Very happy with the win. Deserved it. Decent performances from everyone, with JP, Dennis, Kamara and Sarr standout. Defence solid. Was pleased with Kayembe. Clevs gave us a few moments of concern. One of the main takes from the game is that we are likely to be in bother without Sarr and more particularly Dennis. Thought Minaj did ok when he came on, but too short a time to judge.
Thought we looked solid enough, and a relieve to get the win. Very difficult to judge until we know who stays /goes.
A good win there . Thought we were going to let it slip at the end but defended well. Pedro and Dennis excellent.
With Cleverley being made Captain he could be this seasons Deeney, Rob needs to ditch him asap and not soldier on with him purely based on him being a good pro and because he made him captain. I think if we lose Dennis and Sarr, with Pedro we still might be ok against the championship dross, but we’ll have no chance against teams with a realistic shot of top two.
Mooney still dribbling on about nothing. Sounded like a typical Sky Monday night special. Unspectacular 1-0. The game won't linger long in the memory but the 3 points will. Well done Rob Edwards, you can't beat a winning start.
Perhaps we should encourage more teams to foul JP. After he was body checked on the touchline without a foul being given, he was clearly furious. Took out an opposition player for a yellow, then ran the entire SU team ragged on his own for 10 minutes. Showed what he can really do when he wants (he was outstanding the whole game, admittedly). Also thought Kayembe played very well - always ready to receive the ball in space and pass it on. Simple stuff, nothing flash, but kept our possession moving.
The last time we had a virtually flawless pre-season was under Bassett, and looked what happened in the season that followed. Since then I have always hoped we at least draw or lose one game each pre-season.
Obviously some problem areas (Cleverley in a two, LCB, Kamara RWB) but the squad is far from sorted. If, and it's a big if, Edwards gets the players he wants then we're in for a good season. I can't see us keeping all of the front three so whoever goes needs to be replaced well.
Bachman-solid The back three-decent game for all of them Sema-gave his all, but is quite a poor player. Kamara will be much more useful there, but I guess Sema would be an okay backup for him Kamara-looked a bit uncomfortable at times playing out of positon, started our counter attack from which we scored. Kayembe-thought he improved in the second half, ahouldn't be a starter, but could be an okay option from the bench. Better half of our midfield which isn't saying much tbf. Cleverley-dreadful Sarr-quite for the most of the game, had some decent touches and of course, provided the assist Dennis-looked like he played at about 30% of his ability and still, our opponents couldn't deal with him at all. Pedro-decent first half, if a bit quiet. Excellent second half and he got the goal as well. I hope this will be his season. Subs: Manaj-decent cameo. Looks quite strong. Reminds me of Perica a bit(as someone on the shoutbox alluded as well) Gosling-didn't do much good or bad in the 10 minutes or so he spent on the pitch. Overall, decent performance all things considered, and it was important to get 3 points. I worry that we'll lose all of our firepower if we sell both Sarr and Dennis, because I don't trust us to get adequate replacements. P. S. Max Lowe had one of, if not the worst performances I have ever seen and that Khadra guy is built like Tufan but much more mobile
Watford vs Sheffield United Highlights https://highlightssoccerhd.com/video/watford-vs-sheffield-united-highlights/
Too right. I think we won every match pre season? Mind you, we then won the season opener too. It was just after that it went badly wrong lol
Decent enough performance against a team that most are predicting to do very well this season - Cleverley looked utterly ****ed by the 60th min which is a concern, Kayembe did alright but not sure I've ever seen a less agile CM - fine as long as he plays the way he's facing or has to run in a straight line but has the turning circle of a 747 - Louza returning can't come quick enough to give us a bit more quality in the middle of the pitch. That starting front 3 is just overkill in the Championship, would've liked another to settle the nerves but beggars can't be choosers. I think the 3-4-3 switching to a 3-5-2 in the final 15 to protect the lead is something we'll see a lot of this season (well - for as long as we have both Sarr + Dennis anyway!). 3 points and HMS PTL has left the port.
Dennis looks too good for this level, kamara too, but wasted on the right. Sarr pretty crap apart from the assist. An offside goal but we were crap. Sheffield utd were poor too. Crap game. Crap ref.
https://mobile.twitter.com/database4foot/status/1554210812239159296 Operation Kabasele Agenda in full swing.
I did try to warn you all about the gap between the Prem and the Champo. Kayembe is an absolute monster at this level, but merely competent yet forgettable in the top flight. If we keep this front 3, just hand us the trophy now. Tired in the last 20 which is to be expected as we learn this system. But never in real danger.
I’ve been a huge critic of Kabasele. But he was superb tonight, I have to admit that. Can see Cleverley dropped for Gosling fairly quickly if anymore of that continues - and Kayembe will make way for Louza. Kayembe did fine tonight but just feel like you’re never gonna get more than 6/10 with him. Not nearly progressive enough in this formation. I genuinely didn’t think it was that bad a game considering it was first game and all that. But again, my last word will go to the few players who have taken pelters all pre-season from me and others - Kabasele, Cathcart, Bachmann and Sema. Thought they all stuck to their task well tonight and there wasn’t a bad performance between them.
Sometimes feel like I'm watching a different game! Although a fan of Cleverley, I was convinced his legs were completely gone based on his performances past season. But tonight I thought he was mostly very good, from a defensive POV. Didn't offer much on the ball, but set the standard with his workrate, which seemed to transmit to the rest of the team. Think he's got a role to play this season. Sema I also thought was decent, capable of beating Championship right backs, and also worked very hard, which was needed with 3 attackers on the pitch. Also thought Kabasele put in his best performance in years, really aggressive, and kept every SU attacker quiet, as did the rest of the back 5. Dennis will take the piss out of this league. Looked up for it, whether that's because he's happy here or playing for a move, we'll see. Ideal start, and a thoroughly enjoyable evening!
