Jan 2020 transfer window

Discussion in 'The Transfer List' started by RMT79, Dec 31, 2019.

  1. LondonOrn

    LondonOrn Squad Player

    Well that's probably the worst transfer window we've had since promotion, and just when we needed a fruitful one the most, very disappointing.

    But unlike others I'm not too downhearted about our prospects, apart from Villa away, Pearson and Shakespeare have surprised us in the most positive way in every game with their complete reinvigoration of players we thought were all but finished, getting points convincingly in difficult games in often adverse circumstances, so we have to believe that they have more aces up their sleeves.
     
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  2. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    If he’s getting a tune out of them, but 2 CB’s get injured, we are f*cked. It’s a huge risk. The FA Cup showed that none of the kids are capable of stepping in.

    I definitely agree with HB1 over most elements to do with Gibson - Burnley wanted to play hardball and we didn’t budge. And nor should we have if they wanted silly money. It is a bit bizarre they want to keep him given his output for them - but I guess they want the numbers in their squad which is their prerogative. But it would have been nice to have him purely for our own numbers as we are short, there’s no escaping it.

    The most bizarre choices for me are allowing Prodl to leave without bringing Wilmot back. He could have been that extra CB.

    Given we’ve brought Penaranda back and it’s clear he just isn’t suited to loan football at this stage, I would have thought he could be added to the squad to allow Quina to go and get regular game time for 6 months. Think we should have sanctioned his move personally.
     
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  3. NathWFC

    NathWFC First Team

    Our moron fans love him, though. Should have seen the abuse I got for daring to say he's not good enough on Twitter. Accused of racism and all sorts.
     
  4. LondonOrn

    LondonOrn Squad Player

    Couldn't Kabasele play at RB in place of Mariappa, with Dawson and Cathcart in the centre? Has he ever played there before?
     
  5. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    He must have something on Pozzo. Only reason someone is able to fail in their role so comprehensively for 3 years consecutively and remain in his post. Meanwhile managers are sacked all over the shop.

    Actually the other option is Pozzo is just completely incompetent which is another strong runner.
     
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  6. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    I think Dawson would be more suited to right back so long as he isn't against a quick winger.

    How about both of our natural right back being fit!?
     
  7. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    Or, and it’s a radical idea I know, how about we sign enough competent and fit players for each position rather than continuously chasing our tails and wondering which of our players is best suited to playing in an unnatural position.
     
  8. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    What I will say to temper my frustration a bit, is that at least the club have started to move on clearing people out. Prodl and Zeegelaar both gone and finally a loan for Dahlberg.
     
    Jumbolina and magic like this.
  9. NorwegianOrn

    NorwegianOrn Academy Graduate

    It was in the last minute of the January window.
     
  10. wfcmoog

    wfcmoog Tinpot

    What a ******* **** show. Pozzos out.
     
  11. LaClusazSki

    LaClusazSki Reservist

    I agree.
    Mariappa is Championship standard at best. League 1/2 is where he could shine.
    Sure, he is a nice guy, but he is a piss poor player at Premier league level
     
  12. LaClusazSki

    LaClusazSki Reservist

    The Dahlberg issue is a concern. Rated by many and sought after by a host of European clubs before choosing Watford.
    He is far better keeper than Bachmann, but it appears that our coaching staff do not agree.
    Gomes is still at the club due to the Pedro signing. Bachmann is not good enough to be on the bench.
    Will Gomes go at the end of the season? Bachmann or Dahlberg as back up? Will we sign another keeper instead?
     
  13. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

    There are two major weaknesses in the club that need urgent addressing. While other departments are moving forward our recruitment team and academy are simply not up to scratch.

    We need a viable academy capable of producing the odd first team player now and then and we are miles away from reaching that goal. Secondly the recruitment team and Giraldi. Utterly abysmal.

    I will mention several signings made by other clubs while we sit on a pile of deadwood incapable of building for the future. Bowen has joined West Ham. If he starts producing they will double their money in no time at all. Matheson at Rochdale who was impressive in the FA Cup when many of us saw him. Signed for one million by Wolverhampton. This is the sort of youngster with a pedigree we need to be looking at as a potential first teamer down the line. However our low ball tactics are appalling. We barely managed to get Wilmot after endless haggling and then we mismanage these players as a warning to others not to sign for the club.

    Brighton managed to get MacAllister from Boca for a song. He has huge potential and is showing it in his favoured central attacking midfield role at the CONMEBOL u23. Only eleven million. Not that expensive. If he develops as he does he will be worth three to four times that in no time at all. Brighton have sent several players on loan to Wigan. I would be pretty certain they are looking at Joe Gelhardt and or Jensen Weir for a summer move and are using this for leverage. What do we do. Bugger all in this respect.

