Davis is one of the season's biggest disappointments and mysteries. Despite posts above, he was well regarded at NF and always played in a promotion winning team when fit. Didn't score many but led the line well, very mobile, brought others into play etc. It was him or Archer in the summer. Archer looked the better out and out goalscorer, Davis seemed the better for a cohesive attacking unit. He has been utterly hopeless. Utterly. With a frontline of Sarr/Davis/Pedro or Sema with Pedro behind sharing the goals around, what could go wrong ? Maybe he was just so gutted that NF didn't make the move permanent he was demoralised, a bit like Vydra was when he pushed him out to Reading having just won promotion to the prem ? Maybe he was crap all along and just had a freak spell of form at NF ? His form is one of the main reasons we are where we are.
I think he doesn't work as a lone striker because he's always dropping deep, and it doesn't help that JP does the same, but that's not to excuse him blowing after half an hour and generally looking like a slapped arse
Fortunately Stoke were so **** that even when he was trying as hard as he could not to score he somehow got it in.
I enjoyed the brief mention we got on the BBC live text thread today, which said how Davis was one of our only bright notes of the season. If he's a highlight then God help us all.
His best ever goalscoring season at the age of 25 with 7 lol. Mind you, it's also the first time he's been first choice all season
Wow, that is some statement, there are quite a few in my time that I think would be worse. In fact we signed one in January
I hate him with a passion and I think he's one of the most unlikeable players to have played for us, but for me he's nowhere near the worst, almost purely by virtue of scoring 7 goals in a season.
Pound for pound thought last 20 years gotta be up there? Weight of expectation, quality of team mates, purpose bought in for and how much he actually ended up playing?
I actually don't think he's too bad, but he has a major flaw in his game. He takes far too long in getting ready to shoot. Too many touches and often feels he's got to beat a couple of players to engineer the perfect opportunity. That needs to be coached out of him if he wants to be a top player. The rest of his game is pretty sound and he's even strong when it comes to battling for the ball and coming away with it in tight areas. I do think his attitude is questionable though, but I put that down more the the environment he was playing in with us. Had he come into a strong dressing room, I would expect he'd toe the line.
You forgot to mention him constantly getting into offside positions and his arm waving at the rest of the team when they did not put it on a plate for him.
Predictable in every aspect of his very poor ability. Personally I was expecting so much more especially after so many championed him on here. Very happy not to see him ever again put on a Watford shirt. But I must say very impressive at home against the scum apart from that very ordinary and uninspiring for the majority of the season.
He takes too many touches because he has to get the ball onto his left food. Defenders are no doubt aware of that. But yesterday he was so desperate to get rid of the ball that he swung his right boot at it and scored. Maybe he's finally learnt a valuable lesson and will always be grateful to Watford for kick-starting his career. Or maybe not.
I'm just purely speaking about him as a player - technical ability, output, performances. Off the top of my head and only in the last few years we've had Manaj, Fletcher, Sinclair, Murray. That's before going back further and looking at the likes of Acuna, Ranegie, Beleck. Then you've got the 21st century pre-Pozzo heroes like Iwelumo, Ellington, L.Henderson, Kabba etc etc As crap as Davis is, he's a different level to all of those on the list, when they were here.
Agree with your overall point but going to stick up for Ranegie, thought he was actually quite good with his four goals in ten games!
On another note, anyone notice Davis during the lap of appreciation? Hood up the whole time, didn't even acknowledge the fans, just spent it chatting to Ngakia.
Great goal on Saturday. Surely done enough to sign permanently now. £15M is a snip in the current market. *sips turps*
To be honest, I only included him to appease the masses. I liked the big lump. Can I also assume you'll be joining me in the Fabbrini Fan Club (hence why he wasn't included - had to put my foot down)?
Come on now. Have any on the list scored 7 goals in a season at a Championship/equivalent level since leaving, or while here?
Sorry @Steve Leo Beleck, I genuinely forgot you were a forward, I actually thought you were a midfielder for some reason!
Could never forget how we loaned him out to Stevenage even though he was on loan here himself though lol
No idea why I chose this as a user name, think I was a bit drunk when I signed up and now stuck with it. Was going to go for Steve Leo Bell-end but wasn't sure if that would be allowed. Edit: given I had to use a hyphen just now to get past the swear filter, suspect it wouldn't have been permitted!
Did any of those get the same minutes as Donkey Davis has this season? Iwelumo probably did and managed 4 in his season with us and in a lesser team. The others were predominantly bit part players. They are all crap. 25 years old and 14 career goals to his name. He is stealing a living as a Championship striker.
Davis, by minutes, scored 7 goals in 34 games, for a team that came 11th. Iwelumo scored 4 goals in 39 games, for a team that came 11th. Yes they're all crap, but they're all varying levels of crapper than Davis', and their respective careers Watford-onwards will confirm that.
I would argue what he thinks he is and what he actually is are two different things. It takes him an age to get the ball under control, he looks like he’s about to explode past a man but he actually lumbers slowly into them and gets dispossessed far too easily for a man of his size.
Basically he was probably brought in to get 15 or so goals but was never going to. And came across as lazy and unfit .
No doubt his season has been poor and we had high hopes. Some of the comments are a bit OTT though IMO. 'Most unlikeable player to play for us'? Blimey, I can think of a lot more than him! Started pretty well but looked a shadow of that player after the world cup with the odd good performance here and there. A happy player is a good player. Definitely a confidence player and his confidence looked shot to bits at times. Interestingly he picked up after Wilder joined and scored a few goals. Was it that Wilder was able to get the best out of him where Billic struggled? Was it because he was played up on his own at times and looked isolated? Looked a far better player at Forest when he was playing alongside Surridge. Or is it that he's just not very good!? Not sad to see the back of him because we need to do better than that but some of the comments are very harsh.
I don’t think he was ever going to get many goals as his record doesn’t show he does that . Started ok and definitely had some physical good attributes but sadly we didn’t see much of them and he really couldn’t last a game and wasn’t one to put in the hard yards . No doubt do well somewhere else though!
