Ratings & Reactions: Watford v Villa

[TRO]

2 minutes ago, hippo said:

used to happen a lot in the graham turner era.

Graham Turner......now there goes a period in our history.

You're not?.......no you can't be.

Edited August 17, 2021 by TRO

[hippo]

Just now, TRO said:

Graham Turner......now there goes a period in our history.

Yeah dark days - awful decisions at all levels of the club. For example -

selling Steve foster to Luton for £70k - Then paying £250k for the bloke he kept out the side at Luton

Post match comments 'Mervyn Day is the only one to come out of that game with any credit '  - then drops him for the next game.

 

[barry'sboots]

5 hours ago, TRO said:

I think we are all hoping that first game was a one off....but it begs the question have we really moved on from the quality of likes of Tom Cleverley or Ashley Westwood......I think most of us thought we had.

Its tricky now, because we not only have FFP as well as the transfer fee itself.....but are we advanced enough to attract some of these better players, I would hazard a guess Bailey is using us as a stepping stone as Idrissa Guye did.

The DM we talk about, can be picked up ,for semi modest fee's...Leicester have done it with Ndidi and Kante ......but we have to be on the ball with the scouting, you would think Rob Mackenzie could find one, if anyone can.

Blending them all is the biggest challenge imo too....The second biggest challenge for me is signing the same type of midfielder( in terms of attributes) and expecting a different reaction.

I thought Cleverly was really good when we had him - him and Delph were two proper "8"s who were capable of playing in a 4-3-3 and doing both the defensive and offensive pieces well.  He seemed to do ok on Saturday!  I did like Ashley Westwood as well - not because he was the best player but I loved the way he seemed to squeeze out 101% of his capabilities and he has gone on to be a decent PL player with Burnley ... a real solid pro!  I think the signings we have made in the last two windows have been a level above those two though.  Martinez, Cash, Watkins, Traore and Sanson are all exciting players either on the up or with European experience; Barkley showed glimpses but is never going to get back to the level he was at in his final season at Everton; Buendia, Ings and Bailey are all very exciting; and Tuanzebe is a really good option for a 4th choice CB (highlighted by the fact that Newcastle wanted him and he would probably have been their first choice).

I think we have attracted top talents as above: Ings wanted top 6/European but came to join the project; Bailey has been linked with Bayern and most of the Top 6; we fought off Arsenal to sign Buendia.  Most players will see a move to us as a potential stepping stone - great that Martinez does not! - but we have to get on with it.  We are not at the top of the food chain, like most, and if a homegrown talent like Jack doesn't stay it just highlights that anyone will move on given the right opportunity.  We benefit from it with the likes of Buendia (moving from Norwich) and have to realise that we may suffer from it occasionally but work the system in the best way that we can (much like Leicester have).  Indeed, it is probably part of the reason that Bailey has come to us in the first place!

Cheic Doucoure looks the likeliest to me re DCM and I listened to the "for the love of Paul McGrath" podcast last night where they reviewed him and looked at his stats.  I've never seen him play but his profile and stats look bang on and his price seems very sensible.  At 21, he is also of an age where he could step straight in and contribute.

As you say, getting the right blend is key, but a midfield of:

------------------------------------- Doucoure ------------------------------ backed up by Nakamba

----------- SJM --------------------------------- JWP/Cantwell ------ depending which way we go, if we do!, with Luiz and Sanson in reserve

would be excellent.

 

 

[CLARETANDBLUEFOXY]

Normally I totally panic when we lose the first game of the season and go into a full blown “well that’s us done for!” melt downbut I feel strangely calm this week. I think it was the knowledge Ollie was out and the newbies haven’t bedded in yet - that and the fact that Watford had their full crowd, first game back to the PL jubilation going for them. Come back to me 5pm Saturday to see if I’m still this calm…

[ccfcman]

17 minutes ago, CLARETANDBLUEFOXY said:

Normally I totally panic when we lose the first game of the season and go into a full blown “well that’s us done for!” melt downbut I feel strangely calm this week. I think it was the knowledge Ollie was out and the newbies haven’t bedded in yet - that and the fact that Watford had their full crowd, first game back to the PL jubilation going for them. Come back to me 5pm Saturday to see if I’m still this calm…

I'm glad your wrote what you did. Is it the Dean Smith factor? Steady hands?

I just don't feel the anxiety of years past. We can't go three or four games without picking up wins but I feel like Watford are kind of an anomaly. They could just as easily go out and lose to Burnley, then take points off Chelsea or City.

[CLARETANDBLUEFOXY]

12 minutes ago, ccfcman said:

I'm glad your wrote what you did. Is it the Dean Smith factor? Steady hands?

I just don't feel the anxiety of years past. We can't go three or four games without picking up wins but I feel like Watford are kind of an anomaly. They could just as easily go out and lose to Burnley, then take points off Chelsea or City.

For me, I think it’s because in Smith we have a genuine Villa man at the helm whereas before we had managers who saw it as “just another job”. Maybe I’m overly optimistic but I’ll enjoy the feeling whilst it lasts

[M_Afro]

I have just made myself watch the Watford extended highlights again, basically looking for some little rays of hope. Bailey for sure gave cause for optimism but not much more than that.

What was so bloody frustrating was the manner of the goals that we conceded. I have heard people say that they were avoidable but I think it’s much worse than that. The fact that a PL team conceded any of those goals is shambolic. It was almost harder to let them in than to stop them going in. Utterly shocking. 
 

Without doubt, a large reason for the goals was a complete lack of football intelligence from the players. So many of them made poor decisions and failed to read/understand the danger that they faced. It’s impossible not to lay a massive amount of blame on the coaching though. The distance between the full backs and the centre backs was massive. The distance between the two centre backs was massive. The distance between the centre mid and the defence was massive. We failed to execute simple tactical fouls. All of these things must come down to coaching. That was a defence and centre midfield that knew each other very well so you can’t make excuses for a lack of familiarity. Therefore they must have been following instructions from the coaches. Utterly mind boggling.
 

Is any of this due to Terry leaving? I do wonder whether JT kept Dean in check with a bit more pragmatism? Whatever the reason, I hope our new coach has a more defensive slant. I am all for attacking football but it needs to be done with responsibility. Saturday was under 13 stuff. I bet Watford don’t score 3 or more in a single PL match again this season.

[chappy]

I went to the game last weekend but have been away all week so just catching up on here. Obviously a hugely disappointing start but I don’t think we need to worry too much just yet… 

Vicarage Road was rocking (at times) to be fair to the Watford fans. I wonder if that made a difference to our players, readjusting to playing in those conditions.

I thought we came out of the blocks well for 5 minutes but then were really pressed back. Sarr had Targett on toast (for the second visit there running) and there wasn’t much protection for him. Felt Ash could’ve doubled up in the first half. 
 

You’d normally expect Martinez to save that first goal and then the second was quite flukey. So despite not playing well in the first half, you could argue we were unlucky to go in 2-0 down. Their third goal was excellent and we were really up against it but good to see us pull one back quickly. Nice work from Bailey and McGinn.

Bailey and Traore coming on changed us for the better. Buendia struggled but had missed the last couple of weeks of pre-season so not too worried there. Ings will benefit from having Watkins back.

Looking forward to getting back to a full VP tomorrow. Don’t panic!