Will have to improve next week to keep that spot - Hull surely won't be an easy match, Almunia kept us in the game during the first half.
We'll find out tomorrow who we get - if I've worked it out correctly, we're number 40 and they're 51. Great result from the Golden Boys, especially when you consider that Barnsley put 5 past Brum at St Andrew's a few weeks ago.
Zola was probably right to say the score line slightly flattered us as Barnsley did create chances but we were clinical and strong in attack. Yeates and Deeney were excellent whilst Battochio looked tidy after coming on. Think FF was having one of his stroppy days but still effective.
Stirrer Whatever he experienced as a result of that incident & subsequent jail sentence, it has made him come back a better player - although I wonder how long for as he seems to be increasing in size every week.
It was meant as a genuine question - the debate was always about a mixture of his ability and his crime. Clearly his coming back is good for us in terms of how well he is fitting into the team - but for those who see us as a family club - is that enough? I always felt he did something stupid and so long as he does not do a repeat performance then I am pleased he is back and playing well - not in the same league as Marlon King for me.
A very entertaining game...and we could certainly have shipped a few more goals in the first half. We started brightly and someone has clearly taught Deeney how to get his body in the right position against tight-marking defenders. Yeates ran the game at the start and put in some very decent crosses today, not forgetting a very close free kick in the second half too. Hoban aside, the defence was a bit casual at times and still vulnerable to passes into space behind them. At times our passing was very slick, creating space quickly, though either side of half time there was less movement than before. Forestieri is beginning to annoy me. He has quick feet and wonderful skills but the number of times he fell over with little or no contact was an embarrassment. I was impressed by Battochio's brief appearance. He was quick to get forward and looks as though he knows how to pick a pass. I'm sure Zola would have been delighted with the finishing today...there were quality goals there, though how Yeates' effort got past the keeper was hard to see from where I sit.
He's playing well, a much improved player worth his place and delivering goals. Am I glad that he's representing a family football club? Not particularly. He'll need to do something significant for victims of violent crime before I feel differently.
So he does his time ,he shows remorse and compensates victim ,he admits he was wrong , apart from banging in goals and doing his duties in the hornet shop and other duties , he has done and is doing all of the above , what more do some of you want , I assume these people have never screwed up in their lives .
I spoke to him after the game and asked him directly whether it was as penalty. Was he tripped or did he slip? And he said "i dont speak english" with a big grin on his face. Hoban and Almunia were amazing today, without them it could have been 1-3 at half time. BATTOCCHIO!!!! Well said theo. We should not be over confident, that result flattered us a lot. They had plenty of chances and we made some clangers. However, I am grateful for the three points.
Just got back in from the game What on earth was going on in the town centre half an hour to get out of the tesco carpark! Not good, anyway the game we should have been 3 up by HT, we were lucky to begin with in the second half they were all over and us and deserved to be level through sheer pressure alone IMO, Deeney and Yeates- outstanding, FF if it was not a pen he should have been booked and he wasn't! yes he waited for contact, but contact was made reasonable to good team performance the defence still gives you a heart attack though!
No need to assume that...of course we have. Never kicked anyone in the head when he was lying on the floor though! As it happens, what I want is immaterial. He's back in the team. Leo asked how we felt personally and I gave him an honest reply. You clearly disagree which is fine by me and I wouldn't dream of hinting there was something wrong with you just because you hold a different opinion. A shame you can't respect others' views.
Deeney.....I humbly suggest that if he hadnt had a bit of success since coming back,or was just a mere defender who wouldnt get the attention a person who puts the ball in the net quite regularly at present does ,people wouldnt be quite so 'forgiving'.There was certainly a strong lobby on here against keeping him when he was convicted.The offence hasnt changed. You sound quite 'casual' about it Norway, dangerous thing he did that night ,dont think you'd have liked to be subjected to what his victim was any more than i would.and perhaps takes a particular type of personality to go as far as he did then -so is it a case of as long as bangs in the goals alls ok? One thing I believe (as long as it wasnt legally unsafe) the club of a few years ago wouldnt have risked their image by taking him back.
Al, anyone who goes near Watford Town Centre (even Tesco) in a car on a weekend in December deserves all they get. I made that mistake many years ago, took 90 minutes (yes 90) to get out of one of the Harlequin multi-stories after a game and never made that mistake again.
Barnsley manager Keith Hill: "We made some horrendous decisions in and out of possession. The best team won and I've got to congratulate Gianfranco because I think he's got an excellent side".
Do I think Deeney was punished severely enough? No. I'm generally in favour of leniency to first-time offenders, but given the nature of the incident ten months would have been about right. But in my opinion there is no point debating that now that he's out, unless he breaks the law again.* Do I think his rehabilitation has worked? Yes. From where I'm sat it seems clear that he realises just how close he came, and still is, to losing everything. That may be entirely selfish, or that may represent a better understanding of right and wrong. But either way, he now represents a very low risk to society. And while he was always a hard working player, I think his improvement over the last eight or nine months is a reflection of how much more seriously he is taking his profession. *One change I think we do need to make to our justice system is to come down like a tonne of bricks on repeat offenders. If someone in Deeney's position were to commit a second offence, and get 30 days for it, I'd expect them to serve 8 months. Their sentence for the second offence, plus the time they previously got let off of, which would clearly have been ineffective.
As a pedestrian, the one good thing about Christmas traffic is that I can cross roads at red lights without fear of being murdered. Town centre drivers are usually quite good between January and November, but I can't say the same of those who use the Dome Roundabout (near Asda and Sainsburys). For December matches I usually bite the bullet and walk in from Garston. It's a long way, but doing that return journey three or four times on sub-zero December afternoons burns more calories than you'd think.
travelling down for the game next Saturday -- any advice for where to park. I have parked at the Harlequin before but it doesn't sound like a good idea this time.
