What Are You Realistically Hoping For Next Season?

Would be lovely if we sweep to the title next season, although I think we all realise it's not going to be that simple. For me, I'd take it if we make a decent fist of coming back up, while playing decent football, utilising more of the young players on our books, and getting on an even keel financially

 

Realistically, I'm hoping we're not in League One by this time next year.

 

I hope that the team that starts has none of the losers and wasters that we have had to endure this season.

I hope it is a new team who put a shift in with the ability to succeed. A team we can enjoy supporting again.

In line with this that would mean, I hope, that we have sold off the current rabble of losers and wasters and will hopefully have any debt under control and breathing space to rebuild and #goagain

 

The return of Forestieri, Vydra and Guedioura.

 

Having players who connect with the club, exciting football and being in and around the playoffs. Would love to be challenging for automatic promotion. Reckon we'll be alright next season. The real problems start if we're still down there in 2 years time.

 

Don't know whether serious or not, but wouldn't complain.

 

Giraldi leaves

 

More than anything else I'd like to see a team of players who are playing with pride and like it matters to them. The thing that hurts most this season isn't the relegation, it is the manner of it. That stings.

 

Having so nearly gone down this year, I'd take finishing 11th -15th in the EPL plus a decent cup run

 

Even if we stay up, I'd chop my bollicks off to sign Vydra, let alone in the Championship! Burnley with their 3 keepers on the bench won't be in a position to be wanting to get rid of players like him willy-nilly though

 

Jeff Hendrick on a free?

 

Sadly I don't think we're as attractive a prospect to him as Man United and AC Milan

 

Are they seriously after him?
Wow, I've massively underrated him

 

To be entertained.

 

Maybe we should look beyond players that played for us a long time ago as the answer, so the current crop of players aren’t the answer, but the championship ones who played for us 6 years ago are?

Anyway, I think we’ll have a season of consolidation, mid table. Then we’ll get our act together for the following season.

 

Survival.

If by some unexpected miracle we stay in the Premier League, I hope the club leadership recognises its failures this year and focuses on improving us so we're in better position to stay up next year.

If we are indeed relegated, I hope the club leadership recognises its failures this year and focuses on rebuilding an aging, imbalanced, complacent squad so we aren't at risk of dropping into League 1.

 

Totally dependent on who we manage to keep and bin in our current squad and whether we can keep our young loanee stars such as Suarez, Cucho and Estupinan. Genuinely could range from an expectation of finishing in top three to relegation contenders. The more we remove and replace Deeney, Gray, majority of defence among a few others the better we will do.

 

Sell players that can help stabilise us financially (Sarr, Doucoure, Capoue, Pereyra & Deulofeu).

Get rid of Deeney, Foster, Mariappa, Gomes, Gray & Holebas. I reckon someone like Burnley or WBA will come in for Deeney. Holebas & Gomes will retire/move abroad), someone will come in for Mariappa in the Championship (hopefully) and also Gray may end up at another Championship side. Foster has enough in him to play another year in the Prem, maybe as a back-up at one of the big clubs.

Get rid of the deadwood and build a young, hungry and exciting team. I think the demand of the owners will be to go straight back up. I don't think there will be any 'bedding in period'.

We will see, but a difficult question to answer until we know who is retaining their roles at the top (Gir**di, Roy, Duxbury) and who the new manager will be. I will probably be better placed to answer this in about 2-3 weeks time.

 

I don't get the idea that other Premier League clubs will come in for Deeney.

He's a 32 year old striker with a crocked knee that may or may not be a quick fix. He's amongst the lowest scoring primary strikers at a Premier League club - not had double digit league goals since 16-17, and roughly a third of his Premier League goals are penalties. He loses the talismanic figure thing if he moves to a new club. His outspoken style may not go down well without the loads of goodwill he's built up at Watford.

Maybe someone offers a small amount of money, but there's no evidence that the club sees him as anything but essential - as evidenced by how he keeps getting selected even though he's running on one leg.

 

Score from a free kick

 

Yep. We're stuck with him. Wonder if he'll do the decent thing and take a pay cut if we go into admin?

 

Assuming we go down it would just be nice to be challenging for promotion next season playing sone attacking football . I think the Pozzos should. be able to to assemble a squad that’s good enough ,as they’ve done it before ( in different circumstances ) but it will depend on who they get in as a manager abc mbd whether he can galvanise them like Joka did . We will need to have goal scorers as well. Maybe Jao Pedro will rip it up in the championship , who knows ?

 

I want to see all permanent members of staff retained.

This should be paid for by cuts to players and the boards remuneration packages.

Staff should not be the fall guys for those on the big monies incompetence.

