Why wasn't Welbeck taken off? Why was he playing in the first place? A thoroughly dispiriting team performance. On this showing we deserve to go down.
Pearson said in his Press Conference that "Danny Welbeck played pretty well tonight...he showed plenty of energy". He must be applying a very low threshold standard, I just can't see that at all. No-one was a stand-out, although Doucoure did enable us to grasp some measure of control for parts of the 2nd half, but in terms of our experienced performers, Welbeck was particularly anonymous and struggled to link with his team mates at any stage. I think NP has been very good since he arrived and told it as it is but there's a worrying blind spot here developing here.
1 win in 10 which includes a pasting by non-league Tranmere. Sacking form. Like all of our coaches, has a decent start but trails off to disaster very quickly.
Neither is Premier League quality. Wishing one over the other is like wishing for a cardboard teapot over a chocolate one.
Only the sheer ineptitude of 2 of villa, Bournemouth an West Ham will see us limp over the line. The weird thing is that it's actually a real possibility. 4 teams where the players are a shambles. Poor old Norwich actually look like they want it But are too ****.
And pretty confident we'd beat a "poor Burnley side" Maybe the players thought so too? Hence the poor 1st half. They still had a first choice defence out with one of the best goalies in the league.. Not that he had to do much. Sarr was well nullified and Welbeck/Deeney too slow. The goal was a 50/50 ball they won then an easy cross and good run across the goal catching Dawson out.
I realize that now he’s concentrating on his media career. However someone should tell him that as an ageing championship non striker, demand for his services will be minimal.
If you are more concerned about the way people are protesting rather than the reason they are protesting then..........
Right now I think its between us, Bounemouth and West Ham for the 2 remaining relegation spots. Villa seem more up for the fight and Brighton are pulling away. I fear being out of the relegation zone has given us a false sense of security. If we can't make playing 4 of the bottom 8 in the run in count then we're going down for sure. Unfortunately what happened last night is just what Burnley do. They are very good at it. They even neutralised Sarr without breaking his legs. We are fast running out of games. The bottom 5 have got 3 points from 11 games. We are all where we deserve to be. If we go down it will be because we weren't good enough.
Waking up after that **** show last night and I still can't believe the apathy from the players and the manager. I can't see any other club in the depths of Relegation adopting the same attitude.
Not angry, just disappointed. Burnley were the better team and we played into their hands. We have to win our home games to stand a chance. Of staying up.
I mean, it's not like everyone else in the thick of the relegation battle have been putting in plucky performances left right and centre is it?
Thin margins I’m afraid, they scored we didn’t, nothing we can do about it! (The Fans). Up to the players to put a performance on on Sunday!
We just didn't look like scoring. We could have played another hour and it would have been the same. It was a sterile performance and when you're that bad going forward the best you can hope for is a 0-0 draw. Remember Burnley were without Barnes and Woods. That's like us being without Sarr and Deulofeu. They still created good scoring opportunities. Vydra had a decent shot on target, Vydra also hit the post and the follow-up was saved on the line, they got their goal and had a couple of other moments. All we created was a Deeney header cleared off the line from a corner, Masina also headed a good chance over the bar and Welbeck got into a good position but decided not to shoot having too many touches. That's about it from us. The way we approached that match was always going to be a 1-0 defeat or if we rode our luck a 0-0 draw. We were never going to win it with our approach to the game. So it's not really fine margins. The Burnley "reserve" team we played yesterday were good value for their win. We got what we deserved from our approach and application to the match.
Well once they went ahead our record showed we probably weren't going to come back Pope wasn't tested from open play and we didn't get the ball moving enough. Mind you some Burnley fans would want Deeney . https://www.uptheclarets.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=48027
1 win in 10. 1 flukey goal in 3. Pathetic before the break, even more pathetic after. Those margins are getting wider and wider.
I dont think this is a managerial issue. This squad is just not good enough Three managers this season and the quality and passion seem to take a boost for a few games but it drops right back to their natural ability which just isn't good enough for premier league. If we survive and I very much doubt we will on yesterday we need some serious refreshments to squad. It needs a big shake up
We need to bring back that excellent manager who got us to 11th and a cup final with this bunch of spineless players last season. What was his name ? Mind you the Pozzos never go back do they.....
1. I really don’t think Deeney was as bad as some on here are making out 2. I know they’re all professionals and should be able to cope with pressure, etc but I do wonder if nerves are now getting to all the clubs bunched up at the bottom. 3. Can I change my vote to “void the season”?
Can't wait until the shake up happens and all our vaguely Premier League quality players leave us. We'll end up playing something like this: Foster Mariappa Cathcart Dawson Masina Hughes Cleverley Pussetto New signing Gray Deeney
After the match yesterday I just couldn’t bring myself to read all the overreaction on here. But it’s not overreaction is it? My heart sank as I watched the first few minutes of the game and quickly saw that the attitude and approach was all wrong. We know Burnley are physical but they’re also not particularly good, especially with several players missing, yet we didn’t look to take command early on. It was so lacking in positive attacking coherence. I’ve said this several times in the past, but it’s my strong belief that if we end up being relegated the fault will lie with the lack of recruitment of effective strikers ever since Ighalo’s purple patch ended in 2016. There have been many opportunities to sign proven goalscorers (Rodriguez being one example) but none have been taken while hopeful punts have been made on supposedly promising youngsters or the doubtful talents of Andre Gray.
