I seem to remember reading that the Middlesboro game was our only televised game in September, so maybe not.
Last season there was a lot of moaning going on in Leeds because of the number of games being moved to accommodate the TV companies. I think it will depend on how well you are doing when people like Sky choose what games they will want to show.
The Hornets will continue preparations for the new Championship season with a behind closed doors pre-season friendly against Neil Cox's @SUFCOfficial tomorrow afternoon at Vicarage Road (3pm KO).
Neil Cox doing us a favour. Will any of the big names play - those linked with moves? Chance for younger players to impress I guess.
Was on Twitter but seems he is now back. Just a flying visit then. This was on the WFC forum: Stipe Perica is rumoured to be signing on loan. Is this as a replacement for Luis Suarez or to partner him up front, any idea? — Craig A First to details about the transfer and the player. Perica (pictured above) is joining on a one-year loan deal from Udinese, the 25-year-old has completed his medical and will train with the squad for the first time on Friday. He’s tall — 6ft 4in — and has been described as an “intelligent player” and “a good choice for the championship” by those that know him well. Plucked from Croatian side Zadar when the Chelsea loan army was in full swing in 2013, he was farmed out to NAC Breda in Holland before — after an initial loan — being sold at a profit to Udinese. Watford will be his fourth loan spell after Frosinone in Italy, Kasimpasa in Turkey and Mouscron in Belgium. He scored seven goals in 15 matches in the Belgian first division last season. Predominantly right-footed and a threat in the air, he is known to be an ambitious character who is familiar with the English game even though he never played for Chelsea. The club still hope to keep hold of Suarez despite continuous links with teams in Spain, so if they get their way Perica could be used as a partner — depending on what Vladimir Ivic wants to do — for Suarez or, of course, Troy Deeney if he stays at the club. Deeney has been linked with move to a Premier League club, with West Brom appearing a likely destination due to their interest two years ago and Watford’s former sporting director Luke Dowling being in control of recruitment at the Hawthorns. Do you know if Etienne Capoue leaving is likely to be on loan or permanent? If it’s a loan, do you know why the club think that’s beneficial to us? — Sebastian R As reported on Wednesday, Capoue is of interest to Valencia, however it appears the deal isn’t as far along as some would have you believe in the Spanish media. If Valencia come up with the right offer for a permanent transfer — understood to be higher than the £4 million reported elsewhere — then he will be allowed to leave, due to his age (32) and his desire to find a new club. Although Watford want to keep some senior players — including Capoue — they will only want to retain them if they are driven to succeed. It’s unlikely a loan deal would appeal to Watford, however one source who works closely with teams in Spain has said that he believes Valencia will struggle to finance a permanent deal. What is your impression on the Doucoure situation? All reports suggest his heart is set on Everton but they seem unwilling to meet the valuation for the player. Personally I’m worried he may cause issues/go on strike if the move doesn’t happen and we know with the Pozzos historically the price is the price and they don’t budge — Daniel J Watford and Abdoulaye Doucoure are ready for this deal to happen — it’s just the final details that need sorting out. Doucoure wants to join Everton — a four-year deal is agreed in principle — due to his desire to work with Carlo Ancelotti and their persistence in wanting him for the last two years. Wolves, Fulham and Hertha Berlin are all known to have been interested. Agreement on the structure of the transfer is still to be completed. On Friday it was suggested by a source close to a member of the Everton squad that Watford wanted to factor in a loan or player swap into the deal. One name that had been mentioned as a makeweight was centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite — who Watford had been interested in this year before Everton signed him from Carlisle United — but he is understood to be in Ancelotti’s plans. Anthony Gordon — the 19-year old attacking midfielder — is another name that has been mentioned as a potential makeweight, however it appears he is part of their first-team plans. The moves with Capoue and Doucoure seem likely to happen, but both Roberto Pereyra and Gerard Deulofeu have seemingly communicated their desire to leave but haven’t been linked to moves away yet. Any update on their situations and news on how Gerry’s injury is progressing? Could the quick turnaround between seasons coupled with a return from injury effectively rule out a move away for him? — James U Would expect the situation with Deulofeu to move forward in the next week. All parties — player and club — appear ready for him to leave if the right package is presented. Having started training with a ball again he is edging closer to fitness, although he may not be ready to play until November. This may make prospective clubs wary of committing without having seen him play after the first serious injury of his career but, having made steady progress in his recovery, it’s hoped that faith will be shown by a buying club. The plan is for him to continue his recovery in Spain, rather than returning to the UK for now. For Pereyra, there has been mention that he could get a loan move to Udinese, which would be of help to his international credentials with Argentina. It was mentioned in a Watford article with one of the players that Ivic is working alone, and still waiting for his assistants to arrive at the training ground? Have you heard when they are due to arrive? And do you think this will have a big effect on the players (potential for a lack of clarity and slow start to the season)? — Ross K It’s not ideal but yes Ivic only has one of the staff that he brought with him at the training ground — Christos Kelpekis, the goalkeeping coach. Milos Veselinovic, the assistant coach, and Petar Milcanovic, fitness coach, are yet to arrive due to visa issues as I understand it. Obviously this will put an increased burden on Ivic but he will be in touch with his staff and it’s understood that their arrivals are due in days rather than weeks. Travel logistics, quarantine considerations and visa issues can be particularly problematic at the moment due to the pandemic. Is there