N/A Dan Gosling

Not saying I 'blame' him (because that is the standard caveat required when talking about these matters to stop the pop-up 'ayckshually' gremlins from rearing their ugly heads) but it really is a crazy situation for Gosling to find himself in at his age - now knowing for a fact and accepting that he will just be sitting out an entire half a season with no chance of that changing.

I'm sure he's loving the money, as would I be in his situation, but he's a mediocre footballer at best who turned 32 (hilariously, having just checked) yesterday and already moves like a boat - how much longer is he going to have on a pitch?

Happy Birthday, Dan! You're not in the squad! Here's your gift: tens of thousands of pounds a week for nothing!

 

For my last birthday I got a banana holder to stop my bananas getting bruised in my work bag. Think it's pretty clear who the real winner is here

 

Sorry, mate...

 

Do they actually work? I've been tempted to get one myself. Also, as we all know bananas come in all shapes and sizes, surely one general banana holder doesn't fit all bananas?

 

Noooooooo!!

Works beautifully. I'm yet to come across a banana that doesn't fit. Ahem.

 

Our U23s are the real winners here. At least the next 4 months learning from this vastly experienced pro. Worth every penny.

Business that can’t be quantified in monetary value, properly done.

Signed,

Watford FC Twatter Fan Club

 

There are actually quite a few countries that still have there window open. So although we can't actually bring anyone else in unless they are a free agent, we can still loan or sell players to any of those countries.

 

Yes, and since I'm fairly certain you'll only know that because you saw Adam Leventhal tweet it yesterday, you'll presumably also know that that list is thus:

Israel, Austria, Turkey, Australia, Serbia, Hungary, Croatia, Switzerland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Russia, Czech Rep, Argentina, Poland, Ukraine, Brazil.

Now, how many of those leagues/clubs from those particular countries do you think are queueing up as we speak to chuck their money at Premier-League-waged, useless players that we've deemed surplus to requirements? Remembering we've already tried Turkey, and they rumbled us as soon as they actually took a look at the player in question. Not to mention, how many would provide acceptably appealing destinations for the aforementioned players to agree to depart to.

 

…everyone talk about, pop muzik.

 

I see where you are going with this - Slovenian league loan fees. Gino Pozzo has done it again!

 

I don’t rate Gosling - but we seem hilariously short on CM’s so I’d put him in the squad over Sema.

Is there a rule where you have to have 3 senior GK’s in the squad too? Because I’d be leaving Elliott out as well for an outfield player.

 

We have Cleverley, Kucka, Kayembe, Etobo, Sissoko and Louza. That should be enough. Now whether you rate any of them is a different matter....

 

I think 2, maybe 3, are potentially good enough for what we need them for. The rest bar 1, I’m highly dubious about. And that last one is absolutely awful IMO. I’ll let you guess what names go in which group?!

Hopefully it’s enough to get by but there’s no escaping the fact we need to dramatically improve on that group if we stay up.

 

I don't know that Gosling would have added to the "good enough for what we need" tally. N'Koulou *might* be at his position.

 

Sissoko--definitely good enough

Louza, Etebo, Kayembe--possibly good enough, jury is out as they haven't had an awful lot of games

Cleverley--a time and a place for him, he is very useful if we want to harry teams

Kucka--kind of the same-not going to overly berate him, he can be useful occasionally, but ultimately, if we need to play him for anything longer than brief cameos, we're ****ed

 

Ideal to see out a game just in front of back 4. This would obviously depend on us ever being in a position to hold on to anything

 

I'd agree with this, it's a shame that the one player who's probably stylistically most suited to being a defensive holding midfielder simply cannot play any longer than about 30 minutes

 

He runs around a lot and throws himself into tackles but his defensive awareness is pretty much non existent and he turns the ball over a lot in our own third.

Would rather Cleverley ran around for 65 minutes further up the pitch, then Kucka took over that role.

 

Hopefully Etebo is back soon. That should free up several players who are more useful a bit farther up the pitch. Also, if Kamara and Samir can actually pass the ball into midfield where a midfielder can have a chance to turn with it, a lot of players should look a bit quicker. Too many passes are straight at players facing our own goal, creating negative play, slow play, lost possessions, etc..

 

Is he? He’s pretty reckless. I think people like to see his image and assume the type of player he is. But he’s not a warhorse player who puts it all on the line. He’s an ageing player who isn’t really one type or another. A completely pointless signing. And one who we ridiculously have to sign in the summer. Just mental decision making….again. Was never going to be consistently good enough.

 

Etebo isn’t really a defensive midfielder either though. He’s being tarred with the same brush Kayembe gets - they are ball carriers like Sissoko. None of them are out-and-out defensive midfielders who sit between the back 4 and the halfway line. That’s what we lack. It’s square pegs with rounded off corners going into circle holes.

 

Can't be any worse than Cleverley.

 

Yet the few times he appeared for us earlier in the season his legs seemed like they'd gone even more than Cleverley's have,

 

Watford players all get better the less they play.

 

Presume he’s going to have to cancel his 6 month touring holiday with the family in Peru then ?

 

Fewer.

 

Scenes when Gosling scores the goal that keeps us up off his arse or something

 

Watford players all get fewer the less they play.

 

"Hi, we'd like to add Dn Gosling to our 25 man squad please."
"Hold on, that's a serious request, let me just take some advice. Stay on the line please."
("They want to do what?")
("Should we consult with their relegation rivals to see if they think this could give them an unfair advantage?")
("HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA")
"After careful consideration we've accepted your request on this occasion."

 

The season is saved.

 

Excellent news. This could truly be the difference between staying up or not. Will be like a new sineing. The shifts we cumulatively put in on the pitch may have just risen. If he has any ‘all on the pitch’ left from all the other times, you can be sure it’ll be left out there. Odegard better be a frayed. Decent engine.