Yes a good manager for us, but couldn't get anything out of the squad this season. At some stage Pozzo has to consider the fact that no matter what manager he appoints they can only work with what they're given in players.
Sadly it seems to be the case. With Pearson, so far all he has been is a new manager bounce and Liverpool. Current form is abysmal, and he's fairing no better than anyone we've had previously. It's all having a very familiar feel about it.
11th achieved over 38 games. Sacked after 4(?) games this season including a draw at NUFC where we were robbed of victory ....as well as the points HB1 makes in the other 3 games. Brighton (h ). Trailing 0-1 and early in the second half we had two moments that could have changed the match. First Gray misses an absolute sitter, shortly afterwards Watford were denied a stonewall penalty when Murray handles a goal bound Pereyra free kick and the referee/VAR ignores the incident. These were two match changing moments that didn't go our way. One was our fault and the other was the fault of the official. Brighton went on to win 3-0 Everton (a ). Losing 0-1 and Gerri not only gets pushed in the back but tripped at the same time in the penalty area, but no penalty was awarded. Could have given us a great opportunity to have equalised. West Ham (h ). Having equalised straight after half time, Hughes missed the easiest of tap ins to make it 2-1. Had that gone in, I'd have expected we'd have got something positive from the match, however, we lost our way and the introduction of Antonio saw us finally lose 3-1. Newcastle (a ). With Watford winning to an early Hughes goal, Newcastle equalise with handball goal. The first of FOUR handball goals scored against us this season. This denied us a priceless away win.
Well...maybe it's a bit harsh, but I'm trying to look at it objectively. Of course he gets great credit for having an impact, but that tends to be the case of a new man coming in, especially one with a commanding voice like Pearson compared to the nice guys Gracia and Flores. It's bound to get a reaction, but that's a case of "new manager bounce". It happens in most cases, where a new boss comes in and instantly results improve. Once that honeymoon period is over, this is when I tend to start judging coaches. We've had some bad luck, but apart from Liverpool, which can't be ignored, we've been pretty rubbish. 1 win in 9. 5 defeats, only 6 points taken. It's building a picture, and this is what he'll be judged on ultimately. If we go down fighting, and looking like a side that is prepared to give it a go, that's one thing, but the display the players gave yesterday would be very damaging to his reputation I'd say. He needs to show he can get them playing for him again. If not, then he'll be gone at the end of the season almost certainly.
Well that was dreadful. Every single player below average (except maybe Masina). Kabasele was shocking again - was quoted a fair bit in interviews during lockdown implying he didn't think the league should be restarted. Doesn't seem mentally tough enough (or good enough) for the relegation fight. The two Craigs aren't much better but you can't fault their effort at least. No idea what Foster was doing, caught out for the Vydra/Rodriguez chance but did the same thing at another point in the first half (before his double save) but thankfully retreated. Midfield were pretty poor, Cleverley probably the worst. I know he is young and our only decent player (and playing with idiots) but I think in games like last night Sarr needs to offer us more - he cost £30m after all. He wasn't particularly bad, but was nowhere near the standard of McNeil. Welbeck was shocking for the first 30 minutes but actually came in to the game a bit after that. Can't say I ever thought he would score though. Deeney was shocking once again, needs to be dropped. Don't care who plays ahead of him (Welbeck, Gray, Peneranda, Pedro) - he just isn't good enough and kills every attack. If we go down, the reason won't be VAR decisions - it will be a result of our abysmal strikers, and our crap CBs.
I think it's a cultural issue. I'm sure many of our players could hold their own at a mid table premier league club, but at Watford, there is a lack of any collective responsibility and the squad has been allowed to rot. Failed signings have been retained, old players who are past it, given extended contracts and the weakest areas of the team neglected window after window. Most of our players are capable of a good performance, but they only turn one in about 1 in 8 or 9. Nobody takes responsibility. There's a universal lack of leadership. People mistake Deeney shooting off his mouth for leadership. If he was a leader, he'd be putting in performances in these crucial games, rather than hiding and shouting at his team mates for putting in bad balls, that he wouldn't get near even if they were inch perfect. It's like a team of juniors lacking any sense of personal responsibility for the situation they have found themselves in. They are quick to drop heads, quick to revert to hoof and hope, slow to gain momentum. See now how Sarr has started to have the ability sucked out of him, as he gets absorbed into our quagmire of a squad.
Yesterday was vomit inducing, firstly because Watford played like a bunch of idiots and thoroughly depressed me (I mean Capoue's free kick at the death, a new low point?) and secondly, because Liverpool won the title. The fawning about this and their fans who have come out the woodwork as expected today has made more sick come up into my throat. Just call the season off, send us to the Championship now and be done with it. Football is cack.
@NathWFC and I are already working on merchandise for this eventuality. It's our dream. A whole first 11 of boo boys.
Where the **** is Kiko for their goal? Was he injured or something? You can see McNeil look over his shoulder, realise no-one is tracking him and start to sprint into the massive open space and Sarr can't quite catch him up.
TBF The match stats (https://www.bt.com/sport/football/p...and-results/2019-2020/06-25-burnley-v-watford) show we were pretty evenly matched everywhere apart from a couple of the defence stats: Don't get me wrong I like Foster but his 'maverick' playing style almost let in "The Otter" but Burnley's goal was technically very good. Burnley effectively closed down our midfield by harrying them so they couldn't do too much. But saying that the symbolic moment of the night was:
