The Premier League - 2021-2022

Discussion in 'The Hornets' Nest - Watford Chat' started by The Voice of Reason, Apr 26, 2021.

  1. lutonh8a

    lutonh8a Squad Player

    I would say that the main difference between us and Brentford last season was the defence. To be fair they have done okay, but as bad as we have been they are only a couple of points above us. They have added Ajer but I watch all of Celtics games when we aren't playing and I don't really rate him defensively.
     
    Last edited: Sep 14, 2021
  2. lutonh8a

    lutonh8a Squad Player

    There were people on here stating that they were the best team to have played in The Championship and that they would beat the record for points gained in a Championship season. I said during their run of form that I thought that their bubble would burst and I didnt think that they were anything special, and I said if we clicked we could finish above them and I was shot down and told there was no chance of that happening.
     
  3. LondonOrn

    LondonOrn Squad Player

    I know everyone it seems except me is down after last week’s game but honestly unless we have a season to rival one of our last three relegation ones, I’d rather be up here than in the Championship. Although the first half wasn’t great, if the second half had continued in the same vein and one of those chances had gone in the mood would be infinitely more positive. Better playing opponents of Wolves’ quality who actually play constructive football than the likes of Millwall, Preston, Huddersfield etc.
     
  4. Hogg-DEENEY!!!

    Hogg-DEENEY!!! Squad Player

    Tbf if you said that when Xisco took over, that would have been a believeable statement, I don't think many on here would have thought we'd finish above Brentford after That Game at St Andrews!
     
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  5. lutonh8a

    lutonh8a Squad Player

    Tbf I disagree, I wouldn't say Brighton are that sort of team. They are actually quite attacking and create chances. Brighton managed the 7th most shots at goal last season despite their league position.
     
  6. lutonh8a

    lutonh8a Squad Player

    I think it was around February they had just beaten Bristol City, I think that was a few days before we played Coventry in Birmingham so I would have changed my mind after that game.
     
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  7. Hogg-DEENEY!!!

    Hogg-DEENEY!!! Squad Player

    And yet they are still very very solid at the back tbf
     
  8. lutonh8a

    lutonh8a Squad Player

    They are but, they don't play a low block which is what Brentord struggled against last season.
     
    Hogg-DEENEY!!! likes this.
  9. Chumlax

    Chumlax Squad Player

    I's there a problem?
     
    The undeniable truth likes this.
  10. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    Brentford’s long unbeaten run consisted of a lot of draws which is what enabled us to overhaul them. There was one point they drew four in a row against really crap teams which enabled us to go ahead of them. Hit a similar patch of form this season and most of those draws will be defeats.
     
    SkylaRose likes this.
  11. LondonOrn

    LondonOrn Squad Player

    Clutching at straws maybe, but the opponents we've played, regarding their position and our results and the manner of them against them, follow a strikingly similar pattern to last season under Xisco.

    The weakest opponent we lost to under Munoz was midtable Luton and that was the worst performance in which we were lucky not to lose by more. Brighton look likely to finish midtable, even top 10 and we lost 2-0 in the worst performance so far this season.
    At Spurs we competed well without creating all that much and lost to a soft goal, like we did at Bournemouth - Spurs will likely finish just outside the CL places, Bournemouth were 6th last season.
    Against QPR (8th, equivalent of 7th out of 20) which was our last home defeat before Wolves we had a slow start before getting into the game and scoring a penalty before losing to two late goals. Wolves will probably finish best of the rest, the difference being we didn't take our chances during our best period. True, that was before the change in formation and attitude, but results were still pretty good even if performances often weren't. Perhaps we need another team meeting to enable all these newcomers to get to properly know each other and the rest of the team?
    In the one win we had against Villa, we cruised to a 3-0 lead with easily our best performance so far this season before a nervy finish with two late goals conceded. Against Forest (who finished 17th, probably the equivalent of where Villa will finish) we were looking comfortable even at 1-0 before Lyle Taylor nearly scored and we were lucky not to go down to ten men when Bachmann handled outside his area.

    Of course we won't get so many wins in the easier fixtures, but there are 34 games left and we have plenty of winnable games against opponents who look likely to finish bottom half, especially at home where only one team hasn't been beaten in seven months, and we've only conceded two goals from open play from an opposition player. Let's see how we get on against Norwich and Newcastle before writing our hopes off...
     
    SkylaRose likes this.
  12. SkylaRose

    SkylaRose Administrator Staff Member

    Here's my predicted table for this season, it means absolutely nothing in the context of it four games in. Just wanted to share it.

    1 Chelsea
    2 Man City
    3 Man Utd
    4 Tottenham
    5 Liverpool
    6 Leicester
    7 Arsenal
    8 Everton
    9 West Ham
    10 Leeds
    11 Aston Villa
    12 Wolves
    13 Crystal Palace
    14 Brentford
    15 Newcastle
    16 Southampton
    17 Brighton
    18 Burnley
    19 Watford
    20 Norwich
     
  13. Harrybassetthater

    Harrybassetthater Academy Graduate

     
  14. Harrybassetthater

    Harrybassetthater Academy Graduate

    I cannot see why people think Brentford will finish so high in the league. Burnley will finish above Brentford without a shadow of a doubt. Watford will be in the bottom three and I am looking forward to an exciting season next season in the Championship. We need to yoyo for a few seasons but improve with the money received and spend it better than in the past e.g. Andre Gray for £18,500,000. I was on holiday in Gran Canaria when he signed and it ruined my holiday as I knew he was useless even then.
     
  15. Knight GT

    Knight GT Predictor extraordinaire 2013/14

    I think we will probably go down but is it just me that's struggling to get the enthusiasm back for football since the lockdown. I've been going for 40+ years and don't ever remember being this disinterested at any other point during that time. It's not just about the fact we will struggle this year either as I knew we would go down on previous occasions as well. Not sure what it is but I played golf Saturday instead of going to the game and while I looked at the score occasionally I found myself not that bothered when we went behind. For the first time ever I've been wondering if I renew my season ticket next season and I never thought I would feel like that. I'm sure it'll pass and I'll get the buzz back.
     
  16. lowerrous

    lowerrous First Team

    Not a guarantee SPL strikers will be a success though - Brum have already had to loan £2mil Sam Cosgrove down to League One.
     
  17. WillisWasTheWorst

    WillisWasTheWorst Its making less grammar mistake's thats important

    I think you might be going against the current trend (nothing wrong in that). For most, the hiatus of not being able to go to games, combined with the relative success of the England team in the summer, will have bolstered interest in attending football. I suspect your condition might be something to do with Watford largely having a new team which you don't know and so you haven't built up a connection with the players yet. Even some who played last season are not that familiar. Regarding Watford's prospects, I am certainly more optimistic than after the promotions of 1999 and 2006 but perhaps slightly less so than in 2015.
     
  18. The undeniable truth

    The undeniable truth First Team Captain

    I have the same but I think it's "small club in the prem" syndrome. All we can do is survive. We won't qualify for Europe, we won't win a cup, we will just survive until we are relegated. If we were in the champ, league 1, league 2 we'd have promotion to go for, relegation to strive against. The quality would be lower but the excitement would be greater. We've done really well to get where we are but that's it, we've earned the opportunity to lose most weeks peering down at the trapdoor below, and you realise that following a smallish club is utterly pointless once you reach the top tier.
    As a fan, I'd rather be 5th in League 1 now pushing for promotion, than where we are. I'd also enjoy watching prem football on tv again !
     
    Last edited: Sep 15, 2021
  19. Hogg-DEENEY!!!

    Hogg-DEENEY!!! Squad Player

    The ending to the 2018-19 season was really depressing, and not just because we lost by a record margin in the cup final, we were never expected to be there in the first place, but it was such a good chance for European football. Unless we somehow jam our way to a cup, that ain't happening again, even if we do everything right
     
  20. Hogg-DEENEY!!!

    Hogg-DEENEY!!! Squad Player

    I think that's about right, fully expected this season to be a struggle (but not as bad as 06 and 99 of course!), yet I'm excited to see the players I've mainly only seen on TV or on my laptop
     
  21. LondonOrn

    LondonOrn Squad Player

    Judging by the more pessimistic comments, it seems some rate our chances of staying up as high/low as the 2006 team with King, or maybe between the team we had most of the 2006/07 season and a team with King playing every game. I think everyone agrees we have more chance than even an injury-free 1999/00 squad, but that's not saying much...
     
  22. RS2

    RS2 Squad Player

    The PL is absolute gash. Look at these Championship teams getting some juicy midweek action, get me back there asap Xisco.
     
    leighton buzzard horn likes this.
  23. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    I have concluded that your points are correct. Hang around getting pasted and waiting till you get a season with your name on it. Even if you break the bank you still go down at some point. Feels like a chance was missed to reset after those idiots wanted their super league.
     
    The undeniable truth likes this.
  24. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    Dyche staying at Burnley for another 4 years ..

    Potentially.
     
  25. leighton buzzard horn

    leighton buzzard horn Squad Player

    I went to a Championship game on Wednesday night and it was brilliant. Good football with various styles rather than relentless tapping it out from the 6 yard box, decent tackles, less diving, good atmosphere. Far more entertaining than the sterile shyte served up in the PL.
     
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  26. NathWFC

    NathWFC First Team

    The idea that the Championship is in any way "better" than the Premier League is absolute b*llocks.

    You can argue that it's more fun watching us win more games at that level rather than lose more at this level, but let's not pretend the actual football, stadiums or even the atmospheres are in any way better. It's a fallacy simply born out of frustration with us being crap at this level.

    A huge portion of our games last season were awful to watch, both because of us and the opposition. Championship football is poo. What do people actually want? Season after season where we get close to promotion but always manage to just about avoid it?
     
  27. UEA_Hornet

    UEA_Hornet First Team Captain

    The Championship is a great league when your team is doing well in it and bossing two thirds of the teams. It's no better than any other when you're mired in midtable obscurity or fighting at the bottom. I'm pretty sure, say, Rotherham fans don't marvel at the less diving, decent tackles and various styles as they've yo-yo'd between it and L1 in recent years.
     
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  28. NathWFC

    NathWFC First Team

    Exactly. Being a lower mid-table Championship team would be infinitely more depressing than being the same in the Premier League where you at least get to watch a far higher quality of football and footballers playing for your club. I don't see why anyone wouldn't want to be a part of the elite level of football, as a fan.
     
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  29. leighton buzzard horn

    leighton buzzard horn Squad Player

    PL is higher quality, I don't doubt that, but Championship is a higher level of entertainment and is more competitive as an entire league.
     
  30. NathWFC

    NathWFC First Team

    Based on what?

    Last season all three relegated teams made the play offs and two went straight back up, and the three favorites to go down went down. Current top two this season are two of the relegated sides with Bournemouth third.

    In the Premier League last season West Ham got a top six finish and Europe, Leeds came up and got top ten, Arsenal collapsed to 9th etc.
     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2021
  31. leighton buzzard horn

    leighton buzzard horn Squad Player

    Just my view that I find it more entertaining as the games flow better without the celebrity refs (refs in both leagues are dreadful), it is still allowed to be a contact sport and most games you get two teams trying to win as opposed to a lot of PL games where one team tries to win and other other is just trying to not lose.

    I get that others won't agree and prefer the PL, just personal preference.
     
    BigRossLittleRoss likes this.
  32. The undeniable truth

    The undeniable truth First Team Captain

    Absolutely right.
     
  33. The undeniable truth

    The undeniable truth First Team Captain

    If you're only interested in the quality of the play then yes the prem wins of course.
    But we know who the top 4 will be. We know who the bottom 6 or 8 will be. Yes the order of each is still up for grabs to an extent but following a club like ours in the prem is just about survival until we drop. Do you think it's been fun being a CP fan for the 9 or so seasons since they beat us in the play-offs ? That's a big chunk of a fan's life. The odd famous wins but mainly just clinging on and watching the gap to the trapdoor. We had famous memorable wins against the big 6 in our 5 years in the prem...but we played them 60 times plus the cups :-(. Most w/es Nath, you are forking miserable and angry !
    Following a small club that will never win anything is, when all is said and done, pointless. Unless you are a really small club like a Stevenage where you can still dream of getting to the champ or even the prem....like we did in 1977....that romantic dream is gone now we've achieved it !
     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2021
  34. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    It’s pointless supporting any team isn’t it really? Personally it’s far more enjoyable supporting a small team with the less frequent highs, than it would be supporting City and winning a few cups each season. I personally would find beating City in the league more enjoyable than winning a cup as a city fan.
     
  35. Keighley

    Keighley First Team

    Life is pointless. Like a broken pencil.
     
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