Looks like he has only refereed a handful of championship games. this year. mainly a lower league ref. Could this be a reason for his performance tonight? He seems quite fond of his cards http://www.football-lineups.com/referee/2326/
Welcome Dan, good to see new posters posting always Well now, that was a pile of the proverbials. I won't add to what has already been said coz it's been covered...if i was superstitious i'd say it was either because i didn't have my long johns on...or more likely, because we started shooting towards our crowd which, when we shoot towards the Rookery in the first half, always sees us lose. So, i put the whole thing down to that...plus the fact that Murray didn't have a clue, everyone was awful, and Zola made a huge mistake AGAIN by changing so many. Oh, and obviously the ref was awful, how else could we have lost!? Actually, they were pretty awful too, but they defended well, and wouldn't allow us to go forward, and we sat at the back playing tippy tappy football, with no intention of going forward at all. And then..to make matters worse, we decided to go via the M5 on the way home instead of through Bristol coz the traffic had been so bad on the way there...except that when we got to the M4 it was closed and we had a massive diversion ....through Bristol! An hour later, we finally left Bristol...and i took my mate back to near Guildford...and 10 minutes after dropping him off...his phone started ringing in my car! Back i went to his house...so i arrived home at 1.30pm, wet, pee'd off...and hugely disappointed with my team. Not a great night, but at least the highlight was seeing the delectable Al, and the lovely Dan, who was surprisingly quiet for Dan! (though he did go a little far at one point He knows!) Okay, onward and upward....let's put this right at the weekend. PS: i hate being a match ahead of those around us!
Wow amazed that Zola made so many changes for such an important league game and the opportunity to grab 2nd spot. A big risk that back fired. Nigel Pearson made 4-5 changes inthe fa cup last weekend which caused a few moans from some fans, but for Zola to do it in the league left me baffled.....VERY happy... but baffled. Did us a big favour.
I am surprised at some of the very negative comments on various forums towards GFZ after this game. Of course I am sure he now realises that 6 changes is probably too much, especially as you can only recover up to 3 of these through substitutions. But I can see why he wanted to do it as he needs to get more of the squad playing time and also see if the likes of Murray can cut it and give the key players a bit of rest. But we should remember that GFZ is an inexperienced manager and going to make mistakes and just as we are happy to watch the quality football we are now playing, there are going to be days like this and we need to just get back on the bus and keep moving forward. What would we have paid to be in this position at the start of the season? COYH - back to winning ways against Notlob
So, Watford FC's team of journeymen, foreign loanees, gifted to the club by the shady Italian owners of Udinese in a "shop window" agreement, succumb to defeat by the lowly yet spirited Bristol City. Watford made 6 changes to the side that struggled to beat a weak Huddersfield side by a solitary quartet of goals - clear indication Gianfranco Zola is way out of his depth, agonising to involve the vast number of foreigners forced upon him by the Pozzo regime. That's for any potential journalists.
Exactly the same thing that came to my mind when i saw how many changes were made. Keep one of the best forward partnerships the Championship has in the team. Then when we're ahead in the match make your subs and give some of the others a go (IMO). Disappointed. Back to winning ways against Bolton please.
I do have to agree with most of the comments here. 6 changes were too many. I know it's a squad game, but we don't exactly have a fixture pile up at the moment, so didn't need to rest so many. You could pretty much tell who were the ones coming into the side. Murray didn't look like a LWB. Maybe it's a role he can grow into, as don't see much of a place for him otherwise at the moment, but you could tell he wasn't confident in the role. Maybe it is something he can work on with more time! City were very well organised, but played like an away team. They just sat back, let us have the ball in our own half, and we didn't have the creativity to break them down. At half time, I would have changed one of Hogg or Eustace, and possibly Cassetti on for Murray. I didn't think Nos had a very good game either, and personally fill Doyley has cemented his place as the right-sided centre-back! Yes, a bad day in the office, and maybe GZ will learn not to make too many changes in one game, but we shouldn't take away a well-earned victory from a side fighting for their lives. Onwards and upwards. Still a very long way to go and we have progressed so well that one loss shouldn't harm our chances! Maybe a loss like this will bring some down to earth a little.... Now roll on half a dozen deadline day signings
Its unfortunate we were playing a side boosted by a good win on Saturday and the motivation of having a new manager in to help morale so making changes probably gave them more of a life. Mind you it was still a decent side and the first goal was down to a goalkeeping mistake which can happen with anyone on the pitch!
