What Are You Realistically Hoping For Next Season?

In all seriousness, if we don't make the playoffs as a minimum i'd be seriously disappointed. Looks set to be the weakest Championship in years

 

My recollection is after getting beat by West Brom he tried to play more passing football but didnt know what he was doing and the players didnt either.

 

I don't think the parachute payments should be under estimated at all. A guaranteed income , cash flow, call it what you will, it is a massive head start

 

It’s going to come down to the manager, get that right and as we’ve seen previously it’s, well, not easy, but promotion shouldn’t be too difficult.

Whatever anyone thinks or worries about we’ll have a decent team in Champions terms, there isn’t much to separate a lot of teams in that league, so with better players you just need to get the manager right and the rest will follow.

 

Seconded. It looks very weak. Coventry, Rotherham and Wycombe hardly look worrying. No doubt whoever fails in the playoffs will lose a few. If the three sides relegated are not the ones challenging for automatic promotion I will be very surprised. A good Solid start is a must and a manager who has experienced that league is essential. Joka please and beg if necessary to get him back.

 

The answer seriously depends on what we do with the squad over the next few weeks.

How seriously will the owners take any clear out?

Will they risk investment in a division with far lower income?

Next two seasons will be our best chance of getting back up.

 

Us to start the new season with more of the current squad that many are expecting or in some cases hoping we don’t. That includes Sarr and Deulofeu. Then facing a very anxious Deadline Day as bids start coming in for them. Predictable cries of we are being disrupted.

At least one change of Head Coach during the season.

More empty stadia for the first few months, then a big fuss over who is allowed to be among the first to attend when the Government start allowing 25-33% of the stadia to be filled.

Wilmot to be a first-team regular and decent defender for us. A realisation that some of the players we’ve loaned out this past year will need time to get used to English conditions and the unforgiving Championship, and that the old maxim about ‘you’re not always a world beater if you can’t get into the side’ is usually true.

A slow start to the campaign, which will gather pace, and lots of us on here reminding the doubters that we went off like an express train under GT and AB after relegation from the PL only to fall away badly so don’t be panicking if we aren’t top by October.

I fear we may be saddened by transfer requests not from those we expect but from some of our younger crop of players who will be frustrated by a lack of opportunity. The likes of Quina, Dele-Bashiru and God forbid I hope I’m wrong but Pedro too.

Deeney hogging the headlines for the next month about is he leaving or isn’t he, only to then start the opening match of the new season.

Nothing to change in terms of our structure, Giraldi still a key person signing players and deciding who leaves or goes out on loan. Grrr

I’m probably wrong on most of those but they are my early predictions

 

That defeat by WBA knocked the stuffing out of the players and fans, much like the FA Cup Final thrashing last year.

 

Highly unlikely I'd have thought unless his knee op is a minor thing.

 

King leaving in January didn't help. I also remember a stupid amount of draws in a row, Henderson missing 3 penalties in a row including 2 in one game and winning 1 of our last 14 games and somehow making the Play-Offs. Oh, and Collins John.

The Championship in a nutshell.

 

He could have the leg amputated and still get picked

 

Were we the worst team ever to make the Championship play-offs?

 

I'm hoping to see some better football, some younger players and also for us to show some sort of steely edge.

We've been so passive all season and the blend of personalities in the dressing room has been wrong, who could you really call a leader and who really demonstrates a will to win? Hughes? Holebas?

Our last Championship squad had this peppered throughout but most particularly through the spine of the team, as did some of our early Premier League teams. But we've slowly chipped away at it, replacing these characters with neat and tidy footballers and ended up with a bunch of wet lettuces who fold at the first sign of adversity, every time.

 

I think we will bring in a more solid looking defence, keep some players that will look good in the Championship (Janmaat if he's ever fit/ Hughes/ Pedro/ Wilmot/ Quina/ Masina) and hopefully sign a more traditional 'grab the game by the scruff of its neck' robust midfielders/ centre backs that clearly want to be here and would give anything to win. Maybe Gray would be decent if no one will take him, but I'm pretty sure we will want to get rid of his wage bill and that he is now useless having lost some pace.

We'll obviously get the usual reserves from Udinese and maybe some free transfers/ loans from PL clubs.

Reckon we'll still get tidy sums for Doucoure, Capoue and good fees for Sarr and Estupinan.

 

A set piece taker would be nice.

I do not wish to see Chalobah dinking one into row Z ever again.

 

I could see us lining up like this next season

New keeper/ Foster,
Janmaat/ new RB Wilmot Dawson Masina
Chalobah/ Quina New CM Hughes
New winger Deeney/New striker Pedro

 

Predicted Line-Up for first game:

----------------Foster------------------

Janmaat--Wilmot--Kabasele--Masina

--------Chalobah----Hughes----------

---Hernandez---Quina---Pedro---

----------------Welbeck---------------

Subs: Bachmann, Dawson, Janmaat, New LB, Cleverley, Pussetto, Deeney

Full squad:

Foster, Bachmann, New GK

Navarro, Janmaat, Masina, New LB

Wilmot, Kabasele, Dawson, Cathcart, Mariappa

Chalobah, Hughes, Cleverley, Quina, Dele-Bashiru, New CM

Pussetto, Sema, Penaranda, Hernandez

Deeney, Welbeck, Pedro, Success

When you go down you don't just clear out deadwood on a whim, and there will be compromises there. This seems a realistic blend where we don't spend much and recoup losses incurred with relegation whilst having a very competitive squad who could well stay.

