Could be a good omen for us. Joins us on cup final day. Put money on us winning the FA cup next year. #silvaware
Delighted with this, just feels like a step forward and acceptance from Gino that we couldn't bring in a 3rd man like QSF and WM. Every time I start to doubt Gino a little bit, he proves me completely wrong. As for Silva, there seemed to be loads of positivity other than a few people who, to be totally honest, just sound like they're wanting to be different and buck the trend on here by finding faults in his time at Hull? Using the defeat as Sunderland to tarnish the job at Hull and then asking for Garry Monk is laughable as Leeds choked and missed out on the play-offs. He's 39 years old which is great for a manager, I feel like we could be a huge chapter on his way to greatness, a bit like Pochettino at Southampton, that's what this feels like to me. He also speaks good English, has a record of more than 2 points per game at both Sporting and Olympiakos, both big clubs! Can't see anything wrong with this appointment, Hull fans loved him, Hull dressing room loved him, Gino has got this absolutely spot on. Welcome to Watford Marco, I am buzzing for the new season now!
Very pleased. It's a bit of a change for the owners, they usually have somebody we've never heard of lined up, who is normally out of the game at the time and who also has a giant question mark somewhere in their CV. This is somebody they probably never had on their radar until they impressed in the actual bloody league we play in.
Anyone have any idea why he choose us over others. Great news but a bit bonkers - surely unless Gino has offered him A huge transfer kitty.
Gut feeling is this is a terrific appointment. A young energetic charismatic head coach who has already won a league title, a cup and a promotion. And he knows our country and our league. Crikey he's even beaten Bournemouth, something neither of our last three coaches managed lol. He will transform the atmosphere around the club and that's worth a few points at least. Really pleased about this.
Some facts that I have found regarding Silva which relates to the 'Legend' Graham Taylor: - He was born the in same year that Graham Taylor first became manager for Watford (1977) - In the first season of managing Watford, Silva will be 40 (B-day is on 12th July) which is the same age that Graham Taylor was when he first became manager for Watford - As a player he was a full back/right back like Taylor was Maybe this man could be the man for us, to take us through thick and thin just like GT did, no one can take those memories away from our club but there is one thing for certain, we can definitely add more memories to the collection. Let's hope Silva can do that for the club.
I think any ambitious manager could do a lot worse than come to Watford, because the Pozzo's are real football people who will back the right man to the hilt. So lets hope Marco is that man, then maybe we might be on the verge a new Graham Taylor/Elton John type "Dynasty" for WFC! U 'Ooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnsssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HB1's still drawing up the official shortlist for 17/18. He's not convinced Silva will make it past the Boreham Wood reserves friendly given we're still yet to win a match. I think he's also working out the bonus wins we don't get points for and what constitutes an acceptable quality of goal so it can be included in the overall scoreline of a game.
There are some days when it's best to be simply joyous and others when it's a bit of a larff to indulge in a bit of cynical banter. Until anything is proven to the contrary, then today is one of the former. Bring it on. I'm very happy with this appointment ...
Radio 4 man myself, but I quite like Barry Glendenning and Max Rushden on the Guardian podcast, I assume they're equally funny on the radio? It does get played at work however, often for match commentary. It seems to me, that Adrian Durham is a gob***te who just says things to be provocative, and Jason Cundy also sees more value in being "opinionated" rather than "insightful".
Nothing like Radio 4 to remind me of how middle class racism is still secretly rampant within our country .
Very true, like football versions of James Whale; I tend to switch off when they get into ranting, though it seems to appeal to quite a few. On the whole though, its the best thing out there for football (not sport though). Coming first in a two horse race isn't that much of a boast though I guess.
Yeah my bad, I worked that out wrong. Either way, both are/were young when they became managers of Watford which is quite a rare sight as of late
Only jesting . I'm feeling happy and hopeful about this new appointment. As I've stated elsewhere , that Silva was not the most exciting option but the safest. He's shown he can organise a disparate group of players to collect decent tally of points. I can't see us getting relegated with him and there is a chance that he could be the next big thing , although I'm not so sure on the that .
