I know I'm going way back, but did we ever play it out from the back in those halcyon days, or was is always a big goal kick upfield or a big kick upfield when it was a gathered ball by the keeper? @reids, were you around in those days (with a notepad and pen or pencil, obvs) I watched most of the first half today on the Red Button, and like the few (less) other Internet games I've seen this season, it just felt like a complete and utter waste of time trying to play it out from the back, even without a so-called 'target man' to aim for. The second half was much better. I was out of the house and drinking Asahi in the wonderful Spring sunshine. We Go (Bust, for the first time? The 1881 become the 2023...) Again Keep the Faith I still miss it from afar,and always will. SCG
I watched some of the old Big Match reruns from the 70s recently and was surprised at how much playing out from the back there was, in the sense of the keeper rolling the ball out to the full back and playing from there. However, the 80s became much more long ball and GTs policy was to get the ball forward quickly. Ian Bolton was expert at the long pass from the back and Steve Sherwood would often play a long clearance as soon as he gathered the ball to try and catch the opposition off guard before their defence was set. It was only at the end of the 80s, though, when some teams played an ultra long-ball game. Dave Beasant at Wimbledon was the first keeper to dribble the ball out of his area to kick even longer into the opponents penalty area for John Fashanu to challenge. There was no back pass rule in those days so, when defending a lead late in a game, teams would keep possession at the back including passing back to the keeper to run down the clock. Liverpool were especially adept at this because they had high quality passing defenders, but it was very frustrating to watch. GT’s teams would never pass the ball round at the back just to keep possession in the way Watford seem to now; he would see it as wasting time in which you could be attacking. In fact, what I think we see now from many teams is just the current fashion or craze based on what the top teams are doing, but the truth is they are just not as good at it because the players are not as good. The incisive forward pass is often missing, either because the defender doesn’t see the opportunity, doesn’t have the ability to play it, or the movement from players further forward is not there.
Why are we playing around at the back when we have the best winger in the division sat on the bench? Attack, attack, attack! I started watching in the late 60’s and seem to think the defenders got rid of it as soon as they could!
It's a load of old pony isn't it?! In any sport you play to your strengths and attack asap. We do not have the players to faff around with it and Kafka manages to slow play down to reverse. Give Pozzo credit. He's managed to assemble a squad that would not function in almost all of the football pyramid.
Sarr? Not sure that will be a view commonly agreed on ! All teams do it even at non league level as it’s seem as the “right way “ till that goes wrong .
GT would have been horrified with how we play now In the 80's the aim was to play in the oppositions half. Defenders job really was just to get the ball to Barnes, Callaghan or to target man Jenkins .
Not just us is it.. He probably wouldn't like modern football full stop and i think admitted that when at Villa and that was some time ago.
You poor sod! You by an accident of birth have missed the years of fat and have been left with the fuzzy end of the lollipop.
Of any side in any division, Watford is the last team I would want to see playing out from the back. Our morans trip over the own feet at the best of times, and have no logical gameplan or plan of attack that it would just be like playing hot potato. If you have very good wingers who can run the channels and get the central midfield pushing up towards the attackers, then it's a great strategy to have. You can be a team that is very much on the offensive, especially if you have two very potent strikers. We have absolutely none of that right now. We did in the past (heck we had one of the best midfields in the Premier League at one point), but those days are long gone.
Passing around at the back is fear football, hold on to the ball and the other side can't score, Taylor's idea was based on most goals scored were in the box so get the ball up there, if we conceded we did not worry because we could score more! One of the big mistakes we have made is to ditch the red shorts,Taylor said red was for danger and had an effect on the other side, when the team came out the bright colours gave the ground a bit of razzamatazz and cheerfulness, with Elton in the stand it was show business time. Modern style fear football forgets that we come to be entertained not bored rigid, by playing safe keep ball the excitement is taken out, when a player does something unexpected like a mazy dribble or defense splitting pass in to space we get cheering. A good example is Southgate's England team boring as hell I don't bother to watch it. As for the Pozzo ownership and the situation we are in it stems from what he wants and what we expect, Pozz0's aim is to buy cheap and sell players dear to make money, we the fans want a team playing well at the highest level, sometimes the 2 aims coincide as we have seen with our stay in the premiership but not at the moment. For the Pozzo plan to work he needs a team to show his wares off so he buys a small club and gets some support acts to play with the "stars" without spending too much, building a team is not his aim as long as he can sell. Taylor built a team that played as a team and he insisted they lived near and take part in local events so they were seen as part of the local community, Pozzo has never even spoken to the fans never mind the local community he treats the club as a private business and resents what he would feel as interference of his ownership
I've always been a fan of the Red Shorts. Some may not agree with me, but for me red and yellow have been staple Watford, like Green and Yellow is for Norwich City. Problem is, as soon as the black was introduced it totally took over the look of the kit. I don't hate the black on our current kit, shorts included, but I would love us to have a home kit that was red shorts again. I know why they did the three colours, its obvious, Hornets are those three colours, so it made sense to involve all three into our strip. Red Shorts is danger, like a Bull charging towards the opposition...
All the best sides from time immemorial have sought to play in the opposition half or final third. I'm sure @reids has the statistical tools but I would think we are one of the worst at it, chance creation, accurate crosses and shots on goal. Pressing high and closing down in midfield can upset the best sides. Argentina produced a masterclass against France never allowing them to settle and eliminating the key cog Griezmann. GT was labelled a long ball merchant which was a nonsense. He had dealings with Charles Reep but it was not aimless hoofball. It was accurate passing from deep to the flanks or central striker. Winning the second ball from it and getting 2-3 players into the box to take any opportunities.
If ******* Choudhury goes ******* back into defence to get the ******* ball and pass it to a defender one more ******* time I swear to god I'm going to lose it.
I think this all depends on when you started watching Watford, because that is what you see as the norm. When I started it was just yellow (or actually gold) and black and flashes of red were only added in the late 70s around collars and cuffs. This was quite good because it slightly distinguished us from other yellow and black teams. It was then in GT’s time that the red shorts were introduced, which of course coincided with a very successful period for the club, so if you started watching then red shorts will be the norm for you. Personally, on a purely aesthetic judgement, I think black shorts with yellow shirts look smarter than red, which is rather garish.
Nice. Is this why you follow them KGT ? Any more ? There surely must be. I've been racking my brains with some of the European leagues and Brazil and Argentina's top divisions but cannot find any.
It’s pure coincidence that they play in the same kit as Watford. I follow them because they have two surnames making up a team!
Ah I see. Looked up their history. Merger of two Coatbridge clubs. They've almost won as much as we have.
He will do that after thrity seconds to just see what you will do... then do it again to really rub it in.
Take simple pass to defender (gets you away from blame should we lose possession and concede). Then you've got 3 options. 1 - hide behind an opponent. 2 - drop really deep to take a return pass before taking another simple pass to a defender. Or 3 - stand still and hope the ball goes away.
