He’s U21 so doesn’t take a place. Same for Ngakia. I’ll updat the squad depth after a couple more outgoings (there must be some soon?!).
Always worth revisiting the squad and analysing it after a few extra signings have come through the door. Current complete squad GK Bachmann, Foster, Elliot, Dahlberg (4) LB Rose, Masina (2) RB Kiko, Ngakia, Navarro (3) CB Sierralta, Troost-Ekong, Kabasele, Cathcart, Pollock (5) MF Hughes, Louza, Chalobah, Cleverley, Etebo, Gosling, Dele-Bashiru, Quina (8) LW Dennis, Pedro, Sema, Baar (4) RW Sarr, Zinckernagel, Hungbo (3) FW Deeney, Cucho, Fletcher, King, Gray, Perica, Success, Mebude (8) Clearly there is going to be some trimming down. I do not expect to see Gray, Perica, Success or Navarro next season. I'm also thinking Pollock, Dahlberg and TDB will be sent out on loan. What seems obvious to me is that we need an extra player for centre back. Don't forget WTE will be unavailable for 6/7 weeks during AFCON. That would leave us with just 3 senior pros, so we do need one more to come in for that position. Big question marks over Hughes, and if he does go, we need to bring in a replacement for sure. I'd still like one more physical, box-to-box, ball winner type player to come in even if we do keep Hughes. We're lacking that profile of player, however, Fergusson could fit the bill if we manage to get him. Larsen is also a strong possibility if Hughes goes. Up front I'd say we're done now. We've had a big overhaul and we're in a lot better shape. Dennis and King are upgrades on what we had, plus Fletcher is a bit of a wildcard. I think he maybe better than people give him credit for. Also we have Cucho, and I'm really excited about that. I've seen him play many times of course and I think he's a great player. Perfect for Watford. So my final squad, once loans and expected sales have taken place would be:- GK Bachmann, Foster, Elliot (3) LB Rose, Masina (2) RB Kiko, Ngakia (2) CB Sierralta, Troost-Ekong, Kabasele, Cathcart, new CB (5) MF Hughes, Louza, Chalobah, Cleverley, Etebo, Gosling, Quina, new MF (8) LW Dennis, Pedro, Sema, Baar (4) RW Sarr, Zinckernagel, Hungbo (3) FW Deeney, Cucho, Fletcher, King, Mebude (5) Squad total 33 Home Grown 14 Non Home Grown 11 + 2 (identities unknown) U21 6 We would be overstocked by 2, as rules for senior pros state only 25, so 2 would have to go. My bet would be Zinckernagel and Sema if we do sign another CB and MF player.
Agree with this. In fact we probably need more than 1 as both Cathcart and Kaba have pretty ropey injury histories. Not inconceivable both could be out injured just as we need them.
I think they'll stick with what we've got at centre back. Or if they manage to get a good loan offer for Pollock then they'll bring in someone like Opoku from Udinese (or whoever they can find at Udinese that qualifies for a work permit) as squad filler. Your classic Molla Wague situation.
https://theathletic.com/2706142/202...-striker-outgoings/?source=emp_shared_article It doesn't sound like any new centre backs will be coming in. Baah will be staying as will Pollock. The Doig deal sounds dead in the water now as well.
Very disappointed we’re not targeting CBs. I’m not entirely convinced by T-E but even less so by Kabasele. While T-E is away at AFCON for 6 weeks I hope it’s Cathcart that starts, although I was expecting a more appealing alternative to be brought in.
I agree it does seem odd to not strengthen that area at all. Pollock for Wilmot seems a straight swap at best. I could have envisaged us targeting someone like Antov (who we were linked with given the CSKA Sofia connection) who could provide competition at both centre back and defensive midfield.
It's utterly negligent not to address an area which was shown as weak in the Championship. WTE would cost us 5 goals a season with his errant passing and that's even before you get onto the weakness in standards behind him. We are simply building a strong Championship squad - that much is clear to me. The only room for doubt is whether the likes of Rose and King are on wages which we can sustain when we go down, so that they can help us come back up. Our financial situation must be dire. But of course, the current Pozzos get a pass because it was the 2018/2019 Pozzos who got us into this mess.
This is Watford. We never address the defence. We were incredibly lucky that Sierralta proved to be excellent as we were reduced to playing our 5th choice defender. It happens every season which is why a hugely out-of-his-depth Mariappa was playing every week. Pollock will be playing 10 games this season if we don't bring someone in.
