I doubt the players are even asked if the ‘friends’ are fans of the opposition. The article states that the players are trusted to get their judgment right and I suspect it’s an accurate point. Foster has very little defence here - the ‘guest’ in question isn’t his friend. It’s just someone he’s become acquainted with through his social media profile. And the guy is a well-known gobby scouser - there’s just no doubt at all that he supported Liverpool and Foster would be stupid to suggest otherwise. I remember once that Troy Deeney got tickets for one of those tools from Arsenal Fan TV and he was placed in a box and no incidents were reported. Because I imagine the boxes are seen as pseudo neutral zones. This is what should have happened if Foster was so desperate for his ‘mate’ to see the game. Once he was informed that this bloke was to be sat in the home end (as the article suggests he would have known), then he should have acted. Either Foster wasn’t told and it’s a failure in communication. Or he was told and did nothing. I think the club/player owe it to the fans to be open about which it is - because as has been pointed out, if a season-ticket holder did this, they would rightly expect sanctions as per club ticket policy. The club can deal with it ‘internally’ - but we should be told the outcome.
Yeah but he's clearly not that much of an arse that he'd turn down a five minute chat. Plus it was a chance for him to set the record straight from the Amazon documentary stuff. I bet Foster is getting on a lot of nerves now, even Bazzlar faked a back injury to get away from him for a couple of weeks.
As Leventhal has said - would Foster have behaved this way under SAF during his Manchester United days? I know social media has moved on since then but I’m not sure that makes a difference. He’d have been given a right going over for even speaking to opposition players, let alone begging for shirts and wearing other teams kits on bloody YouTube. It all just bleeds into the theory that we aren’t a serious club who are serious about achieving our stated aims. The club can’t stop Foster having a media presence. But they absolutely can limit their involvement within it. And they should. If Foster refuses, then he should be sidelined for that alone before you even consider his declining ability.
That is fair enough - not read the article itself. If he was told where the guy was going to be sitting then there should have been action taken to prevent that.
I have actually been thinking about just watching Barnet or someone instead. I know I wouldn't be able to as I have been going to Watford all of my life. But, football has been ruined for me by greed. Newcastle's take over and the World Cup in Qatar has just about pushed me over the edge. English football has no morals and will sell itself to anyone.
He would have been sold under SAF without even a first thought. Do you think for a second he'd allow a member of the squad to potentially undermine the results of his team, regardless of whether it has a tangible impact?
I've been in this position a few times over the years and it's always the unexpected things that start to tip me over the edge. Current irritation is the number of our games on TV. A perfectly decent away trip to Brentford wrecked by being moved to Friday night, making it harder to get home on public transport. The Man City humiliation, sorry match, moved to Saturday lunchtime. Arsenal and Leicester away both on Sundays (okay, the latter because the Bin Dogs are in the Europa League, but still). Just leaves me with a general sense of weariness I can't quite put my finger on. Paradoxically, when we're struggling, having so many matches on TV just sucks all the life out of the occasion. Perhaps it's the sense that I end up sitting there thinking: "I could be watching this at home," when things start to go badly. Or I think, "Well, I'll not go to Burnley away if it's on telly – I'll spare myself the hours in the car and the expense." Enthusiasm for the occasion just evaporates, which is weird considering football had been basically a TV-only product for 18 months and during that time I was desperate to get back to a match. I've found more honesty, heart and soul – and much less angst – watching my local non-league sides when Watford have been away. Not how I'd hoped to feel eight games into a Premier League season, and especially after the high of the opening day, but the chaotic shambles on and off the pitch, the goalkeeper seeming more interested in collecting shirts from the opposition, the silence from the people in charge, the lack of a coherent plan I can identify with has erased the early season optimism and hope that perhaps there'd been some clever recruitment. Maybe Ranieri will sort things out over the next few weeks but, boy, the fixture generator has been unkind.
Hence the use of the word ‘should’. The owner rarely, if ever, comes to the conclusion that answers the fans questions.
I'm not sure about Barnet, they've been truly dreadful in recent seasons although they seem to have a good one in Dean Brennan under which their fortunes will finally improve. But I'm not a fan of the Hive Stadium, and when I was driving through Barnet Lane recently I was thinking how much I still miss Underhill, but it looks like there's no chance of them ever moving back anywhere near there. Wealdstone looks a better bet - they're not doing much better in the league, but expectations are much lower there, they've had a pretty remarkable rise from the depths of Ryman Div. 3 and for me their ground has a lot more character than the Hive. Or there's Boreham Wood, who are pushing for promotion to the Football League and have an OK ground, but their chairman/owner is a somewhat shady character, they attract a fair amount of pond life to big games and generally I'm not a fan of bankrolled clubs with tiny fanbases. Or if you're prepared to go further down the pyramid, you could try St Albans, or Hampton & Richmond if it's not too far.
Do clubs, as employers in the current era of GDPR etc, routinely announce the outcome of disciplinary action against players? That isn’t a rhetorical question… I really don’t know.
No - but I wasn’t really suggesting or of the belief that Foster will be subjected to disciplinary action. I think it’s likely to just be a conversation about not doing it again really - but it would be nice if there was some sort of apology and/or the club saying he’s been reminded of his responsibilities in line with the clubs ticket policy. But we know the club don’t do these things or like being open and transparent.
