Match Day Thread WATFORD v BRIGHTON and HOVE ALBION

He needs one now. 0-2

 

Pre-season performances were uninspiring. The pundits all say mid-table finnish, so add that to today's score and it is going to be a long, hard and potentially painful season. Happy when we are written off, cannot see us securing our usual strong start to a season this time round.

 

I recall that we actually had very few pre season matches, compared to most of our competitors. Unfortunately the danger is that if you're not up and running for the season opener, then you can easily end up chasing the game until Christmas.

 

Most other teams played 5 games, with 6 being the most ( except Wolves). Fair play to Brighton, they looked promising in all their pre-season games. After the semi- final we have looked weak and I feel teams have learn't how to play against us. A lot of huffing and puffing and a lack of a cutting edge has cost us dear.

 

Not looking to contradict you Flitton, but most clubs were playing friendlies 2 weeks before we started. I'm not bothering to look through the pre season fixture lists to check up on this, but I know that (including the Charity Shield) Liverpool had played 8 matches before last night's game. In previous seasons we have had a similar schedule. Sorry to say this but even the semi professionals of Taunton Town (who also started their league programme today) had notched up 8 games previously. I was astonished that our pre season schedule was so lax.

 

Just starting the long journey home... What an awful afternoon... Not a lot of positives... Except that Welbeck and Sarr must add something.. And Delefou when fit enough...

 

Insert a comma before your final word and the tone changes.

 

Just checked up on this in full Flitton. Our first pre season friendly was on July 18th - only Spurs started later than we did. All other Premiership clubs had had at least one match before that date. Arsenal, Liverpool and Palace have played 8 pre season matches (Arsenal started on the 6th July). Chelsea had played 7, and all others had played 6, with the exception of Brighton, Villa, Newcastle, Southampton and Spurs on 5. We were the second last in starting our pre season, and played the fewest matches (4). Everyone knows that you need 4 matches just to give the whole squad 90 mins playing time - so our preparation was insufficient. The other problem is that if new players are coming in then business should be done early to make sure that all incomers have the advantage of a complete pre season with the team.

 

I think Brighton really got some chalk on their boots, spreading our usually compact midfield. That created the difference IMHO. Well researched by Brighton manager, they created space where there is usually none. I don’t think the score reflected the game but they perhaps deserved the win. Doucoure wasn’t firing, I thought, Kiko often at fault, although he did wonderfully to create that opportunity for Grey, who should've done better, do you think? But Kiko wasn’t up to scratch, I believe.
Dawson was good, I thought he was super going forward. Foster did well, no complaints there. Cathcart at fault for one goal, but this was out of character and so forgivable for me.
We have people to come in so that’s good. But I was surprised to see Success. I think he’s playing at a level that’s above his ability, or at least above his effort. Nice runs, final ball is pony because he doesn’t look up. That’s not on when you’re playing Premiership football.
But chins up, Brighton will finish low to mid-table, if that’s anything to go by, not relegation team with that quality of manager. Watford will finish above them though, we just need to get all cylinders firing. If we can’t get them firing, we need to move them on.

 

Heard of dyslexia?

 

Only a bit of fun, it could read that you were calling cologne, “dear”, that’s all. Nothing to do with dyslexia.

 

I apologise, I read an article on the BBC the week before last that gave team by team numbers of games played which is what I was reffering to so i stand corrected. It had us down as playing the joint lowest. I also think we are ill prepared and before today wondered if there would be three teams worse than us. I hope I am wrong on this too.

 

I find it hard to write things in public, as I do not have any confidence as I know I make very silly mistakes. I am lucky that my Dyslexia only effects my spelling and punctuation. I am grateful that on the maths side of things I am very strong unlike many other suffers, who I sympathise fully with.

 

Well that was deflating!

Scored an own goal for them which summer the game up .

Their 2 subs scored whilst ours did nothing.

We created very little but could have had a penalty apparently.

Let's hope Sarr and Welbeck have some solutions .

Mind you they won't help the defence .

 

Left a beautiful beach on one side of Crete at HT and just thought it wasn’t going to be our day. After some hair-raising hairpins, got back to our apartment and all was confirmed. Not the best start

 

You didn’t do anything wrong at all, flitton. Please accept my apologies if you thought I had suggested you had. Your posts are excellent and I look at content only, not grammar. My joke (?) was that it if someone were to put a comma before your ‘dear’ (which of course you didn’t, which was all fine and correct), it would sound like you were calling cologne ‘dear’, like this:
“...a lack of cutting edge has cost us, dear.”
That’s all. I was trying to raise a smile, but apologise if I made you uncomfortable. Didn’t mean to, honest.
COYH

 

I would never have guessed you had a problem. I haven't noticed anything odd, so keep going, your insight is valuable.

 

I thought it was a penalty, not quite sure of the role of VAR if it doesn’t call a pen when someone’s arm comes up (as if scared of a mouse) in the penalty area, and stops the ball curling round the wall. I can accept the ref who has a lot of things to watch, maybe the lino was too square to it. But it was clear on VAR replay, IMHO. I mean, if the VAR is going to bottle calls, what is their purpose??

 

I watched the VAR replay and thought it was a penalty. That is from someone who believes too many awards are given when defenders have trouble getting out of the way.