His stats were also quite impressive for a left back in his early to mid-30s, with 5 goals and 14 assists in 114 league appearances. Pereyra had 16 goals and only 5 assists from 106 games and considering he's an attacking midfielder nearly seven years younger it shouldn't have been that close.
F**k me, I am so, so bored of f**king morons who can do nothing beyond look at the table, saying stuff like "omg ur 15th do u expect to b top hahaha", as if it's ever that black and white. Utter divs.
They only see the points total and position really unless it’s v a big team or the pundit of covering a game for Sky on Saturday as Michael Dawson was yesterday saying we were hopeless .
Some of the comments from Leeds fans were the funniest, they’re offended we’ve sacked our manager because they think we should be expecting a certain loss at their place.
On a wider scale, this is just another moment where the statement made by Duxbury after relegation is shown to be empty claptrap. I’m glad they have acted to remove Xisco. But all the talk of learning lessons from our last PL season - when so far, they have repeated it so far pretty much step-for-step. Fairly large argument to say Xisco is Gracia then, and Ranieri could be QSF given the run of fixtures coming up. Be interested to see how Duxbury would spin that one. Xisco should have been removed in the summer and his lack of badges would have given the club reasonable excuse really.
I just wanted to thank you Burnsy for the "heads up" calling out about the new head coach before it happened. It was when you wrote that you had heard "something" was happening that I thought there was indeed some truth to the rumours. Great that you are able to share on here although next time I hope it's a new player not a new coach!
I would like to say thank you to Xisco and wish him well. He may not have had the required experience and tactical nous, but I am certain that he did his very best. All best wishes and good luck in your future career.
I give you Jamie O'Hara on TalkSport this morning. He basically said exactly that but he is up there as one of the worst people on the radio and is thicker than a whale omelette
Martinez turned us down (as he's a good friend of XM) according to this on Tw@tter. Could be rubbish of course, but is sounds plausible. I doubt he was interviewed, but it wouldn't surprised me if the club spoke to him. https://twitter.com/Fball_Insights_/status/1444979388865470464
The situation is superficially similar, but the aspects are quite different. Firstly, I think Gracia was sacked too hastily, especially with the run of games we had coming up, whereas Xisco should have gone after Wolves at the latest. But at least we have some points on the board and our next set of fixtures doesn’t look quite as tough as the one QSF was plunged into - all of our matches against the top sides are at home, and all of them except Chelsea have dropped points in winnable games. We could also get points against Everton, Arsenal and Leicester and though Brentford could be this season’s Sheffield United, it’s also quite possible they may be on the slide by the time we play them. Secondly, I don’t know your view on Ranieri’s appointment, but I’m confident he won’t set up teams defensively in matches we need to win.
On Talk Sport this morning they played the clip of him of him saying we’ve built the team around Xisco and he’ll got all the time he needs, then basically laughed at him.
IMO Gracia was sacked too late if anything. The form at the end of the previous season and the manner of the cup final defeat should have seen him gone in hindsight. I’m aware not everyone shares that view though. As for Ranieri, I think there’s a difference between setting us up defensively - and making us more defensive minded and quick on the break. I think he’ll do the latter in games we should win and the former in those we shouldn’t. Whereas Xisco set us up far too attacking. Worked last season when we should be reasonably expected to batter those in front of us. But the opposition this season is levels above the Championship - yet Xisco’s lack of tactical awareness meant we have just gone in with the same mentality as last season. Kamikaze stuff really. For me Ranieri is someone who probably sits between Xisco and Ivic in terms of style - and that’s maybe just what we need.
Whereas that’s true in recent games, especially Wolves and Newcastle, the funny thing is he seemed to do quite the opposite at Brighton in the first half and much of the second, trying a counterattacking game against a side that aren’t that attacking (they create a fair few chances but aren’t as open as Leeds, don’t have much pace and aren’t that potent in front of goal). At Leeds it was hard to discern what the team/Xisco was trying to do either way, it was that shambolic. All this stemmed from someone who sadly appeared to have little clue at this level, either being too inflexible or adjusting his tactics in the wrong way.
