After a great night for us town fans as my first away day at Vicarage road I thought I'd share my views and rating Loach: 7 - Not much to do, did what he needed to do on a tough night Edwards: 7 - Gave a good performance defensively (didn't let his man past him) as well as offered a little going forward [one little comical moment trying to clear from the 6 yard box] Chambers: 7.5 - Solid at the back, read the game well and was always an option to receive the ball Smith: 7 - The usual odd shocking first touches and clear panic when the ball lands at his feet, looked good and building a partnership [definitely one for the future] Cresswell: 7.5 - Class act on the ball, always looked comfortable as well as giving a solid performance defensively JET: 6.5 - what he did well was good, but as often it was flashes and inconsistent although put in a stellar shift working back defensively which is a great bonus if he can add that to his game Luongo: 7.5 - Possible MOM as he looked a real class act, moved the ball well, drove forward with purpose as well as read the game and sniffed out any danger [real cultured performance] Hyam: 7.5 - Another possible MOM, looked solid and played with real purpose and drive, start of a good partnership with Luongo Carson: 7 - Did alright, not enough of a threat although he is young and still learning but a very decent performance from the young lad tonight both defensively as well as going forward Martin: 7.5 - A player of real class, was a bit hit and miss but was always a threat and looking to drive forward, a difficult game but worked tirelessly to try and make something happen Chops: 7 - Put in a lot of effort and looked hungry for goals but found himself outside the area too often and was isolated at times Scotland: 7 - another solid performance Drury: 7 - Nice touches and looked assured on the ball The match itself was an entertaining if not a bit frustrating, we commanded posession without creating anything clear cut, Chopra, Martin, Luongo coming close from long range efforts. At times we looked like we lacked a real cutting edge up top. second half was a bit of an edge of your seat affair as it became a bit more end to end and Watford as expected caused us some problems, although far less frequent than us and we dealt with most things well. Luongo and Hyam were the main positive for me breaking things up as well as keeping the passing ticking over and creating some decent chances. The goal itself was a great example of the football we can play and I think a lot of positives can be taken from Chops getting a deserved goal and we played with a lot of creativity although some clear issues are apparent in the lack of depth from the bench if things go wrong as well as a focal point of the attack or way to get in behind the opposition I would also like to say, this was possibly one of the best atmospheres from us Town fans, never gave up singing and created a great noise that I'm sure the town players appreciated. Also the lovely watford supporter who walked with me to the ground was very pleasant and I wish them well in the season as they are clearly a work in progress end note would be that I took my Budgie friend with me as we both live in London and seeing him shouting "Blue Army" etc. and the cheering he did when chops scored was another highlight as I feel I may have partially converted the heathen to the light
Good report KPR...many thanks and all sounds very encouraging. An interesting post and I can see you had a really enjoyable outing and dare I say it an Olympic games spirit of friendship and happy banter with other fans....this is surely what our longtime passion of supporting footie should be more about! And we as older fans can and should be setting this example to the young - on and off the pitch! I am more excited about this season than I have been for many a year - wait for the groans later!
Congratulations fellas, that was a brilliant result, one that I certainly wasn't expecting, I thought Zola would have had Watford playing much better! It's early days, but very encouraging, very good start to the season!
I think Zola is trying to get them playing a classy style of football but the transition hasnt been that easy. Give them a month or two and I would imagine that they will be a different outfit.
good start to the season, out of the first 2 games i was expecting at best 2 points but to get a win and a draw is top notch. but i still do worry about injuries and how deep the squad is. but anyway, good result and shows that we can match the better sides in the division.
It was the slowest 5 minutes if my life waiting for full time. Forgetting that it's Watford its very pleasing to see that we didn't stupidly throw it away. But we have to start finishing our chances when they present themselves. I cant see Blackpool allowing us 80 minutes to get our finishing boots on, although saying that i couldn't see a clean sheet last night either. I see no reason why we cant go up to Blackpool and make a game of it.
Summary of last night; We controlled the game for around 70mins, Watford spent most of it playing Hoofball, the couple of times in each half when they did actually try to play "proper football" they looked pretty good. It was a bit squeaky bum time when Iwelumo came on but we managed to do pretty well considering we are, relatively speaking quite a short team now. 1st half we were damn good but to many missed chances, as previous we wont get away with that this Saturday. Our work rate, ball retention, ball pressing is so much better already this season, the fitness levels are clearly much higher than last term. All this with JET still not finding any form. Zola very gracious in defeat on the wireless last night, we were by far the best team on the night, it is a shame that the match report in the Green-un was not written by someone who actually went to the game, to say that it was an even game and only 3 Town players scored higher than 6/10 was laughable. Very encouraged by our start if we can nab a point from Saturday it will be an excellent start to the season. PS. Town support last night was bloody great, keep it up.!
Loach: 7 - Had a solid game, but had very little to do, thought his distribution was decent and he handled what must have been a high pressure game against his former club. Edwards: 7.5 - Played well, was caught out a few times but used his pace well to recover. Chambers: 7.5 - I was very impressed, first time I've seen him and he looked very solid and supported Smith well. Smith: 7 - Thought he looked quite good, bit shaky at times but handled himself quite well Cresswell: 7 - Looked quite good, especially going forward Hyam: - 7.5 - Broke up play well and looked tidy, would like him to go forward a bit more. Luongo: 8 - Looked very good for me, again broke up play as well as Hyam but he also played the ball better. Martin: 8 - Looked very good, dangerous going forward, but he didn't provide enough cutting edge. JET: 6 - Played okay, however he was again very frustrating, was poor in the second half Carson: 6 - He was okay, didn't really offer too much for me. Chopra: 6.5 - Took his goal well, but he could have had one more goal. He didn't have too much service to be fair. Scotland: 6.5 - Had a positive impact when he came on, but didn't have enough time to really change the game. Drury: 6.5 - Looked neat and tidy when he came on
KPR, i went to the game and have to agree with most of what you say. it was a cracking atmosphere from the town fans (watford fans were predictably silent throughout) and if we didn't manage that late goal it would have been a massive injustice. although i am more than pleased with the first 2 results I can't help but think we won't keep up top 6 form throughout the season without reinforcements. so please PJ you've got 8 days... get the job done!
