Championship - 2022/23

Discussion in 'The Hornets' Nest - Watford Chat' started by StuBoy, May 10, 2022.

  1. SkylaRose

    SkylaRose Administrator Staff Member

    I agree, and like you said, it's all about getting the right motivator. We have had 16 so far during Gino's reign - Bilic may turn out decent or dung, we won't know yet. If players play in their positions in a system that suits them (4 3 2 1) there is no reason why we cannot do well this season. As soon as players down tools and lose respect for the manager everything changes. We have seen this time and time again. It is down to the manager to motivate the side before a game, but it's down to the players to execute the plan on the pitch. Something we seem to not do more often than not.
     
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  2. I Blame Pozzo

    I Blame Pozzo First Team

    What is wrong with Huddersfield?
    Aren't Terriers supposed to hang onto things,like leads?
    Useless articles.
     
    Sahorn and Jumbolina like this.
  3. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    QPR really are having a very good season.

    Seems their young English manager has got it right so far .
     
    Moosegasm likes this.
  4. Hogg-DEENEY!!!

    Hogg-DEENEY!!! Squad Player

    Soooo, Norwich draw, Sheffield United lose and L*ton drop points too to boot, WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG TOMORROW?!
     
  5. Teide1

    Teide1 Squad Player

    Yes cracking set of results for us tonight, a historical trend has to be broken tomorrow evening
     
    The undeniable truth likes this.
  6. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    Bit of a unfortunate ending to the Cardiff v Blackburn game .

    Cardiff goalie fouls a Blackburn attacker but then they score but the ref had blown quite quickly to give the penalty so obviously cannot give the goal then Hirst misses from the spot .
     
  7. SkylaRose

    SkylaRose Administrator Staff Member

    One from six now for the Blades. Blip in form or wheels coming off? As @Hogg-DEENEY!!! said, it would be just so Watfordy to now play crap tomorrow night and lose. I really hope we put in a performance, we won't win 4-0 (I don't think), but it is a game we can win. Bilic just needs passion from them. I very much doubt Louza will start, and if he doesnt' we need to make sure we're at least level before he comes on.
     
    sydney_horn likes this.
  8. WillisWasTheWorst

    WillisWasTheWorst Its making less grammar mistake's thats important

    The commentator tried to claim the ref had to stop play for a possible head injury to the goalie, but I agree with you that he blew too hastily.
     
    wfc4ever likes this.
  9. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    Yes it was obvious he gave the penalty.
     
  10. SkylaRose

    SkylaRose Administrator Staff Member

    So another win for Quarter Pounder Rubbish as the hit the dizzy heights of 3rd spot, while we languish in 10th with the possiblility of being 5th (results pending) or slump as low as mid-bottom half. Can't blame the owners for the shoddy football and mentality of the squad. Maybe it's us. Not enough positive vibes filtering through to the players.
     
  11. PowerJugs

    PowerJugs Doyley Fanatic


    The issue is the profile and age of some of these players.


    GK and depth is good for this level.

    CB is mixed.

    We have 4 suitable CB options, 1 young option and 1 unsuitable option. There are caveats to those 4 options. Hause has a history of injury and we banked on it not happening, which it has. You lose one of those 4 good CB's there. Cathcart, like Hause, is increasingly injury prone and needs more rotation or he breaks down. Sierralta is not very mobile so must be paired with a more mobile CB to help him perform to a good standard. WTE has been OK this season and has good form in the past in the Championship but is coming from the back of a prolonged spell of poor form so needs confidence rebuilding. It's also telling he was the only one to go to the fans after Blackpool when everyone else shirked it. Pollock is young and raw. He's got ability but he will make mistakes which is acceptable if he learns from those, but it will hurt us at times. Kabasele has repeatedly demonstrated he is not even a mid-table Championship CB with the errors he is making now and previously. As a character he isn't a problem. As a player, he is becoming our biggest one with repeated errors of the same nature.

    RB is alright on paper, bad in practise.

    Gaspar has not adapted to the Championship. He hasn't shown his vaunted leadership quality nor the positive mentality when playing to help us go forward. Ngakia has been injured for long periods of time and the club knew this. He should not have been counted on until this was fully resolved. This has been nothing short of a critical recruitment failing that has seen the sacking of Edwards and now Bilic I'll wager in the near future.

    LB is good.

    Kamara is one of the best LB in this league, at least on paper. His output should be better, but he does put a shift in every game and causes problems for teams. Morris also looks a capable option; raw, but suitable and I'd be comfortable with him playing in the future.

    CM is mixed.

    Louza, Choudhury and Asprilla would have no issues stepping up the PL and are our best quality players there. Cleverley, Gosling and Kayembe are adequate rotation options. TDB is an unknown quantity but has been highly thought of and should come good with gametime.

