Almen Abdi's English very good, and very easy to understand. He didn't say too much really, but still that's good to know.
Well done to the lads - way too early to draw conclusions but I was a bit worried about team spirit etc. and being able to dig out results. That's a very, very good start to proving me wrong.
Mixed emotions- I had it down as 2-2! Not really.... beyond chuffed. Great start. Now back to waiting for 45 seconds worth on the Beeb tonight.
If I had backed my team I'd be on 87 points... EDIT: Or not. Didn't think 3-2 would be such a popular score...
Just like to say well done on your win today lads, I've always liked Watford for some reason and especially after your achievements last season. Good luck for the rest of the season from the Southampton boys
Really pleased with today..... great end to the game ! Ratings Almunia: 6 - Goals were not his fault but didn't really do anything impressive either. Doyley: 6 - A lot more composed than usual. Kept the ball well and got forward a little bit, though not enough for my liking. Still makes a few "Doyley" mistakes. Taylor: 6 - Ultimately Taylor, Nosworthy and Eustace were at fault for the goals. Very shoddy defending on both occasions. Let Zaha and Garvan run right through all of them. Eustace didn't need to make the foul. Dickinson: 6 - Did well going forward but Zaha was all over him. Did not handle him well at all. Would be happy to see Pudil come in.... Yeates 6: - Yeates, Yeates Yeates.... not a great game for him. In possession he was good, and going forward he created some chances. But his end product was shocking and made some amateur mistakes. Hogg: 8 - Really looked class in the midfield. Was pinging it around the pitch with precise accuracy. Always looking for the ball and was calm and composed. Tidy and got stuck in as usual when required. Eustace: 6 - Gave the penalty away... not seen it yet so maybe it was a dive but looked bad IMO. He is adapting better to Zola's football then I expected. Got stuck in well in the midfield and helped us dominate. Abdi: 7 - First half he was very quiet. Did not get into the game at all.... but second half he picked it up well and was very tidy. Didn't lose the ball once and played intelligently. What a strike it was too...nobody expected it. Murray: 7 - Industrious and forward thinking. Took players on and wasn't always successful but he was a handful. Created chances and brought the ball forward. Good shot which lead to Speroni's fumble and Taylor slotting it in. Garner: 7 - No goals but up there on his own and worked hard. Was winning headers and keeping the ball against bigger and stronger opposition. His all round play is good and he fits into our style of play. But the lack of goals is troublesome. Vydra: 9 - As soon as he came on the game changed. He is absolutely rapid.... too fast for their defenders to handle and was always a threat. Great injury time winner too. He will be key for us this season, if he is given good service the goals will flow. Iwelumo: 6 - Didn't get much time to impress but he got involved and did ok. Smith: 6 - Surprised to see him start but he did not shy from the challenge. Needed more time to settle, will come with experience... but he did look like he has potential.
Thanks for those Lux! I think today was the perfect time to bring a couple of hard working youngsters on as substitutes, because no outfield player can perform for 90 minutes on a day like this. For what it's worth, according to Jon Marks it was definitely a penalty, no questions asked.