It's foolhardy. It's an area that can be shored up for relatively low cost and could be the difference between scraping survival and going down with humiliation. WTE is a good defender, but he had one pass per game on average, which went direct to the opposition in front of our defence. We got away with that in the Champ, we won't in the Prem. Plus with the ACoN we will be losing him for a period and we have absolute shyte behind him as has been proven in the past. OUR OWNERS NEVER FRIGGING LEARN
I thought we had best defensive record in Championship. Especially once Sieralta came in so when was it shown to be weak last year?
I'm not going to get into it with you. I've made my point. If you think WTE (absent for a month for ACON) Sierrelta, Cathcart, Kabasele and some Shyte from Grimbsy are good enough for the Premier League, then good for you.
Sierralta will have a lot of heavy lifting to do this season. WTE/Kabs/Cathcart are good defenders but sometimes I do worry about them making half a mistake which will always go punished. Hopefully playing alongside Sierralta raises their game. If Sierralta gets injured, then we will struggle.
We're also hoping that he can maintain the standards he set in, what appears to have been, his best ever season. At 24 years old, he's barely played any games in his career. I was as impressed as anyone with the revelatory season he had for us in the Championship, but expecting him to maintain those standards in the Prem, against stronger, faster, cleverer opponents is a risk. A risk of great magnitude when you look at the utter dung we have as alternatives if he's injured or otherwise compromised.
He was a pleasant surprise and we have no idea how he'll do next season, but he did look decent in the Copa America against better players so that's encouraging.
What are you talking about? You stated our defence last season was shown as weak which it clearly wasn't. I agreed with you about needing to improve that area though. Banking points? How old do you think I am? 9? Your posts used to be a good read but they seemed to have turned progressively angrier over the last few months for some reason
And you accuse me of anger. Act like a cynical child then berate me for pointing it out. Have a day off.
We managed to stay up with Cathcart, Kabasele and Mariappa, and even when we did get relegated, it was narrowly, with a defensive record which wasn't embarrassing overall despite the odd hiding. It's the midfield and forward areas I'm far more worried about
ONE of the issues with those midfield and forward areas, however, was what the defence did to get the ball to them - i.e. phucking nothing/banging it up to Troy to lose as a default setting/never progressing it up the pitch under control ever and instead choosing to play head tennis back into the opposition's half every single phucking time even when under no pressure at all. The defence has its own not inconsiderable impact on the state of our attack, and apparently we have decided to fix that issue by installing a new centre back who cuts out the middleman and regularly obligingly gives it back to the opposition in advanced positions in our own half, instead.
So it looks as though we're just one midfielder away from completing our squad for next season. Here's my take on areas of the team and how I think they'll stack up for us. Goalkeeper Foster as a number 2, and Elliot as a number 3, I think we've got real quality and strength in depth in this area. I still have a slight concern over Bachmann as the number one, but there's no doubt he's earned the right to start and it's his shirt to lose. Put it this way, he'll have to play very well in order to keep Foster out, which can only be good for us. Strong competition is a big motivator. When it comes to keepers, Watford have had a good band of brothers for quite a while now. Defence Hmmm, this was a real problem for us in our last stay in the Prem. We were conceding far too many goals (high 50's, low 60's) which will always hold you back. It still seems to be a blind spot for the club. Having said that, we did equal a record last season as the tightest defence in the Championship. However, as we know, there is a huge gulf in class between Championship and Premier League finishing ability. I suspect Sierralta is going to be a big player for us next season. He had such a positive impact last season, and I'm hoping that influence will continue into this season. It doesn't look like the club are going to address the lack of central defenders. Troost-Ekong will be at the AFCON in January/February leaving us with just Cathcart and Kabasele. I think it's too much to expect Pollock to step up, so for me we have an issue here. The wing backs are ok. Kiko was great last year, and should be first choice again, but he is a little weak defensively. I expect Rose to eventually become first choice, but he needs to prove his fitness. Good player on his day, but he'll need to prove he can still be able to play at the level which got him into the England squad. The wingback backups/rotational options are fine with Ngakia and Masina. Midfield A lot depends on who the mystery new midfielder is going to be. Hopefully he'll be a quality signing, and he needs to be. For me, we're a bit low on quality in this area. I think Louza is probably our best summer signing. The most expensive, but £8.6m is still a modest sum for an EPL club. I'm hoping he can add some much needed quality in the middle of the park. I'm sure he'll be a first choice starter, and I would expect Hughes to be another. But, as we've seen, it very much looks like he's out of the door, which will be a