    Only Louza can receive and pass a ball quickly, reliably and under pressure. We do not have a Louza style player in the squad if he gets injured. Choudhury is a classic destroyer who can run all game, win it reliably and pass it on to a more capable player. If you demand more, he will struggle to do more. Asprilla is where Pedro was when he joined; physically growing into his body so can be bullied off the ball, but his ability is unquestionable and can beat a man and will only improve. (I prefer him on the wing to midfield like against Blackpool)

    Kayembe was played as a more attacking player later at his time in Eupen after he played a similar position to where he plays now when he joined them. This was a very deliberate decision given his lack of mobility but his decent shooting and ability to beat a man when running forwards. We are setting Kayembe up to fail in this system as we are playing to his weaknesses. Cleverley is a player I think we miss more than we appreciate. Like Choudhury, he does well at harrying players but struggles to do more than this. He is however a player with leadership qualities and that does hurt us. We should however have started to recruit a replacement years ago as injuries were inevitable. Gosling is a steady player, but he will only decline as time goes on and like Cleverley, should not be relied upon over a whole season as if they pick up a knock it will take significantly longer to recover from. TDB is a decent box to box player when he's up to speed and his injury was entirely unexpected and can't be legislated for. However, until he demonstrates he can play games, cannot be considered to be relied on.

    Louza = Playmaker / TDB, Kayembe = B2B / Choudhury, Cleverley = Destroyers / Asprilla = Flair

    LW is good.

    Sema has arguably been our PotS so far with a good number of assists and goals. Even though he can't make a good impression in the Prem, he's in his element in the Championship. Asprilla can also play there to good effect, and I think it's his stronger position. Hungbo is raw but direct and with careful management could come good in time.

    RW is mixed.

    Sarr should be destroying the Championship but just isn't. Whether it's coaching, belief or lack of care this is not the same player we signed a few years ago and has regressed significantly. He refuses to beat his man either raw pace or technical skill and relies on late runs into the box to try and poach goals. This is not what we need from him. Kalu, in theory, exists. That is its own whole problem which once again demonstrates fundamental recruitment failing.

    ST is good.

    Davis, Pedro and Bayo are producing goals and assists even with a dysfunctional team behind them. Manaj has been awful so far. Davis is generally producing good performances and acts as a vocal point nobody else can do when going forwards like Deeney was able to, up until 2019 or so. Pedro has struggled for consistency at times, but he can make good quality chances happen out of nothing and beats a man with ease. Bayo has done enough so far to warrant his place in the team but is the weakest of the 3. That being said, 3 goals and 2nd top scorer in the squad so far cannot be dismissed. Manaj is the backup to Davis with an ability to be a physical threat but is technically and mentally not to standard.

    We have an unbalanced squad.

    Davis, Louza and Hause (Only left footed CB) have nobody who can even try to fill their profile of role in the squad of any quality. We do not have any RB's fit and available in the squad. Sarr (Kalu, if he exists), Pedro (Asprilla), Sema (Hungbo), Choudhury (Cleverley), Kamara (Morris) only have one straightforward replacement if they are injured for their role.
     
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  12. UEA_Hornet

    UEA_Hornet First Team Captain

    Our next head coach, Steve Bruce, has just been sacked by WBA.
     
  13. I Blame Pozzo

    I Blame Pozzo First Team

    When is he arriving?
    November?
    December?
    January...
    Continued page 94.
     
  14. UEA_Hornet

    UEA_Hornet First Team Captain

    In some ways IBB he's already with us in spirit x
     
  15. I Blame Pozzo

    I Blame Pozzo First Team

    Spirit?
    Now there's a concept!
     
    Vanhorn17 likes this.
  16. RS2

    RS2 Squad Player

    Hopefully Bruce is in before January and we can let him get stuck into the transfer window. And by that I mean let him pick some players from the approved Mogi Bayat list.
     
  17. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

    The squad is paper thin. Most of the squad are awful or one step away from an injury. There's little on the bench trying to force it's way into the first eleven. And as for Kalu well.... An option. For whom. Perhaps an old boys club. Due diligence and Gino Pozzo do not belong in the same sentence.
     
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  18. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    Kalu has been a simply disgraceful signing. An utterly transparent misuse of our limited funds.
     
  19. dynamo380

    dynamo380 Reservist

    It should be top 6 certainly. But it is hugely unsettled both in terms of injuries and disruption in management. 4 head coaches last season, 2 already this season. In that sort of environment you will get the sort of mentality issues we saw against Blackpool. For whatever we might have thought of RE and his tactics or subs there was no doubt that quite a few of the players bought into what he was trying to achieve. On top of which a considerable number of those players have probably realized they wont be here next season whatever happens - by my reckoning theres 8 at least who will either return to their parent clubs as wont be able to afford them or will be out of contract and at an age where they will be highly unlikely to get another one with the club, you could also add Sarr who might not even stay the season.

    The other issue with the squad of course is that this isnt a team thats been built. Theres been little notable investment, except for Louza & Dennis, for 3 seasons now. These players havent been carefully selected not just with a view on achieving the immediate goal of promotion but also with an eye on where we want to be in the medium to long term. Its a squad of whats left over.

