Watford FC - Pre Season 2016/17

When are we likely to find our which country it will be in? when is it likely to be?

 

Austria I've heard mentioned.

 

Iceland please!

 

nah mate they will be wanting to build up confidence not get slaughtered

 

Iv heard Austria too. I reckon they are trying to put fans off going by releasing the info as late as possible due to what happened the previous 2 trips.

 

Wrong thread, matchday catering is being spoken about on another one.

 

Thinking about are opening fixtures, hopefully all the travelling the so called big clubs do all across the globe. If we stay modest and go to Austria for some hill reps it could only be a good thing right?

 

But who better to get slaughtered by, they will apologise after as well!

 

I'm hoping Koh Pang Yang for full moon party and then Spain for running of the bulls and end up at Ibiza to get right on it.

 

[video=youtube;FJbmB9k2Y88]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJbmB9k2Y88[/video]

 

Can someone list the pre-season friendlies confirmed so far please?

 

They usually put the squad in a remote, Alpine part of the country - a part where I can't easily get to.

Okay, I know the point of it is to get the players up to speed and fitness, and not for Levon's entertainment, but still.

 

Squad for Woking - what can we expect?

So with our first pre-season game on the horizon, I am wondering what the squad ill look like. Often, the first game is played with a different XI per half, and if this were to be the case on Sunday, I imagine the two teams would look something like this (going by our current squad):

1st Half: Gomes; Cathcart, Prodl, Britos; Paredes, Watson, Capoue, Behrami, Holebas; Deeney, Ighalo

2nd Half: Pantilimon; Nyom, Hoban, Belkalem; Berghuis, Doucoure, Suarez, Guedioura, Anya; Vydra, Sinclair

This is on the basis that we'd be using 3-5-2. I don't know what other formations Wally would consider. But even with two lots of 3-5-2, there's no room for Amrabat and Oulare, and that's not to mention the players who have yet to join us, such as Success.

Thoughts?

 

Pity Abdi doesn't get a game. I know he's still on the books, but has Belks been to the UK lately?

 

See how difficult it is to get everyone in? I was under the impression Abdi was carrying an injury from last season, although that may have been Capoue...

As for Belks, last time I saw him was outside Wembley after the Semi-Final. I put him in because I didn't know who else to include. I thought Mazzarri was quite stubborn about using 3-5-2, so we'd need CBs from somewhere...

 

Cathcart, Prodl, Paredes, Holebas and Berhami won't feature. Those playing at the Euros had an extra week off, plus the other two have been away too so had extra time off.

 

Oh of course, you're right. I'd forgotten that.

That means that we're going to be lacking in centre-backs, if we are going to be playing 3-5-2 at all, and with Kabasele's arrival delayed, makes you wonder who will feature. Perhaps we'll see an influx of U21s?

 

The first half team actually looks a pretty strong spine at least for next season, though assuming the central midfield is going to remain the least changed, I'd start with Abdi in place of either Watson or Behrami, and interchange between him and one of those two, depending on how the game progresses (obviously I'm talking about against Premier League opposition, with all due respect to Woking!).

Makes me wonder whether the decision to let Angella go was such a wise move.

I'm not at all sure why people seem so convinced that he wouldn't have made the step up, were people so sure last year that Cathcart, Watson, Ighalo and even Deeney would perform as well as they did? Angella has better technical ability than all those four and was part of a back three that hardly conceded a goal in the last couple of months of 2014/15.

 

During the Summer, the Greece National Team played a friendly in Australia, so he's been given an extra couple of days off. I think it was only about half a week extra.

I guess Gabby just wanted to go back to Italy. I imagine it was instigated by he, rather than by the club. I remember Scott Duxbury saying that, if one of the players wanted to move to Italy, the move would be made available for them, although there was no guarantee of game time. Plus, I kind of had the idea that Gabby was always hankering after a return to Italy in the future when he first joined us.

 

Kabasele has just gone off on holiday I think so he won't be around for a while. Britos, Hoban, Rowan and Stevens will be the centre backs to choose from I guess. Prodl and Cathcart did get knocked out quite early so they might be back in later this week.

 

Pre season game announced for 19th July in Austria v Union Berlin on union's website


After coach Jens Keller has asked his players last Sunday to the first training session, the preparations are going on the upcoming season in full swing. While the professionals in short training camp in Sommerfeld sweated a test match opponents for the second training camp was scheduled to be held from 07.11.2016 to 20.07.2016 in Villach, Austria (Kärnten).
Since today the first of three friendlies in Carinthia is common. In Wolfsberg, the Iron meet on Tuesday, 19/07/2016 at the Watford FC. The kick-off against the representatives of the English Premier League takes place at 18:00.

 

Didn't some of our fans act like complete idiots on last year's pre season tour?

 

And the year before. Safe to say the club would be best off professionalising the whole thing and doing it privately.

 

I can't stomach the idea of another European pre-season trip after last year when the players didn't bother to show their appreciation to a group of grown men on a lads holiday. Not at my club!!!

 

I was there - after the game the players went straight off the pitch without acknowledging the fans. 95% of us didn't give a ****, but there were about 3 or 4 fans who wanted the players to come over and bow to their knees in front of us in appreciation. They took their anger out on Emma Saunders who happened to be walking past and then they asked QSF after the game about it.

So embarrassing. I couldn't believe people actually went out there to see the players / match.

 

Will there be radio commentary today?

Nothing listed in Hornets Player.

 

I'm not sure Woking has the facilities to provide live online broadcasts. They said highlights will be available, maybe the commentary will be added specifically for that.

 

And no rivers. As a spoilt & pampered Premier League fan, I'd just like to say I am disgusted by this

 

No rivers?! You must be woking!

 

Vydra :love2:

 

Amrabat a wingback? Or 4 at the back?

 

3 at the back, Anya and Amrabat wing backs.