To be honest I was pleasantly surprised with Troys performance. In my opinion he was one of out best players he looked far more agile and strangely quite quick.
The yearly "Troy might be alright this season, actually" delusions are in full swing again. People will never learn. Unfortunately that includes the people running the club.
Watching from-the-stands highlights, I have to say that Cucho and Sarr were exceptional together, even without a recognised CF in the team. Slot Pedro in there, and they will definitely bag some goals. Mebude and King look quick as well. Just need better midfielders/defenders...
From what I have seen most people are just saying that Deeney had a good game which is accurate. I haven't seen anyone saying he should be starting next season.
I am not sure that the Brentford game was that much of a concern, it seems that we played youngsters and players who are still unfit against a strong Brentford line up, in a frienly at the training ground. I wouldn't call them a bogey team they haven't beaten us in a meaningful game since 1977. Even when we lost to them at the end of the season we had already been promoted and rested half the starting line up.
Yeah it was nice to see someone be able to at least somewhat keep pace with Sarr. That sounds a really fun front 3 but I think the problem is that none of Cucho, Pedro or Sarr are particularly decent finishers. Strongly except King will be involved somewhere across the front 3 for exactly that reason.
Don't see any point in reading into a pointless game at the end of the season where lots of our best players were rested, or a pre season game where we played a bunch of U23s, fringe players and recently returned internationals. I have my own concerns over the current squad, but today's result was totally and utterly meaningless.
Watford were much the better side, as you would expect, but were blunt in front of goal. Good chances created, Sarr caused havoc but needs to sharpen up in front of goal. He missed quite a few good opportunities today. West Brom only created one decent chance all afternoon. Their striker was looking suspiciously offside but he lobbed it straight into Foster’s hands. Cucho, as I expected, looked real quality. I was hoping he could be a star this season and nothing I saw today has changed my mind on that. Really impressed with Etebo. Never lost the ball in tight areas, he looks like he’ll be a starter if that was a typical performance level of his. Deeney has to have a mention. Looks like he’s been in a time machine and 2015 Troy was on show. He looked trim, fit and chased around all afternoon. This Deeney will be an asset this season. Got to give a thumbs up to the U23’s who finished the game. We played the last 25 minutes with 9 kids and to hold off West Brom to virtually nothing was a real achievement. Elliot looked decent in his 45 minutes. No mistakes and I feel we’re in good hands knowing he’s a very reliable third choice. Morris did no harm in his performance. Looks like he could be an option at left back. Not all positive today though. I thought Gosling was off the pace and looked a bit unfit. The referee was appalling and not to give the most blatant penalty you’ll ever see, summed up his ineptness. WTE’s passing is still dismal, and will be a concern if we continue to pass out from the back. King got the short straw. He only had one chance and did the right thing by squaring the ball. He played basically with the U23’s and we hardly attacked during that spell. Mebude had a great chance but screwed the ball wide, when he should have at least his the target, but was lively and looked promising. Overall lots of positives, but it was strange to play two games back-to-back. Would have been nice to have seen a proper fist team squad today including the other new signings. Anyone know what’s happened to Hungbo? Not sure I’ve seen much of him in the training shots.
Don't think I've seen Troy move as quick as 0:18sec mark! Seems as though we've decent pace out wide too with Cucho looking bright.
Good to hear. All in all sounds fairly positive. I said a couple of weeks ago I feel we are about 4 players away from being a side with a chance of staying away from relegation. RB CB CM ST May have to throw a left back into the mix now as well depending on Masina injury. Pre-season is all about blending the side together and increasing fitness & sharpness. No one really cares about them from a fans perspective.
Agree with all of this, Cucho looks class and exciting to watch. He looks lively, speedy and an intelligent player. Etebo really stood out for me I wasn't sure what to expect from him but he has plenty of energy and was everywhere and is able to beat players. I am still puzzled about how Sarr wasn't given a penalty.
It's really sad how FTRE and WD18 have been turned into sycophantic propaganda machines for the club hierarchy. The club have given them extra access: Deeney/Duxbury interviews, new shirt promo video etc and theyve gone all North Korean. These kind of fan channels are supposed to offer an independent point of view from genuine fans not just follow the club line like blind sheep. In their last podcast FTRE were literally talking about Troy scoring 10 to 15 goals this season and saying it's no one's fault if Hughes leaves!! WTF!! It sounded like they were briefed in advance by Duxbury about what to say in the podcast. It was like reading the Pyongyang Gazette! I can understand the WD18 kids being starstruck and easily manipulated by the club but still its pretty sad. It's becoming more like a K-pop fan channel than a genuinely independent channel for Watford fans.
Cucho and Sarr look a real handful going by the highlights. Just wish Sarr was a bit more clinical, he'd end up with plenty of goals with the positions he gets in. If we can get King, Fletch or JP into that front three with those two then I think the movement and pace is going to be too much for some teams.
The highlights were positive. We looked rusty in execution but the ideas were there. Mind you WBA didn't seem particularly good.
Always remember - they represent the core of our fan base. As proven by the many times the team play like utter droppings on the pitch and thousands of people fall over themselves to clap like seals and get narky with anyone who dares to not tow the party line. I’ll never forget us 3-0 down to Burnley and the chump in front of me got moody because I wasn’t happy enough for his liking.
Apparently they actually said Deeney will think he get 10-15 goals if he plays which is rather deluded but different to them saying he will themselves. And Hughes going will be down to his agent being greedy I suspect although we need to get that sorted out either way.
True, other than watching Watford, I don't really want to read about it too, even if I never saw the game. I only post on here to give my opinion on pandemics, TV shows and play werewolf.
Etebo did look good but overworked. He was looking around for help that just wasn’t there. Hopefully the midfield he will have around him is better than that of today. Apart from Cucho I thought Alan Trialist did well. Surprisingly Wise also played well. felt sorry for King for the last 15 mins as he was probably out only outfield player who hadn’t just left school
Cucho, Sarr, Dennis, King and maybe Mebude, Gray and Baah - no shortage of pace for the one-two with a central player. It is incredibly basic but effective. Won't work against Kyle Walker but should be enough against half the sides. The play for the blatant penalty was excellent.
The club is in good shape right now. I like the direction we seem to be going in. After what I witnessed today, we’re just 1 or 2 midfielders away from being mid-table, maybe even in the top half. Put it this way, if we still had Doucoure and Capoue on the books, we’d be looking forward to a very good season.
I do think we looked very weak up front. I’m not going to get to excited about Cucho as he’ll probably do an Estupian or Suarez just when the transfer window shuts. As for King, I am not holding out much hope for him to be any better than Andre. He was only any good when partnered by Wilson at Bmuff.
If we **** about with these stupid short goal kicks we’ll be needing a 40+ goal scorer just to draw games.
I’d only be inebriated if I actually thought King will be a benefit to us. Happy to be proved wrong at the end of the season but also happy to be acknowledged for being right.
From the highlights it seems on another day we could have won 2 or 3 nil. Sharpness will come. Cucho looks like he’s destined to become a crowd favourite - talented, rapid, all action player.
