I don't know if you saw my post to Jumbolina re. Penaranda and his ruptured hamstring? One thing about Penaranda and him not playing a part this season; he had “a rupture of the femoral biceps of the left leg” when away with the Venezuelan team so wasn't going to be rushed back into the side because of that. I don't know if it required surgery but it would definitely have hampered his pre-season training as it happened in June.
Look look, Javi knows best ok? Thats why, according to some posters, he's putting injured players on the bench who will not get on in any circumstances. All whilst we have youth players desperate for first team involvement.
One thing is certain:the debating or bickering,depending on your view,that we are engaged in will be mirrored by the players and staff at the club. Nothing feeds hostility like failure.
Nope. On holiday for Everton, son in a tournament yesterday. I go as much as I can and would love to go more but my family comes first. Is that ok?
He did indeed. The biceps femoris. I do hope he does get eased in. The Vinotinto had high hopes placed on him and missing a tournament like the Copa might have had the right effect on his mindset.
Not really. If you want to do your usual virtue signalling about a poster who went to both away games and now says he doesn’t want to travel again you look like an absolute plum if you didn’t bother to go to the games yourself. But sure. He’s pathetic in your words.
There is no middle ground, much like the politics section but here it’s is the smart tactically aware posters vs the flag waving morons. At the moment the former are shouting loudest.
I choose my family over football. I have never or ever will suggest I would stop going because I don’t like the manager and I’ve seen some sh1t ones over the years
It meant to read away, which I think I am fully entitled to say. That is not pathetic or juvenile - why should I spend hundreds of pounds when the manager is insulting the fans with his selections. I don't care if we're **** - I once did all 23 away games that year under Dyche and Bassini when were ******* ****. It's insulting that he let fans travel the length of the country and left our three best attacking players on the bench, to play a combined 8 minutes. Success and Chalobah have been ineffective for some time, it is insane he discussed in his press conference whether Sarr and Welbeck were fit to start and then left both on the bench against an injury ravaged Newcastle when we were pointless. Femenia should have been nowhere near that ******* team, nor should Doucoure. Not having Quina in the squad was disgusting. "Got us to a cup final" lost any meaning when we lost 6-0 whilst City had their best two players not starting. We beat Woking, Newcastle, Palace and very fortunately Wolves. Those victories should not hold as much meaning as we give them - particularly as two of those games featured the players we wish were getting a ******* chance now. He's also the manager that blew the only chance we realistically will ever have of being in Europe by going on a dreadful run after the semi final. Football doesn't have loyalties - if it did Leicester would of kept Ranieri and probably be in the Championship now instead of challenging the top 4. Javi certainly hasn't done enough to be untouchable and why the **** should I spend money watching that ****?
Which is of course perfectly reasonable. But don't get high and mighty when others who have made journeys you haven't made also decide to prioritise away from Watford as you have done. It's called hypocrisy.
So you’re quite happy to have players on the bench who are never going to play because they’re ‘not match fit’? I wouldn’t have included any of the junior players you mention, but I certainly would have had Quina and/or Peneranda. And, by the way, that WAS another long post.
I thought the summer was a middle ground. Successful season but with posters pointing out the obvious need to upgrade and add younger players (i.e. pace) to the defence. The decision to stick with the ageing defence and invest all in Sarr has now left us in a tailspin.
Of all the notions put forward by Watford fans on this board, that one might be the most ridiculous. It's genuinely defending a coach putting supposedly injured players on the bench who won't get on because of their fitness. Mindboggling times on WFCForums.com.
It did get long didn't it! So you wouldn't have had a centre forward on the bench capable of maybe 15 or 20 minutes if we were losing but you'd have been happy with an attacking midfielder (Penaranda) who's coming back from a ruptured hamstring?
I am grateful for a decent response and admittedly I was probably a little harsh. I totally get the frustration, I did every game in 92/93 and in fact most games for quite a long period of time. I do get the feeling your comment was reactionary and you may end up at Wolves!
TBF to Dychey it was, literally, a team built with zero budget and he utilised their 'abilities' as best he could. It was awful to watch though.
There are levels of fitness and there is being match fit, as you alluded to when you responded to my original post.
All of the defenders who played yesterday are 30 or under, not too old for a defender. Team confidence is evidently low and re building this confidence will be a slow process starting with getting each player to win their individual battles, then each unit of players, then clean sheets and wins. Any new manager will have to do this and it isn’t a guarantee that a new manager will do this. Its not a simple decision to take, it depends whether Gino thinks that Javi has lost the changing room or not. If he has Javi should go. A great man once commented that you’re only ever one game away from ending a slump. He also said that the best man to turn a team around is the often man who has just been sacked.
Yeah but if we’re getting down to ‘so and so can only play X number of minutes if the game is in such and such a situation’, it seems to me there are too many strings attached to justify their place on the bench. I think Javi’s post-match comments make it pretty clear the subs were tactical as he has stressed the importance of getting a point on the board above all else. They were subs aimed at not losing the game and in that he succeeded. So I guess a prolonged debate about the fitness status and merits of risking certain players is probably unnecessary. I still stand by my view the subs gave the wrong message to the fans and team and, in the context of the game and the opponent, were much too risk adverse.
There are very few attacking options at all at the moment. Gray looks to be the only fit striker. Okaka will be off. Deulofeu hasn't completed 90 minutes since April 4. Deeney is injured. Penaranda has played 27 minutes since June 6. Success is, well, Isaac Success!! Stuparevic isn't available. Welbeck took part in 3 games in 10 days including 90 minutes in the previous match after not playing since November 8 2018 (I think that's correct, happy to be put right). Sarr played A LOT for Senegal after a heavy season with Rennes and no pre-season with us. Putting any of those on the bench ran their own risks, hence the late subs. We'd all love to go for the win in every game but risk losing the point we were holding by going for all 3pts would have been daft IMO. Imagine going into the break with 4 straight defeats?
