We're a long way from being a good consistent side and we're not going to beat many of the top half teams away from home, but it's all about TC developing what he's got. A lot of the top teams like Swansea have been together a while now and we still don't have a settled team. I still think our defence is slow, inconfident, and edgy, so that doesn't help - but it's still early days....
Crap game played between two fairly poor teams. The lack of midfield options really looked apparent today; every time they put a bit of pressure on, we had nothing in the middle, and there appeared to be very little movement. I didn't think too much of Swansea and they were there for the taking, but we didn't get anywhere near the level we can be and had terrible decision making at times. I feel like Tom has been forced into a system that don't really suit the players attributes due to stupid suspensions and injuries. It looked a bit square pegs in round holes in some area tonight.
And abysmal decision making. No teamwork, no brains, hardly any good set pieces. We wanted as much time on the ball as Sheffield Wed gave us. Why pass to a Watford player when you can give it away, why tackle when you can fall over? Why run when you can stroll? We regularly turn possession in their third into a chance conceded, so often in fact that yet again the cameramen are caught out showing a replay of the previous passage of play. I'm convinced this is only us this happens to on a regular basis.
We looked tired from the get-go and were sloppy as heck to go along with that. It doesn't help when 2 of your front 4 are as lethargic as Ince and Sema. A typical poor first half away from home. Maybe Clevs needed to rotate even more from the Wednesday game. Swansea deserved to go in to half-time ahead, although the goal they did score also looked marginally offside from the player who ended up heading the ball back across goal. He wouldn't have needed to be offiside though as we did our regular thing of leaving the back-post completely free. We improved a bit in the second half, though not by much. Louza looked a bit more eager to get involved than in other recent appearances, though the lack of energy around him maybe made his cameo look better than it was. I'd sooner play him on Friday than Ince again though. We could have nicked a draw at the end there had some of our decision making been a bit better. Although Baah brought his usual energy his head didn't really seem in the right place out there though. Finally, can Chak learn to stop hitting the first man from his corners please ffs?!?!??!
That was deeply disappointing. We didn’t deserve anything. First half was as bad as we have played all season. TC is learning as he is going, so he needs to establish how to avoid the dross that was the first 45 minutes. Things improved in the 2nd, but nothing inspiring. Festy was ok, but should stay on the right. Sema was totally ineffective. Shame for him. Georgie was in and out but was our biggest threat. Bayo had a nothing performance after the heroics on the weekend. Baah had some brain fart moments. Everyone else for us was “meh”. Just hope Tom can lift them and shake things up for Friday. Options are limited though.
After the blip on Saturday, it was so good to see the coach and players respond and react in the way they did, and get back to the high standard we have come to expect from them. The coach's stirring words must have been ringing in their ears as they started the game and continued in the manner we expect, in fact, demand. Not even half-time and a small tactical tweak could interrupt their progress as they battled against the usual suspect refereeing performance by taking advantage of the pristine playing surface to execute their game plan with perfection and dominate their opponents in such a forthright manner. Well done brave boys. We salute you.
They only had 16 points before tonight, I wouldn’t have classed them as a top side, otherwise we definitely are a top side.
I think one thing they are is solid at the back and we made it very easy for them to do that. Another team taking an easy 3 points off us which is the worry. Can anyone say we have played ok in defeat yet?
Yet now only three points behind us. Shows how poor this division is, and we fit right in as we just do not know which side will turn up. Our home form won't last forever and if we continue to play like this away we will soon be down near the bottom ourselves.
That was so predictable...yet I still predicted us to win 2-1 in the prediction league. We'll win on Friday & be in the play offs for the international break. So not the end of the world.
Cleverley is the best manager prospect in world football. Sorry meant for WD18 thread. Need the Tom Terry flag Friday to get things recharged!
We can’t really rotate, especially now that we have injuries and suspensions, and I guess it does show our lack of depth in certain areas (whatever your thoughts on TDB, we’re scraping the barrel if we’re fielding Ince and Louza, two players who haven’t performed here and who Clev clearly doesn’t fancy, and outside of Pollock our CB options are ropey). Oxford changed 5 players so I expect they’ll come at us hard, fresh as daisies on Friday night!
Just saw Andrew French has a quote from Cleverley saying he showed Swansea too much respect with how we set up tonight. We won 6-2 away from home last time out. Confidence should be at its highest since he got the job. Everyone around the place is saying promotion is the aim, or at least top 6. He’s not learning from his mistakes is he?
For the love of god can we please stop putting Chakvetadze on set pieces? The free kick at Millwall aside, his deliveries are rubbish. He’s our most creative player but can be so frustrating.
