I was at the game today. Here are my thoughts good and bad on some of the performances.
I thought we played well and were extremely unlucky. Lets start with Armstrong. I can't believe the criticism some people seem to be giving him. Yes, he missed a couple but... he worked his socks off to get himself in those positions. Did Les Ferdinand miss chances too? All strikers do. He is working hard so as far as I'm concerned, he more than deserves his place in the starting eleven. We all know that he is not prolific but some goals will come if he continues to work hard.
The one player I would criticise is Willock. He is such a frustrating player. So much ability, yet he rarely produces it. Did anybody notice how easily he lost the ball at the side of Watford's box before they broke and scored their second goal? How Willock stayed on the pitch after that, I'll never know. I can accept players missing chances but simply not being arsed to chase back when you lost the ball so easily is unforgiveable.
I like Colback as a tackling midfielder but jeez, he is a red card waiting to happen every single game. His side footed shot should have been buried. Marti kept him on the pitch too long. I would have subbed him at half time.
A couple of players who have been getting stick lately, Dykes and Dunne. I thought both of them had decent games today. Dykes played more deeper than normal. When he plays up front on his own, he is like Bambi on ice. He tries to hold the ball up. With him deeper and Armstrong ahead of him, we have some pace. Hopefully both these players continue to improve.
Begovic is another who is receiving criticism. People seem to forget how many chances he has saved this season. Only for his saves, we would be in a far worse position already. For me, he has probably been our player of the season so far.
The next two games against the Wall and Huddersfield are critical. I am not resigned to relegation yet. We need a minumum 4 points from those two games. As long as we close the gap from 5 points before the end of this month, we have a chance. Plenty of teams have escaped from similar positions. Hopefully we can start a run soon. I am away for the Millwall game. No doubt we will win lol.