To be fair, we were so poor that if I had 0-3 bet I’d have cheered the final Brighton goal to the rafters. The chances of us coming back was close to zero given the lack of application of half the team.
Sarr is also perhaps needing additional time to adjust to a new club, new country and new league as well (which Mane and Mahrez aren't).
Not that I remember. Definitely have bet 0-4 and 0-5 combos against Liverpool and Man City in the past though but the cowards sometimes mess it up by going 0-6.
As much as I hate to say it we will lose badly. Don't think we have enough with this defence to keep out Rich.
New world to me. The only bet I'd ever consider on my own team is one on a simple victory where you can continue to wish that they win by as many as possible. Even a bet to win by a particular score would potentially carry its own problems. Personally, I can do without it all. C'mon U' Orns.
Play-off semi final away at Palace when we won 3-0. I’d bet on us to win 3-1, with King scoring first. I’d have stood to walk home with just over 3 grand, which as a first year uni student, would have made me a king amongst paupers. When McAnuff hit the post, despite it being easier to score late on, it destroyed me. Still might be my favorite ever game though, considering they did the double over us and we absolutely wrecked them.
So many stories. So much money. The moral I think is just don't do it. Despite, as UEA said, having local info. that might give you an inside track to 'beat the booky'. How would you have felt if, say, you'd made your three grand, been king of the castle, and the Palarse had then won 2-4 at the Vic. and gone to Wembley on away goals? A thing you would arguably have wished for? Of course that didn't happen. It was 0-0. I listened to it on the radio in Aberdeen at the time. But you get my point. Anyway, I hope you still made it through your academic career. It looks like it to me despite your great loss. If so, well done. Guys. This might all be becoming a bit tangential now. And diverting from the match thread. It may have been discussed before (in fact I'm sure it has - and I remember reids making some significant contributions at the time). So I'll start a new Betting Against Your Own Team thread tomorrow in the General section. If that's OK. I'm a wee bit too p.ssed to do it now.
Doubtless Richie consulted the forum, weighed & sifted the evidence & then made a fully informed decision. Could he have the Gomie Baby guy?
I think the 4-2-2-2 will be more suited against Everton than it was against Brighton. As long as we actually try to play simple football we will be fine. Pereyra in for Gray and Welbeck on the bench please Gracia.
I really hope Gracia changes formation for this one and excludes Deeney. Something like at Wolves last year (I know it means Success but hey-ho).
I really dislike this Deeney bashing. Ok, I know he brings a lot of it on himself, and he had a stinker against Brighton, but he's still a big character at the club. 10 years service and I think he's earned the right to be supported by fans a little more. When I go to the matches, I never hear too many complaints about him, but it's on this forum or twitter where it's far more obvious. Personally I feel he will inevitably be phased out at some point. In Welbeck, we've now got our first genuine Premier League striker of pedigree. Probably the first signing of this quality we've had at the club since the 1980's. An England international striker, 28 years old who is a top 6 club player!! If Deeney is to survive, he has to step up his game. Ok, he's never going to be a prolific goal scorer at EPL level, but he's offers other things. His hold up play and he can spot a pass. He's also pretty decent from the spot (not that it really matters these days, seeing as we don't get penalties anymore). Is he the leader on the pitch? Sometimes but not always, is the honest answer. This is why I say he needs to step up. Drive this team forwards. If he does that, and performs his link up/hold up play well, then he'll earn his place in the side for sure. But when you've got Sarr, Welbeck, Deulofeu and Pereyra all vying for a starting place, it's going to be tough for him. However it goes for Deeney from here on in, he still deserves respect from Watford fans.
Eh? How am I bashing him by saying he should be “excluded” against Everton. After criticising me saying that you then go on to say he will be “inevitably phased out”. You speculating he won’t make the cut over 3 paragraphs is the same bashing you criticise. Unless you are saying any call for Deeney to be dropped for a particular game after a dreadful performance is off limits.
Not sure if serious or ******. It's called hedging. If watford win, a trifling amount of cash is lost amongst the euphoria. If watford lose, a free £50 to get ratarsed with.
This was not directed at you specifically. It's just the general tone of quite a few people on this forum towards Deeney, which I think is out of order personally.
