The most ‘Watfordy’ thing in recent memory is blowing promotion on the last day. Ever since then to me Watfordy doesn’t mean close but glorious failure, just complete and utter collapse and humiliation.
There is still small hope. Let me explain... Everton v Bournemouth - As long as the usual forwards play there should be enough about Everton to ensure B'mouth don't pick up 3 points. West Ham v Villa - Assuming United beat West Ham as expected then West Ham would potentially have stayed up on goal difference if they lose this game and Watford win. Which may put Moyes under pressure coz the board may have a conversation about the best manager to take the club forward afterwards. Moyes will look to win this game to prevent the board from having that conversation. Arsenal v Watford - The best Arsenal can do is finish 8th in the Premier League so, in effect, they have nothing to play off. With the FA Cup looming they may play quite a few reserves. This, may, unlikely, but may, enable Watford to get something from it which would be enough if Moyes thinks what I am thinking in the comments above regarding their match.
That's the annoying thing about viewing the BBC Premier League table on a mobile phone, they don't show the goals scored and conceded even if you view it in landscape. You'd think they'd realize those are pretty crucial stats where fans of a team in a relegation battle as tight as this are concerned, or in the fight for the title or European places.
Do you mean promotion or the Championship title? If the latter I'm still not over that. The trouble is, having seen Man City make 6 changes and look disjointed at home to Bournemouth, followed by Arsenal making 6 changes and looking disjointed away to Villa, we will now have the spectacle of Mikel Arteta talking about the integrity of the competition as he fields their strongest XI against us on Sunday.
We just don't know that's the beauty of it. Will he risk injuries to star players before a cup final and a chance to get their hands on a trophy?
We should have kept Vydra, Forestieri and possibly even Okaka All 3 are better than any of the forwards we have now
Although I believe we are pretty much down if West Ham score first or indeed we do which I think is most unlikely Villa will get very nervy and only cloud is that they don't score many goals Straw clutching I know
Nah, he's gone permanently. Lol at the idea of Okaka doing anything in the Championship, he never looked close to being able to handle 38 games a season, let alone 46
Don't really remember too much of him, but it never seemed to be a lack of effort from him, just that he wasn't good enough for the Premier League, I'm sure he can do a job in the Championship
Definitely Okaka. A unit with pace who could score what was not to like ? Just needed to stop fouling defenders
Missed that game as it happened at 3am for me lol. Good thing is that we'll be going back to the Vitality Stadium then, eh?
The idea of Okaka is definitely better than the reality, what's the point if he can't even manage 45 minutes? Much more suited to Italian football
Only when we win, ******* depressing watching it when I've more than likely already seen us lose, and I know the other scores already
I liked Okaka. His biggest problem was he never seemed to last more than 60 minutes before being pulled. Slither didn't like him because he didn't close down defenders and press from the top. All that said, he is a strong as an ox, he has very good feet and he scores goals!!
I would even go as far to say that Okaka would've scored minimum of 15 goals in our team this season. He'd have actually made runs in the box to get on the end of crosses from Deulofeu & Sarr. Plus he'd have played the target man role considerably better than Captain Cojones.
I understand there is a lot of emotion right now but it's strange how most football fans only think in absolutes. No one was deriding the entire squad as garbage and threatening to not renew their season ticket when we beat Liverpool, even though we were still having a terrible season with the same squad and owners as we are now. As a few others have said, the start of the season has relegated us, not the last few months and yet I didn't hear half these negative comments then. All that said it certainly feels like Pozzo has taken his eye off the ball and become complacent/taken our status for granted. The Pozzos did an awful lot of good stuff for the club (remember how smugly Watford fans would boast about having this best owners in English football), but it certainly feels stagnant now and something needs to change.
I’d rather Villa stay up over Bournemouth, but it’ll be a bit annoying if they stay up on GD following the obvious Hawkeye/VAR debacle in the Sheff Utd game. That said, we’ve only ourselves to blame for repeated and constant failing over previous seasons that have culminated in this disaster. Failure to recruit properly. Failure to develop young players to replace aging starters. Failure to adequately condition during pre-season. Failure to avoid/rehabilitate injuries on-par with rivals clubs. Failure to implement a style of football and recruit players/coaches with it in mind. Failure to be held accountable for poor performance on the pitch and in the board room. What a stale, toxic mess we’ve become. The high of beating Wolves seems a long, long way gone now.
I hope Villa go down with us. As much as I can’t stand Bournemouth and their cheating ways, they will easily be relegated next season. Villa fans I detest. Their arrogance and sheer pride makes me sick. They should already be relegated but are 4 points better off because of “accidental mistakes” made by the FA puppets. They don’t deserve to stay up whatsoever. I seriously hope West Ham smash them. However everything I’ve wanted the complete opposite has happened m, so I fully expect Villa to win and they stay up.
In 2016 the three teams promoted to the Premier League were Watford, Bournemouth and Norwich. Does a horrible piece of symmetry lie ahead....
And those two of those teams have been a cancer to the FA ever since. Can’t have small teams like those in the Prem. Need the likes of Leeds and Villa to stay in. Bournemouth got away with it because of having an English manager who was the media’s lovechild. A rags to riches story was a great headline, despite having a wealthier owner than us and spending hundreds of millions on players. The plucky of pluckiest was endearing.
Seems to be a general consensus on the Villa forum that we're done and the biggest threat is Bournemouth...I'd love both of them to go down to be honest but looks like as 'we're done' only one of them will join us and I can't make up my mind who I would prefer. Bournemouth probably edge it if I had to choose.
Has there ever been a proposal to change the rule for separating teams on the same number of points to the rule they have in other European leagues, ie to head-to-head instead of goal difference/goals scored? Of course it's partly sour grapes because we haven't been good enough in other games but it does seem unfair that one of two teams that we both outclassed 3-0 (one with ten men, and the other away from home) might be staying up at our expense, and that seems a better way to differentiate teams. What does the fact we've scored slightly fewer goals than both prove?
