Firstly, I always find the locals friendly - thank you for hosting our game today. The game itself was a very worthwhile runout with 22 players given 45 minutes each. The scoreline was a little disappointing, even though Watford had the better of the chances, we had to come from behind twice to register a 2-2 draw. 1st half team Bond (GK) - ok didn't have much to do, but got the 1st goal all wrong as he was looking for a cross to the far post. When a direct shot to the near post arrived, it settled into the net after 11 mins. Tumwa LB - A real left footer with a sweet left foot ..... however he is a "willo the wisp". He needs some maximuscle, Guiness or some East German magic! Mariappa & Doyley - not one of their best displays. Mirfin CB - err just about ok, needs games and fitness. Somehow you can see why Scunny got relegated. He was willing, but scruffy at times. Bryan RW - a lovely sweet player, if only he was bigger! Set up numerous chances (often wasted). He does lack confidence at times and you want him to "go for it". Eustace - dependable as usual. Murray CM - Quick footed, nice player but is a bit short and needs a dose of maximuscle (did I say "other body building products are available" - mind you I can't name any!) Forsyth (wide left) - Tall and thin, but a bit like Lord Nelson in Trafalgar Square. Unfortunately he was a bit too much like a statue, and kept failing to make the position in time. Therefore he got involved in "continuity play", but I cannot recall a "game changing pass". Sordell - I love Marvin, but he can be frustrating at times. He can be a game changer in my view. One such example on 36 mins - Bryan slipped a ball inside to him, Sordell controlled it, used his body strength to keep the defender off, then turned and produced a rising shot which the keeper pushed over. I have seen him do that in the Championship - and I want to see more of it! 2 mins later he conceded a silly free kick and leathered the ball into touch under the ref's nose. If that had been a league game, he would have been booked. Marvin has huge talent, but needs to curb it and control his aggression. Massey - I like him, lots of running and more. After 3 mins he ran on to a "long ball" from Eustace, controlled it ran toward goal and presented it on a plate to Sordell (who skied the ball over the goal). Watford need to take those chances when the season starts. In short the difference between an over achieving team and one that struggles is how well the "game changers" do. For Watford to propser this season, I would say we need our game changers to be on song. I will summarise the 2nd half in a mo, when my tea has gone down.
Oh yes, by the way the half time score was 1-2. Bond caught out by the free kick which went to his near post rather than a cross to the far. Eustace equalised on 30 mins. After a period of possession with a corner or two and Watford looking settled, a neat interplay down the left hand side saw a pass inside to Eustace who steadied himself before drilling a low shot into the corner. 1-2 late on just as I was tidying my notes. A hopeful through ball (Mariappa???) at fault and the forward was 1 on 1 with Bond, and he slipped the ball past him. Turning the clock back 12 months, we beat Borehamwood comfortably last season and were 3-0 up at the break. This year 2nd level Watford looked much closer to 6th level 'Wood IMO.
2nd half – 11 changes – 1 goal. It should be pointed out that Watford dominated the second half with a huge possession count, but broke through the massed defensive ranks only rarely. I believe this was down to the Borehamwood players tiring as they made sporadic substitutions? Either which way, my notes only amounted to 3 entries, and as for the Sky Sports News coverage (V+ is a magic thing), Josh Walker can be sold to your club for £1m!!! Gilmartin – I cannot think of a save he had to make. Adam Thompson – pretty good as always. Eddie Oshodi CB – I struggle to believe he is still with us! Aged 19, I believe he will either make it or be released this season. Didn’t have much to do, but I’ve never thought of him as “creamy smooth”. Tommy Hoban CB – could be a majestic centre half of the future. I saw him at Preston and was quietly impressed, and he looked as smooth as an unruffled pool here. He will feature in the first team this season where he will be put under more pressure than here! Won most of the aerial stuff. Dale Bennett LB – the odd one out, forced to play LB and did ok. But truthfully he is no LB! He has already started 13 league games at this level and I feel he will make it (even if he is a few inches too small). Please bear in mind that the midfield section was almost given the freedom of the park! Piero Mingoia narrow left – Piero is a lovely lad, and my daughter likes him (bcos he is small). He has quick feet, but his lack of physicality will prevent him from having a big career. Ross Jenkins CM – did what he does quite well . Josh Walker CM – back from his loan spells, he put himself around. If he had more physicality he could well make it big, but I honestly think he will fall short. Britt Assombalonga RW – he could make it big. He has lots of quality and bags of pace, with some “devilment”. IMO he is a breath of fresh air. If Sean Dyche is unable to sign the (dozens) of new players promised by the owner, then Britt will be called upon. Someone asked me who he reminds me of and I said “half a dozen players”. Early Worrell Sterling (before he got scared), David Bardsley’s positioning, a bit of Nigel Callaghan. But essentially “Britt” will go far. My mate Dominic who goes to almost all the Watford games, rates him and I agree. Troy Deeney – I thought before today, Troy would be paired with Marvin Sordell. The fact that he played the second half means either SD thought Gavin Massey blended better with Marvin (I kind of agree), or that Troy is still a distant 2nd choice??? Err what did Troy do – he did his best, but wont be getting a move to Real Madrid on this performance! Chez Isaac – Also did quite well up front, but needs game time me thinks.
