Ismaila Sarr

Discussion in 'Former Players Archive' started by Smudger, Aug 8, 2019.

  1. I Blame Pozzo

    I Blame Pozzo First Team

    It does seem that ASM would have been a better option.
     
  2. wfcmoog

    wfcmoog Tinpot

    Or 2 good centre backs for half the money
     
  3. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    Yeah no chance. What is good for Watford is irrelevant. Sarr will play every game due to the ownership’s idiotic £40m investment. He may well even win us a few games along the way to be fair.
     
  4. PowerJugs

    PowerJugs Doyley Fanatic

  5. NemoNemo

    NemoNemo Reservist

    Sarr is probably the most overated player in the league. January would be the best time to cash in as teams tend to overspend during this window and that's the only way we will ever come close to getting back what was paid. His crossing today was a shambles as was his general falling over everywhere and not tracking back to help Ngakia.

    Any Watford fan is delusional to think that things will change in January. The recruitment has never recruited what we require in January. History would suggest we will get a couple of bargain basement squad fillers and a prospect that was too good to turn down so they 'acted quickly'. Well done Gino. Great signing of a player that will never play for us!

    I have no idea how many players we have signed in the Pozzo era, but I know there have been a huge amount of garbage and unfortunately this will not change. I also think that Gino's ownership is coming to an end. There seems to be a huge change of emphasis at the club, which seems to be financial based. Yes covid had affected everyone but I can't help feel that it's a hole we won't be able to get out of and owning Watford is costing money rather than making money. January will actually be very interesting depending on our position in the table, partnered with the teams needs and who we actually bring in.
     
  6. hornetboy1

    hornetboy1 First Team Captain

    It could be different this time around but depends on how scared Gino is of relegation.

    If he’s crapping himself, then we could we’ll see some action to try at least to sticky plaster over glaringly obvious deficiencies.

    They’ll be hoping fairy godmother bin Salman will spend big on Sarr, then we’d at least gave some cash to reinvest.

    On the other hand Gino might be thinking he can’t really afford to furnish a Premier League side. The best policy is to clear debts, sign some great players for the Championship, while we’re in the Premier League, and yo-yo if possible.

    Won’t be too long until we find out what the policy will be.
     
  7. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    Gino and Scott do their business properly in January by not doing business in January.
     
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  8. RS2

    RS2 Squad Player

    Last time we were in the PL we only had 16 points by the time we got to January and Gino thought the only addition we needed was Pussetto.

    Ranieri is probably the most high profile head coach we've had under the Pozzos, hopefully we can get a couple of decent players in because of him.
     
  9. hornetboy1

    hornetboy1 First Team Captain

    We did have a much stronger squad back then in all fairness. Capoue, Doucoure, Deulofeu, Pererya, Welbeck and Dawson would all be first choice over what we have now.
     
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  10. We hate 48

    We hate 48 Reservist


    I hope we "only" paid that for him. The club never reveals what is paid for players or sold-mainly "undisclosed". The only independent confirmation of what is paid for a number of them is in the audited accounts-not individually. We then have to guess if something like Transfermarket is correct in what they state.

    The audited accounts for June 20 state we paid £66m for player registrations and that we paid Udinese £7.1m for a player because Udinese is under common control-which in itself infers Gino has a major interest in them not his dad as many think.

    Then we turn to Transfermarket and our own knowledge of who was new (and not free transfers eg Welbeck ,TDB) in that season. It was Pedro, Dawson, Pussetto and Sarr. If JP was £10m (Transfermarket says £4m) and Dawson £5m then we know Pusetto was £7m then thats £22m leaving Sarr at £44m.

    I also find it hard to believe Gino would have paid anything like that but if we cast our mind back to mid 2019 we had just missed out on Europe and had been to a Cup Final-we then had the statement saying "this is the start of the clubs journey competing against the best" and "we will improve on the feats of this season". Hubris ?
     
  11. wfcSinatra

    wfcSinatra Predictor Choker 14/15

    Saint-Maximin, Raphina & Zaha all far more effective than him. Hurts me that Raphinia cost less from the same club.
     
