BREAKING NEWS: Watford FC are again under investigation after officials attended the Watford FC match vs Burnley on 4th February 2017 and witnessed what can only be described as daylight robbery as the absolutely dirt cheap Mauro Zárate produced an almighty display of poise, touch and ability. I mean seriously, what a debut. This guy has class. His touch was beautiful. His position and passing was brilliant. His work off the ball was tireless. His dead ball shows a lot of potential. A really solid display and he will clearly hit the ground running and I think be quite crucial. On first glance, a player of his clear ability for the price we paid for him has to be one of the unsung deals of the year. Totally impressed.
You joke, but my sources tell me we actually could be in trouble! Apparently, it was widely reported, before he signed for us, that Zarate had a 3 match ban for a red card offence in Italy, but having missed only the Millwall and Arsenal games for us, he served only TWO of his 3 game ban. I think we could face the result being reversed and further sanctions.
Amazingly you could be right but for the wrong reasons. As his altercation was in a cup game only cup games count against his ban. The fact is he'd only missed 2 before he played on Saturday (against Napoli for Fiorentina and against Millwall for us), meaning that with no more cup games on the horizon he is effectively banned for the rest of the season. Until then every game he plays in we are at risk of losing the points accrued being kicked out of the competition. edit: I just found out they can't deduct points, looks like it's the conference for us if they find out.
I think you will find that Italian football is deemed to be less intensive than the Premier League, so 3 Italian games equals 2 Premier League games. Hence he only had to miss two games.
You are all half right. He is actually banned for 4 x half games, to be served concurrently for half the time and in parallel for the other half.. Because he was sent off in the second half of a cup game, he cannot play in the second half of any cup games, so can only be used as a first half player (substituted at half time) or as a first half substitute, but if this is the case he must only stay in the defending half for half the time and therefore be allowed to play in the second half as long as half his touches are with his left foot. (for "foot" read "lower half of leg") For league matches, the restrictions are exactly the same, but he has to be awarded a yellow card half-way through the match whilst standing on the half-way line. If not, then his ban will increase by a half. I'm kinda split 50:50 on if this is a fair punishment....
Zarate out for the season Bad news I'm afraid......he'll be out for quite some time....certainly that's if for this season. Raptured his ACL and a grade one sprain of his MCL.......will be a long time.....probably a year or so I suspect. Feel desperately sorry for the guy. https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ-nwFYF30n/
So the replacement for Pereyra who is out for the season is also out for the season! Talk about bad luck
For a player who's nearly 30 that sounds potentially career ending. That injury is about as bad as it could have possibly been.
Bad news and feel for him. I've been really impressed with what he's shown so far so he will be missed. I hope Amrabat is near full recovery as we need him!
If a footballer needs oxygen, it's usually bad. If it's after an injury to their knees, that's going to be devastating. That'll be the last time we see him in a Watford shirt, I imagine.
Terrible news for him and best wishes to him for a full and speedy recovery. Argentinians + Watford + knees =:dismay:
Gutted, looks a great player. Capoue needs to step up and join Cleverley in supporting Troy now. Not too concerned about creativity being lost. Amrabat, Niang and Success will see us through until the end of the season, just got to give them the bloody ball.
A question has to be asked, in did he actually do the initial injury 10 minutes earlier when he was challenged by Fergouli (I think?). I seem to remember from watching in the stand that it was the exact same knee to what he then damaged later on. If that is the case, should the medical team not have noticed a strain/weakness straight away. He was the best player on the park until 20 mins in and then suddenly he was visibly limping around and not involved as much. If he had been taken off straight away or at least more assessment made, perhaps we would not be looking at such a bad injury? Or is it just bad luck and a complete coincidence?
If it is a year before he is recovered, presumably he won't make either of the cuts for squad members next year. So why not just pay up his two year contract now? Give him a years money and a taxi to Heathrow. We are going to have to buy a couple of replacements in the summer, he presumably still has home and family in Italy and presumably he won't be able to do any serious rehab work at London Conley for 3 months. It sounds hard, but the saving on wages against making him a free agent once he has recovered enough to kick a ball must be being considered.
When you say 'pay him up,' do you mean offer him a year's money when he's still got two-and-a-bit years to run? Not many players (or their agents) are likely to go for that one. None, in fact.
Depends how bad it is. Some footballers have been back playing again from ACL injuries after 6 months or so. Some never play again. I guess we'll find out more info over the next week or so.
They might if there was some medical probability that he could be fit to play after 12 months. He would get a years money up front, be able to go home to his family, and then hopefully as a free agent once fit get a large signing on fee and contract with a new club. I think I would probably prefer getting £2-3 million in one lump sum now than hanging around in a foreign country getting monthly payments on my contract.
Yes pay up his contract - it happens all the time. No doubt his contract will have performance and appearance bonuses, and obligations on both sides. Of course it's a negotiation, but as you say there has to be something in it for both parties, but it won't be only about cash. I doubt he will be part of the first team squad in Jan 19, so no point him hanging around.
It happens all the time? That's interesting - can you give me a couple of recent examples of players who have been paid up when they've been affected by a long-term injury? I'd have thought he'd hang around for treatment and rehab, although it's possible Watford may arrange for this to happen elsewhere if circumstances suited it, I have no idea. Any bonuses and appearance fees would no longer be a factor in Zarate's case but few contracts have a clause saying "if you get injured badly, we can pay you less money and you can go." Unfortunately, players are expensive and risky commodities.
Puts the disappointment of the performance in context. Sorry for the player and hope that it transpires that it's not as bad as first thought. Good luck Mauro! Just a thought, does anyone think that there was a pre-existing problem with his knee? If I remember correctly, he didn't feature against either Burnley or Millwall, despite having been signed within plenty of time to be included in both games. Maybe he was injured when we signed him?
I read that in the English Premier League an injury sustained under club duty, the club pays for the player his basic salary for a maximum of 18 months. In Germany is just 7 weeks! Mutual agreement to terminate contracts is not unusual., Nicholas Bentdner at Wolfsburg, Ashley Cole at Roma, Poyet at West Ham or like Joey Barton at Rangers. Calum Davenport had his contract terminated after his leg injury in that bizarre stabbing incident, and plenty of players retire as a result of injury, often as part of a mutual agreement to terminate a contract early. If the club think he is likely to be part of the future then they will not consider an early parting of the ways. If they review the medical advice and decide that in the long term they would rather stump up cash now they will put an offer to him. As you say players are commodities.
Are we genuinely discussing the merits of paying up his contract because he has suffered a long time injury? His injury doesn't outweigh the length of contract signed and besides that, how unethical to just wash your hands of someone in his current situation. I hope we stand by him, offer him everything he needs and support him when he returns.
Agreed. He put the effort in in the games he played, I'd like to think we would reciprocate supporting his injury. I;d be very surprised if at least part of his wages weren't covered by insurance.