Yep Xisco's tactics were chaotic. It was either all or nothing. There was no subtlety or cunning. Just a shyt manager unfortunately. But how the hell did our shrewd owners not see this? Surely they weren't so bowled over by a 2nd place finish last year that they were blind to his limitations? A truly bizarre sequence of events, yet again.
I notice the Watford Observer have suggested its high time Gino comes out and explains why the managerial merry-go-round is quite so prolific at our club.
There's more chance of Xisco getting another Premier League job than Gino talking about our head coach turnover.
There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that that is TOTAL bolloccks. It's a laughable suggestion. Honestly. Moon-man stuff.
Least he noticed us. Did some PL preview before the season on his new night time program and one team didn’t get a mention .. Even as candidates for relegation. I bet he wants other managers to be sacked though like OGS and Arteta ..
In theory I think Gracia could have worked had we given him a chance after the cup final, but the fact that we signed Sarr showed we were aiming to go in a different direction to his tried and tested 4-2-2-2, so it's rather puzzling we gave him those 4 games!
@a19tgg You are a total mind reader. You posted this way back in April, after we lost to QPR, He would be an absolute disaster in the premier league, when you have to think about what threat the opposition will pose in every game you play amd adapt accordingly. That's pretty impressive.
I don't think any of us thought he'd be a good Prem manager back then (if any of us were even thinking of the Prem then!)
"Ranieri was always the front-runner. Diego Martinez, the former Granada head coach who has spent time in the UK working on his English and watching Premier League football, was linked but a source close to the Spaniard says Watford didn’t approach him. The highly regarded 40-year-old also has links with Leeds director of football Victor Orta, who may need a replacement for Marcelo Bielsa at the end of this season. Working in England is certainly on his radar." (Adam Leventhal in the Athletic)
That was actually after Luton away, but it wouldn't surprise me if he'd said that after QPR, because Mark Warburton (who is one of the few Championship managers capable of outsmarting opponents with inferior players) schooled him that night, and it was another indication that he'd be shown up at the top level, even if it was before the Deeney injury and formation change. Though Wolves remains the only league defeat at home since then, let's hope Ranieri can keep the Vic a fortress, all those top 4 opponents coming shortly in quick succession will be a real test!
I think this quote from Xisco sums up why he had to go, it's as if he was a pundit on Soccer Saturday or Talk*****...he genuinely couldn't see the rot setting in. The team isn't a disaster, his lack of gameplan, tactics and ability to change a game with substitutions or formations was the disaster. After his substitutions, we got worse in every game. Competely oblivious to the fact that if Newcastle and Leeds could finish it would have been more than 4. Any sympathy or goodwill is being eroded by his lack of awareness. He obviously thought he had loads of credit in the bank because of promotion. "It was a surprise. We had won, drawn and then lost to Leeds. It's not like we hadn't been winning for five or six weeks, or that the team is a disaster and they'd put four past us. I didn't expect it."
Never underestimate the stupidity of coaches. I have one who thinks it's acceptable to wander off court and leave children unattended,to interrupt colleague's lessons as he has nothing to do,to repeat the same drivel on every student irrespective of age, ability or game style. To confuse shouting at pupils for teaching. To leave equipment on courts and beakers in the coach store. To fail to reply to emails and provide the necessary data to volunteers. To continue to coach players who haven't paid a membership fee for two years, leaving a volunteer to chase them so he can take a fee .... continued page 94.
Well it wasn't about the result as the club statement said but the performances. I suspect had we nicked a draw with Kabsele's goal being allowed he would have still gone. Ranieri has in all likelihood been lined up for weeks - not as O'Hara suggested we'd gone for him as if he 'd just com available! Guy on 5live who is actually an expert on Italian football said they probably just kept Munoz on as a way of saying thanks and adhering to the typical British culture of not really sacking managers (but pundits spending week and months saying that they ought to be!)
I think Gino will have learned that in the future he should just go with his gut. Keeping Munoz on was a nice thing to do but he’s got the same amount of stick for actually giving him a shot and then eventually letting him go, as if he’d just got rid of him in the summer. Especially as we had things like the Euros going on so it would’ve got buried anyway.