I was booking up holiday accommodation for August and saw that they had got one back and I thought there was a fair chance ( but not seriously ) that they would get three. just booked the accommodation and looked at the score again. Cripes! better go out and get a lottery ticket for tonight.
Well, I hope for the replay he thinks of the travelling horns and names a better-balanced team. The mud bath of Prenton Park with an evening game is no place for a subs bench full of under 23's. First negative against NP for naming today's squad with that much inexperience.
Well the experienced players were rubbish and Chalobah/Quina going off didn't help. Pereyra kicked out. Fair play Tramere.
This is the sort of thing which can happen when you make too many changes for a cup tie. You throw a group of players together who are playing together for the first time against a team who are really up for it and it can go tits up - and it did ! Making so many changes also sends out the message that the game is not important, and that you disrespect the opposition.
Chalobah was running the game first half, and I suspect that they wanted to save him with Hughes being injured. Quina was doing well until the cramp set in. Was Gray actually on the pitch? He gave me the impression of not trying very hard. He certainly will not be replacing Deeney anytime soon. VAR got it right for the Tranmere goals when it was involved, but should it have even been there? Pereyra sending off was quite bizarre. The slow motion replay did not show him making contact with anyone. The commentators doubted that it was even a yellow card. The team that we put out was lacking in any real shape. Success and Gray is not a double spearhead to the attack.
To be fair we have not rested many players over the last 4 games so most of this starting 11 needed/wanted playing time and we would expect to see 6/7 of them playing or on the bench most weeks .The problem is asking us to play 5 games in 2 weeks
If you want to play the team that was selected today then play Gomes to give experience at the back. One of AD or ET should have been on the bench with Cathcart to give us real options if required. Each substitution made us progressively weaker, Pedro should have been introduced after an hour, must mean Hughes is out longer term for Chalobah to have been withdrawn so early?
Chalobah took a knock I think like Quina. We then lost any momentum in midfield and had nothing up front.
Gray is paid more than Deeney. Which is a lot of money if you consider he barely plays and spent the entirety of today in that huge fat bastard's pocket. OK that CB was big. So where was this famous Gray pace, or Premiership guile? Outclassed by Tranmere is not impressive, Andre. Crap ref today. Our youngsters did very well, I thought. Pedro looks exciting. Masina was very good, on the whole. Quina also very capable. Tranmere were the worst I've seen at Vicarage Road in a long, long time.
The problem was winning 3-0 so taking Chalobah off was not so much of a risk (so he thought at 2 nil yes he stays on until the 60 min
Good chance of the replay being on TV I suspect... Mind you Man U have just drawn so they'll be first choice!
Craig Shakespeare should have had a firm word in Pearson's ear before this game. He was in the Walsall team which drew a cup tie 4-4 at the Vic in 1987, when they were a third division side - another crazy cup tie which immediately followed a 4-3 win against Harlow Town in the previous round. When lower teams are up for it and have 2,700 fans travelling with them then anything is possible, particularly if you try experimenting against them. Nothing less than your strongest side is suitable for this kind of match.
We think we know that some of the players shound try and rebuild there career away from the Vic (Success poss Gray ) unless they just want the money BUT Pearson/Shakespeare have to learn that by puting them into games like this .I see no point in risk losing players that could make us weaker in the next match .If in the replay we put out most of the 11 that started today then i still think we will win .Drop Gray and Success Give Pedro a full games or until he got his 1st hat trick
I watched parts of several games today and all of the PL sides put out very weakened teams. This is why prices to watch are reduced. Nigel Pearson said that he wanted to find out about some of his fringe players, but I am not sure that you can get a real impression of if a single player will fit into your settled first team when required if they are part of a team put together that doesn't really have a regular mode of playing. As one of our number told the Tranmere fans forum, "While you won't be seeing the likes of deulofeu I think Pereyra will start and he's a rolls Royce of a player." Today he looked more like a broken down 2CV. On that form Pearson would surely wonder if he is worth keeping as he doesn't look right since his injury. As a lover of the FA Cup it saddens me to watch the demise of it, but all teams in the PL will put staying there the priority simply because of the money.
In many European leagues (not sure about France) the top clubs have reserve teams playing in lower divisions which allows them to better judge so called fringe players (and keep them match fit). In Portugal, Italy and the Netherlands this is possible at level 2 of their league - so Jong Ajax, Jong Utrecht, AZ Alkmaar and PSV all have teams playing in their second division. In Germany and Spain it's possible at level 3. At Ajax they are required to register players as being in the first team squad or in the Jong Ajax squad in the second division - with change over only being possible during transfer windows, or if a player has not yet completed 15 appearances for the first team. On the negative side Jong Ajax cannot be promoted, even if they win their league - but this ensures that new players to the club can be thoroughly tested, at a competitive level, before moving up. Clubs like Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have the same. Unfortunately no such system operates in England - but my feeling is that if a Watford 2 squad were playing in, say, division 1 that it would have far more of a positive effect than the occasional appearance against other under 23 sides. Most leagues allow this so why not England ?
I was there We lost the game when Chalobah and Quina went off The youngsters did well but need game time. but need our best eleven for the survival battle Success, Gray and maybe Pereyra need new teams to rebuild their careers The replay needs our best team to rebuild team pride