Since Schmidt isn't taking over and therefore pointless my article get published, i'm just gonna stick here my views on Schmidt and how he would've potentially fitted Watford: I’ve been saying for some time in various different circles now that I don’t understand why more Premier League teams don’t go for German managers, there was of course the Felix Magath disaster with Fulham, but there’s a whole host of tactically sound talented German managers that would suit Premier League football perfectly. One of those I believed would be superb in the Premier League is Roger Schmidt, so when he got sacked from Leverkusen back in March I didn’t think he’d be out of work for long, but despite a number of Premier League teams failing in the league nobody took a punt. So when my team (Watford) unceremoniously got rid of their manager last week I was very vocal on Watford forums and on Slack that I wanted Roger Schmidt to be the man to lead us into next season. So imagine my surprise when yesterday it was rumoured that Schmidt was to be the main choice for the Pozzos to manage Watford next season. So how does Schmidt set his teams up to play football, and how will that suit Watford if he does ultimately get the job? Schmidt largely uses a very fluid 4-2-2-2 system (that also changes between a 4-2-3-1 and 4-42), often meaning it’s actually hard to tell what formation is being used, however there are several key principles always at play that I’ll delve into below. Strikers The strikers are expected to work hard and relentlessly press the opposition defence and midfield, as well as that they need to be technically proficient, good finishers and clever in their movement. Schmidt seems to favour one quick striker with his partner usually slower - with the slower of the pair usually dropping a bit deeper into midfield. This has been a constant for a majority of Schmidt’s managerial career. So how do the Watford strikers fit into this philosophy? Troy Deeney is obviously the main man at Watford and I think he’d flourish under Schmidt. During Watford's time in the Championship Deeney impressed plenty of fans with his desire to win the ball and hunger (no jokes about his size) and has shown that he knows where the net is with over 90 goals in the last 5 seasons and is definitely more mobile than a lot give him credit for. Deeney has also been asked to drop into midfield at numerous times under Quique Sanchez Flores so would be a shoo-in for that role. The quicker striker role is a bit more complex with Niang looking unlikely to be signing permanently and Okaka not mobile enough to play that role (although Okaka would make a great rotation option for Deeneys role) this is a spot that Watford need to be looking at improving in. Isaac Success is a huge talent and could potentially play that role, but question marks remain about his fitness (Mazzarri has constantly claimed that Success is unfit to start this season) and potentially his technique. Nordin Amrabat could be a left-field suggestion - he was sometimes deployed as a striker at Malaga before joining Watford, however he’s not renowned for his tackling nor his finishing ability so it’s likely Watford would need to put their hands into their pockets and buy a quality striker to partner Deeney. Wingers Schmidts wingers play much like inside forwards, occupying the half-space between the fullback and centre-back. This allows them to, like the strikers, press relentlessly - whether that be the opposition defence or the midfield. The wingers are quick, technically good and adept at finishing and creating chances - a list of players who have played under Schmidt in this system will give you an idea of the type of player he looks for: Sadio Mane (played under Schmidt at Red Bull Salzburg), Heung-Min Son (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Brandt (Leverkusen) and Kevin Kampl played under Schmidt at both Leverkusen and Red Bull Salzburg. Watford struggle in this area, as previously discussed Amrabat and Success are more wingers than striker so could fulfill this role, however I do not feel Amrabat is of sufficient technical quality nor good enough in the tackle to be a starter in Schmidt’s system. However Roberto Pereyra (who missed a good chunk of the season through injury) would be an ideal candidate. Whilst he’s more of a playmaker he’s also been used as a winger both at Watford and at Juventus, his technique is fantastic and i’m sure he’d fit the bill alongside Success. Another potential candidate is Adalberto Peñaranda who has been on loan for the season as he failed to qualify for a work permit, there’s a lot of similarities between Peñaranda and Mane when he was at Red Bull Salzburg, although question marks remain about his attitude after a number of fallings out with managers over the past couple of seasons - if he can gain a work permit and get on board with Schmidt’s philosophy then he could potentially have a fantastic