hmmm goes to show you can have 2 people watch a game and get a contrasting report?? Both however mentioned Britt , will keep an eye on him next season! Elixir likes Bryan Hornette thought he had a bad game!! As ever time will tell ! What does come out is we still need a lot of strengthening! and conditioning work on the smaller guys and some more squad members of quality!
i can only assume that you were sitting on the opposite side of the pitch to me Elixir lol...i see this completely differently, how strange, but interesting all the same. Stealing your posts, here's what i thought: Bond (GK) - ok didn't have much to do, but got the 1st goal all wrong as he was looking for a cross to the far post. When a direct shot to the near post arrived, it settled into the net after 11 mins. He didn't move for the first goal, but i thought he just looked a bit nervous. He wasn't expecting to play i guess, if i have to give him an excuse. Tumwa LB - A real left footer with a sweet left foot ..... however he is a "willo the wisp". He needs some maximuscle, Guiness or some East German magic! Sadly unnoticed on our side of the pitch, didn't make any impression. Mariappa & Doyley - not one of their best displays. Agreed. Though made a lot of screaming noises lol Mirfin CB - err just about ok, needs games and fitness. Somehow you can see why Scunny got relegated. He was willing, but scruffy at times.Mirfin seems very similar to Tiny, but not quite as strong. He looks the same, wore the same number, and occasionally was as rough as Tiny can be, making some strong barges. Bryan RW - a lovely sweet player, if only he was bigger! Set up numerous chances (often wasted). He does lack confidence at times and you want him to "go for it". A huge disappointment to see that Bryan hasn't really improved. Yet again, he is quick with the ball but keeps it far too long, and when he finally tries to get rid of it, he's left it way too late and loses it. Eustace - dependable as usual. Yep, and an excellent volley from approx 30 yards Murray CM - Quick footed, nice player but is a bit short and needs a dose of maximuscle (did I say "other body building products are available" - mind you I can't name any!) He seemed to have a good start, but faded towards the end of the half. Seems dependable though, when he has the ball, you get the feeling it will be a Watford player with it after it leaves him. Forsyth (wide left) - Tall and thin, but a bit like Lord Nelson in Trafalgar Square. Unfortunately he was a bit too much like a statue, and kept failing to make the position in time. Therefore he got involved in "continuity play", but I cannot recall a "game changing pass". Funnily enough, from where i was he seemed quite useful. Moved about quite a lot but didn't win the ball much. Potential but not quite there yet. Sordell - I love Marvin, but he can be frustrating at times. He can be a game changer in my view. One such example on 36 mins - Bryan slipped a ball inside to him, Sordell controlled it, used his body strength to keep the defender off, then turned and produced a rising shot which the keeper pushed over. I have seen him do that in the Championship - and I want to see more of it! 2 mins later he conceded a silly free kick and leathered the ball into touch under the ref's nose. If that had been a league game, he would have been booked. Marvin has huge talent, but needs to curb it and control his aggression.That moment was his only good one in the half. He is indeed frustrating, one week he can be inspired, and then the following week he just loses it. A real shame, i hope he finds some consistancy. Massey - I like him, lots of running and more. After 3 mins he ran on to a "long ball" from Eustace, controlled it ran toward goal and presented it on a plate to Sordell (who skied the ball over the goal). Watford need to take those chances when the season starts. Definitely one to watch. Impressive, and quick. Second half Gilmartin – I cannot think of a save he had to make. It wasn't much of a display, but not his fault, like you say, he had nothing to save. Adam Thompson – pretty good as always. Yep, i'm always impressed with him, and he works very hard. Eddie Oshodi CB – I struggle to believe he is still with us! Aged 19, I believe he will either make it or be released this season. Didn’t have much to do, but I’ve never thought of him as “creamy smooth”. He looked uncomfortable to me, and a bit clumsy and lollopy. Tommy Hoban CB – could be a majestic centre half of the future. I saw him at Preston and was quietly impressed, and he looked as smooth as an unruffled pool here. He will feature in the first team this season where he will be put under more pressure than here! Won most of the aerial stuff. i liked him. He seemed very in control and reliable. Dale Bennett LB – the odd one out, forced to play LB and did ok. But truthfully he is no LB! He has already started 13 league games at this level and I feel he will make it (even if he is a few inches too small).He is definitely too short but though he was playing LB, a lot of the time he seemed hell bent on being almost a winger. He tried