Why is Deeney STILL untouchable?

Player Manager role? With KFCFC?

 

We can all but hope this is a ploy to lure Newcastle into a false state of security, then when announcing the team, surprise! Deeney is dropped and Welbeck starts as a striker. All their training of how to deal with the man mountain that is Troy Deeney, rendered useless.

 

What else is he going to say to the press though? "We all know he's not good enough any more but all our other forwards are crap as well"?

 

There is no reason or excuse for such ridiculous, nonsensical, high praise for a player who is playing so obviously badly. We can all see it. It makes him sound delusional and/or stupid and look a weak manager.

As I said before, it just comes across in a way that says Deeney is utterly untouchable and bigger than the club. Can play absolutely horrifically and the manager is still coming out publically to effectively say he's undroppable.

 

Well if that's his true thoughts on the matter then I hope we don't keep Pearson on in the summer. I really want someone to come in and start using the younger players on our books.

 

Pearson is not going to bad mouth his players in public

 

We simply don’t know. I think Deeney is past his best and should no longer be a regular. But given the situation the team find themselves in, it could be Deeney is being picked because he’s the captain and leader - Pearson could have real concerns about there not being anyone else strong enough to lead the team in this current climate. In which case, it would be understandable.

But it’s quite true, if Pearson is asked about Deeney, he’s not going to say anything derogatory, it would be ridiculous. Although I would have liked him to say something like ‘I’m happy with his contribution but he knows he’s capable of even more and it’s his task now to produce his best in these final games.’

 

He's right though. He is "a big player for us".

 

Pearson doesn't pick the team, he just trains it.

 

Who picks it then?

 

If those are the goals that keep us up then, this could be the perfect end to Deeney's time as a starting forward and cement his legacy. He scored the two pressure penalties to keep us up even after a really disappointing season, another chapter in the Deeney folklore. He remains club captain but becomes an impact sub for next season and we let his contract run out and he goes to play a season for Birmingham.

Anything else risks tarnishing his time here to be honest.

 

Probably played his last game this season due to his knee problem. I would like to see Pedro given a chance or even for Pearson to pin Pererya up against a wall and get a performance out of him.

 

He's been **** post lockdown and I definitely don't want him starting next season. But think he deserves a little more respect, from myself included. If he was quieter off the pitch i'm sure he'd be more respected for the legend he has become. Hate the guy all you want but he has a whole catalogue of crucial Watford goals, has turned down bigger clubs to stay, and seemingly has been playing with a career threatening injury to keep us up.

Nowhere good enough to keep starting, but shouldn't be forgotten how much that man has given this club.

 

No one has forgotten anything, people are just living in the reality of the here and now rather than allowing excuses to be made because of distant good memories.

 

That’s nothing to praise him for in the slightest. If that is indeed the case which it appears to be, if anything it put us more at risk of going down than staying up.

 

While he continues to put in non-performances I will keep slating him. When he plays well I’ll give him credit and when he leaves/retires I will pay him the respect he deserves for his contributions in 10+ years.

 

Don't get me wrong, he should be nowhere near the pitch these days. I just can't help but feel his outspoken nature/ego makes him easy to criticise.

Saying this - the first of his misses today was ******* horrific and could have relegated us.

 

Troy Peeney

 

I think we'll miss him when he's gone tbh. Think the desire is still there, he's not really good enough for this level, but if there is someone you want to take a penalty in a big moment for us, it's him. Name your best Watford moments in the last 10 years and I'd argue he's contributed greatly to the top 3. His time is over, but if any player deserves a testimonial it is him.

Today he goes home the hero, even though his performance was quite poor

 

He’s just the latest boo boy. Watford fans have always needed to have one player who is in the firing line. He’s been crap since the restart but so has everyone else...but Deeney is the boo boy of choice at the moment. When Deeney leaves someone else will become the boo boy.

As has been said countless times before we should have upgraded on him before now. The fact we haven’t is down to the owners or Giraldi - why some people blame Deeney for that is beyond me.

Playing badly individually in a team that is playing terribly as a whole but still playing through pain and having the nuts to bury two high pressure penalties today means he gets a nod of respect from me.

 

What he says in public doesn't matter. It's what he says in private that counts.

No manager worth anything publicly castigates those reporting to them. It's a surefire way to completely lose the trust and respect of those you're managing, regardless of the industry you're working in.

 

As mentioned earlier, I wouldn't expect him to publicly come out and tear Deeney apart over his form, but I find it bizarre for him to have heaped praise on someone who has been performing so poorly and effectively say he considers him undroppable in the midst of that terrible form.

 

Deeney get far too much stick. Even on a day where he's converted two penalties, keeping his head in big moments, which gives us a priceless 3 points, people are still digging him out.

