I accept he has not performed to the best of his ability at times but 9 managers means 9 different ways of playing. The way Hodgson played hardly suits his game and I suspect he has lost confidence. If he wasn't committed he would have left when we down a couple of years ago. I imagine the disaster that was last season has worn him down like everybody else
I think he stayed due to circumstances rather than being particularly committed. At the start of the championship season he had four years left on his deal, he cost us €35m a year earlier and Covid means there was little to no interest in him. I think if he and his agent had any grasp of reality and common sense they would’ve realised pushing for a move would’ve been extremely fruitless considering the circumstances. We held all the cards with regards to contract length and both would’ve understood we were unlikely to sell a player for £20m or less who cost nearly double that to keep a player happy who we don’t need to keep happy, because we had him on a four year deal. It was just the reality of the situation. He was essentially trapped with us, so there would’ve been little point fighting against it. 2 years later we’re likely to get a better gauge of his commitment when the tables are turned more in his favour.
Am not asking too much from Sarr, 9 managers and their different style of play should not be a reason why a player who earns a weekly wages would be selected to play for a team and while on the pitch he can't do basic things like trying to get the ball from an opponent, putting yourself in a good position to get a pass from a team mate, attacking the opponent's goal when you have the ball. It's just like expecting a goal keeper to just stand in between his goal post and not make efforts to save any ball just because the team has been constantly changing managers or because the defenders in front of him are crap. Sent from my AUM-L29 using Tapatalk
In a few years when his pace slows he will be a less effective wide player than putting Chris Iwelumo there
Criticism of Sarr is a bit unfair, he's been surrounded by complete and utter dross whilst being managed by a number of awful managers. It's enough to make any decent player look shyte. Without him we'd not have been promoted to the PL straight away. A part of the problem is that some of our fans believe anything the club tell them, so when they were told Sarr was going to be the next big thing (alongside his price-tag) they were always bound to end up disappointed. When he finally escapes our car-crash of a club he'll do well. Easily a top 10 PL player and probably could play for a Europa/Champions League team in Spain, Italy, France, Germany. Hope he does well wherever he ends up.
I also hope he does well, but I don’t agree about the top 10 thing. Despite the less than ideal environment at Watford he consistently failed to use his greatest asset, which is his speed. By the age he is now he should have had the gumption to do that irrespective of the way he was managed.
He has the potential, it's whether he has the attitude to dig deep when it's hard going that will hold him back.
Yes but, as the debate that has already been done here a thousand times points out, without him it's very possible ranging to likely that we wouldn't have been relegated in the first place, so crediting him with that is a bit of a herring. Not to mention the fact that yes, indeed, whilst he very much helped drag us back up seemingly against a lot of people at the club's collective will, he did it with 13 goals. A decent enough return, for sure, but only 4 more than the notably younger JP, for instance. Ivan Toney got 30 in the same season, as Brentford's chief offensive threat, and then Mitrovic decided to go and smash that into oblivion this year by scoring 72. You might imagine someone at the level Sarr is supposedly at would make a bit of a wider splash in a second division in something like his 5th senior season. As it was, he was strongly outperformed even by two players from Norwich; one of who was already in his 30's and is already back down with them, and the other managing to have a relatively disappointing impact at a middling to bottom half Prem club.
Toney and Mitrovic are centre forwards and most of JP's goals came as a centre forward. How may goals would Mitrovic have scored as a right winger
Some good points there, can't really compare him to Mitrovic or Toney though considering they were out and out strikers.
The most salient point is we bought him as a premier league club, cost €35m, and he came from a top flight club who went on to qualify for and play in the champions league. The fact he dropped down to a second tier league that was ravaged by covid and then played some part in us getting promoted is nothing to be thankful for. Realistically what would your expectations for him be? Did he actually over exceed your expectations as a championship player?
