I think it comes down to the point that when he’s subbed on, there’s absolutely no boost to team confidence or momentum. We’re chasing a game 1-0 down and bringing Gray on is like a kick to the stomach and i’m sure some of the players feel the same way. Agree though, he does get some unnecessary stick but in line with how many chances we’re wasting, Gray is one of the worst at doing it. Mostly highlighting how important this January window could be for us
He actually had the one shot with his left foot when the ball luckily bounced to him 10 yards out towards the end of the Palace game from that goalmouth scramble, which was about as much of a pathetic scuff as any of the finishes today. I think that's the only time he's touched the ball in the oppo pen area in both matches.
That was our best 90 minutes of the season. Substitutes a little worrying but let’s not take away from the fact we played very well. Kabasele and Hughes outstanding. We go again. There’s something to work with here folks.
Did I suggest Che Adams? Must’ve been drinking that day! Looking at it now, I wish we’d tried to pick up Llorente when Spurs let him go. My thoughts now are that we should go for Dwight Gayle. Can’t buy a game at Newcastle, is better than what we have, and is proven to score goals should the worst happen and we go down. Jettison Deeney and Gray, add Joao Pedro and then Cucho in the summer. And play Sarr every week. At this juncture, I’m coming round to the theory that Deulofeu and Pereyra are luxuries we can’t lose unless they seriously up their form. As for today - as was mentioned on the shoutbox, we should be vocal about how today was much improved. But likewise, I will take little pleasure from pats on the back about ‘improved effort’ and ‘given them a game’ while we go down. Points at this juncture are all that matters. And as harsh as it sounds, this is another game where we haven’t got any. Results go against today and we are seriously adrift - doesn’t matter that we played Liverpool. Again, points are king when you are in our situation. Next week is a must-win.
I don’t think he does nothing, he’s very good at holding the ball up and playing a half decent pass to a team mate. This is something Gray cannot do. Gray can get on the end of actual chances, which Deeney can’t, but Gray invariably misses. Between the two of them there is probably a half decent player there. Neither of them are close to good enough, but I think what Deeney can do does just shade what Gray can, and you never know, one day one of these chances might land in Deeney’s lap and he might actually score it.
Good to see Sarr having a decent 2nd half after a terrible miss in the first half. Pearson needs to get Sarr to be more positive in the final third, rather than passing it side ways
None of us expected to get anything from that. We got nothing, we lost, we were Watford through and through today. Cannot finish a simple chance. Deeney - half a chance more than a good one but to slow to get to a decent ball in. Doucoure' and Sarr are not strikers, I respect that. But both had absolutely sitters of chances. A bit of composure on the ball and we could of come out of that with a win or a draw at worst. We did not deserve to lose that, but we did because our finishubg us just so pathetic. It is League One level at best. Deeney is too slow to get to a cross or a chance. When Gray came on, the groans in the Shout Box were louder than Anfield's quiet crowd. Why not bring on Success? Sure he isn't much better but I would give him a start over Deeney against Manure next week. The performance was there, the effort was there, the keep going attitude was there. Everything was there, apart from us scoring. That is exactly why we are where we are. Liverpool are a excellent side, and they won because they took their chances. They only had 4 shots on goal, two of them went in. That is the difference between the two sides. We actually matched them for most of the game and caused them a lot of problems. We defended well when we had to and kept going till the end. Some of those things have been missing in recent weeks. It looks like Pearson's view of "go out there and play" worked. But if you cannot score chances, be it at Anfield or Vicarage Road, we are down. I cannot deny we played well today - and let's be honest most of us thought we were getting slapped today. We didn't. we kept it respectable - but as Burnsy rightly pointed out in the Shout Box - a loss is still a loss. It doesn't matter if you play well - you still lose the game. We still have nine points. If anything can come out of this game positive, we need to rely on the three teams above us losing. But, in reality, it should not of been that today. We could and should of got something today. Pearson must of seen things he liked today - more than the negatives. We NEED to sort out the striker's/midfielder's confidence levels. Something is still seriously wrong. We know Sarr can score goals, we saw it at Southampton. But he cannot be expected to carry the side. Hughes played well today, much better than usual. But my man of the match has to be Kabaslele. He was immense today. Great tackles and stood up to the task. We do have a decent side, Pearson is clearly an intelligent manager and I think he can make something out of this season even if we do go down. But today he has seen first hand that scoring goals is and has been our downfall all season. We have to keep what we have till January. That is depressing. Will Pedro be the answer? Nobody knows. Before I ramble forever, some final statements. Shout Box was brilliant today - despite the result everyone was more positive and spoke up when things were poor. If we cannot score - we cannot stay up. Are we down? No. Are we going down? Probably. Can Pearson make us hard to beat? Yes.
