Except players like Dawson and Welbeck are player that were recruited and did well after the left us, so it is not just recruitment. It seems to be the whole encasing culture,
Crazy to think that Kaba & Cathcart should have been replaced during the January transfer window when we had Pearson (if we'd been serious about backing a manager and staying up)
"Down you go with your little friends!" That's what is required,a hip flask for everyone or Charles Laughton's flask of "coco"!
The most pathetic thing of all was that Russell Martin in the home dressing room is probably still laying into his lot for taking a breather in the early part of the second half and missed an easy opportunity to hit 8 past us. Bilic to stay I hope, WTE to be handed a revolver on the coach home and encouraged to do the decent thing and create some additional collateral damage as he does so! He is good for a major mistake every game and certainly obliged tonight. Bit of a shame Bachmann rose Lazarus-like to his feet after that first half hit. How come their goalkeeper was determined to keep a clean sheet and ours showed zero determination at every corner and free kick. Ngakia (Jezza the Nervous) and Gaspar, where the hell do you start (surely not in the first team)? Hamer, Sierralta, Martins and Kone to start at Norwich and, perhaps Ken's hamstring to ease a little. Kone starting would be ironic as the rest of the team performed as if they were operating as traffic cones for the most part. Our version of pressing is standing on the halfway line and watching. What happened to all that brave talk of 'knowing what we need to do' against Swansea after the Millwall non-performance? Norwich will be pleased to know we are next up at Carrow Road given the run they are on at home. I witnessed the Blackburn and Blackpool capitulations first hand but tonight's sent me behind the sofa watching through my fingers. Depth plumbing should be a rare event for Watford, it is our favourite mode of operation now.
Whilst I get the depth of feeling, and I hate to be the bore many think I am - can we try to not use suicide as a joke? The rest? I agree with.
I should know better by now really, but at half time I thought we could get something from this game. Swansea were very mediocre and ,apart from falling over everytime they got near the box, had appeared to have run out of ideas after the first 5 minutes. Troost-Ekongs bad mistake for the goal aside we had looked relatively comfortable. Then the second half happened. It doesnt matter what the level is, you cant gift the opposition 3 goals the way we did with the first 3 goals tonight. Yet again we created barely nothing at the other end. 1 shot in each half. 4 blanks in 5 games. Just shows how piss poor this league is that somehow we're still in the playoffs. Injuries are killing us but as someone posted above, this mess isnt down to injuries alone. The way the club has been run, no direction off the pitch, continual interference from above the head coach in how the first team is managed and a failure to even attempt to build a team over the past how many windows amongst many other things. And then theres the players we've let go, who we should have kept, and never replaced - Hughes, Zinc, Cucho etc. Davies - I dont see it. Seems to be less and less of a team player with each game Sarr - a shadow of the player he was. Bayo/Kalu - did more in 30 minutes then Davies and Sarr did in 90. Troost-Ekong - thank you and goodbye Asprilla - cant fault him for effort but isnt ready for championship football. Bilic - cant blame him for this mess and sacking him isnt going to make things better Kone/Martins - will both start/paly against norwich Edwards - remind me why we sacked him again? As we dont seem to be any better off. Atleast we had the intention of building something no matter how superficial that turned out to be Pozzo - the sooner he leaves to oversea this new club they are rumoured to be in talks with and someone else takes over the running of us and Manga can work without hinderance the better
Only Troost and Bayo clapped the fans. Rest of them were off down the tunnel. Cathcart sprinted off the pitch like a teenager at FT.
Yes, that proved he should of stayed on - he was obviously full of running still. Another bizzare sub by Bilic who didn't know what to do. But to be fair who can blame him.
I’ve watched Watford for 43 years. Can’t remember a more spineless bunch in all that time. I’ve said it many times, it’s not so much the quality but we have too many players that don’t care. Will only play when conditions are perfect and the sun is shining. We need to bin off 14 players. It’s hideous to watch. Now I’m totally on Bilic’s side, but taking Cathcart off (unless he was injured) was suicide. We predictably collapsed after that. We’ve now managed to get to the transfer window before our next match. We’ve got to make it count as the damage the pathetic backup squad Gino and Giaretta have assembled is pretty severe. I hope Bilic is not under pressure, but knowing Gino he has to be now surely.