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  12. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    Accounts say different. After removing Welbeck, Dawson you are left with £50m. Subtract some random flotsam we sign plus agent fees then we are probably looking at £40m.
     
  13. I Blame Pozzo

    I Blame Pozzo First Team

    As likely as me becoming CEO of L****!
     
  14. wfcmoog

    wfcmoog Tinpot

    Yeah, of course I was living in a fantasy land where our owners identified 2 competent, under 32 year old centre halves for 10m each.
     
  15. Guy

    Guy Squad Player

    But we were also saddled with the utterly useless Gray and Deeney
     
  16. Heidar

    Heidar Squad Player

    Top scorer last season. Top scorer this season. We wouldn't have beaten Villa or Norwich without him and we'd be screwed.

    Yes, he had a frustrating game but Sarr isn't the problem. In fact he's a solution. If we stay up it will primarily be because of Sarr.

    Our main problem here is the one Ranieri can identify immediately but our owners still somehow cannot - that our defenders are ****ing pony.
     
    Knight GT, lutonh8a and Sort of OK like this.
  17. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    What is your explanation for what happened when he was subbed last week? We scored four goals.

    You can just as easily attribute all our losses to him being crap, and we’ve got a lot more of those than we have wins.
     
  18. Heidar

    Heidar Squad Player

    That was as much to do with Everton being terrible as us being good. The 3rd goal was lovely but Kucka unmarked, god knows what the 4th one was about defensively and that was game over.
     
  19. Chumlax

    Chumlax Squad Player

    But this is the same old misinterpretation - no one is saying Sarr is the problem; but he is a problem, and given how emblematic of the biggest period of collective failure in the Pozzo era he is, being able to recognise that is actually rather important.

    You say if we stay up it will be primarily because of him, but of the meagre points return we do have, you can take Everton squarely out of that for a start, and managing to get his head on the end of a random cross at Newcastle is hardly abundant evidence of his £40m talents - he had a shyte game, performance-wise, outside of that one act.

    I hope that he does change pretty much everything about the way that he's playing at the moment, and he is (at least decently) responsible for us staying up, but as it stands there aren't many signs that he is able to put in the performances that we will require for him to do that, based on the body of evidence we have seen so far this season (and a win over this Norwich side doesn't count, in exactly the same way that those on here crediting Xisco after it with 'learning' and 'evolving' were being nothing more than wilfully blind - it's not credit-worthy, because they're incapable of dealing with this level of football and are one of the worst sides in it for years, if not decades).
     
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  20. Heidar

    Heidar Squad Player

    Wish he'd cut out the desperate diving
     
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  21. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    Probably didn’t help in that incident before the goal
     
    Hogg-DEENEY!!! likes this.
  22. Hogg-DEENEY!!!

    Hogg-DEENEY!!! Squad Player

    So, subbing him off has not given him the kick up the backside he so desperately needs then eh
     
  23. NathWFC

    NathWFC First Team

    He can **** off, the lazy, overhyped kn*b head. Hasn't improved one drop since the day he arrived and is a painfully dumb footballer.

    One trick pony who doesn't do his trick enough.
     
  24. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    Did anyone notice towards the end, I think it was maybe Cucho who had the ball on the right wing, the obvious run from Sarr was straight forward so the ball could be played in to his path and he would’ve been clear. Instead he runs off into a crowd of Arsenal defenders.

    It was nowhere near the worst thing he did today, but it just summed him up, completely baffling.
     
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  25. UEA_Hornet

    UEA_Hornet First Team Captain

    Yup. Rapidly coming to the conclusion he’s a master at marking himself.
     
    sydney_horn, RS2, Since63 and 2 others like this.
  26. LouOrns

    LouOrns First Year Pro

    I blame Cucho for that. Sarr was in aces calling for it and he just kept running and cuts back inside
     
  27. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    Not sure if it’s the same incident, Sarr never made the obvious run so there was never a ball to play.
     
