Season 23/24 | The Official Match Thread | Watford FC vs Swansea City | The EFL Championship

[3swan]

Patino poor showing for me

I've seen very little in him that backs up the millions talk of him.
Not a premier player even allowing for potential development.

 

[Pegojack]

A mixed bag and a hard watch. Watford were awful in the first half but we failed to put away our chances to finish it by half time.

It was evident Pato wasn't fit and Yates was as useless as always. Eddie seems to think his main contribution is to push opposition players in the back around our box to give away dangerous free kicks. I said at half time LW needs to be brave and haul them both off before Watford equalise, he didn't and they did.

Other striking things for me tonight: Ronald couldn't beat an egg, what's up with him, and Scrabble is tremendous attacking the opposition box UNTIL he gets the chance to put in a killer final pass, then his head goes completely. Him and Williams really need to work on that. Patino was awful when he came on, lack of match fitness perhaps, and Joey did an outstanding job of steadying the ship. Fulton had a decent game too. Although the Chuckle Brothers did their usual pass sideways and backwards routine to excess, it has to be said there was a lot of good last ditch defending tonight too. An away point ground out by sheer graft, not to be sniffed at.

 

[ARQS]

I'm not really sure what people are expecting from us.

Obviously we are crap. Apart from the keeper, the spine of the team is dreadful. We don't have a decent striker at the club.

We've managed to pick up some invaluable (and unlikely) points by relying on some pace out wide which should be to the credit of whoever went out and signed Ronald and Placheta in January because they've made a big difference to us.

For all the faults, I've seen enough from Williams to suggest we can stay up comfortably and have a better season next year.

 

[DanWelsh]

I'm not really sure what people are expecting from us.

Obviously we are crap. Apart from the keeper, the spine of the team is dreadful. We don't have a decent striker at the club.

We've managed to pick up some invaluable (and unlikely) points by relying on some pace out wide which should be to the credit of whoever went out and signed Ronald and Placheta in January because they've made a big difference to us.

For all the faults, I've seen enough from Williams to suggest we can stay up comfortably and have a better season next year.

I agree, it's a solid point away from home after playing on Saturday and not the end of the world.

 

[Nocountryforoldjack]

I'm not really sure what people are expecting from us.

Obviously we are crap. Apart from the keeper, the spine of the team is dreadful. We don't have a decent striker at the club.

We've managed to pick up some invaluable (and unlikely) points by relying on some pace out wide which should be to the credit of whoever went out and signed Ronald and Placheta in January because they've made a big difference to us.

For all the faults, I've seen enough from Williams to suggest we can stay up comfortably and have a better season next year.

I've seen nothing in Williams, still not sure WTF he's trying to do with the squad and he talks bollo.

 

[ARQS]

I've seen nothing in Williams, still not sure WTF he's trying to do with the squad and he talks bollo.

He's obviously trying to get us to get the ball out wide to the wingers and attack down the flanks... That's obvious.

Ultimately it's the only option we've got really (and a relatively quick and cheap fix) with a very limited squad... unless you think he should be turning the likes of Fulton and Yates into DeBruyne and Haaland?

He also appears to have instilled a never say die/bodies on the line defensive attitude which we've not seen for a long time either.

The second halves of games have been disappointing, yes, but it wasn't that long ago that the first halves were crap too. You'd assume that in the second half the opposition are stopping/limiting our one mode of attack and/or the wingers are tiring which probably goes some way to explaining it.

 

[StoneColdjack]

I'm not really sure what people are expecting from us.

Obviously we are crap. Apart from the keeper, the spine of the team is dreadful. We don't have a decent striker at the club.

We've managed to pick up some invaluable (and unlikely) points by relying on some pace out wide which should be to the credit of whoever went out and signed Ronald and Placheta in January because they've made a big difference to us.

For all the faults, I've seen enough from Williams to suggest we can stay up comfortably and have a better season next year.

How much better though? And I don't see it, we'll probably finish in bottom half again, don't forget he has the American owners to contend with who aren't exactly the most backing or their managers

 

[Magic_Michu]

Gen question... Have we had a shot on target this game?

Yes… Ronald 1 on 1 with keeper which produced a good save… and Cabango at the end of the first half header that produced another excellent save.

Should have been out of sight by the end of first half… realistically, if we got a 2nd it would have killed them.

 

[Nocountryforoldjack]

He's obviously trying to get us to get the ball out wide to the wingers and attack down the flanks... That's obvious.

Ultimately it's the only option we've got really (and a relatively quick and cheap fix) with a very limited squad... unless you think he should be turning the likes of Fulton and Yates into DeBruyne and Haaland?

He also appears to have instilled a never say die/bodies on the line defensive attitude which we've not seen for a long time either.

The second halves of games have been disappointing, yes, but it wasn't that long ago that the first halves were crap too. You'd assume that in the second half the opposition are stopping/limiting our one mode of attack and/or the wingers are tiring which probably goes some way to explaining it.

Our defence is awful I really don't see the manager has installed anything into them.

 

[ARQS]

Our defence is awful I really don't see the manager has installed anything into them.

Well if you haven't seen the players putting their bodies on the line like they have done recently then this is a pointless discussion

 

[ARQS]

How much better though? And I don't see it, we'll probably finish in bottom half again, don't forget he has the American owners to contend with who aren't exactly the most backing or their managers

Probably not much better but if you'd asked me a month ago I'd have probably said we were certainties for the drop next year.

Sadly the bar has moved so low that a season in midtable would probably be seen as a success to most people

 

[WentToSchoolWith]

On Yates -

I appreciate he's shown very little recently, but I don't think it's down to a lack of ability. Even with Placheta and Ronald, we're barely supplying him with the ball. If he was continuously running into defenders, misplacing passes and skewing chances wide, I'd be fine writing him off, but that isn't the case.

You could argue that he's not making enough of an impact to warrant a starting spot up front, but look at Cullen last weekend. Equally anonymous because we don't give our strikers anything to do, they just press and hope for scraps in the box.

Haaland at City regularly goes matches touching the ball <20 times, but he gets set up with actual chances to finish so justifies his role. Yates gets nothing (no, I'm not saying Yates is Haaland, you get the point)

 

[sainthelens]

Well if you haven't seen the players putting their bodies on the line like they have done recently then this is a pointless discussion

That's a good point. But he maybe referring to us playing around n fvkn about at the back.

 

[ARQS]

That's a good point. But he maybe referring to us playing around n fvkn about at the back

If that's the case then I agree!

 

[jasper_T]

On Yates -

I appreciate he's shown very little recently, but I don't think it's down to a lack of ability. Even with Placheta and Ronald, we're barely supplying him with the ball. If he was continuously running into defenders, misplacing passes and skewing chances wide, I'd be fine writing him off, but that isn't the case.

You could argue that he's not making enough of an impact to warrant a starting spot up front, but look at Cullen last weekend. Equally anonymous because we don't give our strikers anything to do, they just press and hope for scraps in the box.

Haaland at City regularly goes matches touching the ball <20 times, but he gets set up with actual chances to finish so justifies his role. Yates gets nothing (no, I'm not saying Yates is Haaland, you get the point)

Do you just skip the matches where he gets chances and fluffs them? The "he just needs service!" brigade were answered weeks ago. Even when Cullen doesn't touch the ball he offers far more with his pressing (something we were told Yates was excellent at).