debut season in England. Central Midfield Like the other positions covered, Schmidt likes his central midfield to work hard, with one of the midfield pairing being primarily defensive (Lars Bender at Leverkusen), and the other being more versatile (such as Castro at Leverkusen) but still solid defensively. Abdoulaye Doucoure has been one Watford’s stand out players this season (and it baffles me why Walter Mazzarri only decided to give him his first league start in January) and will fit perfectly into the system as the more defensive minded of the pair, i’m so confident of this that I believe Doucoure could be Watford’s player of the season contender under Schmidt. With Valon Behrami aging quickly and likely to return to native Switzerland over the summer, he’s out of the running. Etienne Capoue I think will struggle under Schmidt and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him depart in January - he lacks the intensity and desire that saw him excluded from Tottenham under Pochettino and playing a similar style of football with Schmidt may see him forced out. Tom Cleverley has been outstanding for Watford since joining on loan from Everton (and since signing permanently) and would fit the versatile role. Whilst not being fantastically defensively, he has the work-rate and willingness to get back that would fit into Schmidt’s plans. His passing range and versatility are much like that of Castro when he was at Leverkusen, and like Doucoure think he’d thrive under Schmidt. That being said, Watford are light in this area and would most likely need to delve into the transfer market for suitable backups or potentially upgrades, unless one of the players out on loan (such as Uche Agbo or Sven Kums) can fit the system, but I haven’t seen enough of them to comment. Full-Backs I’ve never known a team to go through full-backs as quick as Watford, with the turnover simply staggering since the Pozzos took over (I make it 18 since 12/13!) and it’s likely that they’ll have to make that number higher if Schmidt took charge. Schmidt likes his fullbacks to push high up the pitch to join the midfield when in possession and that would suit their current crop of fullbacks (Jose Holebas and Daryl Janmaat) perfectly, however, with soon to be 33 year-old Holebas the only out and out left-back and with question marks over his defensive ability and discipline (somehow managing an incredible 14 yellow cards this season), it’s recommended that Watford splash the cash to find a new first choice left-back (potentially Nathan Ake who had a fantastic season at Watford under Quique Sanchez Flores). Janmaat would fit perfectly into Schmidt’s system as would forgotten man Brice Dja Djédjé who’ll be hoping to make the squad list this year. Centre Backs As Schmidt’s teams implement such a high pressing, attacking philosophy they can easily be caught out on the counter attack, therefore it’s important that the centre-backs are quick, strong and good in the tackle. Sebastian Prodl has been by far Watford’s best defender this season, but he’s agonisingly slow and would likely be a casualty of such a system. Similarly Miguel Britos is not getting any younger and was never the quickest to begin with. Mariappa and Kaboul aren’t getting any younger and are probably past their best. Kabasele is most likely the quickest centre-back at Watford’s disposal at the moment, but there are question marks of whether he’s up to scratch having played less than 800 minutes all season and most of that coming from wing-back. Craig Cathcart is the final Watford centre-back and I think he’d manage to fit into Schmidt’s likely team without too much hassle, but again investment or time to gel will be needed in order to get Watford up to scratch. Summary Schmidt would be a fantastic appointment by any mid-table Premier League club, he won’t be a long-term appointment by any means (due to the exhausting nature of his football) and would require a big turnover in players and revamp in Watford’s squad, however Watford have shown time and time again that they can cope with such upheaval and I believe that Schmidt could comfortably guide Watford to 10th or potentially even higher if all the players buy into his philosophy and he gets the necessary players for his system.
You never know, Schmidt might be replace Silva next summer! Good article though, but not sure how you could possibly say Cleverleys been outstanding for this season. Hes been functional, occasionally decent at the start and poor for the last weeks. Great attitude and work ethic, decent defensively but his passing, dribbling and key passes are poor. I would say out of the current squad only Kabasele, Kaboul , Holebas, Janmmat, Pereyra and Doucoure would fit Schmidts system well. The others would struggle imo. Deeneys work rate can be good but his technical ability is poor and doesnt shoot quickly , although he can shoot well from distance but never seems to anymore.