Very strong showing but again we fail to finish chances and get punished for it. This will be our downfall unless we can get a striker in January or Pedro comes up with the goods. Positive start for Pearson - looked well organised in general and certainly committed. Hughes was very good and the defence did a decent job given who they were up against.
I don't want to sound like a Deeney apologist... But he does get involved in link up play, does win some headers, holds the ball up better than any of our other strikers. We saw how pitiful we play when it's gray, del, or Sarr up front on their own. It's because they can't hold the ball up to relieve a bit of pressure. He also is a leader, organising the players around him, vocal on the pitch. We hardly have any other "leaders" like him in the squad (which I think has been a major problem with the squad for many years). Having said that, as you say he is never in a position to score. So when we play him, we have to accept he will not score from open play. Is that acceptable? I think on balance he brings enough to the team, just. If we actually signed a decent striker, then he'd be on the bench. But right now, there are no alternatives.
You’re right in everything you say, the problem is he is a striker who doesn’t get on the end of chances and doesn’t score any goals. I’ve just posted that I think on balance he does a bit more than Gray does, but just holding balls up and laying them off just isn’t enough.
I would have settled for a 2-0 before KO today, but from what I've been hearing we should have scored at least FOUR today We really must invest in at least two strikers in the window, even if they are only on loan, which would probably be our best chance of picking up two decent ones, as they would be hungry to prove to their parent clubs that they deserve a place in their team. SPLASH THE CASH MR POZZO
Maybe if you splashed the cash on BT Sport, you wouldn't have to hear about the game and could make opinions on it based on actually seeing it.
Deeney isn’t ‘very good’ at holding it up. It’s a myth and people buy into it for whatever reason, be it denial or nostalgia. Ashley Barnes is good at holding it up. Pukki is good at holding it up. Deeney does little of what he should be good at for someone of his strength. Because he’s still better at it than our other striker isn’t a positive, both points are negative sadly. We have a No.9 who simply doesn’t score goals anymore. Want a No.9 who is realistic to get at this point and we can afford, who also plays into our style - go get Dwight Gayle or Glenn Murray. I’m no more enamoured to them than anyone else - but both are good for 5 goals+ from half a season. Deeney and Gray aren’t. Let’s be realistic and pragmatic about it.
Somewhat, but as an example, towards the end, Deulofeu broke down the left and crossed into the middle, but Doucoure had turned his run into a jog. His head just wasn't there today. What should have been a chance was a giveaway.
Liverpool vs Watford Highlights https://soccerhighlightshd.com/video/liverpool-vs-watford-highlights/
Insight from Pearson: "I have already said to the players that our destiny is in our own hands. The creativity and intensity will serve us well. People don’t expect us to come here and win. We needed to be disciplined but you cannot come here and soak up pressure for 90 minutes. We created some excellent chances and unfortunately today we could not make the most of them. I have been pleased with the players application but we cannot have one week good and the next week bad. We need some form of consistency."
He’ll invariably hold a long ball up or draw a foul. Not in the box, but certainly outside of it. He’ll then rarely waste possession. It’s basic stuff for a premier league footballer, it’s no great skill, but he can do it. Gray can’t do it at all. I’m not sticking up for Deeney, just highlighting the one thing he can do competently . The fact that that’s the extent of our two main strikers abilities is why we are bottom and will be relegated.
Palace last week and Liverpool today have been our two best performances this season in my opinion. We have actually looked like a side trying to stay in the league over the past two games. I never thought that I woul be disappointed not to get anything from the game considering it was Liverpool at Anfield, However I think overall we did deserve something today. If we can keep playing like that and work on our shooting there will be some positive results coming our way soon.
A much better performance today with a Pearson stamp on it. How can a makeshift back four be as competent as that when they were so hopeless for the first seven matches that Quique had to revert to a five? Concentrated training on keeping composed in front of goal this week. Get Phillips in. If we play that well against the lesser teams then we should start picking up victories. As long as we can kick the ball at the goal that is. But the clock's ticking.
His head noticeably dropped after the missed chance and that translated into his effort when getting from box-to-box. For someone that we know is capable of far better performance levels, he’s miles off his best. Some time out of the team would do him the power of good - and Quina or even Chalobah would be more welcome additions to the line-up now.
Not trying to start an argument but that first point is another myth. The stats back that up. He give away far more fouls than he wins.
Hopefully Pearson can use his man managing skills to boost this kid’s confidence, because there looks to be a very good player there. Shocking miss, but he can put that behind him and push on. His cross into Deeney in the first few minutes was excellent. A few good encouraging runs too. Hughes and Kabasele were very good today. There is hope, but it is the hope that destroys you.