hard, perhaps too hard. Please bear in mind that the midfield section was almost given the freedom of the park! Yep! Piero Mingoia narrow left – Piero is a lovely lad, and my daughter likes him (bcos he is small). He has quick feet, but his lack of physicality will prevent him from having a big career. Piero played well. Very quick, he was everywhere and gave the opposition a lot of problems. Obviously at Championship level it might not be so impressive, but he was one of the better players today. Ross Jenkins CM – did what he does quite well . I don't know if i was too far way, but i never heard a peep from him. For someone who was supposed to be the Captain, he was far quieter than everyone else! And did what he had to in an okay way. Josh Walker CM – back from his loan spells, he put himself around. If he had more physicality he could well make it big, but I honestly think he will fall short. Josh seemed to be out to impress, and he did. He managed to get himself a lot of space and most of his passes were good. I won't be surprised to be seeing much more of him in the coming season. Britt Assombalonga RW – he could make it big. He has lots of quality and bags of pace, with some “devilment”. IMO he is a breath of fresh air. If Sean Dyche is unable to sign the (dozens) of new players promised by the owner, then Britt will be called upon. Someone asked me who he reminds me of and I said “half a dozen players”. Early Worrell Sterling (before he got scared), David Bardsley’s positioning, a bit of Nigel Callaghan. But essentially “Britt” will go far. My mate Dominic who goes to almost all the Watford games, rates him and I agree. can't disagree with that, i'm looking forward to seeing much more of him! Troy Deeney – I thought before today, Troy would be paired with Marvin Sordell. The fact that he played the second half means either SD thought Gavin Massey blended better with Marvin (I kind of agree), or that Troy is still a distant 2nd choice??? Err what did Troy do – he did his best, but wont be getting a move to Real Madrid on this performance! from where i was, Troy looked to be one of the best on the pitch. He got into space, worked his socks off, the only thing he didn't do was score, but that seems to be a theme with Troy. Chez Isaac – Also did quite well up front, but needs game time me thinks. Lots of work needed here i think! A disappointing afternoon, with lots of work to do, but lots of things to give us hope too
Ah, don't get too hasty there Norway! Watford have a few too many "sweet little players", and unfortunately they are not all going to make it. In these English leagues there are times when you have to be robust. So when I hear people criticising Bryan as "lightweight" they are correct of course. Its just that Bryan needs to develop his attacking game. Take Kevin Phillips for example, a similar size but he worked so hard on his game that he was a devastating forward. IMO Michael needs to do likewise, when he gains possession he needs to seize the moment and do something positive, because he can. But when he turns away from the play and does a pirouette before coming back onto his player, then the moment may well have been lost. At present Michael fails to seize the moment too oftern for H, and for me too. So I agree with her that Bryan remains an "if only" kind of player. When he seizes the chance, he could well become a "game changer". "If only" players fade out of the game ....... "game changers" are catapulted into the mega bucks leagues. Kevin Phillips made a fine living out of the game, and a birdie told me Ashley Young isn't doing too badly. However Ashley's younger brother Lewis has just been released by Hereford.
It is true that H and I were on opposite sides of the ground, so I saw the "statuesque" Forsyth up close and could see that he may be tall and thin, but someone had removed him from Trafalgar Square, Boom, Boom!!! And she saw that Dale Bennett didn't like Left Back! And yes Lewis Young only played for Hereford on loan, but he was released by Burton. It seems I muddled up Burton and Hereford, frankly (with all due respect) once you are at that level, I shouldn't think you care much. I've been to both towns and .......
ah yes, Wealdstone...i remember losing at Wealdstone a couple of seasons ago...let's hope we can do better than that!
Think the difference in previous years is that we've had a King or Graham to knock a few home against these guys whereas we probaby don't now. Its very true some of our younger players have the skill and ability but do need to bulk up which is why we must be forced to totally rely on such guys and increase the pressure straight away. I hope even though the squad are off to France we can get some players pretty quickly just so they can fit into the side easily before August 6th.
Not that i wish to cause a stir but i'm slightly concerned, well no that's to strong a word.... worried? that Loach and Taylor were left out? Illness and injury??
Carpy Loach warmed up but felt a pull in his thigh so they decided to err on the side of caution and rest him. Taylor apparently had a sickness bug...
