Iwelumo comes off to be replaced by Beleck. Another huge appeal for a Watford penalty. Hogg pushed off the ball. The natives are restless.
Another huge shout for a Watford penalty. What is up with this ref? Clear one and the ref was in a good position to see it.
Wonder what Dyche makes of it all Got to give Zola time, lots of new players, said 10 games before I'd look at the table, I hope I don't have to look at it upside down to make us look in a good position.
Finally back on line - don't know what the problem has been but haven't been able to get on to any websites.
That's it, 0-1, but it did sound as if we were robbed of two penalties. Lots of positives can be taken from this game if you believe the commentary. It will be interesting to see what those at the game have to say.
BB, from what I read elsewhere others were having trouble getting on the official site, but you could not get on any websites?
GFZ believes we had three good claims for penalties. He is very disappointed having seen the team play so well. He will fining himself for losing his English. He is promising that this will be a very useful team. From what I heard tonight there is lots to be hopeful over, still some glitches to be sorted, but what will those at the game say?
Two, maybe three clear cut penalties. Having had a good view of the last two, it was absolutely obvious..... no idea how they weren't given. Hogg given ball edge of the box, about to poke it towards goal and he's barged off the ball. Defender had no intent to play the ball. Second one minutes later, Beleck is going away from goal, but it's in the box and the defender does a really poor tackle from behind. The ref was right there..... I just don't get it. For me, we earned a point..... but the tactics/formation just weren't right. We had Forrestieri, Vydra and Yeates running into a brick wall of defenders. Far too central..... no wingers until the full backs pushed right up late on. Iwelumo did not do enough for the team. When Beleck came on he ran the channels and made more room for those in the centre.... that's exactly what we needed..... but it was too late by then. Ultimately we need an intelligent goal poacher back... maybe that can be Beleck if he's given more than 10 minutes when we're behind..... but we know that when/if he gets into the side Deeney is the man. Almunia - 9 - Made some really good saves... you can never expect him to save a penalty. Confident passing it out and was accurate. Cassetti - 5 - Yellow card for poor challenge. Couldn't handle Buckley when he switched over. Had a tough time, perhaps injured too? He should be backup really.... Nosworthy - 5 - The thorn in Zola's plans. He cannot play the passing game. He always looks to hoof it up to Iwelumo. Did some good interceptions but ultimately he isn't playing the football the rest are and he didn't help push forward at all. Neuton - 7 - Necessary foul to stop Buckley earned him a yellow. Made a few mistakes but he plays good football, isn't afraid to get stuck in and he moves forward confidently and with composure. Maybe stop shooting.... Pudil - 5 - Gave away penalty.... he did this before didn't he? Didn't have to make the foul, Alumunia could've made the save IMO. He has yet to convince me yet.... only been slightly better than Dickinson. Abdi - 2- Very very poor. Completely invisible in the game except for sideways passes and poor crosses. He has scored some goals, fair play to him, but I've seen this throughout the season. Low workrate, slows down the game, no physical strengths or pace.... I think that Chalobah would add more to the team. Or McGinn.... Murray.... Battochhio, he's not short of choices...... Hogg - 7 - Some passes were off... noticed it a little but he's done well to adapt to the passing game. As always he cleans up counter attacks well... can't ask for much more. Yeates - 7 - He actually did quite well on the ball. He kept it and took on the impossible job of breaking down the Brighton defence as best as could be expected. I'd say put him out on the wing but as his freekicks proved today, his delivery isn't great. I don't mind him in the central role, but we need someone wide and I don't think he would fit into the team. Vydra - 7 - Needed to be played further out wide. First half didn't get much of the ball in a dangerous position, second half he was triple man marked. With wingers/ a striker who's active he will get more room and be a big danger. Forrestieri- 8 - I really do love this guy. He's quite small but runs non stop and puts in 2000%. Really has that young spirit to take on players, win the ball back and score goals.... though he was perhaps too optimistic when shooting from bad positions. Unlucky to hit the post though.....that was probably our best move of the second half. Like Vydra would excel anywhere behind the striker be it wide or central. Zola must work tactics to ensure Vydra and Forrestieri get more room as these two are really talented. Iwelumo - 6 - Not his best game.... headers rarely found a Watford player. Didn't get on the end of any chances except by using his hands. I would like to see him restricted to sub appearances to change the game. We need a much faster and more active striker for the majority of the match Subs: Doyley - 8 - Kept ball well, dealt with counter attacks, got forward well. Needed help outwide sooner than it came. Him over Cassetti imo.... Chalobah - 7 - Came on and made an impact. Good all round physically, passing.. would like to see him play more often. Beleck - 7 - Instantly was more of a threat than Iwelumo. He ran the channels, pressured defenders, did the best crosses of the match and looked dangerous. Needs to start next game.
That's right - I managed to get onto the BBC football site, where I normally open up the videprinter, then this forum - after a short while, the forum page wouldn't reload then everything else followed suit - twitter, facebook, official site, Wobby, ESPN, you name it. Even the education sites I tried to use to plan some lessons wouldn't load - very frustrating. For some reason, I managed to stay on the BBC site so at least kept up with the scores.
First 15 minutes looked like we'd run riot. Then Brighton got a foothold and we were a bit fortunate to go in level. Penalty then went in and CMS should have made it two (in fact on another day he'd have had a hat-trick). After that we piled on the pressure without creating a guilt edge chance. Iwelumo was pitiful. No control. Won nothing in the air. Your captain should be someone who is reliable and leads by example. Everything Iwelumo isn't. Cassetti struggled and Vydra had a poor game for him. However there is a lot to be positive about. Forestieri looks real quality, just needs to pace himself. Chalobah looks rediculously good for a what, 17 year old? Lloydinio showed you should never drop him. The team is improving. The passing is getting crisper and quicker and if we can sort out someone who'll put in a shift up front the goals will come. Was frustratingly narrow tonight though. Trying to pass it through the middle of their defence, very Arsenal-esque at times. If we can sort out the defence which still looked very leaky at times I cannot see why we can't have a good season. We do have the players. Edit. Should also add Neuton had a shocker as well.
There were 4 clear cut penalties that I saw. Lux has explained the first two, the third was a foul on Alman Abdi by Bruno and te fourth was when Chalobah was hacked down. The ref was consistently poor all match. He set the tone for the night when he booked Neuton for a barge but then failed to book Bruno for doing the same. However, I have to agree that we were off the ball tactically. I went hoarse shouting for the ball to be played wide a lot faster. However, we seemed to be a bit better from set pieces which is good to see. I am still yet to see what Yeates offers the team, he is slow, he cannot make a decision and is incapable of getting a corner or free kick past the wall, first defender or even on target. He is woeful, Bottacchio would be a much bigger asset. Vydra and Pudil can whip in a mean free kick, so he is obsolete. I should add that Cassetti did take a knock in the first half and left the ground with an ice bag on his head.
Nothing to add, it's been covered. And though we can't blame the ref for the loss, because we didn't take the chances that we made, he was absolutely shocking. The pens were obvious..at least 2...plus the red card that wasn't given. Appalling..so far the worst ref of the season, beating the last ref to have held that accolade...the ref at Bolton who was shocking too. Seems like Zola was pretty peeved, understandably. But, that doesn't take away the fact that we haven't been able to finish the chances we had...we need a striker who can find the net, and though everyone is calling for Deeney, i'm not sure it's him. Time will tell. I wouldn't be surprised though, if we've seen our basic squad, give or take maybe Eustace and Deeney. I think they showed a lot of very good positives tonight, i think we can look forward with justified hope.
