Why is Deeney STILL untouchable?

You've clearly not been reading the posts. Some are complaining his penalties went down the middle.

Scoring two matching winning goals is a pretty good overall contribution in my book.

 

Yes but scoring from a dead ball situation doesn’t automatically wipe out all of his faults.

It would be bizarre for anyone to be disappointed he scored them, because only a fool would see the scoring of two penalties as being linked in anyway to his abilities as a footballer and his general performance over 90 minutes.

 

Well.....he plays badly but still wins the games for us. Just imagine what happens when he plays well. That's good enough for me.

 

Well you’ll have to imagine it, because it very rarely happens.

 

I wouldn't trust anyone else in the squad to score 2 pens in a match. Surely even his detractors would agree, with this.

 

It’s something that is impossible to ever know. The commentator said Capoue had the ball under his arm as if he wanted to take it but naturally Troy took it off him.

For me though I think it’s just that it’s possible to be both thankful that he scored them both, but to not let that give him a pass for his other glaringly obvious shortcomings.

 

Based on his free kicks, thank God Capoue didn’t take it.

 

I can exclusively reveal to all the pundits referring to Troy as Mr. Watford that in fact they're wrong.

Also that we're signing the real one to play up front next season.

 

Deeney plays because he's the leader of this team and in the situation we are in, you need a leader. Someone to fire the team up, someone for the big pressure moments (yesterday is the perfect example of that). We all know he's so limited at this level and let's be honest, Troy himself knows it.

I think some Watford fans forget that he played a key role, alongside Ighalo, in getting us to the Premier League and the two of them more or less kept us in it during 2015/2016. His contributions to this club are astronomical: yes he shouldn't be a starting striker in the PL in 2020 but at the moment, he's all we've got. I'm not sure how suited Welbeck is to the one up top style but that's the most likely scenario now Troy's knee is playing up again.

 

I completely agree and obviously the question is hypothetical. I just don't think we have another player who would have been so confident in that situation.

 

Needs red shorts to be the real Mr Watford

 

Equally you’d could say the same about Deeney based on his finishing during the actual game.

 

For the first time since the restart, Deeney had his first real chance in open play yesterday, and he put it straight at the GK when that seemed the hardest place to put it.

Yes he’s decent enough at penalties - but they aren’t a regular enough occurrence to be the major reason a player is selected. And it’s far easier to keep composed when you have a free go from 12 yards - his composure when faced with the same sort of distance but in open play wasn’t good enough. It used to be but it’s that type of thing that deserts you as time rolls on.

However, this is the same discussion we have most summers and the club have shown very little if any inclination to move him on either as our starting striker or captain. I think keeping him on but bringing in a new striker is counter productive to an extent - as he will still be captain when he plays etc etc.

I think when the club bite the bullet on Deeney, it needs to be a clean break for both club and player. My personal opinion is the club haven’t prepared for his departure both as striker or captain so he’ll be here for another year at least.

 

I genuinely believe I would have scored one of those chances from open play and I'm **** at football.

 

If he can sort his knee, I’d play him against West Ham. But City’s defence will dominate him as usual and Arsenal’s back 4 are petrified of pace - for those reasons, I wouldn’t start him in those games. Get him fit for one last showing against West Ham and pray for the win. If the stars align, he can rest his knee etc and do what he needs to do to get for for next season, regardless of what that looks like.

 

Some are "digging him out" but only because people like you are bigging him up with all this "Mr Watford" nonsense and as if he has being a consistently good player for us, when clearly he hasn't. Be more reasoned in your own posts, and you'll get a reasoned response.

I am a Watford supporter too, and that means I will be angry when I see a player not bother to train and get himself fit, either through a normal summer or when we are just about to enter into the biggest fight of our lives a few weeks ago.

Quite possibly, the injury he is now suffering was because he was too busy doing media interviews and getting his BLM logo's trademarked instead of bringing his fitness up to speed with the rest of the lads.

As a Watford fan, I expect our players to put in 100% effort for the club, not to sideline us.

 

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Is it even worth responding to this? I believe this is what you really think, so you've basically made yourself look ridiculous.

I make no apology for supporting a player, who maybe going through a difficult period, as I won't be hypocritical when he scores the goals to win us games.

 

You've never made any apology, I wouldn't expect you to start now. But we just have a different opinion, no need to consider any apologies!

