After the strange closing of the previous thread, I think this is very topical and needs re-opening. Here's a good piece well-written. https://zonalmista.wordpress.com/20...ford-have-an-identity-on-the-pitch-they-dont/ Not sure I agree with having to get relegated in order to progress, but the rest has good valid points.
The key point is fair, but there's rather a lot of wishful thinking and conjecture in that post; there's absolutely no guarantee that relegation would result in the development of that sought-after 'identity', and even less so that the players he suggests we'd be watching develop it would actually still be here. I'd also have to argue the suggestion that it's well-written , but I'll make it abundantly clear that I'm not criticising you for posting it HB, nor dismissing its key tenet, which is certainly something that we should take into consideration. I think that's what the idea was behind bringing in Silva, and then it's almost as though Gino was so hurt by the way it unfolded that he couldn't help himself but lash out against the concept, desperately rejecting it for a supposed pragmatism instead.
Who wrote that? It seems the feelings of a fan not a pen pushing journalist. I agree with most of it, but I also agree getting relegated is not the answer, but ultimately that may happen sooner than we think if things do not change. How do we get out of this mess? Well, I personally feel it's psychological. I think some of the players are scared of teams. It seems crazy to say this considering what the same pack of players achieved last season, but I really do think the FA Cup loss has had a massive impact on them. It was lambs to the slaughter against City on Saturday and we looked absolutely terrified of them. Sure, they are class - and their football is on a different level to ours - but I feel had we lost say 2=0 in the final, we would of played better, and that includes the start of this season. It's a fear factor. It happens in all professions and bar Arsenal for mins, all our games have seen the heads drop when we concede, or try desperately to not concede more that we end up doing Kamakarze things at the back. QSF is capable of getting the belief back into the players, but after last week, it's going to be very difficult. I just hope this week has gone O.K with general mood around the camp.
I opened this thread eagerly to find out if it was about Watford or Brexit. Maybe a breakthrough in the next few days.
Referencing some comments in the other thread, new manager bounce is a myth. Generally speaking, managers get sacked after a poor run of results, which naturally deliver a lower points per game average. In most cases those results are down to a string of bad luck. What stat crunchers have found is that the "new manager bounce" is generally nothing more than the team's form reverting to the mean after a string of statistical outliers that lead to the departure of the manager. The Independent had a great article about this a couple of years ago: https://www.independent.co.uk/sport...n-bilic-west-ham-premier-league-a8044586.html
I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a myth. Form improves for a lot of clubs when a new manager arrives. Watford in particular have exploited that to the full. Players tend to try that little bit harder in training, a new coach opens the door for players that gave not been playing too often. Also the mood is generally lifted especially if a lot of players didn’t like the outgoing coach. In our case, Gracia was very popular with players and fans, so I believe QSF came in as a bit of a pacifier in terms of appeasing players and fans. Had Gracia been sacked in the summer I very much doubt we’d have gone for Flores. We’ve got an old coach back so it appears that there is more of a continuation rather than a big uplift. You can buy a lot of cheap points early on with new coach but once that honeymoon period is over, then you see how good the new coach actually is. With the appointment of Flores I think we’ve missed out on the new manager bounce.
Stats would say otherwise. I’m guilty of this a lot myself and it’s called confirmation bias. We remember the instances more when it backs up what we think (e.g. Roy Hodgson at Palace), rather than when it doesn’t (e.g. Shearer at Newcastle). Of course sometimes, if you have a truly “bad” manager it is the case, but more often than not it is just Lady Luck. The trouble is, you can never know what would have happened had the sacking not been made, or made when it wasn’t. And so we write off a change in results if a manager stays as a change in form, when if a new manager achieved the same results it would be the new manager bounce.
Strangely enough I feel we're going to get a result Saturday. How I don't know. But it's around the corner. It's 3 on the bonce for the mighty ORNS.
That was an awful read I'm afraid. - Start Wilmot now based on what? - "Whilst the hiring and letting go of coaches work, Watford need to find a head coach that they will back even if it goes wrong. " That's what The Pozzo's do. They don't have any emotional attachment to coaches by giving them time to sort it out. They're never going to back someone even if it goes wrong because going wrong is very expensive. - If QSF keeps us up he should leave because his stock would be at an all time high? What? He got us to 13th and an FA Cup Semi Final with a carp squad and still didn't get a better job. What are you on about? - "Whilst Bachmann who was the best keeper in the Scottish Premier League last season" - Was he? Again, based on what? He wasn't in the SFA Team Of The Year. He didn't keep the most clean sheets either, so? Utter, utter dross. And I bet someone on here wrote it.
The complete lack of paragraphing would lend credence to that although Zonalmista is the one that slags this forum off so not sure. He seems like some Dad who hasn't been to a game of football other than the top 6 games for years. He really enjoys the days out though. Wouldn't get that in the Championship.
I was thinking about it yesterday, and although this season has been ***** so far, we're actually only -2 points from the same games as last season. Brighton - 3 Everton (A) -1 (-4) West Ham 0 (-4) Newcastle (A) +1 (-3) Arsenal (H) +1 (-2) City (A) 0 (-2) When you look at it like that it doesn't sound so bad...
Interesting read from a fan in the OP - although I agree with others that I do not think relegation would help us. It is to be avoided at all costs. There is a lot of competition in the Championship and who knows how long it would take us to get back up - and many teams relegated get relegated further before they regroup.
Agreed. And if we lose the next 4, we are still only 5 down on equivalent fixtures. Season starts in January!
Excellent news as January is when Gino finally realises the defensive underinvestment and goes mad with the chequebook. At least that’s what some have been suggesting transfer window after transfer window...
Cool, 4 free hits! Yes, this is what I show on points progress chart I create. Of course one problem with football it is difficult to predict the end results of games with certainty (apart from us against Man City). My patented 'Adjusted 40 point line' takes this into account based on groupings of where the team finished in the table last year, and how we have performed against that group over our current spell in the top flight. Based on this, to hit the 40 points by May we should have 5 points by now, and 8 after the Spurs game. So we are 3 points off that at the moment. Still not exactly the end of the world, but as everyone points out the next two games will be important. * Yes I know 40 points is an inexact science but it is as good as anything else until the season unfolds more
What we have to hope for is that Everton don't ditch Silva and get big Sam in before Christmas. that would only leave a choice between the don't lose gurus of Pulis or Houghton available to save us in 2020. I think we should hope to get points from nine of our fixtures up to the new year. If that was 5 or more wins, we could still be on course to survive. Assuming safety is ensured in the fifteen games between the New Year and the last home game against our nemesis. Twelve wins a season sees you comfortably 17th or better. So really the rot needs to stop now, with the aim to get a run of results together. Offensively i think our squad can get out of the rut we have been in for the last seven months. The squad have to want to do this. Regardless of the quality available, or the potential for new recruits in January. This team needs to start keeping a clean sheet. That is the defenders, midfield and offensive players contributing. for me that may mean some of our creative players being dropped if they are not contributing to the team defending. I expect there will be a very important assessment by the owners on where we are after 08 November. in reality that could be the last chance to pu things right if they have not substantially improved by then.
He’s some bloke who is in his mid 20’s and hasn’t been to the Vic in years apparently. Yet, he prances about on Twitter as if he is some Watford guru and know’s more than anyone else who claims to be a Watford fan. In other words, he’s a grade A nob
