What is clear now , and this is not necessarily anything to do with today's match, is that pundits, commentators and journos bang on about Troy and Andre as if they are the reason we are 3rd in the table as opposed to the reason why we are not neck and neck with Norwich. It is apparent that these correspondents are lazy and haven't done any homework . In layman's terms : the team is carrying the strikers not the other way around
I get the sense there’s gonna be frustration attached to him - not through his own fault but because he showed last night, he’s capable of consistently putting dangerous balls into the box....our strikers won’t be getting on the end of those if we persist with Deeney and Gray. Joao Pedro is a must or Perica when he’s fit.
It was a mixed bag from Gray. Got in good positions and came close. Probably his best contribution for months. However, his casual approach to offside cost a goal and sums him up. He doesn’t have a professional, winning attitude and it holds him and us back.
I think that’s true of Deeney - but in his defence, he looks far better when he plays as a No.10. Deeney’s football IQ is actually pretty good, it’s just his fitness/lack of pace that lets him down and makes him a busted flush as a striker. But yes, the media still ‘big him up’ like he’s the best striker in the division for whatever reason. I think the media are waking up to what a fraud Gray is though. They can’t ignore his record since joining us. He’s only still talked up by Jon Marks and Tommy Mooney because they are in-house media.
Having watched the highlights a day after strips away the emotion of the game, so it's easier to view it in a different light. Right at the end, we were lucky to get away with the push by Cathcart. Clear penalty in my book. Cathcart needlessly pushes the forward in the back in the box. 95th minute and so typical of Watford to do something as ridiculous as that. Got away with it though. It was a game where we had to rely on a referee to win. Yes, it was a clear penalty to us also, but we had to rely on him giving it in order to score and to dismiss Barnsley's claim. On another day those decisions could have been reversed and we end up losing. On good chances, that game should have been won by a comfortable margin. Gray's heavy touch taking the ball around the keeper destroyed any chance of him scoring a simple goal, and that one just before half time where Sarr played it to him, showed us why he should be nowhere the first team. He just does not have the ability to be a striker, What was his thought process there? He hit the ball first time high and wide, how is that even possible for the pass he received? All he needed to do in that situation was to push the ball past the keeper and side foot it in. The keeper had all his weight to his right, so Gray only needed to tap it past him in the opposite direction to create an open goal. It was bread and butter for any striker, even a Sunday league pub player would probably have taken that chance. The opportunity he had when the ball came off the post was correctly ruled offside, but only because he didn't work hard enough in coming out. He just walked out thus being offside when Hughes' shot came in. Sadly, this was Gray's best game of the season by a mile, but he was still absolute sh1te. The other chance Gray had, I don't consider it a bad miss, as he had to shoot first time with the keeper right on top of him. That was more good keeping than a bad miss. WTE also missed an absolute sitter after a quality pass from Zinckernagel. So last night we had to rely on the referee to win, instead of putting the game to bed. We missed three sitters (Gray x 2 and WTE). Had we a competent forward, that game ends up 3-0 and no one is nervous in the final minute. It's been like this all season. If are to go up, it'll be on the back of the defence, but the margins are too fine. We actually have a really good team, but we've not been able to take basic chances for a while now. It cost us the Premier League last season, and it could cost us promotion this. We've got 12 days of the window left. We do have to rectify this situation or no way will we finish in the top two.
No excuse for his attempt in the first half either. A calm, composed striker just tucks it away, but Gray tries to attempt something he’s incapable of and skies it by some distance. No way Joao Pedro misses that. Put a competent striker in those two positions (inc offside goal) last night and they have a brace of goals and the win is far more comfortable. As I’ve said, Gray’s movement has never really been an issue - but his touch, control, finishing and ability to stay onside are. Pretty damning for a striker I’d say. I suspect he’s getting less of a rough ride because we won...but imagine if we’d come away from that 0-0 or 0-1 and he put in the same performance - he’d rightly be getting pelters. I understand Xisco wants to rotate and rest players. But it’s time to cut our losses on Gray and just leave him out full stop. Waste of a jersey.
The Woodrow one? If so, from all the angles I’ve seen of that, it’s never a penalty. Threw himself more than theatrically to the ground. Guess it’s a matter of opinion though!
Deeney played the perfect game last night and I think Munoz was a little hasty in taking him off as early as he did. Sure, I suspect he had one eye on Friday, but you have to beat Barnsley first. I felt it handed the initiative back to Barnsley when Deeney went off as there was very little physicality up there and the ball just didn't stick when we went forward. I like Deeney in this position. He's more like an attacking midfielder than a striker and that's perfect for him. We all saw how important Deeney was last night, so fans should understand and accept he's no longer a striker. He's more of an advanced midfielder and does a good job of beating up defenders, making the ball stick, harassing the referee, defending corners. It's all the nitty gritty parts of the game he's good at. Without the menace he brings, we become a little too nice as a side.
I missed the 4-1 this season (was it Reading?) and regretted that one obviously. I missed yesterday’s and there’s lots of talk of a good entertaining game.....so I’m going with Moogs account that it was an uninspiring and dull 1-0 because otherwise I’m going to have a case of the FOMO’s.
Not in a million years is that a penalty. Cathcart didn't push him at all, he rested his hand on his shoulder as defenders do all the time and Woodrow threw himself to the ground in desperation as they had offered nothing all game and time was running out.