big loss to us. Now Etebo is an interesting one. On loan from Stoke doesn't sound too inspiring and you've only got to go on the Stoke forums to see what they think of him. They absolutely detest the guy. I was quite shocked at the hatred towards him. However, he's a player Gino has tracked and tried to sign for a very long time. I think there's a good player in there, but we need to get him playing to his potential very quickly. If we do that, he could be a real asset. Of the others, we all know the level Cleverley and Gosling are at. Good pros, but at best, will just be squad players. Chalobah is going to be interesting. He has all the ability, but doesn't show it often enough. The second half of last season you saw a player who was getting his form back. The goal at Cardiff was amazing. He can do it, but he has to kick on from last season. If he does, then he'll be an excellent option for us. I don't see TDB being part of the squad, not because I don't rate him, but more because his ACL will take time. He'll benefit far more playing regularly in the top end of the Championship. Quina is another I have question marks over. He gave an interview stating that Watford rate him and reassured him of his future. So it would appear he will be part of things next year. If he is, he has the qualities, but it's up to him to prove himself. Forward It's an area I believe we done extremely well in. If we stay up, it will be down to our attacking players and how well they do. Dennis does have some baggage. This is why no one else wanted him and why we got him so cheaply. But, there is a huge talent there. He has the pace of Sarr!!....incredible. I'm excited at the prospect of seeing him on the left and Sarr on the right. We'll have pace to burn and this will scare plenty of teams. Talking of Sarr, I believe Watford will keep him this season. I'm hoping yesterday's story is just paper talk, because Sarr is vital to our hopes of staying up....IMO. We have good backup options on the wings too. Pedro, Sema, Baah, Hungbo.......all exciting talent. Now to the central strikers. King for me is a no-brainer of a signing. Top marks to the club for getting him. Lost his way a little for sure, but if he gets his form back then he's going to be a big asset. I'm really excited about finally seeing Cucho in a Watford shirt. I think he'll be a big player for us this season. Don't underestimate Deeney. He is now over his injuries and looks in great shape. I think maybe last season was a defining one for him. No EPL club wanted him, and maybe that realisation has spurred him on. He knows this could be his last season in the top flight, and from what I'm seeing of him, he's taking it seriously. For all his faults, I want him to still succeed and if we've got a Deeney with a point to prove, then he'll be well worth his place in the squad. With Fletcher, I'm open minded. I actually think he'll be a lot better than people think. Probably wont be a first choice starter, but I think he'll be very useful to us from the bench. The way Mebude was announced, seems to imply he's a first team player and not one for the U23's. We'll see how he develops and he'll be a bit of a wildcard in our squad. Now there are some players who we all think will be gone, such as Gray, Success, Perica and Navarro. To put it bluntly, we don't need them. Zinckernagel is one who might go out on loan, but I'm open to him being part of the squad. He has qualities more suited to the Premier League, but I don't see a natural place for him. Maybe behind the central striker, in a number 10 role, but he is a winger, although doesn't have the pace of Sarr, Dennis. Not sure how we use him.
Just wanted to make a comparison between our current squad and the squad that took us down in 19/20 season. Are we stronger now than then? Goalkeepers 19/20 Foster, Gomes, Bachmann 21/22 Bachmann, Foster, Elliot Defenders 19/20 LB Holebas, Masina RB Janmaat, Femenia CB Cathcart, Dawson, Kabasele, Mariappa 21/22 LB Rose, Masina RB Femenia, Ngakia CB Cathcart, Kabasele, Troost-Ekong, Sierralta Midfielders 19/20 Cleverley, Chalobah, Hughes, Doucoure, Capoue, Quina, Pereyra, Dele-Bashiru 21/22 Cleverley, Chalobah, Hughes, Etebo, Gosling, Quina, Louza, Dele-Bashiru Forwards 19/20 LW Sarr, Hungbo, Pussetto RW Deulofeu, Pedro CF Gray, Deeney, Welbeck, Success 21/22 LW Sarr, Zinckernagel, Hungbo RW Dennis, Pedro, Baah CF King, Deeney, Hernandez, Fletcher Looking at this I would say our midfield is weaker this season than it was the last time around, especially if Hughes does go. However, I'd say the keeper situation is comparable, the defence is now slightly better than before and our forward line looks stronger to me now, than it was in 2019/20 (with the notable exception of Geri) We've done good business in the forward areas, and we've improved the defence, although I'd still like one more CB to come in. Where we need to beef up is in midfield. It's far too lightweight as it stands right now, but hopefully that will be addressed in the coming weeks.
I'd say midfield is the only area noticeably weaker, especially after Hughes goes. That could change if Louza hits the ground running as I think he has the potential to be ruddy fantastic. Would also help if Quina finally has his breakthrough season that we've been hoping for since he signed.
At first glance the midfield looks much weaker but that doesn't take into consideration how crap Doucoure and Pereyra were in our relegation season.
I don't think Doucoure was that bad, had just fallen away from the high standards. We certainly haven't replaced his dynamism which is a big concern. Agree about Pereyra though.