I don’t really see what purpose it would serve so I’d be a bit surprised if they do choose to address it publicly. I usually call these things wrong through, so expect a live press conference from Gino on SSN at 9am.
Anything they choose to do in this kind of field is essentially a matter of goodwill to and from the fans, isn't it - they don't ever have to do anything, and they could theoretically choose to be like Ashley and just ignore us all completely 100% of the time, no matter the issue. The purpose it would serve to my mind, though, would be an extremely easy opportunity for a bit of that goodwill being clawed back and a (largely unjustified) sense that the club hierarchy understand/are listening to fan concerns, at a time when relatively trivial things are amplified by taking place under the wider auspices of what is currently shaping up to be a pretty disastrous season. They must be aware that the general mood probably couldn't be much lower eight games into a Prem season, and they probably weren't banking on Ranieri's first game actually making that worse, rather than better. So much so that we have the one specific Watford journalist in the country, who also functions as something of a club mouthpiece at times, publishing articles directly addressing this incident/Foster's conduct in said game, replete with quotes from figures either inside or one step removed from the dressing room he's a part of. If they're trying to keep their heads above water for even a breath in that sense, acknowledging this and giving any sense (however faux) that it's been addressed is a pocket-sized flotation device that just happens to have been washed into their vicinity on the tide. That being said, I'm not expecting anything either.
That was Adam's best article and credit where credit is due, he has been asking a few more relevant questions of the club since that Liverpool game. Foster should be dropped. I actually find the idea of the Cycling Gk relatively harmless in it's core. Yet fantasy league, shirt swapping and giving tickets to rival fans is quite honestly ludicrous. I can't imagine any sports psychologist making a case that this doesn't directly effect performances? He wouldn't have gone straight to having a youtube channel about bringing fans into the ground and it's only because of followers from the gopro days that he's taken this route. I guess he's obsessed with subscribers, followers or money? Either way, for his own long term benefit as a human on earth (who isn't general a ****) and for the self respect of anyone who works for Watford fc, he needs to dropped, as would any player in the world. There's another unwritten contract that he broke, the contract between fans and players. The fans demand as a bare minimum that the players actually try and for that they get a lifestyle most of us plebs can only dream of. Foster's performance was actually just shocking - mediocre at the weekend, which puts him ahead of just about everyone else on our team BUT his complacency stems from the same source as the other players. Watford has become an in joke for an easy ride. Come to Watford, pick up a pay packet, it might be less than you were expecting but don't worry, you barely have to do anything. Competition for spots? No chance. But what about contract extensions? 5 year deals only pal. Manager alright? Who cares. Don't the fans get angry? Just smile at them every now, they'll still keep pumping their hard earned money into the club anyway.
I also like the Cycling GK YouTube channel. It's pretty harmless fun and gives you a good look behind the scenes. But Foster doesn't do himself any favours by posting screenshots of his FF team with Mo Salah as captain. Was triple captain used? Also giving a gobsh1te scouser a ticket in the Watford end was just ridiculous. Just like the Watford team, there's just no defending that. I also noticed a fist shake (is there such a thing?) that Foster instigated with Salah during the game. I think it was directly after he made a good save from him. When he's put himself under the spotlight, like he has done, something like that doesn't look too good. I can see how it can look as though it's all a bit of a laugh and he taking the p1ss a bit or not taking things too seriously. It gives off the wrong impression. Having said that, I'm in the mode of thought, none of the team really give a sh1t, so why just pick on Foster.
If I was a footballer I'd probably enjoy every minute of it because I'm being paid **** loads to do something millions of other people would love to be doing. What I wouldn't do is get on YouTube and brush off defeats with jokes or even worse do it at the stadium in front of fans. Ben clearly doesn't get that down about losing football games, which is a problem with a lot of our squad I think, but he needs to at least act like he gives a **** sometimes otherwise he's going to leave here on a sour note with the fans. Which will be a shame because over two spells he's been fantastic for us.
That’s football. Come on the boys. Have you seen this weather, it’s BANGING. He’s a proper player he is. Alright big bazzler, proper legend he is. He’s got my ketchup, he knows me this man.
The funny thing is, I can imagine him having a similar conversation with his wife in the bedroom Alright Big Bazzler, it's a thing of beauty. Got the ketchup, she knows me so well Get in This is proper banging How long to go? Come on the boys It it what it is.
Now that few days have passed and I can reflect on the match with a calm mind, I can still say it was ****.
No, no. They’ve probably had their latest Stone Island jacket delivered from Wish and are buzzing. Come on the boys!
It’s from the fanboys. Of course it’s serious. Come on RS2! A criminal lack of bedwetter awareness. I’ll get you booked on a course.
It still feels weird seeing that scoreline whenever I come back onto this forum, especially as it was at home. The only other times I've even been on The Hornets' Nest after we've got hammered was after the 5-0 at Anfield in 2018 (when Salah and Firmino had similar joy with us) and the 2019 FA Cup final.
Yes, we've lost four times by five goals to them in the Pozzo era. Not much middle ground when it comes to playing Liverpool - either it's beating them on the last day to secure 2nd place, the two 3-0 wins, the 1-0 at Anfield during GT's second spell and the 3-3 home draw, or abject defeats!