Personally, it will be a sad day when he finally leaves. It will be a huge loss to the club. He is Mr Watford, and he deserves a bit more love and respect. Just my opinion.

 

Agree with this, you see quite a bit of criticism for him whenever he's deemed to have 'prioritised his media career' just for having an opinion about racism/Covid or whatever, as if a quick chat to the media means he can't be focusing on the day job. A lot of legitimate criticism for Deeney, but ultimately he is what he is these days, it's not for a lack of effort that he's struggled of late

 

I agree.
He is not good enough for the Premier League anymore.
He simply can't get himself fit any longer.

 

He's a legend 100% no doubt about it.

However, it looks like we'll be staying up by the skin of our teeth this season, we can't run that risk next season.

The team needs new leadership, new voices and new ideas.

I'm probably over analysing but there's a slight tone in Deeney's comments nowadays that make me think he knows he's not and probably won't be as effective as he once was.

Even one club like Steven Gerrard had to move on eventually, ironically Liverpool had their most successful years in the years following his departure. Of course, a lot of good luck and coincidences fell into place at once but sometimes a total refresh is just what is needed.

Highly doubt Gino, Giraldi & co will do what's needed though.

 

Deeney has been and in many ways still can be a great servant for this club, but IMO it is time for him to take the step down from being a shoe in for the first eleven.

Having said that I think he still can be a valuable player from the bench and that is probably where we should utilise him until it's time for us to say come in No 9 your time is up.

However, even then with his leadership abilities maybe he could become a valuable member of the coaching staff if that is what he wants to do?

 

The thing with Deeney is not really about scoring goals. Of course he's a striker, and that is what he should do, and that is what he did in abundance in the Championship. In the Premier League, he found the space he got in the Championship is no longer there. Defenders are better and keepers are better. There were no cheap goals anymore. He's not one that runs into pockets of space. He doesn't have that movement.

He's a battering ram. He's the man for the big moments. Be honest, who would you trust to take those penalties yesterday? There's only one player on that field who can keep cool in those moments, just as he did in the semi final. He lives for those moments, where others run away.

He's a player we have to play off. We know he's not a prolific goal scorer and never has been at this level. He is someone that occupies defenders and gives space for other to exploit. It's not his fault no one has really grasped the nettle and profited from his flicks. When Deeney is in the team, the ball tends to stick up front. Now we either play the ball long to Deeney, and the ball sticks up there and we benefit from the second phase, which is what we usually try to do, or we play through the middle and try to engineer something that way. Do we have the players that can carry the ball like that. Well Sarr and Geri can, so can Pereyra, but that's about it. All the others are pass and go players. Right now, we have to play to our strengths. Yes, it's route one, but Foster can kick the ball long, Deeney will always be a willing contester of the high ball, and hopefully we'll sign or use already on the books, a nippy striker to profit from his physical presence.

Deeney rallies players also. Ok, there are examples, many of them where we've looked flat and disinterested even with Deeney, but if you look at our performances since the restart, the two terrible games were against the two surprise inform sides in Burnley and Southampton. We were perhaps unlucky to play these two sides when we did as they are both inspired right now, getting great results. Southampton beat City 1-0 and Burnley drew at Anfield, the only side not to lose there in 18 months.

We do need to evolve past Deeney of course. He's 32 now and wont last forever, but he still has a lot to offer. You've only got to hear what the players said in the first week back when he was absent. "We need our captain." was the message.

Whether fans like it or not, we still need him, especially in this run in.

 

This post is written as though if Troy wasn't playing, no one would be taking his place. The fact is, he has done little in most games to warrant him playing, apart from "occupy a defender" because he is there, not because of the threat he carries. Better players would ask more questions of a defence, would be more threat, would finish better and score more goals and assist more goals from others. A player like Chris Woods would have done a lot better than Troy having a much better scoring record at Burnley (even including Troy's penalties).

 

Deeney occupies one defender at a time, like any forward would. In most cases he spends most of the game tussling with that defender and coming off second best. More often than not he affects our style of play negatively because we end up lumping it up to him which is meat and drink for most defenders in this league. When we do play it on the floor he is too slow and never in the box to get on the end of any crosses, when did he last score a header for example?

 

What I meant to say is that I feel that several players in our squad could have made a bigger contribution over the season than Deeney has, they just needed to be given a decent chance.

 

Of course there are better players out there, but I'm not going to give Deeney a kick-in. He doesn't deserve that. I appreciate him and will defend him, as I am a Watford supporter. Which means I will support a player who maybe going through a difficult time, because I know he'll come good at the right time, like yesterday.

It sounds like many on here cheered through gritted teeth when he scored his two penalties yesterday, which I find bizarre.

 

I think it’s bizarre to think any Watford fan would do that.

It’s possible for any rational individual to separate the scoring of two penalties from Troy’s overall performance and contribution on the pitch.