My contention as stated above Firstly not getting aj back or signing a replacement LB IS NOT part off this every effort was made but signing players is not as easy as some imagine. Since new year malky has not played his best team- - its was clear dg and ms were a natural partnership, boths goals returns have dropped since xmas. It seens malky has beeb more worried about justifying deeneys signing and keeping the training ground happy than results - bucley has hardly featured despite destroying some of the best teams in the division over xmas - sordel- why dropped he was in great form till he was dropped- you can spout bollocks about taking young players out but hodson was sent into the firing line again and again when he was playing poorly and was cryinh out for help yet a striker on fire needed a rest Tactics- barnsley was the most inept tactical set up i have ever seen, play. Three midfielders, one on his third appearance (ish) - the two wide strikers were pulled back to playing wingback, dg totaly isolated The pratice of having every player back at set pieces- mm says the stats say you concede less- yes but then look at the next 5 mins of play! Bucley and sordel were dropped in the autum and we lost points- both have beennout of the tean again and we have fell away. Its so frustrating- to have a team easily kapable of the playoffs to fall short- we havent the resources but we had in form players who could have got us their if theyed been played!(its on record i dont go to all games but this was written with consultation to someone who has been to every game)
I must say that, despite all the humbleness and lack of expectation at Watford since the start of the season.....I agree with you. I think that Malky has done a good job with Watford....but I think our team could have gone the extra mile. Still, Malky is a young manager and when you compare this season to those of Aidy's latter ones...I must say that Malky has been better, with less money and less experience. My bigger worry is whether Malky can take some of this season's failings and learn from them.....or whether he will be (seemingly to some of us) confused.........and when Malky is saying he's "proud" of us when we scrap wins vs Barnsley I do wonder a little bit......I do agree that the win was down to a heroic defensive show but I think I'd rather have a manager who looks at it negatively so that we can improve.
I have to disagree. No one expected us to be in the play-offs at the start of the year so surely the fact we came close must be down to Malky - or does he only take he blame and the players the credit for somehow getting that close in spite of his ineptness? Do you actually have any substance behind your speculation? Do you work on the training ground and can say that the reason for leaving Buckley and Sordell out isn't anything to do with them being tired or attitude problems or anything else. It is definitely because Malky thought he would throw away the play-off by playing the Summer signing? (Who (a) has been playing well and (b) doesn't need justifying because if you know what the actual fee was it isn't high enough to warrant it) Finally, a whole host of managers with a great deal of success behind them say that young players should be rested. I take your point about Hodson but that is one area where we have lacked options which may, and now I'm speculating, be the difference.
Buckley and Sordell were dropped because they were very inconsistent and in many games just went missing - it's easy to select the games they played well in, but take a look at some of the others? Buckley was taken off at Pompey away because his application and effort were awful and he did not come back for a couple of weeks. Reasons why we did not make the play offs is because we do not have a good enough squad of players that can consistently win matches...we have given away too many stupid goals through defensive and goal keeping errors. IMO it would be a bit harsh to balme Malky on the squad of players we have. We have no money to invest in the players to fill the gaps and I suspect little money to pay the type of salaries that the better loan players will attract. For me, to finish were we have is a little short of a mitacle.
