I have to put my hands up. I really thought we had spent 9m on a total donkey who could do nothing but run about, but the last two games have been a revelation. I still doubt he will ever be prolific in front of goal, but clearly there is a role for him in the side. He reminds me a bit of Stiepermann in that there is something awkward and unpredictable about him which will sometimes make fans put our heads in our hands but will sometimes totally confuse opposing defenders. With Idah and Rashica now taking a lot of the pressure off Pukki to deliver single-handedly all the time, let's hope we can get Tzolis starting to show some of his potential as well. Then it might really be game on.
To be fair to him, he’s the one who advocated this structured static style. And while it didn’t work for a few matches it’s got results the last two. It’s not been comfortable though, and I think we still look best when attacking fluidly and players moving more - fullbacks going forward. But if it works, it works, not pretty but maybe there’s time to build a nicer style.
With the goals as well now, Sargent is evolving into the replacement for Emi with his defensive contributions as well. His WhoScored rating was 8.9. He doesn't yet show Emi's through ball capability though that is improving. What he has though is height and heading ability as shown by the second goal, and that could be a big advantage in the new style of play which suits the players we have now. Farkeball was built around Buendia, Cantwell and Pukki, but that failed two years ago and at the start of this season. I loved Farkeball at its best, but we struggled to make it work in the PL where the standard is so much higher. Elements of it remain in the way we pass the ball through the thirds, but now that is mixed with medium length passing to utilise the height of Sargent and Idah to get the ball into the final third before the defence is settled. That's where the goals are now coming from. Five goals in two matches speaks for itself and goals are what it's all about. https://norwichcity.myfootballwriter.com/2022/01/22/match-report-watford-1-city-2/
For too long it's been easy to play against us , simply nullify Pukki and cut off any passes and we were toothless. Having Pukki play up front with 2 tall strong quick young unpredictable hungry forwards and he has more space . We now have all 3 of them scoring at the business end of the season . Long may it continue.
I gave you the reason when Duncan posted a similar comment after the Everton win. As Rob acknowledges, what we are seeing are the first fruits of what I've been advocating since even before our abject capitulation in Project Restart two seasons ago. Webber's summer recruitment and the arrival of Dean Smith are indicative of the club having come to a similar conclusion. I still expect us to be relegated, and it may take two seasons before we return to the EPL, but when we do, we will be genuinely competitive and our survival prospects hugely enhanced.
Very interesting reading the thoughts of the Watford fans . They seem to be attacking the Pozo family who bought them as their English Franchise. I don't think Watford have an academy so they are reliant on the Franchise to scout unknown players and give them to Ranieri to build a team . They are criticising the lack of identity when most of the team don't speak English as a first language. https://www.not606.com/threads/watford-v-norwich.398386/page-6 We have an old school English manager An English keeper , 3 English defenders with a Scottish guy. A Frenchman a Norwegian a Kosovan an Irishman an American and a Fin . We have a British spine and there is certainly no language barrier. From looking at the Watford team most will be speaking French in the dressing room creating cliques , there are no Italians. I'm starting to believe we can actually stay up if we carry on like this.
We were mainly commenting that you rarely participate in the fun part of following a football team . Like the enjoyment of celebrating when we score or God forbid win. You state as fact that we are relegated and "when " we return in 2 seasons possibly longer we will be better than we are now . This makes zero sense as IF we get relegated and spend 2 seasons outside in the Championship we will lose most of our best players due to our business model . What a tangled Web you weave
Yeah I was noticing that Watford were like the united nations and we had more British in our side. I think (as Robbie said) the recruitment over the summer was to allow Farkeball to progress into something more like what we have now. Just it seemed that Farke was unable to make that transition. With Smith we have picked up some points from the teams around us and the players brought in during the summer are starting to get used to the pace and flow of the PL (something the Watford defender wasn't used to when Pukki stole the ball off him for the first goal). A couple of other things I have noticed is that the last couple of games we have had the rub of the green (something we were not getting at the early part of the season). Our midfield looked much better with Sorenson than McLean in the first half. Now hopefully we will have a fit squad for the rest of the season and we can haul ourselves to safety
I think the Match day thread writer makes a big difference too King Zog. Lady luck was constantly crapping on us and now we get 2 carbon copy own goals go our way. V.A.R I thought might conspire against us and then possibly abandoned because of the lights but it all just added to the drama and nightmare for Watford.
That’s all well and good, but a fair warning - if we get too close to Hughton style (which I advocated until virtually the last minute) the fans will turn. It’s all very well saying this is how to survive and be a better team. But football is still a game for entertainment. And my caution with Robbie’s approach is we will be grinding out 45 points a season, and it won’t be pretty. I’d love to be wrong, but nothing about the style so far has made me think that.
The hire em fire em approach is a disgrace. That nobody that got them promoted last season should have been given more time , 2 managers already and a team of misfits.
Thought this was interesting: Since 2000: Watford 22 managers Since 2000: Norwich 12 managers (we had 3 in 2000) Since 2010: Watford 17 managers Since 2010: Norwich 6 managers