Sadly not. Whatever the "gameplan" was tonight, it was not visible to the players from the get go. Swansea are not Man City but we were terrified of their high press and just kept the ball for long periods, we were no threat whatsoever. I get we have a thin squad, and like @Hogg-DEENEY!!! said above, we are going to struggle when we have less-fancied players. But that does not excuse a total lack of willingness to fight for the ball and try to win every challenge. We looked shell shocked out there tonight, as much as if to suggest the big win on Saturday knocked our confidence rather than helped it. If we turn up like that on Friday we can kiss our unbeaten run goodbye at home. Oxford are no mugs, they will fight for everything because the onus will be on us to come at them and win the game. If we're still frightened little lambs then the third IB could be a bit more than getting some pride back. Saturday looks more and more like "one of those games" a bit like the 5-2 at Preston last season. Hopes are rasied then sent crashing back down the next game. Knowing us, we will beat Oxford convincingly, then go into the IB in fifth place and then dread the return at Wayne Rooney's Plymouth. All that matters now though, is getting the mentality back that we lost tonight, I don't know where that performance came from, but TC has to fix it quickly.
We have a habit under Gino of following up extreme highs with utterly pathetic performances, even in the longer term (e.g. FA Cup Final and then relegation) It's the ****test Watford trait. "We've cracked it! Let's drop our levels."
I knew we'd lose tonight. I voted draw on here! I predicted a watford 2-1 win in the prediction league!
On such a dark day for the world today, a game of football seems inconsequential, but… Another horror away day. Utterly predictable that after scoring 5 in the second half on Saturday that we’d blank next match. Generally toothless in attack, and we can’t keep clean sheets on the road. We aren’t best suited to a flat back four, so we got our set-up wrong from the start, and then proceeded to play poorly until it was almost too late. Bayo back to his normal after his one-off freak show. Chak his usual running around in circles but failing to ever really deliver a killer final ball. Sema should not be starting, simple as. Sad to see Pollock, probably our most consistent player all season, not at his best these last two matches. Baah was lively when he came on, but as befits a young player his decision making wasn’t great at times. We wasted every set-piece we won. Awful corners, even some of our throw-ins were comical. What do the coaches work on with the players? All in all it’s a real one step forward, one step back kind of season. That’s ok, nobody was expecting much from the campaign, but it’s frustrating that we rarely follow up a good performance. It’s also a total nonsense we are now playing again on Friday. When there are midweek fixtures, they shouldn’t then be allowed to move a match forward to that time. Three matches in six full days, with two long journeys, is just not fair on the players or indeed the fans.
We had a series of corners near the end where the plan was to pack the 6 yard box and pin the GK in . Each time their GK just claimed the ball and relieved the pressure. Have we been watching what other teams do to US at corners and think "we'll have some of that "?
What I can't get my head around is that if we're going to ask Chakvetadze to take all corners from the left hand side and you've watched him hit 90% of them into the near post at below head height, why don't we have at least one player making a run across the first defender (or if that's too tricky just stand in front of them)? Could put them off, we could deflect it towards goal or flick it on. It's utterly baffling to watch him hit the same corner again and again with all our players towards the middle/back post and their front post defender clear it under no pressure. I mean, of course, you could just conclude that he can't take corners so put someone else on them but that notion seems beyond our coaching staff.
Yep. Isn't that Sunday morning stuff ?. "Big John, you've got 1 job, get in front of the 1st defender at corners and flick it on if the kick is shanked "
That was a shocking performance . Worst of the season for me though I don’t see the Preston match . Second to everything , continuous sloppy passes to an almost comical extent and I didn’t think Swansea were particularly good . We rallied a bit towards the end but don’t think anyone really came out with much credit . As much as I like TC this team seem capable of some truly shocking displays. It would be so nice to see the team wake up early and get going from minute 1 vs Oxford on Friday .
Our performances away from home are absolutely bizarre. It's like watching a non-league side trying to string a few passes together. I don't expect us to win every game but the way we turn up is unacceptable.
I did read that we are actually bottom 4/5 for XG as we give away too many chances . Just seem to start games poorly allowing the opponent to gain a foothold and momentum in games
Interesting post match comments from TC but it's all smoke and mirrors for the club's media channel. "We've started games slowly.." "We are working on fixing it" "Subs made an impact but it was too late" "We have a chance to get back to winning ways before the International Break..." Could just re-watch previous managers post match comments tbh. I know he has to tread gently but I wish he would come out and say what we all think, "that was fecking crap!"
Watford 0 Oxford 3 FT. Would not put it past this side right now. So inconsistent and we have been pretty lucky at home with visiting teams forgetting how to score great chances.