But Deeney's "difficult period" has lasted about 3/4 years including periods when he admitted he was letting everyone down, yet you round on referees , accusing them of being corrupt, based on mere split second judgements.

 

Just calm down. It's a sunny day......enjoy a nice Sunday. You hate Deeney.....we all get it.

 

Perfectly calm, and have enjoyed my afternoon in the sun, thanks.

And able to calmly judge a player over 3/4 years rather than over two penalties.

 

True. The Spammers hate him too. Worth it for that reason alone

 

Remember the 12 games run earlier this season when Deeney was injured and didn't start? He made just one appearance off the bench in that spell.

In those 12 games, we won just 1 (against Norwich), drew 5 and lost 6. 0.67 points per game.
In the 23 games he has been available to start we have won 7, drawn 5 and lost 11. 1.30 PPG.

Yes there other factors but Deeney is clearly effective and without him we are toothless. At 32 he maybe declining but we struggle without him in the team. Finding a long term replacement should be a priority for recruitment.

 

Was QSF not in charge then? That’s certainly when we beat Norwich. As far as ‘other factors’ are concerned I’d say that’s a pretty big one.

 

Correct. Deeney's first start after injury was the first game after QSF was sacked - at Leicester. His only appearance under QSF was as a sub v Burnley. He also missed two games before QSF was appointed for his 10 match spell in charge.

 

So either QSF would’ve been a roaring success if only he had Deeney, or Pearson is a much better manager than QSF.

 

Imagine a player with exactly the same qualities and abilities of Deeney at his peak (of a few years ago). How much would he cost and, indeed, where is such a person? All this talk of replacing him is all very well, but it is much more easily said than done.

 

If we are to continue to play Deeney we must use him in the right way: Just as an example, the long balls up to him should be shorter passes than they are. This is a short-coming of our current back-four and mid-field. Formerly they manoeuvred themselves upfield but now they hit it long. The problem with 50 and 60 metre passes is they are in the air so long that the man-marker has time to out-position the now slow Deeney. This, and the lack of effective players playing 'off' him means he is frequently on a hiding to nothing.

 

I hope you have your tin hat nearby...

 

Deeney at his peak was in the Championship. And played with a partner. So signing someone to replicate that is pointless anyway as we don’t play with 2 strikers.

 

Not expecting anyone to agree, but the facts are the facts.

 

This is why I'm baffled we signed Gray. He is effective in a two, and no good alone. He just doesn't fit in to the way we play.

 

It’s not just Gray though. We sign players without any thought of how they fit into the style the current team has. Penaranda was another. Just doesn’t fit. I’d say Sarr too. Signed for £40m and given to a manager who doesn’t play wingers. It’s muddled thinking and has been for a long time.

Hence why I’ve been saying for the past few weeks, what this club needs to do this summer is sort out out what they want to be and what identity and ‘philosophy’ they want to follow. And then set a blueprint for it. Liverpool, Leeds, Brentford, Leicester, Sheffield United - all clubs that have flourished because they’ve done this. Southampton look to be getting the green shoots of it too.

For too long this club has concerned itself with buying all these players without much thought of how they fit. And by continuously hiring different coaches etc, you end up with misfits and confusion.

Whoever the coach is come the start of next season, I really hope they are given a mandate for a minimum of 2 years, hopefully more.

 

We signed him when Silva was manager who didn't have a problem playing 2 up top at times.

 

Can't see it myself under the Pozzos unless the coach/manager we get from abroad that no one has heard of ends up being absolute quality. Otherwise, we will always have players that play then don't play, or don't play and then play as managers/coaches come and go.

 

I keep seeing Marcelino’s name linked and he’s someone I wouldn’t be upset with, who’s sides play decent football. He also stayed quite a while at Villarreal and only left after a disagreement. Recently brought success to Valencia before the madness there got him fired unfairly. I also wouldn’t mind Lee Johnson or dare I say it, Eddie Howe should Pearson not remain.

I think all 3 of those coaches could do a decent job, get us playing decent football whilst actively lowering the age profile of the squad with players targeted for specific roles in their system. But I don’t think any of it works with Giraldi pulling the recruitment strings. And they have to be given a mandate to do it - and none of this 1 year/rolling contract/get out clause nonsense. 3 year deal.

(To be honest, I’m not even that bothered about lowering the age of the squad either - so long as those older players add plenty of worth.)