Given the chance, I think we should sell Pereyra, Deeney and Gray in this window. Sign Benrahma and Watkins from Brentford and Gayle from Newcastle. If he could be convinced, I’d sell Doucoure for big money and get Kalvin Phillips from Leeds. We should have gone hard for Gary Cahill in the summer too. Ready made captain and PL quality CB. Last point for today - he’s rightly been called out for sub-standard performances this season and last...but a word for Femenia. A far far better game from him today. Should be noted.
Great performance from us today. A performance that deserved at least a point if not all three. Nothing but individual errors cost us the game and Liverpool being very lucky to kill the game off at the end. We went to Anfield and made the Liverpool fans nervous and anxious. The Kop end was silent in the second half. If it wasn’t for our poor finishing, we would have shocked the world today with a comfortable win. We should have been 3-1, if not 4-1 up at HT. Restricted them to long balls in the second half and they couldn’t find a way through. If we play like that at home next week against Utd we will win. Gray needs to be sold in January. I’ve defended him on here countless times, but today’s performance broke me. You’ve just been subbed on, you’re the fittest player out there and you’re walking. Not only that but you’re offside 4 times. He didn’t chase anything down. We were losing, and rather than hustle Allisson into picking the ball he turns his back and walks away, then decides to go jog into the area to get Allisson to pick the ball. Allisson lumps it up the pitch, we win the ball back in a good position, a chance to hit them on the counter and Gray is still jogging back from the original GK. I’m sorry, but I don’t care if you’ve been on the pitch 80mins or 8mins, that lack of desire is unacceptable. Love that Deeney is back. Played well today, won a lot of headers. The stick he gets on here is laughable. His leadership is needed on the pitch. What he does off the ball is what set us up for multiple chances today. I actually wouldn’t mind seeing Deeney convert into a CAM like Rooney. It could work, or it could be atrocious, either way, he is needed in this team and on the pitch. We are worse without him. Doucoure needs to take a seat. I think his head has gone, something is missing. He’s not the player we all know he is/can be. Multiple passes were wayward, and set Liverpool up to hit us on the break. His touch was poor and as for that miss, just horrendous. What makes it more horrendous is the fact that he calls for it, so it wasn’t a pass he wasn’t expecting, he wanted it. Time for Quina to be given a run. Deulofeu annoyed me today. There’s times where he does the right thing and you get on your feet. Then there’s times where he does something stupid when a simple pass or run was on and you put your head in your hands. Today he did both for me. When we needed him to just run at the full back, he stopped and held the ball up to play a stupid pass. When he took the full back on he had the beating of him nearly every time. Sarr played well. Felt sorry for him with his miss. Glad he is getting a run of games now. Can’t help but think if we played him earlier in the season, we wouldn’t be bottom. Kabasele and Hughes for me today were immense. Great to see Hughes in his natural position. Kabasele was really winding up the Liverpool fans with his little niggly fouls. He made some very important tackles. Femenia had a good game, definitely not the scapegoat in today’s game. Anyway, could go on but I can’t be bothered, similar like Gray couldn’t be bothered today. Overall, great performance, deserved a point of not all three and got something to build on. Man Utd are going to get battered by us if we play like that.
People make me laugh on here when they think a club bottom of the Prem can convince players who are looking at promotion to come join us?! We don’t stand a chance IMO. We’ll be looking at players not wanted, loans and freebies. Nobody happy and performing at a club is going to come to this “project” right now. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Crazy I know but from what I've seen with my own eyes the player with the 'cleanest' feet (and by that I mean he times the ball when he kicks it) is Quina. Yes, very small, but could he play as a second striker? He's not getting games in midfield so what is there to lose by giving him a go? I think he might score goals and I suspect he could win penalties.
Clock has already struck midnight I'm afraid & I generally I'm an optimist. There is nothing in the attack that can be coached into these players anymore. Javi rinsed all that he could out of them last season & he is totally vindicated as far as I'm concerned. We need a rebuild, that means 75% of the current squad gone & unfortunately that will take time to build in the Championship. I remain hopeful that NP is the right man to see us through these changes.
The players will be leaving there knowing they should have won this game, loads of positives, just need a week of intense set piece taking and shooting practice!!!!
Glad I can make you laugh. But note the part where I said ‘if he can be convinced’.... Lastly, we could give him a pay-rise and it a hardly absolutely guaranteed we are going down. A player like him may also see beyond our struggles this season and look at the team we’ve been over the past few years. Or we could show a lack of ambition as you suggest and go for players with the qualities you have set out. I know which option I’d go for.