I feel passionately about this and offer this as an idea to Pozzo to do the right thing as this family club should do. This would help build bridges and make me reconsider my choice to not take up an offer of a season ticket when these are made available.

 

We finish outside the bottom three in the Championship

 

Fantastic suggestion.

 

I just want to see us score from outside the box. Something we haven't done for over a year now.

 

In the play off positions by Xmas. Then kick on from there.

 

I would like to see the ball on the ground a lot more.

I would like us to flirt with 1st-6th for the majority of the season.

I'd like to see any of Cucho, Suarez or Pedro have a breakout season, 15-20 goals season.

I would like to see Wilmot come strong and be a starting CB.

I would like to see Chalobah get back to his best with an extended run of games in the middle.

I'd love Quina to have a breakout season with 8-10 goals and stylish performances from midfield.

I'd like to see Foster, Gomes, Holebas, Pereyra, Femenia & Doucoure moved on.

I'd like to see the average age of the squad brought right down.

I wouldn't be adverse to Deeney going to play for Leeds, I don't think I'd want to see him another Champ team that would hurt.

I would like to see an exciting Head Coach under 50, preferably one of the great young German ones.

I would like to see Deulofeu playing for us till January for the sheer enjoyment.

I'm not against Andre Gray staying as I don't think you go from twice being a 20 goal season striker in The Champ to being useless in two years but I hear his wages are very high? If we can get 10 million for him move him on.

I would like to see bloody Giraldi GONE.

 

The sale of the club.

Huge appreciation for where the Pozzo's have taken us but the ambition has gone. It was a fun project, but an unsustainable one. Only heading in one direction now.

Time to pass the torch.

 

WFC Playing in the Premier League, and there is no reason we can't do that.

 

Who, that has any ambition not to simply be a ********, would be interested in buying us? I know the Pozzos have made a load of ****-ups, but at least they're not actively trying to ruin us, and who knows, back in the Championship they might even pull rabbits out of hats yet again

 

Take the opportunity to build a defence and defensive structure that we can take on for the next few years. It has to be the highest priority.

 

Right now the prospect of Championship football, playing Luton twice, and all that goes with it fills me with dread and despair. But I know from previous experiences, I'll soon readjust to it and will continue supporting Watford just as enthusiastically as I've always done.

I still think we'll stay up. No logic in that and I think that's a heart over head feeling that makes me think we're not going down. But if we do go down then I feel we'll have to bounce back immediately.

The funny thing is, we pretty much have a Championship squad anyway. The defense is only average Championship, but with good coaching it can be solid and reliable enough for a promotion push.

Over time our midfield, which one was so strong, has degraded. Capoue still playing well, but is getting to the age where things start going wrong with the body. Doucoure has been a huge disappointment but I'm not sure he'll accept playing in the Championship anyway and will want out. We'll do well to keep Hughes and I'll expect bids from clubs like Burnley, Sheff Utd, Leeds, West Brom etc for him.

Sarr will be our big sale ticket, which will be a blow, but I think we may keep him and just loan him to a Premier League club, in the hope we bounce straight back. Geri, and only because of his injury, I think we'll keep for a a little while. He could be around long enough to give us a push start. I'm hoping Welbeck will stay also, and if he does our forward line would look pretty impressive. Even Deeney and Gray will look better players in the league below.

I think Pussetto will play a big part next season, and also those who never get a look in such as Quina, Sema, Penaranda. Pedro could be a force. What do we do with Cucho, Suarez and Estupinan?

If we keep the majority of our squad, which I think is very possible, then we should really finish top 6, if not top 2. I can see us as being very strong and it could actually be a very exciting season.

However, money comes into it. If the Pozzo's can afford to keep as many players as we can and draft in those on loan, then I see no reason we wont be a major force in the Championship. But, if they start selling and replacing with inferior players, then that could be a problem.

Players to look out for are Wilmott, Pedro, Cucho, Suarez, Quina, Deli-Bashiru, Estupinan, Pussetto, Penaranda, Sema, Chalobah. These are all players we've not really used, but would excel in a league below. Add to that the class of Welbeck and Geri with the experience of Deeney, Gray, Capoue, Foster, Dawson, Cleverley, Cathcart, Mapps, Janmaat....plus other players such as Masina, Kiko, Kabasele, Navarro. There are youngsters such as Cassidy, Bennett, Hungbo, Spencer-Adams, Whelan, Wise & Dalby.

We'll lose Pereyra, Holebas, Gomes for certain. Likely to go are Sarr, Suarez, Estupinan, Doucoure & Hughes....and possible departures are Deulofeu, Capoue, Dawson, Welbeck, Sema & Foster. I think all other players will stay.

 

I said before the start of the 17/18 season that I would like us to bring in a central defender who could lead and captain the team. Would still love us to do that!