He's been very much part of the dross. That he promised much more in the past doesn't get him off the hook. In fact it puts him much further onto it in my view. He's not only been ****, he's shown a complete lack of effort for most of the season. I can't wait for him to **** off and hope he flops wherever he goes.
And he’ll potentially continue to screw us further (not his fault directly) because Gino is too proud to admit he made a mistake and just take whatever the market value is for him.
Do people think Gino should have leaked to The Athletic that he will literally take any bid that comes in? Even a tenner? Would that be a good negotiating strategy?
That's true, but (to my mind, at least) it's not really the point - they were both their teams chief offensive threat, as Sarr very much was to us. The truth is that Sarr often ends up playing a sort of attempted free role and going through the middle anyway - several coaches have also been tempted enough to try and play him there officially, he just isn't anywhere near good enough at it at the top level to make it stick. Of course, that is one of the things that is more open to coaching, but it does all go into the mix of Sarr and his talent/impact/worth, when we are weighing it all up to value/assess him. I would also point out that, despite the fact that they are both centre forwards, and we may question what they would do out on the wing, Mitrovic in his record-breaking season for goals only fell short of Sarr's assists by 3 - he registered 7 assists to Sarr's 10. And Toney, in the season they went directly up against each other? He registered 10 assists himself - exactly the same as Sarr, despite not being either on the wing or a creative player. So, again, their heat maps may not look exactly the same, but in reputation/expectation compared to impact, Sarr does sort of pale. (@Cassetti's Beard just adding you in too for response!)
By all accounts, the boy is a bit dim. A candle is brighter. Where ever he ends up, l hope he does well. Sadly, l think it will be a career of 'if only'. He is not interested in staying at Watford for the past two seasons, so let's try to get our money back and wish him good luck.
You have to be slightly dim to have one stand out attribute as a footballer but hardly ever use it. I don’t really buy the different coaches/crap teammates nonsense. Good players standout regardless otherwise no player would ever make it anywhere.
You cannot compare goals between a centre forward and a winger. The winger also defends. How much defending did the other two do.
I would imagine a fair bit, considering how successful their teams were. Brentford also press high and aggressively, so Toney does a lot of work that way - how much aggressive, high pressing does Sarr do? That's all slightly moot, still, though, because as I said, it's about being their team's main offensive threat, and how much they visibly, undeniably stood out in doing that compared to their supposed reputations/talent levels. Fundamentally, Sarr had a decent, strong season at that level, and not that much more (for the player he is/is supposed to be). He was outshone by multiple players the season he was there, and further players in the season since, too. It's not the be all and end all or definitive, of course, but that was never what I claimed. It's just another part of the assessment, and that part doesn't stack up very well for him, to my mind.
Agree with you. Even as a winger, Sarr isn't very good in his position. Compared to Mbeumo and Toney as strikers. Sent from my AUM-L29 using Tapatalk
You really love to pigeonhole players don't you. Sarr has clearly played as a forward for us, mainly in the Championship.
When we look back in years to come, I’m sure Sarr will be in the top ten of the best players we have had in our Premiership years and also in the top ten of players who underachieved whilst with us. I don’t blame him I blame the multiple changes of head coaches, most not being able to communicate with him directly, changes of tactics very few months and changes of playing personnel. We all need stability (or a darn sight easier if you have it) in our lives to operate at our full potential, stability is a long way down the list of WFC attributes I’m afraid.
Liked especially for 'gumption'. Being able to perform at a consistent 7/10,8/10 is the goal for most athletes. Sarr for reasons others have stated, instability of the club, injury,over inflated opinion of his own ability (perhaps?), expectations on him,has achieved this rarely. It will be a darned sight easier in a settled club and a winning team and if he doesn't develop he will certainly have underperformed.
It’s no coincidence that when his form fell off a cliff, we stopped winning last season, and Sarr was a big part of the promotion season. Hopefully this time we stick with the new manager, rather than always chasing instant results - which will give players a better platform to develop