    We have missed out on several full backs all of them relatively affordable and the other players we were linked with in midfield were also attainable. It's all pretty disappointing. I still have confidence in Pearson and company keeping us up but we cannot continue to afford having the manager hampered by the lack of an effective recruitment policy and a lack of direct involvement of the manager in it. We need someone to work with the manager on targets like Walsh and not someone like this buffoon Giraldi who does not. Gino really needs to look at this as soon as possible and the academy coaching from the earliest age possible. Take a team to look at clubs like Bilbao, Ajax, Argentinos Juniors, Le Havre and see what they do.
     
  14. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

    Gomes should have gone last summer and Dahlberg promoted to understudy. It's mismanaging his development and it's hardly conducive to getting young players to sign for the club. Sell Bachmann to Killie if needs be. Best for both parties. Look at Manchester United. Signed Nathan Bishop from the Shrimpers who has done remarkably well behind a terrible defence. Only 20. We fail to target England age group players from the pyramid like him and Matheson and England age group sides now are a whole lot better than when they were when the team used to dominate not on technical ability but physique.
     
    luke_golden likes this.
  15. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member


    You might be right but how do we know Dalberg is better though?

    Never got the chance to show his worth yet.

    We seem to sign a lot of young players with "potential" - Success,Peneranda etc

    Only one who worked out was Richarlison..

    Even Quina hasn't had the games he had last season..

    Dele Bish bash will probably be another who comes and go..

    Pearson is working for the short term but the general Pozzo model is buy young then sell on..

    Which ceratainly hasn't worked here with our ageing and injured hampered squad.
     
    We hate 48 likes this.
  16. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    Excellent post. Giraldi is untouchable it seems. I suspect we will not see the back of him until Pozzo leaves.
     
  17. Steve Leo Beleck

    Steve Leo Beleck Squad Player

    Have to wonder if our mismanagement of young players is coming back to bite us. Wolves have quietly signed Leonardo Campana, a 19 year old Ecuadorian striker who is rated as one of the best talents in South America. We bid for him last year and could've beaten them to the punch but he didn't want to come here. Few months later, he can't wait to join Wolves. If you come to Watford as a highly rated 19, there's a fair chance four years later, you'll have been out on loan to give different clubs barely playing at each of them. That can't escape the notice of agents.
     
  18. UEA_Hornet

    UEA_Hornet First Team Captain

    Maybe. But we’ve signed heaps of these ‘best young talent in [league/country/continent/history]’ types and it can’t just be down to the loans we send them on as to why 99% turn out crud.

    I think taking a step back ‘mismanagement’ is a bit over the top. As fans we get excited about young players, especially when the club hypes them up. Then when they don’t make it the assumption starts to creep in someone at or something the club has done has stunted their development. Reality is though a lot of young players never make it and the chance of picking out Premier League-worthy talent from the leftovers the mega clubs haven’t secured already must be pretty low. Especially when they’re moving big distances, and a lot can’t even play here at any level owing to a lack of work permit and so have to be shoved straight back out the revolving door.

    Finally, and crucially when it comes to Campana particularly, I’ll give you precisely one guess who his agent is...
     
  19. SkylaRose

    SkylaRose Administrator Staff Member

    To pun a famous Carlsberg quote:

    "Watford Football Club do not do January Transfer windows. But if they did, they would probably be the best in the world."
     
  20. folkestone orn

    folkestone orn Squad Player

    There is a good chance Giraldi lumped on relegation in pre-season. Smart guy.
     
  21. folkestone orn

    folkestone orn Squad Player

    They wouldn't even be the best in Herts tbf.
     
  22. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    The worrying one for me is Bowen. Sure we may not have got him as West Ham probably would’ve beaten us to him, but the fact we don’t really entertain him in the first place is a concern. The fact that he may or may not make it in the PL is completely moot, he's proven in the championship so his value is protected. Until Pearson we clearly had a no English manager policy, or the Pozzos just didn’t rate them at all. Hopefully they have learned from this, but they still seem highly reluctant to look at young English players when in reality they are a safer bet for their model than those from abroad.
     
  23. lowerrous

    lowerrous First Team

    I agree that we probably should have pushed the boat out a bit more to get a full-back, but I think much of the rest of your post is a tad sensationalist.

    On your point that "we need a viable academy capable of producing the odd first team player now and then", sure, that would be great. However, it appears to be becoming increasingly hard to do that for clubs such as ours - because we need young players capable of holding their own in the PL, but as soon as youngster shows even a sniff of being able to do that they get hoovered up in to the larger, better financed academies of the top clubs. Our current approach with the U23s in signing players cast-off from the likes of Arsenal makes sense insofar as these are probably the same types or level of player we would have tried to sign already when they were kids for our own academy, before they were taken by someone else instead.

    Your claim that "we do [...] bugger all in this respect" in snapping up other young prospects on the cheap is just a nonsense. You mention MacAllister and Matheson as youngsters we haven't signed, but it's literally impossible for one club to sign every single prospect going. Meanwhile, in the last few years we have indeed signed a number of young players for what could be considered bargainous fees (or non-fees), such as Quina, Wilmot (who we did still get), Chalobah, Hughes, Dele-Bashiru, Richarlison, Cucho, and Joao Pedro (maybe).

