weren't clinical enough with our final ball or shooting. There is more negativity that is warranted in this thread. Today wasn't a terrible performance, and we got a good point away from what I think is a decent side. James Morris struggled down the left today; I saw a couple of comments noting that Lewis was poor, also. I'm afraid I have to disagree with this. Lewis looked good when he came on. I thought Hoedt was very good. He made a mistake when he passed the ball back, and it ended up going out for a Bristol City corner, but his positioning was good throughout, and he made several good tackles and interceptions. His passing was more reliable today, also. Chakvetadze impressed me again. He is so comfortable on the ball, which helped as BC pressed well. Kone's powerful running was excellent; I am excited to see how he develops. One of the other significant positives was the improvement in Rajovic's hold-up play; he must be committed to this in training and credit to the attacking coaches for this. I noticed a few times in warm-ups that one of the coaches was working with Rajovic about body positioning. As mentioned by many in this thread, we have seemed a bit leggy recently. I hope to see some players rested against Southampton, as we should have done this in hindsight against Chesterfield. One loss in the last ten away games and that loss was to the division's top team. Before that, our previous away loss was to Sunderland on 4th October. I haven't double checked this information so please correct me if I am wrong.
Not good enough at the back Not good enough at the front But far far better than previous seasons which is reflective in the away support a mid table finish with the odd flirtation with the play offs along the way is way above my expectations for this season
What’s a ‘standard defeat’? We’ve lost 8 in 28 games, a defeat is the least standard result we’ve had this season (10 wins and 10 draws).
Not a bad draw and better than Boxing Day! Chances for both teams it sounded like. Need to cut out the silly errors leading to goals . Cannot be too many players who have scored against the same club for 2 different clubs in a season? Nice to get a penalty too.
Seems from his post-match comments Val directly attributes the team looking more tired near the end down their lack of control of possession and inability to put Brizzle under sustained pressure. Sounds plausible to me. We keep mentally switching off and it results in much harder physical work to get back and cover or throw bodies on the line.
I’m not sure I’ve been to such a quiet stadium in a long time. A point is better than nothing but we should have had all three.
A good point, tbf - it was pretty clear we had quite a few players spending a lot of time straight from the off haring back and forth up and down the park, which looks like great high energy all action get up and go mentality from the team, right up until it doesn't.
Jesus, some of our fanbase are total lightweight wannabe Danny Dyers. Embarrassing to be associated with them. Making everyone's journey on the train horrendous.
Just got back. I said before match I’d bite your arm off for a point, and I think we got away with it again. We started this one well though. I think the penalty was for handball, but it was at the other end so couldn’t be too sure. That’s the first penalty we’ve been given in over a year. The last one was against Blackpool when Sarr scored in the final minute in a 2-0 win (yes the Adeyemo game). We had them on the rack after that but we tend to hit the self-destruct button. We kept making silly mistakes playing out from the back. Allowing ourselves to get closed down. This time Morris gave the ball away while under pressure and City were in. Luckily they steered a very good chance wide. But that silly mistake lifted them. The goal conceded was a joke from us. Porto making a poor error in trying to clear and they were in again. Hamer made a brilliant save with his feet, but the ball flew in the air and Twine headed into an unguarded net. Aprilla missed a real sitter, with only the keeper to beat. But as our forward players tend to do, took too many touches and tried to round the keeper, when a first time shot would have resulted in a goal. I thought Rajovic was really poor today, and Bayo not much better when he came on. This team tries so hard, but it has little quality. It’s so frustrating seeing these guys trying to play football. They were in their old bad habits today, as in every time we had a good forward move and got into good positions we looked for the impossible pass or tried that extra touch before shooting. This is why virtually every attack came to nothing. They have forgotten the shoot on sight policy, which did serve them well in recent games. I won’t be too down as it was a good point. I thought Hoet was commanding and had one of his best Watford games. I would also like to say what a pleasure it was getting into the ground. There was no patting down. No one checking your ticket when you got into the stadium and the stewards were super friendly and helpful. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be treated a like human being entering a football stadium.
This team looks knackered and we clearly don't have enough quality replacements for our first XI. Can see us tailing off the second half of the season .
We do seem to let goals in soon after scoring ourselves recently. A worrying trend maybe . 200th away draw in the 2nd tier apparently .https://twitter.com/onionbagstats/status/1748761414947295301
I disagree l Maybe so @lowerrous Morris may not be reliable enough to make us all think he’s good enough for us, yet…I still think he can do better with his ability and become more consistent with more experience.
Basic defensive errors costing us a lot of points this season. Good away point against a fellow play off contender but Porteus and perhaps Livermore too cost us a goal that was very preventable.
Fair point. I would’ve taken the risk myself but that’s likely why I’m not the manager. I honestly thought we had much more threat getting in behind in the first half & absolutely nothing in the second half once he was subbed.
Honestly not meant in a “salty” way. Val has got us into a position in the table with these players I couldn’t have imagined anyone us getting into. I’m stating my point of opinion, Asprilla should’ve stayed on in the 2nd half (whether others agree or not). What did we do in the 2nd half with Martins on? Whether he made the right choices or not, he caused trouble for City in the 1st half.
I don't. Fundamentally I think he lacks enough pace and power to ever really progress beyond the level he's at now.
