Watford 25 Man Squad (& Numbers) - 2015/16 ( as it stands )

GK: Gomes, Arlauskis, (Gilmartin).

DEF: Nyom, Prodl, Britos, Holebas, (Cathcart).

MID: Behrami, Capoue, Jurado, Berghuis, Diamanti, Layun, (Anya, Watson).

ST: Ighalo, (Deeney).

That's 13 foreign players. Add Doucoure, a winger and a striker then it's a straight choice between Abdi and Vydra for that last slot. Anyone else think we look top heavy? There isn't any serious cover for Nyom unless Paredes is staying or Gamez is coming in. If that's the case and depending on whether we get a winger and a striker then both Almen and Matej could miss out. If Jurado got injured though we'd be ****ed so I think Almen will make it.

 

Gamez makes lots of sense as he can cover either fb position or Holebas not settling. We clearly also need a CM cover in addition to Watson, another CB (so we if are not buying that's Angella) and we seem keenest on a winger. So that's it.

Except we also need a striker. We will struggle to get one and so this may still be Vydra even though alone up front is not his best role. For this to happen there will be a surprise temporary drop out, Berghuis loaned perhaps?

So for Abdi, he is in competition for sought after roles in the three. He may end up on temporary loan until the next window when he could replace an injury or loss of form or if transfers don't happen he is in.

 

Looks like we have one place remaining on the non home grown 17

 

Gomes, Arlauskis,
Prodl, Nyom, Holebas, Britos, Paredes
Capoue, Behrami, Guedioura,
Diamanti, Abdi, Berghuis, Jurado
Ighalo, Ibarbo, Oulare

Seems like seventeen to me. Unless we sign Badu - in which case I guess Paredes might miss out.

 

Really thought Badu was going to sign. Oh well!

 

I actually really like our squad for the sheer fact that if we are in trouble come January by getting rid of Dyer and Belk will give us 2 spots plus the one not being used to bring in 3 players that will make us stronger for the second half of the season. I actually think Gino has done this deliberately to see where we are come January.

 

I'm fully expecting Doyley to sign a short-term contract when he's fit, even if it's only until January. No harm in putting him in the squad.

 

He's got so much to offer Alfie Young and Jorell Johnson in the under 21s too. I can see him playing regularly in that side if he gets a contract.

 

It looks like we have a very lean squad now. We only named 24 instead of the maximum 25.

If you consider Belkalem, Smith and Dyer are only really making up the numbers, then it's further reduced to 21 players.

You can of course top it up with Oulare, Hoban and Ake....but of the other U21 squad members I doubt any will play a part this season.

I think the Premier League rules are a little bit too tight and you should be allowed a slightly larger squad. One more non-HG and 2 HG slots would be ideal.

Let's hope we can stay injury and suspension free.

 

Think I read Man City/Chelsea only have a 21 man squad

 

Trouble is you can't have 25 + xU21's who are all on the verge of the first team. This is really why Angella is not here. He couldn't be so far down the pecking order.

It's only until January though so we should cope. If Dyer and Belkalem leave we could even sign an unattached player or two in the meantime. If Dyer stays he might make a cameo appearance or two.

 

The HG slots are a total waste of time particularly as most clubs that go down the foreign route also do so at academy level. Benefit to England's national team? ... less than zero.

 

I have to agree. The FA are trying to force clubs to take British players thinking the HG rule will do this. There is nothing in place saying these HG players have to be English, they are just hoping the majority will be.

All it is doing is ensuring a player HG qualified has a premium value, and is more expensive than their foreign counterpart.

It's far better for an English club to buy and invest in English players, but how much would a club like Watford have to spend to get the same quality they have now from the English market? The answer is well out of Watford's financial reach. They just could not create a competitive squad from the English market, but the FA choose to ignore and deny the financial disparity between the foreign and domestic markets.

Watford are the bad guys of football.....but we just could not do it any other way. Look at what Bournemouth spent on Mings.......£8m on a Championship defender, which is just ridiculous, but they get lauded for doing this.

This is the problem, common sense has completely gone out of the window. The FA have to change the rules to make HG players more attractive and affordable if they want clubs to sign and play more English players.

 

The FA don't make the rules though. The homegrown thing is a Premier League competition rule.

 

Chris waddle made a good point on 606 last night . If the homegrown rule is supposed to benefit the England team then the definition of homegrown should just be English players , rather than the current broad definition. This would be even more of a b*gger for small teams like us , who have just got promoted ( and would inflate the price of English players even more ) so I'm not necessarily in favour of it , but I can't see how the current rules really benefit the England team( though maybe they aren't supposed to anyway ?)

 

Why have a HG rule at all? Let the PL clubs buy whoever they like/can afford. If that means all the english players have to play in the Championship so be it. We won the world cup in 1966 (and should/could have won in 1970) without english players having the "benefits"of playing against the "best" in the world in the domestic league! Unless you count the Scots, Welsh and Irish of course.

 

Is there some legal barrier from saying teams need to have a certain number of Englishmen? Maybe the broader definition is what it legally has to be?

 

You can't offer jobs to only English so they came up with home grown .... but with just a three year qualification it is ineffectual as virtually all academy youngsters tend to be picked up long before then, even foreign ones.

The only solution is the one I suggested earlier but we also need better quality at grass roots and much better parenting because mollycoddled kids simply aren't active enough .... Bin all those bloody X-boxes!

 

I teach.

It's not that they aren't active enough, it's that we have become a culture with a soft underbelly and there is less and less actual competition. The kids are becoming used to the expectation placed upon them to be ...well ... a bit soft really.

 

They really aren't active enough outside school though .... my bedroom was only a place to sleep, I'd be out playing football otherwise, even if that was sometimes just on my own in the garden. I still found time to do my homework, do a paper round and work on a Saturday market.

 

Yeh fair enough. It also has a lot to do with facilities though.

Kids are no longer allowed just to play ball games wherever they fancy and there are pitifully few places they can.

Basically - if you go to an average state school, you can forget getting the opportunity to play most sports full stop.

 

Ekstrand running in training today. Could be back in the squad in Jan?

 

More likely a loan move somewhere I'd have thought. To include him would mean losing another non-HG.

 

Can somebody remind me why he is good?

 

How about Belkalem?

 

Could do. My post implies the two statements are linked - they're not actually. I don't think he will go on loan because we'll need to ditch a non-HG, I think he will go on loan because it will be best for his recovery.

 

There is truth in this. We used to play football in the road to and from school (very little traffic) also on a local "square" (in reality a small area outside some shops) and on weekends we'd play in Canons Park often only going home when it got dark - these days I wouldn't let my kids play in an area like that without adult supervision. I don't know if there are really more dangers from pedophiles or if we are just more conscious.

 

According to the Daily Mail your kid has a one in three chance of being abducted the minute they step out of the house. Groups of lads playing football are especially susceptible.

 

Suspect the latter. The internet has just made people more afraid because they're constantly confronted with the worst case scenario.

 

Updated Squad List

Interesting to see who the 3rd choice goalkeeper will be (Simpson or Gilmartin unsure about his injury)

Will either of Belkalem or Ekstrand be included in the squad list and if so at who's expense.
Personally I don't think either will be included as Ake & Capoue can cover at CB

Sean Murray could be an outsider to take Connor Smiths place on the 25 man squad but more likely to go out on loan.
Seems to have matured as a footballer.

 

Makes you wonder how many paedophiles there will be named in the new 25 man squad.

They should at least make a FIFA ruling restricting the amount of paedos in any given squad.

Potentially we could be naming 25 paeodos in this upcoming squad and theres nothing anyone can do about it.

 

The new squad...



https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CaOdAm0WAAEvVNL.jpg

Bulkylimbs omitted so will go out on loan I would guess. Eggstand included despite injury.

 

Ekstrand is in it!

 

yea, spotted that & changed it.

only 23 players named.