 

I'm hoping we get rid of that silly woman doing the Instagram stories who thinks we want an hourly update on where she is on matchday instead of just team news.

I'm sure the championship won't fit her brand anyway.

 

That looks a a very grim squad.
Bachmann should go. Dahlberg should the No2 keeper.
I fear a slide into League One.

 

We'd be lucky to finish mid-table with that squad.

We have to make 4 or 5 key signings and hope Suarez agrees to come and play. Keeping Sarr would also be massive. He'll want to go and there will bids but it's whether or not clubs will pay the money this summer. No way would we or should we accept anything other than a decent profit, and that means we're talking at least £40m+.

 

I’d like to see some of our talented youngsters (Wilmot, Quina etc) given more of a chance in the first team.

In terms of league position, top 6 minimum.

 

Just tell them you're contracted to Watford and you will be playing for Watford next season.

 

£50m I'd think.

 

Agreed that squad isn't going up, Chalobah in midfield is maybe a bit weak for Championship football and that defence is still not gonna be outstanding in the Championship, but surely we are actually gonna buy some players too? It's not just gonna be incorporating loanees

 

You would hope so and like to think so, but I just do not trust this clubs decision making any more, especially when it comes to the playing squad.

 

I’m hoping to see a team I can genuinely enjoy watching. I’m hoping to watch players who are committed to the club. I’m hoping that when the team loses, it hurts the players, as well as the fans. I’m hoping that, if we ever get, and let’s hope not, thrashed again, the team is ashamed, not amused. I’m hoping for a team that’s more interested in playing than media careers, birthday parties and lining their pockets from their next transfers. I’m hoping to see A team that does not contain some players who are either so unfit, so out of their depth, or so disinterest, that we’ve lost before a ball is kicked.
Ok I’m an idealist in this day and age, but I’ll keep hoping.

 

Isn’t this the season we had Adam Johnson on loan? I feel as though I remember him being brilliant, and then Boro recalling him to sit on their bench.

 

Yep. Had King and Johnson been with us that entire season I'm 100% certain we would have gone straight back up.

 

Yeh 100 pc agree they’re not capable of good decisions . It’s not even difficult is it . Just buy some good players ffs ! They just want to trade average players for their own good though

 

The way I see this, is we already have the winning hand. We already have the squad that could win the Championship.

Sounds arrogant, but the quality in our team far outranks any other side in the division. We are basically a couple of players short of being a mid-table Premier League side, but for extraordinary events, we would be.

So....we have to now avoid the vultures from circling. Put high valuations on every important player. We cannot afford to be nice to players and let them go if they are seen as vital to getting us promoted unless we receive very high bids. We cannot think we are a Championship side that has to take the money. We have to think of ourselves as a Premier League club being loaned to the Championship for a year.

I know Watford and I know how difficult it would be to sign real quality. Right now we have this and are in the strongest possible position. It can only go downhill from here if we are not careful.

For my money the "crown jewels" are Deulofeu, Sarr, Hughes, Foster & Welbeck. These are the players who will make a huge difference and will separate you from the rest. These players have to be retained at all costs.

The next bracket are players who I suspect will be very important in a promotion push. These would be Deeney, Capoue, Doucoure & Pedro. However, if we do need the money I would consider selling Doucoure for a good fee as that is an acceptable risk.

Then you have your stock players, who will contribute but will rely on the others to push the team forward. These would be basically all our defenders, although I can see Wilmot being promoted to the bracket above if he plays well. Chalobah & Cleverley

Then we have the wildcards, who could be a really useful addition. These would be Penaranda, Cucho, Suarez, Estupinan, Dele-Bashiru & Quina

Finally we have a list of players who could do a decent job, but are disposable. These would be Pereyra, Gray, Success, Navarro, Kabasele maybe Sema and also Doucoure if we get a big bid for him.

So if we get this right, with the squad we have now, I expect a top two finish, but we should be good enough to win the league.

Additions, we need a very good coach of Premier League quality, not another journeyman. We need a couple of extra defenders and a backup keeper, then I'd say we're good to go.

 

We weren't that impressive when we were top. Many of us were saying it was a false position and so it proved.

 

I expect us to be Champions. Laying to rest that nightmare against Sheffield Weds.

 

The coach, this time, is of the biggest importance. A coach of substance and stature could probably convince some of the wantaway players to give it til January and see where we are. Like Benitez did when Newcastle went down.

Another underwhelming appointment will quite rightly see those players walk.

 

I agree. I think the coach has to be one that catches the imagine of the fans and the attention of the players. It will be a statement we mean business. Anything else will give out the opposite message.