Odion Ighalo

He's been on a very good run; it covers the 2nd part of last season and the first part of this season. He's good, but not that good. We need to get another striker in for next year even if he stays

 

He's a good poacher in the box, but you can't really poach effectively from 20 or so yards out, which is where it usually happens with him.

 

what we really need is a a pace striker, somebody who can really shift, and has the ability to be a clinical finisher...

 

I'm amazed he keeps getting in the starting line up. Amrabat must be proper pissed off.

 

Leaving aside the fact that Ighalo's goal scoring ratio is vastly superior to Amrabat's even before both of them joined us, it's a pretty odd chalk and cheese comparison.

I don't get why so many seem to think Amrabat, good though he is, is the solution. How good would Deeney be right up front at this level and how effective would Amrabat be as his strike partner?

 

I don't for one minute think that his head's been turned, there was no real interest from anyone in January, just lots of compliments. He's hardly going to spend the second half of the season swanning around and watch his chance of a big move gradually recede.

I imagine it's a combination of teams paying him more attention, the rest of the team not giving the opposition enough to think about, his confidence being eroded and probably the end of the best purple patch of his career. He's not someone who's rattled goals in wherever he's been and he did well to keep the streak going as long as he did. I'm not sure he'll ever go on a run like that again.

 

The guy has played pretty much every minute of every game. I don't think it's a shock he is jaded? Why on earth QSF doesn't give him a few weeks off and play Amrabat is beyond me. What does the manager expect to happen when he runs Ighalo/Capoue/Deeney/Watson into the ground?

 

I would put Deeney up front and try Jurado in behind him. Get proper width up to support him (guedioura, anya, amrabat) and take the game to teams.

Ighalo's decline started against Spurs at home, where despite scoring, they put Dier in defence to mark him, and from then on teams have had plans to stop him from performing. As a result, his confidence dropped and has snatched at chances (apart from forest and arsenal in the FA cup). During his scoring run, he was still being bullied off the ball and not protecting, but was scoring the goals that took the focus of his weak sides. Now they are even more evident

 

More than any other player, Odion needs his song sung loud and often to perk him up. It was a while today before it got a decent rendition. He did react to it and he was genuinely happy and excited with the fans celebrating at the end, so I don't think his heads been turned.

 

This is a difficult one. I think that Ighalo is a player who hit his career purple patch last season, and carried it on into this one. Then, unfortunately, it has ended, and he looks a shadow of his former self.

Ability wise we've all seen the poor control, passing and the lack of good judgement; but his run in the first half of the season has basically kept us in this league. However, we need better next season, and will need to buy wisely.

The club gambled and just about got away with not bringing in a third striker in the two transfer windows. Ambrabat is not the answer, and I can't see him (if selected) making any difference to our attacking prowess. Also the same with playing Deeney up front on his own. I love Troy, but in the Prem, I don't think he's got the ability to do it on his own. He needs a partner to work with.

That said, Ighalo will go down in Watford history for that goalscoring run from about October 14 to December 15, and for that I will always remember him fondly, but we do need better.

 

I'm actually kind of glad his form has dipped because if he had kept up his form then he would have easily hit 20+ goals and almost certainly been sold in the summer. Right now, unless he was to move to another European league or take a big pay check in China. I don't see any Premier League clubs who are above us willing to spend big money on him.

All strikers go through bad patches and if he ends the season on 15 or so goals then I doubt any of us would have complained about that at the start of the season. We do however need to bring someone else in, I'd like to see Oulare given a proper chance as well, since safety is sorted out now.

 

As far as Im concerned our ten men beat 12 men yesterday.


Odion Ighalo is an empty shirt.......

 

Defenders are wise to him, nowadays the 2nd CB almost always goes to cover as they know he can't/won't thread a ball.

 

I think the problem is not so much defenders double-marking him with the knowledge that if you stop Ighalo you pretty much stop the team scoring, but a more deep-seated tactical issue.

Teams have become wise to the fact this year that they can stop Ighalo safe in the knowledge that we don't have players/the system to consistently take advantage of the extra space around the penalty box this should create.

 

This reminds me in some ways of the Vydra situation where he looked unbeatable when he was in scoring form and utter dog**** otherwise, almost to the point of being a liability. No question that Ighalo has been massive for us this season and deserves persevering with, at least in the short term. But as somebody else pointed out, he's seldom been a prolific goalscorer elsewhere. I think he's got another couple left in him this season but the stubborn refusal to give him a much-needed rest is costing us. Hopefully now our Prem status is confirmed we'll see some changes up top and Oulare/Arambat given a shot to see what they can do.

 

The papers can make up as many stories as they like but scouts will see what the rest of us are seeing, apart from sticking it in the net he's pretty much useless. He tried to bring the ball down yesterday on his chest and it somehow went 5 yards to his left straight to a West Brom player. He also had a simple pass towards the end of the game to Suarez and literally passed it straight to a West Brom player. For some clubs, including us, his goalscoring and work rate is all that is needed, but there's absolutely no way that a top club will be in for him in the summer. All these stories about United and Atletico wanting him are hilarious.

I love the guy and he's basically kept us up with his goals but I hope we'll be getting a more complete striker in the summer.

 

The fact still remains that pretty much other than from set-pieces and penalties, when Ighalo doesn't score, we don't score. Plus we have no better options.

It's true that he def does need a rest, but we already know the answer to what Oulare and Amrabat can do - naff all (though at least Oulare still has time on his side).

 

We need to drop Iggy for the West Ham match and see if someone can step up and work with Deeney up front.

 

I think very few of the cup semi final time will be playing on wednesday.

 

All this talk is very reminiscent of Vydra pre-Lesta play off semi 2nd leg.

I expect similar results during the game on Sunday.

 

I think Vydra has a lot more to his all round game than Ighalo though. Hopefully Iggy will come good for Sunday.

 

It's been confirmed that Ighalo will be travelling to Brazil with the Olympic squad. Therefore he will miss at least the first two games of the season.

 

Doubt he'll be a Watford player though

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football...lace-after-turning-down-40m-offer-from-china/

An Ighalo interview from the Telegraph. Sounds as if he is happy to stay here, but that's expected really.

 

So he's on 30k a week, then says

“Though I am not rich, I am blessed”

I wonder what he considers to be rich?

 

How rich his is depends on how much he gives away.......

 

True. For all i knknew he might drive a Nissan micra and live on the meriden estate

 

Sounds as if he is happy to stay here, but also that if a bigger Premier League come knocking with an offer to double his salary he'll be off in a flash.

 

And does his shopping at Aldi.

 

He drives a lovely white BMW so I would say he's pretty rich. I love the man though cause he gives so much to help other people (maybe not on the pitch) and remains so humble.

 

When's the last time he did an iggy chop? I'd forgotten all about those

 

Roughly when he last did anything worthwhile: circa mid Jan.

 

Would we even get £15m for him now?

 

Sad to hear, thoughts with Ighalo today.

http://africanfootball.com//news/626238/Watford-striker-Ighalo-loses-father

 

Horrible news, RIP.