    What you're saying here about Matheson, MacAllister and Bowen would be the same kind of things fans of other lower-PL table clubs would have been saying about many of our signings mentioned above: "looks a bargain", "why didn't we go for him?", "we could've got him if we'd tried" etc. etc.

    PS as for Bowen, my personal opinion on him is that he'll at best be the same level as Snodgrass for them, and I reckon he'll find it difficult. I could turn out to be incorrect, but I'm not convinced he'll be a big success for them. Also, West Ham prob would've offered more wages than we could have anyway, they did out-offer Palace already to get him.
     
  24. HELGO

    HELGO Reservist

    If the fecker has to stay, ban him from the dugout. Who the feck does he think he is? What possible use is he there. He should be trying to improve on the job he’s getting paid for, cos at the moment he is a waste of space.
     
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  25. lowerrous

    lowerrous First Team

    Bowen's favourite position is as as right-sided forward, you know, where our current, recent £30mil record-signing already plays.

    Even if we did want him, then as you say we wouldn't have got him anyway.

    Your claim that we seem "highly reluctant to look at young English players", is as I've also pointed out to Smudger, just wrong - our relatively recent signings of Hughes, Chalobah and Wilmot, as well as our entire new U23 team, will tell your otherwise.

    Our problem recently is more a lack of signing enough proven players in their peak years, as opposed to continuing to go for lots of cheap, young punts.
     
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2020
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  26. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    That’s blatantly not our model though, and never will be under the Pozzos. That’s what clubs like Everton or West Ham have done in recent years, pay top dollar for players at their peak with no chance of their value ever increasing.
     
  27. lowerrous

    lowerrous First Team

    Sure, on the whole it is not what the Pozzos do, but the majority of what are probably our best players have been the ones signed around their peak years and to some degree already proven at the top level in the not too distant past , e.g. Capoue, Doucoure, Cathcart, Holebas, Deulofeu and Pereyra. It makes me wonder a bit why they haven't done it a bit more in the last couple of seasons when there are positions in clear need of being filled or upgraded, as the longer-term success rate of the younger and less proven players has been much less, and many of our players are now getting on a bit (our first-team has typically been the oldest in the league over the last two seasons).
     
  28. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    I for one hope we stay up, Brentford don’t come up and we go for Benrahma. He’s unbelievable and I’m as certain as can be that he is going to be worth a fortune in a couple of years - I don’t exaggerate when I see him doing similar to Mahrez with his career. I honestly would break the bank to get him and if it took cashing in on Deulofeu to get him, I’d do it. I think he’s that good.

    Ollie Watkins would be more than welcome as well.

    If we stay up this season, the negatives must surely still outweigh the positives and it has to be used as a catalyst for change within the squad. Get exciting players in who are ready to play. And overhaul the defence.
     
  29. NathWFC

    NathWFC First Team

    Definitely didn't need to strengthen in the window. That performance today and sitting 19th in the league screams "stick with what we've got".

    F**king farcical.
     
  30. The undeniable truth

    The undeniable truth First Team Captain

    Lots of big IFs there Burnsey. We stay up, Brentford don't come up, and Gino breaking the bank.....
     
    Burnsy likes this.
  31. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    Absolutely Jumbo.

    We know each other enough by now for us to know I’m talking from a position of where I think we should be aiming in the best circumstances.

    No chance it happens. There aren’t enough corners to be cut in reality.
     
  32. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    Oops. Not Jumbo, TUT rather.
     
  33. USAHornet

    USAHornet Academy Graduate

    We've been fed a load of talk over the years about our brilliant scouting network, having a range of players targeted for each position and so on.

    For all the supposed genius, what has it resulted? Last minute deals for injury prone players. An inability to strengthen in key areas. And an aging squad that is dependent upon players who have either been here for years, have come back for another go (Foster, Cathcart, Mapps, Chalobah) or are former Udinese players.

    Yes, we've unearthed some gems. But the number of absolute clangers - from more expensive ones like Success and Gray, to supposed future stars like Penaranda, to utter wastes - is pretty significant.

    All that time, and we've never gone out and bought proper top-flight CBs, or a striker to lead the line the way Troy does, or things to address all the other problems.

    Every single one of us keyboard warriors has been moaning about this for years. Yes, we don't see what's going on in training. But it's pretty clear our club hierarchy is too arrogant, too busy reading their own headlines, too focused on building our global brand to actually do the job of football properly.

    (Breathe...rant over...)
     
  34. IRB

    IRB THe artist formally know as ImRonBurgundy?

    We needed a centre back and at least 1, if not 2 full backs this window. We've needed these players since the summer in fact

    This was obvious to everyone and when we go down, heads need to roll in the scouting/recruitment department
     
    wfcmoog likes this.
  35. reids

    reids First Team

    I watched Benrahma play a full game (other than just highlights) for the first time yesterday and thought similar (I thought he'd make a great like for like replacement for GD if we sold him). Outstanding talent.
     

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