I thought we could not play any worse than boxing day think ill give mondays game a miss i really can not be arsed a lot like most of the current squad
The culture at the club is rotten and has been for some time. Bilic has not been dealt a great hand. But he can help in changing it and so far he has only reinforced it with his squad selections. Whilst the entire team was training hard, and other World Cup returnees had already played matches with their teams, Sarr decided to go AWOL for a week and not turn up to training. When he finally decided he wanted to be a professional footballer again and turn up to training he walked straight back into the team like nothing ever happened. Not even a benching or a slap on the wrist, he walked straight back in no questions. That is a spit in the face to some of his teammates who are probably training and giving their all to try and make it into the lineup. Then in the games since he has looked limp and lazy... Is it a surprise? Just because he's the golden boy he gets to skip training and has a guaranteed spot regardless. These little things, these little allowances, they add up and start becoming a standard. Sarr and certain other players know just because they are considered more talented they don't need to give any effort as they will continue to play and earn lots of money regardless. Davis despite playing for a number of months now still runs out of gas after 45 minutes... What was he doing over the WC break? Whilst I am more critical of Pedro than most here I appreciate he is a true professional and takes care of his body, his fitness, turns up to training and tries to give his best physical effort in games, putting a shift in. That's the example Bilic should be pointing out to the players and from now on there needs to be a minimum required level of effort.
I think the players care but the problem with them is three fold. Firstly the squad is bereft of leadership. You look at performances such as tonight and no one is showing any leadership or stepping up to lead by example. The closet we have is Pedro or maybe Hamza and their both injured. Secondly, we are too over reliant on Pedro and Sarr to bail us out all the time. Unfortunately Pedro is injured and while Sarr is a good player he needs good players, or atleast players in form, around him. He just isnt someone who can elevate a team thats struggling. Finally, we havent built a team or rather our team doesnt have an identity. We've gone from a squad of individuals last season to a squad of whose left with the gaps plugged by loans. Edwards tried but Pozzo's attempt at supporting him was pitiful. He wanted that striker from Millwall on a free, we make a derisory token gesture of an offer which gets declined before signing Bayo for 5mil. He wanted a pacy striker, preferable homegrown to avoid selection issues, so we sign Menaj. We had a chance to get the right back who ended up at QPR but instead opted to go with Ngakia who wasnt even fit enough to play until well into the season and the list goes on. Not that we stuck with Edwards.
Because it’s no better than under Edwards, the manager we backed ‘come hell or high water’. Because we haven’t improved whatsoever under him. Because I am bored of the excuses and lies. Because this just isn’t good enough. Bilic will be just another victim but this club needs a massive shake up.
He’s no better than the others. He has no pace, gets turned too easily. Cathcart is streets ahead of him and the others which just shows how ******* awful we are
I don’t think we should sack him. (Although I wouldn’t be adverse to him walking and speaking some home truths…) But he also doesn’t get to absolve himself of blame because of injuries. We haven’t looked good under him even without injuries. And he clearly can’t motivate them to be better when the chips are down or elements are against them. There’s been zero gameplan in any of the games since the WC break. We look bloody awful. He doesn’t effect games and I don’t know what he’s trying to get the players to do in any of these games. It’s damning. Yes, the players and owner deserve the lions share of criticism - but Bilic isn’t blameless.
On a worse run of form than we had under Edwards - now if he was sacked just for poor performances and results Bilic potentially ought to be really I guess but I doubt he was. More because he upset the ex DoF and Daddy Pozzos. Bilic might get fed up though or the players not like him criticising them in public.
Not blameless but the issues started way before him. The biggest one is lack of fitness which is unforgivable
Cathcart’s positioning is catastrophic. He’s not streets ahead at all. But Sierralta is also bang average. We need a whole new set of CB’s and every single one we own should be shown the door.