    We've had 3 seasons since we where first relegated to rebuild and we just havent. Theres been a constant erosion of talent out the door for 3 years while hoping that an assortment of free transfers and more recently loans will see us over the line for that respective season.

    RB: Cathcart (will be 34 after christmas, contract expires at end of season, injured) Gaspar (will be 32 next month, like alot of foreign players has struggled getting used to the physicality of the championship, injured) Ngakia (was expected to make the RWB slot his own this year despite being injured, missed quite abit of preseason, injured again)

    CB: Hause (not our player, signed for RE and arrived lacking fitness, injured) Cathcart Sierralta (was meant to be, along with Cathcart and Hause our first choice CB's - all injured) Kabasele (will be 32 soon, didnt he miss alot of a preason?) Troost ( will be 30 at the start of next season, was injured in preseason and was injured again during the season, seems to have been rushed back for the blakpool game) Pollock

    LB: Kamara (no longer our player) Sema (will be 30 in september, not a left back and went off with a head injury against blackpool, contract expires in june) Morris

    AM: JP (almost sold, now injured) Asprilla (bags of potential, works hard but struggles with the physicality) Cleverley (will be 34 at the start of next season, contracts up before that, injured) Gosling (will be 33 in the new year, contract expires in june) TDB (played a big part in preseason under RE and was expected to play a big role this season but has missed the previous 12 games through injury)

    CF: Davis (not our player, arrived lacking fitness and was injured?) JP Bayo Manaj (injured)

    RA: Sarr (was frozen out of preseason as we tried to flog him, almost sold then rushed back into the squad as there didnt seem to be any takers, then almost sold again then not resulting in everything that had been worked on in preseason to be abandoned as we tried to accommodate him back in the team and since been injured) JP Hungbo Kalu (accidentally sent to the knackers yard)

    Virtually our entire back line, bar Kamara and the two development players, is either currently injured or has been during the short span of this season so far. Likewise a large chunk of the midfield is either injured or only just coming back from lengthly lay offs. Our forward line isnt much better. This squad should be performing alot better, it should be top 6 but until it gets something which looks remotely settled it wont be. And the mentality of the squad wont improve until we get some stability behind the scenes that isnt constantly being undermined by attempts at micro management higher up.
     
  20. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    If we were playing tomorrow/Wednesday you wouldn’t be surprised if another 3/4 players were be ruled out through injury !

    The physio room must be the most busiest place at the training ground.
     
  21. Gromit

    Gromit Academy Graduate

    £2.7 million (according to transfermarket.com) for a player I genuinely forgot existed until you mentioned him.
     
    lutonh8a likes this.
  22. hornetboy1

    hornetboy1 First Team Captain

    Down to 13th now after Wigan’s victory tonight. If Bristol win tomorrow we’ll be 14th. Yay.

    We may not have realised it, but our defeat at Blackpool could have been a relegation 6-pointer.

    Also, who would have thought Ashley Fletcher’s loan to Wigan was going to be an upward move.!!
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2022
  23. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    Well if West Brom and Boro find any form they will surely fly up the league.

    Least Wigan won’t win their first home game v us .
     
  24. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    I’ve said it time and again. This forum doesn’t realise how piddly this division is.
     
    GoingDown and RS2 like this.
  25. RS2

    RS2 Squad Player

    We won't be leaving the bottom half for the rest of the season.

    ken.jpg
     
  26. SkylaRose

    SkylaRose Administrator Staff Member

    Bookmarked.
     
  27. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    They won last night v Blackburn- that is why I said it.

    Sorry.

    As someone said to me elsewhere they’ll probably win their 2nd!!
     
  28. The undeniable truth

    The undeniable truth First Team Captain

    We can still catch Wigan.
     
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  29. Hogg-DEENEY!!!

    Hogg-DEENEY!!! Squad Player

    The sad thing is this division is quite piddly, Norwich and an almost entirely restructured Burnley team, not to mention Sheffield United, are all doing the job they are supposed to do with the resources available to recently relegated clubs, yet we, for a variety of reasons, seem utterly incapable of doing the same
     
  30. LaClusazSki

    LaClusazSki Reservist

    For an alledged 38 Yr old, it was a disgraceful signing.
     
  31. luke_golden

    luke_golden Space Cadet

    Where was it alleged he’s 38 years old?
     
  32. LaClusazSki

    LaClusazSki Reservist

    Belguim, French and Nigerian fan forums
     
  33. luke_golden

    luke_golden Space Cadet

    Reliable sources. Makes sense.

    Fair play if you’re digging for dirt on our players in those far flung places. Genuine commitment.
     
  34. EnjoytheGame

    EnjoytheGame Reservist

    Can you post the links please?
     
  35. RS2

    RS2 Squad Player

    15th and 4 points behind the rabid animals up the M1.

    #InPozzoWeTrust
     

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