I could have sworn that there was a statement at the end of last season that we were only going to make small changes to the playing staff?
Signing him as cover for the holding midfield role? If it was strength in depth we are going for then I would hope we would look at areas we are lacking - like only having one recognised left back. I dunno, I do worry the club didnt learn its lesson from last season.
Doherty, Hoban, Cathcart and Doyley can all play left back if needed. We've got more than ample cover.
Nothing wrong with the signings so far I think. Gomes - Almunia left Paredes - badly needed (Although I love Lloyd) Tamas - experience in defence Cathcart - much needed experienced cover Andrews - experienced holding midfielder Tozser - say no more Dyer - had no wingers part from Ikechi Vydra - say no more Ighalo - if Deeney stays you could ask if he'll actually play that much Munari would be the only one I'd say we don't need. Batto has done ok in pre-season and Beppe likes him, Andrews has been signed for a reason and I'd be surprised (although pleasantly) if this guy is better than Tozser and Abdi. Plus you'd assume Murray will be in the squad for the majority of the season if only for homegrown rules. All a bit bizarre unless we've got some departures imminent.
Agreed with this 23 . Although I would have liked a top notch CB as a priority signing , but all in all has to go down as a great transfer window , although we won't know for sure until the season unfolds . We don't need this guy . If it was someone if the class of Ambrosini then yeah but this bloke can fxcking do one
If Tamas can stay fit for the season I think he'll be the best centre back at the club. Angella has a season of Championship football under his belt, hopefully Hoban keeps improving and finds his form from two years ago, same with Joel and Cathcart is a very decent backup in this league. I'm quite happy with the centre back situation but we seem a bit unlucky with injuries in this department so we'll see if the options we have are enough!
Speaking to Parmalive Giampiero Pocetta, agent Gianni Munari and Amauri, takes stock of the situation on his clients: "Munari-Watford is not made. There is a negotiation, but I'm used to speak when the contracts are signed. C 'the interest is mutual, let's see how it goes. Amauri will remain at 100%. has received more than a concern, but as I always said, he has made a choice, and therefore, at present, it seems difficult to imagine a Amauri away from Parma. Nevertheless, the market ends in September"
It shows just how far this club has come when the fans are pleading for the club to stop signing players.
I guess by the standards of summer 2012 and 2013, only getting 10 new players so far (3 of whom have played for us before anyway) is quite a small change!
1 Manuel Almunia 2 3 Carl ****inson 4 John Eustace 5 Neuton 6 Fitz Hall 7 Mark Yeates 8 Jonathan Hogg 9 Troy Deeney 10 11 Craig Forsyth 12Lloyd Doyley 13 14 15 Stephen McGinn 16 Sean Murray 17 18 Daniel Pudil 19 Prince Buaben 20 Matěj Vydra 21 Ikechi Anya 22 Almen Abdi 23 Piero Mingoa 24 25 26 Britt Assombalonga 27 Marco Cassetti 28 Connor Smith 29 Adam Thompson 30 Jonathan Bond 31 Tommy Hoban 32 Aaron Tumwa 33 Nyron Nosworthy 34 Jack Bonham 35 Stephen Hamilton-Forbes 36 Alex Geijo 37 Geoffrey Mujangi Bia 38 Cristian Battocchio 39 40 Joel Ekstrand 41 Fernando Forestieri
Agreed, but imagine if Lloyd Dyer had signed for an Italian second tier team. Their fans would probably be saying this guy has only hacked it in the English second tier and is over the hill, what's the point? And they wouldn't be right. Anyway look at that squad list. Full of holes like a Swiss Cheese. Get your fingers out Pozzos!
''Suitcase in hand, destination Championship. Munari fly in England in the next few hours should be officially a new player of Watford. Tomorrow eagerly awaited new major deal that can be closed. From Parma to Watford, Munari in the foreground. Ready for a new adventure, all English.'' Off Gianluca Di Marzio's website
There must be outgoings then. Battocchio & Murray on loan to aid their development, & possibly Ranegie if Deeney stays. I like him but with Ighalo coming in & Fabbrini looking like he's staying he's the one that could miss out. If not, squad size is an issue, rather needlessly so.
Probably Batto going unfortunately, Murray is needed for homegrown purposes. Don't see why we need this guy when we have Batto and Murray fighting for a starting spot already. I really don't think they rate Smith and O'Nien must wonder why he bothered signing the new contract, those two will surely spend the season at another club. If Batto does go it seems bizarre to replace a guy with 2 years of Championship experience who is actually pretty decent with a guy who has never played in England before and will probably take half the season to get used to it! Like I've said already, I hope we're not just taking a player off Parma's hands because they helped with Tozser.
If he was the quality of Ambrosini, then yeah great signing. But he s not. Seems like massive overkill to me, but then Ive never seen him play or know anything about him so will reserve judgement. Would prefer a smaller , compact squad of quality and experience rather than take chance on what seems to be a Serie A/B journeyman
We're not privy to any promises made to players just to get them to come here so it's difficult to know exactly why they may leave. They have lives, family etc. and for some it's not as easy a path to success as they imagined, they fall in the pecking order and/or other opportunities arise. Smith and O'Nien are brave but are in the same boat, why jump ship just to sit on a bench in some godforsaken town oop north
I agree with this. Makes no sense at all to me, especially as he's old/has no experience in England and he doesn't count as homegrown. Hopefully it's not true or he's off somewhere else as some kind of weird Pozzo deal.
I'll reserve judgement. Nothing wrong with an experienced head if the coaching staff think he'll be good enough. Just look at this thread: http://www.wfcforums.com/showthread.php?43405-Marco-Cassetti/page2 Too old. Unnecessary. Younger players get pushed out (pray4hodson). Italian journeyman. Ended up being a sublime footballer and a fan favourite.
Batty and Murray blow hot and cold, Smith I presume not good enough, O'Nein young. So Toz, Mcgoo, Andrews, Abdi - I can see why we need another mid, although I don't know enough about this fellow to know if he's it.
True but Cassetti had played at the top of Italian football, this guy has nt really. But Im not complaining , just hope the squad isnt getting watered down
Fiorentina, Parma and Sampdoria - Two pretty big Italian teams! He played 13 times for Fiorentina when they finished 4th in 2012/13 before moving to Sampdoria who finished 12th.
I'm not doubting the quality of the guy, I'm sure he's a good player otherwise we wouldn't be getting him. It's just a bit odd if he's replacing Battocchio who is getting better and better and everyone (squad and fans) love him.
If you take away the development players, who let's face it, are only going to have a small part to play this season, we only have 6 midfielders on the books - Abdi, McGugan, Tozser, Andrews, Battocchio & Murray. I do feel there's room for one more and getting in an experienced guy like Munari is a good move. The only downside is that he takes us up to the limit of loan players for the season, plus he's obviously not homegrown. That would take the squad up to 25 players (without development) with only one more addition required, a back up keeper. A squad of 26 first team players, augmented with 8 development is a perfect sized squad for a push towards promotion.
And if you consider we have 6 1st team ready midfielders, then the development players are suitable cover so we really don't need this guy.
If this guy is Abdi 2.0 then I can understand because once Almen got injured last season we were screwed.
He's now been confirmed from the official Parma website:- Parma Fc comunica di aver ceduto a titolo temporaneo al Watford Fc il centrocampista Gianni Munari. http://www.watfordfc.com/news/article/140804-munari-signs-for-watford-1803619.aspx