  28. lutonh8a

    lutonh8a Squad Player

    Yes and No. I do think that Sarr can win us games with little bits of magic and do things that our other players can't. You are right he was a significant difference in the Villa and Norwich game but, he has not been performing anywhere near to his potential, he is definitely not making much of a difference recently. I think there must be a reason for his drop in form, maybe it's a slight change in tactics, maybe his head is elsewhere or maybe he has lost confidence after a couple of poor games. I do get the impression that he seems less confident.
     
  29. FromDiv4

    FromDiv4 Reservist

    I would say less interested.

    This can be seen easily by the way he reacts to a long ball forward. Instead of moving towards the ball to challenge for it he either stands still or moves away from where the ball is coming down. Does he think the defenders are going to flick it on to him?
     
    Chumlax likes this.
  30. Chumlax

    Chumlax Squad Player

    I think there's something in the fact that even in his defence, the only two games that are being quoted (because, indeed, he had good performances in them) are Villa and Norwich - a Villa team who turned up without a pre-season having not bothered to prepare for little old Watford and a squad apparently struck by covid, and a Norwich team who are, once again, not actually of this division. Even in those, he did enough, but afterwards our comments were along the lines of 'nice to see Sarr get at the full backs and get stuck in, shame he faded in the second half, he needs to learn/be coached to apply that kind of drive for 90 minutes' - and, to really nitpick, let's not forget that Sarr's performance against Villa was in part on the back of a historically bad performance from Targett up against him at left-back, to the point of him being substituted at half time. Sarr was a lot quieter in that second half...

    Essentially, whoever you blame or don't blame, it's very hard to escape the fact that so far, at least, Ismaila has really only given glimpses of his performance level last season when he has been afforded the opportunity for it to be as easy as it was for him last year. For me, that's a worry - I know there are those who believe it's because he's being used wrongly, and that's possible, for sure - but if it's the case, it still doesn't go all the way to explaining his lack of application in an attacking sense when he does get into those positions, his refusal to sprint and battle for through and loose balls, and his odd-at-best demeanour on the pitch - constantly looking unhappy, throwing his arms up, complaining, and yes, throwing himself to the floor more than would be ideal.

    If anyone can impact on this it would be a coach of Ranieri's experience and nous, and I hope to god that can be the case - but, it's possible that it's not something that can be impacted, because it's a choice as much as a side-effect. We can't know the truth, so obviously I'm hoping it's the former rather than the latter. In the meantime, I'd still be tempted not to start him in two weeks' time. If he was to start, I'd be giving him 45 minutes to prove he should be before getting the hook (if required). Luke Shaw is in abysmal form, and we need someone who will give him hell, not meekly allow him to chunter his way to every loose ball despite having a top speed 1/17th of our right winger.
     
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  31. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    It's also worth noting that last season, he had Kiko playing far closer to him and giving him a lot of the ball. He doesn't have that this season. And is unlikely to do so.
     
  32. Chumlax

    Chumlax Squad Player

    Yeah, that's fair, and I guess that goes in as part of the 'being used wrongly' part - it's definitely a tapestry, and he hasn't been given every possible tool to succeed as well as he could when it comes to recruitment around him, for sure. It still doesn't explain why he does what he does or doesn't do when he does get the ball (and I'm not saying that you say it does!).
     
  33. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    Yeah I agree. I would rather hope (rather than expect) that if we can get a genuine DM in January that may free up the other two CM's (especially Sissoko) to work higher up the pitch and I think Sarr would benefit from Sissoko for sure.
     
  34. Chumlax

    Chumlax Squad Player

    Definitely agree that the genuine deficiencies in what we're able to deploy across the pitch are having their effect, too - as you say, not even in terms of 'are these defenders good enough', but in the midfield sense of 'we don't have players capable of playing all the positions we need to' - which goes back to that 'broken toys' whine I made on the Arsenal thread.
     
  35. Since63

    Since63 Squad Player

    The effect of training with our defenders all week probably.
     
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