Ah ok. I agree with you largely. I think Deeney would be a good squad option. I just have a problem with Gracia seeing him as hard to drop which means we always need the build the formation around his strengths and weaknesses. If he is in bad form he should be dropped to the bench.
When it comes to playing Deeney…...let's be honest, what other options do we seriously have? We NEED some physicality up there. We've all seen how is doesn't work when Gray is on his own. He just chases shadows. Okaka should be the natural swap, but he's just not good enough. Ditto Success (currently). But once those two new signings are fully integrated, I'd expect to see a new formation evolve, which is less reliant on Deeney. So until Welbeck and Sarr become available, Deeney is still our best option.....IMO.
I agree, we have been forced to play the best team that we have due to lack of fitness of key players. A lack of focus and a weak back line has been our downfall.
I think most of what is said on here about his ‘character’ is mostly tongue-in-cheek. And his achievements deserve respect 100%. But I disagree that it’s out of order and feel at times he deserves the rich criticism he gets - talking about controlling his temper and then getting himself sent-off. Telling opposition CB’s that they are in for a tough game etc etc. Coming back from successive summer breaks overweight by his own admission. None of the above are the actions of a captain in my opinion. Hence why I think the captaincy should have been phased away from him by now. I don’t buy his repeated line that it’s hard for him to keep the weight off - he was far leaner in the last Championship seasons when I’m sure the nutrition team were likely half as numerous and in quality than what we have now. I think all of the ‘indiscretions’ above could have been dealt with by taking a firmer line with him as a club but there’s an atmosphere of ‘oh it’s just Troy being Troy’ at the club in my opinion and that’s not right. Is he always a bad leader on the pitch? Certainly not. But there has been signs on Saturday and the back end of last season that when the tide is against us, his head is the first to drop. I don’t actually have much criticism of him in terms of his actual footballing ability other than he’s quite slow when we break quickly. And I just think the players we have at the club now lend themselves better to a formation to which he has shown little ability that he can fit into. I don’t really think it’s disrespectful to state the above. I’m hugely respectful for what he’s done for the club and my opinion of him as a player now in no way diminishes that. But I don’t want to judge him on past glories, only on what he does now and what he can provide for the team in the present. The time to reflect what he has done across the breadth of his time at the club is when he leaves. But what I will say is that our malaise at the moment as a team isn’t singularly about him. And I agree until Welbeck and Sarr are up to speed that he should be included. But I’d like to see more pressure put on him. And a formation change that puts the pressure on him to adapt rather than rely on his name to get him a game.
I think the issue is mainly with his speed and mobility. I'd like to see how much ground he covers over a game vs comparable strikers. I never see him sprint, he just seems to stroll up and down.
Harry is a big character, or at least one with a big head, & has been there much longer. Troy has done fantastically to keep in the team (being the outspoken captain, taking pens to top up his stats) but he is patently too limited a player for a team aspiring to the top half. He simply doesn’t pose a threat to top level defenders. This isn’t bashing. It’s just a fact. I agree with you on respect. Maybe it’s just that fans have an odd way of showing their affection.
I suspect he is a poor on field captain. He appears finger wagging & whiney. Avoiding blame rather than rousing the troops. I get the impression that for him the captaincy is about being the big man rather being the leader.
Personally, I think he has been good for us in the past, but less so the last few years. I think he is living on past glories and his ability is not good enough for top half of the Prem. He sometimes gets away with it because he has a physical presence that can cause defenders problems, but that is becoming increasingly rare. I am pretty sure that, because he has been very vocal about other players/teams, he has now also set himself up as a bit if a target to shoot down, and too often leaves the pitch without having any impact whatsoever. From my point of view, particularly as he is not gifted in the technical ability stakes, I expect our Captain to remain extremely fit and healthy every season, to give a 100% and to be a motivational example on the pitch. All those attributes are about attitude and I think his is poor. But, I can only go by what I see on the pitch. He may be a brilliant Captain in the training ground, and maybe the Coach thinks that means he deserves to start every week. But it is more than fair to question that, just like it is to question every other player on £50k a week.
Deeney is a watford legend and is now past it. There's no shame in it. We'd be a better side with Okaka up top and I'm as serious as cancer.
I reckon he can make it to half time. Then someone just needs to give him mouth to mouth to reinflate his lungs. Perhaps that could be the new prize in the raffle.