i'll read the thread back when i get a sec, but wow, oh wow! I couldn't message coz for some inexplicable reason i left my phone at home! However...i'm still smiling! The first half was great. We had a lot of the possession and we were passing the ball around nicely. i have no idea if the penalty was a penalty or not, but it didn't change anything, we carried on, persevering with the passing game which seemed to be working really well. Their second goal was a defensive disaster..no idea what happened, but it was an easy gift. During the second half the game was a little more even, but still, when we had the ball we looked like we could move it around well and get it up their end of the pitch..however, we didn't look much like scoring. I did say, at one point, that if we were at the Vic, and the away side were as close to scoring as we were today, i'd be saying..'it's only a matter of time'...and it was. Those last two goals, good as they were, were just amazing because of their timing! When do we ever do that?! Amazing to think we haven't lost an season's opening game since 2006...and great to know we've carried that record on. The great thing about the 3rd goal was the celebration. Not only was Vydra so very obviously over the moon, but the whole team came over to the fans, and practically climbed all over those that the front..it was fantastic to see how much it meant to all of them l So, good performances came from the two loanees. Both play very differently, but both incredibly effective. Abdi is all over the place, seeking out the ball, keeping it when he can and passing it well. He's a fighter. Vydra isn't quite so lively, but he's quick, so when he has the ball, it's very exciting. Tiny and Nos had good games today, as did Doyley. Yeates didn't have a great game, and the crowd in front of me kept letting him know what they thought..i wanted to slap them! Sean Murray seemed a little off today, his pocket was picked fairly often. Dicko was okay...he was Dicko...i don't think he'll ever be great, but he's steady...he just makes mistakes now and then which spoil his game imho. It was surprising to see Eustace subbed, apart from his wild shot, he had a good game..but it worked, so it's cool! Garner was better too today, he's been upping his game through preseason and today was the best he's played imho. He had a couple of good chances, i just wish he'd score from those! So, the highs and lows...in a nutshell. A very good day all round! Bring on Ipswich!
Well all i can say is what a dramatic end to a competitive game of football! Thought Almunia was solid his distribution was fantastic and a couple of crosses he claimed showed great confidence although where he gets that from i don't know! Tiny and Nos were poor today particularly Nos. At fault for both goals neither seemed to put a challenge in when the ball was on the ground and Nos seemed to struggle with the passing of the ball which is something to look out for. Full backs were ok solid as usual although Dicko really struggled with the pace of Zaha unsurprisingly. Thought Eustace started slowly but after we conceded the second he was the Eustace of old and really motivated the players through his experience and sticking to the gameplan. Hogg was brilliant and will be a contender for player of the season with performances like that every week, and to top it off he didnt get booked! unbelievable. I think Murray struggled a bit today, he needs to learn where and where not to lose the ball. If Dicko overlaps him he cannot afford to run at his man and lose the ball as a couple of times yesterday we were almost dangerously exposed. But apart from that he was his usual confident self and loved having the ball. Abdi really impressed me, first time i've seen him play but i have to say, what a tidy player. Sensible with the ball and clearly has more ball control than most of the midfield. So useful when he can control a poor pass which will inevitably be fired at him from the back four and great link up with Vydra. Yeates had a shocking game...again. Nothing against the guy but seriously he is far too slow, has terrible decision making and always tries to do too much. He cannot be played ahead of Murray and Vydra his performances just do not justify it and although he is a reasonable backup he will soon lose his place in the first team with more performances like that. And to finish it off...Vydra. What a finish firstly considering the initial ball he had to control. Looks very lively, has pace and loves running at defenders but is unpredictable. Looks like he also has a good football brain and great movement with a touch to match it. However we will have to wait and see how good he really is as this was the first game in a very long and physically enduring season but for now... great start! So important for Zola to get off to a winning start and as long as he adapts and learns quickly we could be a force to be reckoned with.
I'm not saying that Yeates is the answer, but we can't play Murray and Vydra for 90 minutes a game, every game, and expect them not to dip. Hopefully Anya or one of our youngsters will help fill the gaps. Sean didn't get much of a summer and hasn't had much of a pre-season either, but hopefully in another week or two he'll be back to his best. And yes, Vydra's goal was a peach.
Been away al weekend, no phone signal let alone internet. So happy to see this result. Thanks for the comments everyone, good to get a feel of what is going on. Who is Smith though? One win out of one. Zola off to a good start and one over Palace. Not much more to ask for really !!
Mex, it's Connor Smith, one of our home-grown youngsters. http://www.watfordfc.com/team/player-profile/index.aspx?playerid=464007&tcmuri=194602
Cheers, thanks for helping me out on that one. I thought that a certain other Mr smith had come back and it had passed me by !!