Think you have some good points in there Roo and I almost agree with your title. reason I don't quite agree is that I think maybe we are one or two players short and that getting them might be beyond our current finances. But I have always said the Manager is in my book 50% of the team. Malky is not the finished article and if he were better he might have got us to the play offs. However this is his first full season and he has come on leaps and bounds in the last 18 months. He has done better than I thought he would. I strongly doubt we could have attracted /afforded / kept a better manager. Malky knows our finances and accepts them and works within them. Elsewhere you criticise pointless threads but what is the point of this one? Just to remind us that Malky is not yet the complete manager - apart from criticising him where is your postive suggestion for what could be done - would you replace him. Take the mote out of your own eye
The person I blame is Sir Alec, for phoning Malky to recommend Drinkwater, then having either a written or heavily implied clause that he has to play every game. We better get another Cleverly next year to make up for it, and a decent left footed left back (De Laet this year would have done)
Play offs - OMG, you guys have to be joking! Malky has performed miracles to get where we are. Don't forget our "money ranking" in this division was 20th this season. If we finish mid table then we are well above our station. If you care to look at the BIG MONEY sides in this division (and league 1), you will see Watford are above our station - big time. Onto the players - why do you think we don't have a proper left back and the apology that is Drinkwater? If Malky had been given the money to spend then he could have brought in the quality of players required and we could well have competed in the play offs. We have so missed a natural Left Back - when you look at the games through the autumn with Taylor giving us excellent balance and width on the left side. We all love Doyley, but he is not a natural left back. Malky has done brilliantly this season, he has improved our league finish with a smaller budget than last year. The question really is how long before he gets tempted away - a Premier league team will come in for him, and then what will we have left? You need to remember Rodgers ran away from our financial challenge, he knew he didn't fancy a battle against the odds - so whatever some of you might think Malky is a legend and doesn't derserve this sniping. Next season the challenge will only get harder - Brighton, Southampton and Huddersfield all have budgets more than twice ours, John Stephenson didnt leave us for Brighton for the sea air!!!
I think that every manager makes mistakes...over a season you lose when you shouldn't, play players you shouldn't (or don't play when you should).....no manager is perfect, especially not Malky as he's so new to the game. I know it sometimes seems obvious to us...."Why play Drinkwater over Buckley!!!!!!" but you never know...maybe there's a reason. I think it's fair for us to want more from our manager...because I'm sure Malky will want more from himself. He always praises the players....so for me he comes across as a guy who takes huge responsibility as a manager. Did we expect to finish in the play offs? Well if I'm honest I expected us to do exactly what we've done this season....I didn't expect relegation because I knew we were better....and whilst I knew that we'd have a good go at the play offs....the squad would probably just fall outside of it. That doesn't mean to say that we couldn't have reached the play offs...quite simply a very small amount of results we should've held onto (if we'd held onto just 1/4th of the points we lost from winning positions we'd be in the play offs) have cost us dearly. I wouldn't say there was a brick wall which meant that we couldn't do better......there were just failings that stopped us. Anyway.....it's over now and we have to be realistic. We can't expect to have a Ferguson.....Malky is a good manager and on paper he's done a fantastic job. I'm hoping next season we can just give it another go.......the squad will be older and Malky will have learnt some lessons so, squad pending, we might just do better.
Whilst i'll agree entirely that it's a shame that our capable squad have fallen short of the playoffs, I think it's a bit unfair to slate Malky considering the amount of factors that have worked against us. Ifs and buts can effect ANY teams season, personally I think next year we should be right up there again so long as we can actually retain the core of the team for the first time in several seasons.
Hello lads, were you not among the favourites to be relegated? He's overachieved on his budget, and has the credentials to be a top manager.( Scottish and hard!) P.S Leo check your PMs
Yes Northolt we were - some people have short memories. Come to think of it I am wondering why Sir Alex, Harry Redknapp, Arsene Wenger etc were not queueing up to manage us. Oh yes - perhaps it was because we were broke and knew we would be a selling not a buying club. Anyone who expected - not hoped - but expected us to have a better season than we have had has no idea about our club and is just a dreamer
Sordell has been involved in 45 games this season. If he had started all of those, there'd be no point getting anywhere near the playoffs, because he would be shot to pieces. In any case, Deeney has spent less and less time up front as the season has gone on (and incidentally has got better and better as the season has gone one). Whichever season ticket holder you checked with, assuming you did at all, would be aware of that. Anyone with eyes could see (or with ears could hear from the radio/other fans) that Buckley was flattering to deceive, and that the end of his rehabilitation coincided with us briefly looking like world beaters. In fairness you do make some good points. Malky Mackay can't be held responsible for our failure to re-sign Adam Johnson. I think we have to reluctantly accept that once you're playing for England and earning millions a year, you're just about unattainable for a club like Watford. He is simply wrong on set pieces: if you stick your doziest outfield player and your worst header forward, the rewards will invariably outweigh the risks. But at the end of the day he's a young manager, and has come a long way whilst having to put up with idiots demanding the moon on the stick. Lest we forget how many of his first choice players have been sold (Smith, