Leicester City 4-1 Watford Fc - Fa Cup Third Round - 08/01/2022

Discussion in 'Match Day' started by domthehornet, Jan 7, 2022.

  1. Dorset-Orn

    Dorset-Orn First Year Pro

    Yeah a bit tongue in cheek but it's just a typical watford performance with a mishmash of players.
    There's something about all teams when heads are down or nerves or things not right (like ManU and Everton vs us) it's just that just seems to be our "norm".
    Watching games on TV tonight you get to realise how gutless our bunch are most games - I've said this for a few years.... Our lot always need the oppo to be "off it" to play well, otherwise we rarely look likely to win....
     
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  2. barely1egal

    barely1egal Reservist

    You also have to compare Munoz and Ranieri's fixture list and injury list. I have no doubt in my mind that if Ranieri had Sarr and Etebo fit and had the comparatively fairly simple run of games we had at the start of the season we would have picked up more points than we did under Munoz and would be in a better place as a squad. Under Ranieri we have put in performances - albeit not of late - where we looked a well drilled side and it was indiviudal mistakes costing us. Under Xisco I genuinely had no idea what we were trying to do.

    I am not absolving him of blame by any means, but the board the players are considerably more culpable.
     
  3. lutonh8a

    lutonh8a Squad Player

    Yes we were **** but in all seriousness our team was just as patched up and probably had more patching than Leicesters. It wasn't like we went there full strength and got slapped by their reserves. We are not good anyway let alone without our 3 best players King, Dennis and Sarr. We had a young lad at left back and our only midfielder capable of connecting play is at AFCON with Morocco.

    Xisco had an easier run of games and we caught Villa out on the first game of the season. Xisco played Norwich, Newcastle at home and Leeds. He also had Sarr available for all of his games in charge.

    Whilst the Brentford and Southampton games were disappointing. 7 out of 11 of the games we have played under Ranieri have been against the current top 7 teams and we also played Leicester away who may have underperformed so far this season but finished 5th last season.
     
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2022
  4. hornetboy1

    hornetboy1 First Team Captain

    This sounds like a who’s who of Ranieri excuses.

    The bottom line is, regardless of “reasons” for failure, are we improving? In my opinion we are not. We look pretty clueless.

    To me this seems to be a continuation of Leicester’s second season and his spell at Fulham, rather than anything more hopeful.

    This is Watford. No manager had survived a run like this before and I can’t see Ranieri being here for too much longer. It’s just not working.

    We need a pragmatic coach. Someone who is going to make us hard to beat. Get that right and catch teams on the break. We are far too naive and open. We’re not good enough to just our score sides. We cannot have this approach.
     
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  5. lutonh8a

    lutonh8a Squad Player

    I am not saying everything is rosey we clearly have problems. But, I do think the quality of opposition is quite a reasonable excuse. Especially when 8 of our fixtures have been Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, West Ham, Manchester City, Tottenham, Leicester and Liverpool. All teams playing in Europe. No coach is going to be able to make us hard to beat with our defence we are too easy to score against and make stupid needless mistakes. Ranieri isn't the problem we have a championship defence. I honestly cannot see any manger having much joy with our defenders. The fact that no manager survives tell a story in itself, keep sacking managers but it will make no difference until changes are made at the very top.
     
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2022
  6. reg_varney

    reg_varney Squad Player

    Another Udinese cast-off a la Pussetto. The sending over of one of their makeweights just to say we have fulfilled our transfer "obligation" to bring in a centreback, box-ticking exercise, is wearing so thin now and Ranieri is expected to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. If he pulls it off then they should make him a freeman of the borough.
     
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  7. hornetboy1

    hornetboy1 First Team Captain

    Recent performances have been pitiful. The showing against West Ham and Brentford were just not good enough and I put that on him.

    There was an improvement against Spurs, but we rode our luck and offered very little going forward.

    Ok, the cup match is not important, but it’s the ease in which we are beaten which is so unsettling.

    10 defeats in 12 and 7 on a spin. This cannot be ignored, and justified entirely with excuses. He should have got a much better return in results than that.

    Are we seeing incremental improvements to the shape of the side? Have any players improved their own performances levels? I am just not seeing it.

    Of course it’s not all down to Ranieri, but I don’t see enough improvement or even stabilisation of the side under him.
     
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  8. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    This is where I’m at with it too.

    I don’t think the answer to all that is ‘get rid’ whereas it has been with Xisco, Ivic etc. Mainly because even recent history (Sampdoria) and beyond shows Ranieri can stabilise things after time. He has that pedigree and also the backing of fans who would normally have turned by now.

    But I also don’t think the answer is to absolve Ranieri of any and all blame and simply say ‘no manger could do anything’ etc etc. Things need to turn around soon even if I don’t think Gino will sack him.

    Gino is the problem when you take a lot of our issues in isolation.
     
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  9. The Voice of Reason

    The Voice of Reason First Team Captain

    :rolleyes:
     
  10. CarlosKickaballs

    CarlosKickaballs Forum Picarso

    I can think of nothing worse than bringing in a bus parking hoof merchant to play Sarr at LWB with Cucho as a makeshift defensive midfielder. Sides would just throw even more players forward and our 4-2 losses will turn into 2-0 shotless losses with Dennis being outjumped by some genetic weirdo from a Benelux country.

    At least with the current set-up there is a chance once in a while the other team will be so horrific at finishing that our 2 goals per game will limp across the final whistle.

    I can already visualise yakety sax playing while 6 players in the box keep kicking it against each other before WTE pulls down Rodriguez
     
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2022
  11. lutonh8a

    lutonh8a Squad Player

    .
    I agree with this, he is still liable to criticism. But you cannot give a chef terrible ingredients and expect him to make a five star meal. Which is basically what the board have done.
     
  12. WatfordTalk

    WatfordTalk First Team

    Xisco also had injury issues with JP, Kiko, Sierralta and King missing games. Also even Ranieri's record against sides outside the 'Big 6' is worse than Xisco's, so I don't think he can be let off the hook based on tough fixtures anymore. Massive chance to change that in the next couple of weeks though
     
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  13. Moosegasm

    Moosegasm Reservist

    Having one of the best English players to ever play in the top flight was also kindof handy!
     
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  14. Moosegasm

    Moosegasm Reservist

    1st time in my lifetime Boreham Wood have gone further than us in the FA Cup.
     
  15. Filbert

    Filbert Leicester supporting bloke

    Doesn’t look like we’ll be playing Everton on Tuesday. As far as I understand the message to clubs from the FA was that no matter what, you play the fixtures. Hence two keepers and no senior outfield players on the bench and two midfielders in defence for us. The reason we’re not seeing the kids playing in the league much at the minute is because once they’ve played in the Prem they’re considered a ‘senior player’. That leaves you open to not being able to request a delay when half of your actual first team is out.

    Yesterday was good fun, felt more like a competitive pre season friendly than a serious cup game! Having Maddison and Tielemans on the pitch tipped it in our favour I think, they were on a completely different level to the other 20 players on the pitch.
     
  16. simpleMASH

    simpleMASH Reservist

    Maybe not quite, but he’s already better than Kiko so he’s the best we’ve got.
     
    The Voice of Reason likes this.
  17. Keighley

    Keighley First Team

    Quite a claim, that.
     
  18. Forzainglese

    Forzainglese Reservist

    Yep. Although I suppose he is worth a small sell-on fee to a mid-table Championship club. Maybe the scouts thought he had potential.. But we don't really have the time or capacity to develop him.
     
  19. barely1egal

    barely1egal Reservist

    Ranieri absolutely is not blameless - I hold him principally accountable for the shambles in the Brentford game and I am sure there are other mistakes in there. However, I think it is also clear that he improved the team and he still seems to command some degree of respect from the Pozzos which is why they have brought in Kamara and why they haven't sacked him.

    If we were to sack him - where does it really get us? I can't see us being able to bring in a better coach at this stage of the season given the horrific reputation of the club. We have changed coaches, players, captains, sporting directors and yet the same issues and the same shambolic recruitment strategies continue to persist. I dont see how anyone can place the blame at the floor of anyone other than Gino and Duxbury.
     
  20. barely1egal

    barely1egal Reservist

    Just planning in advance for our imminent relegation I suppose.

    He is probably a reasonable second choice at that level.
     
  21. Forzainglese

    Forzainglese Reservist

    Well, yesish. But the Leicester attack, which won them the game, was not makeshift. It is one of the best attacks in the Premier League (minus Vardy, I agree).
     
  22. I Blame Pozzo

    I Blame Pozzo First Team

    He doesn't think they have a good group of players coming through in the age groups*,hence buying Eze and Olise.
    * I presume he means 14s and 16s.
    However it's not a direct conversation,third hand but the friend plays golf with Bright and they do chat a lot about Palace.
     
  23. The Voice of Reason

    The Voice of Reason First Team Captain

    Totally agree about Tuffan, he is a total waste of space :mad:
     
  24. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    Who is going to buy him and pick up the wages? Even if we sell him in the summer we will have paid him a million in wages plus signing on fee which needs to be factored in in terms of if we break even.

    A completely unnecessary waste of resource imo. Pozzo taking a punt which directs funds away from the first team.
     
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  25. Forzainglese

    Forzainglese Reservist

    Yep. And Barnes and Albrighton are not too bad, either.
     
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  26. barely1egal

    barely1egal Reservist

    If we had lost the game 2-1 after they scored 2 well constructed goals noone would be batting an eyelid. ts the fact that we lost 4-1 and they didnt even need to get out of second gear. Another instance where our experienced defenders play like they have been lobotomised and our experienced midfielders play like they have been hamstrung.

    The rotation players like Ngakia, Joao Pedro, Morris, Cucho had fairly good games. The problem is that a number of the players likely to be involved in the games against Newcastle, Burnley and Norwich embarrassed themselves (again).
     
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  27. folkestone orn

    folkestone orn Squad Player

    We don't poach players from other clubs do we? We pick up cast-offs that have been released by other clubs.

    Other clubs who know the players really well and have judged that they aren't good enough.

    I doubt whether Watford even scout these players properly
     
  28. folkestone orn

    folkestone orn Squad Player

    Albrighton is about 36 tbf
     
  29. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    Ah yes you are probably right!

    We seem to have a new team each season and a new manager.

    Cannot be good for anyone trying to make their way art the club.
     
  30. BeersThen

    BeersThen Reservist

    Get him in, 5 year deal
     
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  31. Forzainglese

    Forzainglese Reservist

    He's 32, Played for England U23's and U20's but is not quite good enough to play for the full England team. He has impressed me as a pretty good player ever since he started with Villa. He would walk into the current Watford team, even though one of our slightly better players is in his current position.
     
    Happy bunny likes this.
  32. folkestone orn

    folkestone orn Squad Player

    How is he only 32?

    No denying that he'd walk into our team. Not exactly saying much at the moment...
     
  33. Forzainglese

    Forzainglese Reservist

    By being born in late 1989.
     
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  34. The Voice of Reason

    The Voice of Reason First Team Captain

    So who is that coach HB1?
     
  35. folkestone orn

    folkestone orn Squad Player

    I think you know what I meant :rolleyes:
     

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