Perhaps one other point to consider other than those already discussed at length. The 1st goal was 'flukey' apparently (bit like Lloydino's earlier for us). However, we are set up to score first - then rely on the other team getting caught with our breaks (4th against Uddersfield excluded). We struggle playing catchup - and will continue to do so unless, it seems, Chalobah/Battochio are in the team, as they have the guile to find a defence splitting pass.
very disappointed to read that Zola doesn't regret so many changes, and that he'd do it again http://www.watford.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=307114
Sorry to break the trend here, but I disagree about 'the number of changes' and its effect. We made a load of changes when we played Leeds away as well! I think we are looking for blame where I don't think it is due, and I think it is far too easy to blame the number of changes. Let's break the 6 changes down... Hall and Hogg were both regulars until 2-3 weeks ago. In fact we were concerned how we would cope with their loss when they got injured! They could have been expected to return when fit anyway and were certainly not detrimental to the team coming back in. Forestieri has been and around the team all season and would not normally be considered as detrimental to the team when playing. In fact only a few weeks ago he was a regular and Vydra was on the bench. That's half of the 'mass changes' gone, with no detriment to the side. At the start of the season nearly all supporters would have put Murray's name first on the team sheet, and Eustace second! In the team that finished last season, above half way, they were two of the best players. They should be able to come into this side and do well. So that only leaves Geijo, who I agree out of the new players is the one I expected to do better than he has, but has also been in and around the team all season. This wasn't putting out a reserve side, this was a team that could and should have won that match, and many others. The reason we lost was NOT due to the changes and the questioning of Zola's judgement just doesn't make sense in my opinion (as humble as it is)
My comment before the game started. From what I heard the major problem was midfield, with no real idea how to break down the mass ranks of defenders that City used. Murray at wing back sounds ok on paper, but from what was said he had only played that roll for 45 minutes while they were in Spain. For whatever reason he is a player who has lost his way and would probably gain from a loan spell somewhere. Eustace and Hogg to my thinking are too similar and not really creative players. One or the other, but not together in my opinion. I have a feeling that Eustace might be coming to the end of the road playing at this level. Been really good for us while the team was using endeavour more than skill, but just playing him to keep in the refs ear is not enough now.
I'd certainly agree that none of those 6 changes are a detriment to the side as inidviduals, but I do think making 6 changes in one game was. It's hard to come into a game and keep up the same perfomance as the players before you. What I would say though, is that there were a numbr of reasons for the loss last night, it wasn't simply because we dropped 6 players and brought in a different 6! At the moment, I don;t think Murray should play the RWB role again - but if Zola can work on it, there's no reason why he cannot be a long term solution to the role once Cassetti has gone, and with Doyley just behind him the in Right CB role, I think they could form a very good understanding. Last night, you could tell he was just very unfamiliar with the role - whether to push forward or hold. I think last season, it took quite a long time for Eustace and Hogg to grow an understanding. I wouldn't have brough both in. Both very talented, just too similar. They both also had off days (as did many others) with their passing. Many misplaced - but seeming City were so deep, we were relying on some creativity from these players. I thought Forestieri had a pretty good game in spells, and Geijo had a few chances. Both good players, but different kind of players, who play differently to Vydra and Forestieri There is not too much to worry about, and I'm sure Zola will continue rotation. I just don;t think it is as simple as saying bring in 6 players who roughly fit into the same positions, and they'll play with the same intensity as the previous 6! We are still a work in progress.... the manager, the players, and us fans with the growing expectations!
The other thing to add to my previous comment about those that came in, is that it is not like a Sunday League time where 6 new players have turned up for a game, or we say 'let's try Murray as a Wing Back and see how he gets on'. Zola and the coaching team have these players all week, and these players will have been tried and coached in the positions they played on the training ground, in training matches etc. I am not convinced we lose any sort of 'continuity' by bringing 6 players who have largely been playing throughout anyway or around the first team throughout. We often blame 'lazy journalism' when we see things in the press that are so easy to say, and I think blaming the changes is just too easy, 'lazy blame' maybe!
IMHO it looked like Murray did not listen to the team talk he was not the reason we got beat but he offered nothing! I said about Hogg and Eustace last season they offer no creativity when they play together, they are spoilers not creators. I understand the need to rest players but TD, MV, NC are all kids and should be able to play games Sat/Tue. I think we are being harsh on the team but after what they have offered all season that display was pants!
