Does anyone else think we should just take all of Brentford's best players when they bottle the playoffs again? I mean Toney might get the odd game, but it would be funny to see the likes of Raya, Jansson, Mbuemo, DaSilva and Rico Henry only making the odd cup appearance. (yes I had to Google those names) Thoughts?
Tbf, he did a fantastic job at our place in difficult circumstances when they had a man sent off, although he hasn't scored from open play for a good while now
He really isn’t. He has not shown anywhere near enough to warrant a place. We are also going up a level where we know he can’t do it. Get an Under 23 player in that has a possible future career here not a player who on the whole has been nowhere near good enough
It's easy to say that with the team we ended up with, but with the team we had at the start of the season, and the team we could have ended up with, we take this promotion and run with it
Even if you include the aforementioned factors, how many times have we seen Watford play at close to 100% this season? Obviously better preparation in August would have changed everything.
I think it was a shame to drop 4 of our best players, then lose 2 more before HT. Hughes was struggling on his own doing the dirty work. I liked Brentford. Then there manager acted like a complete idiot at Vic Rd which was totally disrespectful. I fear for their fans the most heartbreak ive ever felt as a Watford fan was losing the championship play off final in 2013. Doing it two years in a row would be awful. At start of Season i said Norwich champions, Watford second, Swansea play offs.
I'm sure the team we've put out regularly since Cov away would have won this league, but through bad luck or the bad judgement that got us relegated, we just never could have that good preparation, it is what it is
Spare a thought for the Bees, been waiting 42 years to beat their big rivals, they finally do it only when we're on the beach
A chap on their forum seemed to suggest we were major rivals in the 70's, which is odd as I always thought L*t*n were our rivals back than (as they are now still in some people's eyes!), but what do I know.
We were never ‘major’ rivals...at least not from our side. There were a few face-offs in the 70s, but nothing like against the scum, or even QPR during the late 60s/early 70s & Southend in the later 70s. We did play them quite a lot during the 70s, so maybe they hated us more than we did them!
Sort of, I suppose. I think we probably originally felt more animosity towards Palarse than they did us. Personally I’ve never forgiven them for stopping us going up in 1964. The Muff thing appears to be more mutual.
This reminds me to ask, not for the first time in my life, why on earth is Selby a Jester? What inappropriate names can watford players get? Andre the Contoller, Isaac the Ceilibate, Ben the Introvert….
We had to deal with the mental adjustment to being relegated. And the uncertainty of players wanting to leave, leaving, signing etc. Plus had injuries to Hughes and Masina. And working out a new team and formation. As you say we didn't have that preparation but couldn't have had. Even Norwich took a while to hit really good form. What's frustrating is even with those obstacles if Ivic had been a bit more attacking away from home we might have got a lot closer to Norwich.
I think your first point is a good one, we went from having to contain teams a lot more in the Prem to suddenly having to try to break teams down, for all of Ivic's faults (QPR away second half was woeful, Bristol City and Forest away were as dull as dishwater), maybe the players were also in that mindset? I do remember the Rotherham game where he was imploring them to go forwards but they were happy to sit on a comfortable 2-0 win
Hello everyone! First post so be kind! I was at the Brentford game in early 1979, a 3-3 draw that Brian Moore covered for the Big Match and was on telly the next day. A friend and I (we were 15) travelled on a supporters coach to the game. Garage doors were spray painted with "Watford will die" as we got close to the ground. I believe a Brentford fan had been stabbed close to the High St Station earlier in the season so it was a pretty ugly trip in to West London. I friendly local policeman directed us to an area of the ground where some Chelsea fans has showed up expecting trouble, we retreated back to a safer place!! Not sure if tis is where the rivalry originated but I remember it distinctly.
Welcome Vancouver, always nice to meet a new poster. I am guessing you are an ex-pat living in Canada, which is even better as it is nice to have overseas supporters. Now you've stared posting please keep it up, you might even find some fellow Canadian based Horns on here.
People think of the 80s as when hooliganism was at its height, but that was because it had been forced outside grounds by segregation and heavy policing. Inside it was much worse in the 70s.
You keep mentioning the future and the next level. I am not, all I was talking about were the remaining fixtures once promotion was achieved. He came in when Pedro was suspended and scored both goals in the 2-0 win against Wycombe so was able to do a job. He is the only one of Pedro, Success, Gray who has scored since February . None of the 'U23 fringe strikers' have had a look in, and that tells you all you need to know about them. Based on these facts, putting the emotive dislike for the player which leads to irrational thoughts to one side, he deserves to play in the remaining 'meaningless' games now that Pedro doesn't need to and Success has shown little to nowt. My point has got nothing to do with what he should be doing or where he should be going next season. Ideally, I don't want him and some other players at the club as they are not good enough for the Premier League.
He has no future here so what’s the point in playing him. I don’t care if the under 23 player doesn’t make it, give them a chance. It’s irrelevant what I think of Gray as a person, he has proved himself over and over again as not good enough. Put Perica in. He’s barely played so give him an opportunity. I’m not saying he’s the answer either by the way
Thats an assumption most of us will be hoping for but if he doesnt move on then his future is still with the club.
Unfortunately I think he will be here next season but it doesn’t mean he has a future in the first team