Match Day Thread Bournemouth (H) 20/09 - 20:00

Ralph has said before that he likes players that can play in different positions. The problem though is that he's managing in the Premier League now. You have to to play your strongest team in every game, or you'll be punished.

It definitely feels like he considers this to be an experimental period for us though. I'm fine with that as long as he remembers to take the cups seriously, and also if it means that he sees himself as being committed to the club for a long time.

 

I know they said that, could have sworn he jumped over Danso.

 

He said the PL is like a different game.

 

History only started when Ralph took over. Before that all records have been lost.

 

He did but was being marked by Romeu, who let him go to have a free running jump. Danso has little chance

 

Yep but for half a season & a bit he’s been .....
obviously just my opinion but he’s not PL. love it if Ralph could achieve but I don’t think so

 

There is a lot of sense in this post. I am not a fan of zonal marking and the problem is exacerbated by the fact that the defensive line up is not consistent and people played out of position. There was a similar scenario at the beginning of Ralph's tenure last season where he played around with the line ups with mixed results before settling on players he felt he could rely on. It is quite clear that Bertrand should be one of the first names on the teamsheet.

Interesting to read the comments about Ralph not being Premier League. I think he can be excused any blame for a disappointing season in 2018/19 because he was effectively trying to sort out the mess left by his predecessors. I don't agree that he is not up to the job but I think the experimentation should stop and put the round pegs in the round holes. I cannot see us being relegated this season but I think the disappointing home results will continue if he continues to make selections which are as problematic as Friday night's.

 

I don’t think we’ll be relegated this season, but I can’t say “I can’t see us getting relegated,” because we are so out of sorts defensively. In this league you can get punished every week if you’re not careful.

 

I can't see it. Watford look dreadful this season and have surprised everyone by being so poor. Basically, they have continued with the poor form they finished off with last season. Wolves don't seem to have started to tick yet but I think both Villa and Newcastle look strong candidates for relegation. On top of that, Brighton will surely implode at some point. There are too many teams worse than us this season and once Ralph stops dicking around with the starting eleven, we will be on an even keel.

 

Think it's gonna be tight from about 12th down this year.

 

But Watford were good for their draw against Arsenal last week and could have won it.
Funny season this year with Norwich beating champions city ...then lose to Burnley.

 

I don’t think he’s saying Ralph isn’t PL, I think he’s saying Vesty isn’t...

 

We're six games into a 38 game season. How Watford look right now, or any side, is hardly relevant. Sides have lost their first eight games of the season, and survived with ease. In the 98/99 season, I don't think we were ever above 19th place until about February. Leicester were very close to being dead and buried the year before they won the title, until Mahrez went and saved them by himself.

Equally, sides have found themselves in the top eight come November, but then barely pick up another point thereafter. Hull, Burnley, Brighton and Bournemouth all come to mind, as immediate examples.

 

When your defense makes 2-3 bad .mistakes a game and you have trouble scoring (even if we look good at times) relegation is always a possibility.

I would put the odds on us staying up, but all it takes is an injury or some bad luck.

I am more concerned about the midfield than the backline. Okay, we know Vestergaard isn't a world beater and quick players will always give him trouble. On the other hand, he stops a ton of crosses.

It's up to the midfielders to at least slow down the counters, and to at least not allow such direct runs into the box.

I feel hopeful because I think Hojbjerg is going through a bad patch right now. I think he will be back to his old self and that plus a healthy and potential game changer in Djenepo makes us a completely different team.

Last two seasons, I questioned whether we even had the talent to stay up. This season, I feel like we do but there's still some question as to whether it all coalesces.

 

If he starts playing Valery/Cedric, Bedders, Kev, Bertie as a back four regularly we will be a lot more consistant for the whole 90 minutes and will get better results.

All of our issues are with the defence as they have been mainly for a couple of years now.
If Vokins does not breakthrough then an experienced back up LB must be a priority in January.

 

What is the deal with valery at the moment? Presume injured but for how long?

 

Not injured at all. Fit and available.

 

Been seen practicing as a goalkeeper. Ralph likes to mix it up a bit.

 

Heck, this gets more and more perplexing. So first choice RB not playing, Second choice RB playing left back, first choice left back on the bench, winger playing LWB, inexperienced CB playing LB and RB, CM playing LB. To the untrained observer it looks like Ralph has no idea what he's doing.