It was a push in the back and the forward goes down. It's in the box, so you hold your breath as to whether it's going to be given. We all watch games and we all know that could easily have been given, regardless if you think it's soft or not. Referees have been exceptionally kind to Watford this season. That's a first and long may that continue for this campaign.
Totally agree - he was much better in that slightly withdrawn number 10 role. Play him there and that allows Sarr to go up top and bring in PZ on the right......
I agree they’ve been given but I would argue they’ve been given wrongly, that’s the debate really. It’s not the correct decision if that’s given as a penalty. He touches him but it’s never a push and certainly nowhere near enough for Woodrow to go down like that. Anywhere else on the pitch and I doubt it’s even mentioned as a potential foul. We’ll agree to disagree on this one!
Agree that TD can play no 10 however he is not the best no 10 at the club. Probably not in the top 2or 3 either
Well it was a clear push, not sure anyone can deny that, but was it with enough force as to push him over, that is more the question. Personally I thought it was, but I accept it was borderline. Put it this way, had it been the other way around I would be claiming for a penalty and would feel hard done by not to get it. But my main point is, why do our players always give up a chance in the final minute of tight games? They always seem to do this. Woodrow was going away from goal, so why does Cathcart need to push him in the back? Why raise his arm at all? It' was a reckless thing to do as there was no danger and he's given their player an opportunity to go down and has given the referee an opportunity to make a match changing decision. For a player of Cathcart's experience he should know better.
It’s interesting that on radio it sounded one of the the least stressful games, however watching it on hive live I had the feeling that Barnsley were capable of scoring, they were certainly trying, it wasn’t as easy as it sounded! Barnsley were one of the better teams to visit us, had the won they would have been three points below us! Shows how tight it is!
For his many faults and limitations he has a tremendous knack for a pass or knock on. Several examples last night. Agree that he should have stayed on a little longer, but Xisco’s team did enough so fair play to him for getting a good performance. And a cracking goal attempt from Sierralta.
It's not the hand on the shoulder that makes him go down having watched it back again. There's a tangle of legs, whose fault it is, difficult you say but he's definitely not gone down because of the hand.
It’s not even really a ‘tangle’ of legs. There’s just a mere touch and that’s it. You only have to look at the way Woodrow throws himself to the ground to see there’s nothing in it and it was a desperate move. Football is a contact sport. There’s contact of the lost minimal amount there. It’s never, ever, a penalty (even if ref’s are so bad these days that some would give it).
The thing is this was true in the PL when he used to get loads of good chances and manage to somehow convert about 1 in 3 of them. The problem is now he doesn't look like he'll convert any - it's at about 0 in 8.
Well Xisco has certainly done what was needed in his home matches so far..three wins out of three, and not a goal conceded. An impressive start, although the fear still remains that our shocking away form will cost us an automatic place. Granted we are now playing at a lower level, but I feel both Ivic and Xisco deserve credit for making our defence so much better. We’ve now kept 11 clean sheets this season. Hands up over Sierralta..a lot of us thought he’d be our 5th choice defender and an uninspiring signing but having got in by default, he’s looked excellent. Femenia has proved me wrong too, as I didn’t think he had this high level of consistency or fitness in him. There was plenty to enjoy last night. I just don’t get why Hughes had to wait until 19 January to make his first league start of the season. Crazy. How we’ve missed him. Zinckernagel looks decent, a fun player to watch and enjoy. Just what we’ve needed. We look so much more balanced with a left-footed full back. Who’d have ever thought it eh! Deeney can still contribute, if (and its a big if) we are prepared to accept that he’s no longer in the side as a 20 goal a season striker. Bachman looks competent, but in this age of covid and players being forced to drop out of the squad unexpectedly, I’m a bit nervous about our current keeper options. And the big issue of course remains our lack of potency in front of goal. It probably doesn’t do any of us much good thinking this way, but I can’t stop thinking about how different we’d have looked (and how much higher we’d have been in the table) had we taken a gamble and invested £5 million in Toney. Speculate to accumulate, and all that. For the want of a £5 million goal scorer was a £150 million promotion scorned? Lets hope not!
Anyone saying it was entertaining is either kidding themselves or are so starved of stimulation during this 3rd lockdown, that watching 22 poor players hoof the ball, Garryowen style, up in the air and hope that they come the better off out of the ensuing 50/50 seems mildly more exciting than repeats of My Family on BBC 1.
Too big an 'if' for my liking, Neither Deeney or Gray to name but 2 should be here no more in order for us to to move in a more positive direction.
I get what you're saying about the amount of "football" being played viz a viz ball on the deck etc, but our supposed possession based displays under Ivic were mainly rancid. I found myself screaming at the TV to get the ball forward. Last night I agree there were more long balls but I reckon half of them got us in to decent forward positions more often. I actually liked the way we mixed it up and to see Kiko continually clearing up the line towards a Watford shirt keeping the ball in play was brilliant. The pure football can come later on although it never worried GT....
Not sure it's been said on here, but Sierralta looks different class. Our defense looks much better with him in it.
Happens often. Watching MOTD for example over the last few years, pundits can give a more accurate interpretation of the 'big 6' as they get the 'main coverage', but everyone else you get some 'whack' analysis every time that they are on, pretending they know all about the players.
Just watched the highlights. Two things. Disappointed they didn’t show Sarr and Pedro being all aggressive and taking on the Barnsley boyz. When Ekong misses it made me laugh looking at Grays reaction - head in hands with a shocked look - I’m guessing he’s thinking “how has he made that chance a goal kick rather than a throw on”