still interest in Alfie Mawson and the two Udinese defenders you wrote about recently? — Josh M Yes, my understanding is that discussions with the representatives of both Francisco Seirralta and William Troost-Ekong continue and that Mawson is being considered. The relative ease of the transfers for the first two names — due to their allegiance to Udinese — appear to be more likely than Mawson, who would demand a significant fee if only a permanent transfer was seen as viable by Fulham. Before Mawson moved to Craven Cottage he was being looked at by Watford, so they have been a fan of his in previous years. It is also worth pointing out that Ivic is still in the assessment phase of his squad and therefore potential transfers may be kept pending while judgement is passed. Ben Wilmot is also due to start full training soon, and it’s thought that the hierarchy want him to be given a solid run in the side. Pape Gueye…how did that story end, that’s assuming it has ended… did Watford benefit financially? — Murray R. My understanding of the situation is that it is still ongoing. Gueye is integrated into the Marseille set-up, yes, but there is still legal wrangling occurring in the background. Marseille have told me: “We started the process after having read the public statements made by the player’s lawyer that the player had terminated his pre-agreement with Watford. Our services assessed the legal situation and we decided to sign Pape Gueye with full knowledge of the facts, so as to be ready for any eventuality.” One of those eventualities suggested is the case being taken to FIFA, but when contacted recently a spokesperson confirmed that there wasn’t a pending case. That may be in the process of changing and there is always a possibility that an amicable financial settlement is reached without the need for the intervention of football’s world governing body. Having followed the story from the start and looked into what the fuss is all about regarding the player, I will continue to monitor the situation. What’s the news on outgoings? Suarez and Estupinan in particular — Johnny B As mentioned earlier the situation with Suarez is quite straightforward, they are determined to keep him unless they see outstanding value in an offer they receive. Estupinan had been hoping to attract an offer from Barcelona having impressed for Osasuna last season in La Liga, however they have decided against him as a left-back option (they may have bigger issues to deal with first). That is unlikely to end the interest in the Ecuadorian but soon he will be training at Watford having completed his quarantine and that will give him an opportunity to see what life could be like at Vicarage Road. He is known to be keen to play in the Premier League — Watford will hope that he and his agent don’t agitate for that happening immediately. Is there any news on the future of Will Hughes beyond his injury? Seems like someone we should be building around — Russell B Agreed and that appears to be the plan. There is a desire to keep Hughes. Sources close to the player have outlined that he is not set for a lengthy absence, so hopefully he will be back soon. It has been explained that the injury is non-football related and a procedure was delayed until the end of the season to ensure that he could help in the battle against relegation. TomWatfordFC, 20 minutes agoReport #147UnlikeReply You, sydney_horn, The Recluse and 1 other person like this. please log in to view this image TomWatfordFCAcademy Graduate New When can we expect to hear from Ivic in an interview? Also, do you know who is NOT training with the squad right now. I’ve not seen a single shot of Sarr training, for example, and would like to know if any of the “top players” are training with the first team — Phil C It has been explained to me by the club that Ivic is unlikely to speak to the media until before the opening game of the season against Middlesbrough. I can see that there is a desire to hear from him straight away but perhaps it may also make sense for him to assess his squad and get used to the environment before speaking. Regarding players that have not been training with the main group, many are in quarantine after having holidays in regions that are on the UK’s automatic 14-day lockdown list. What I do know is Kiko Femenia is back in training having served his time in isolation following his return from Spain. Sarr has returned from Senegal and is expected to be able to start training soon too. The bookies have us as favourites to bounce straight back up. Given a new manager, all the unknown ins and outs player-wise, new technical director etc, what are they basing it on and do you think it’s a fair assumption? — Graham A It is par for the course that the teams that drop down are earmarked to go straight back up. Considering the amount of business that Watford appear to still have to get done, mostly on outgoings and then potentially finding replacements, I think that there is a certain amount of uncertainty whether they have what it takes until we see them play. By all accounts Ivic is a very driven, determined and ambitious coach who will want to get off to a strong start — so it will be fascinating to see if he has been able to convert the mentality of the squad. Personally, I don’t think it will be worth judging him until November time when the transfer window has been closed for a month. What are your thoughts on the new internal structure? Do you see this as a positive and do you feel the club are acting proactively with these changes? — Owen J Bringing Cristiano Giaretta in as sporting director is a positive step especially if he, as it seems, has been given more of an active first-team role at the training ground. It is also a good move allowing him to build up a fresh relationship with Ivic before what a tricky season. The move to introduce Giaretta is so he can share the responsibilities with existing technical director Filippo Giraldi, who will be able to concentrate on scouting and recruitment issues more than having such a hands-on approach with the team at training and match-days. That will only become clear when the season kicks off, though.
Should have commentary on the website, first game under new coach and all that. Very poor communications by the club over this game.
Apparently Ivic has asked clubs he has previously been at to keep friendly games private. Not sure that will go down well with supporters or even the club generally if he isn't one for communication.
Following on SUFC twitter feed. They name their players but not ours, probably under orders? We lead from a well-worked goal 1-0 at the break
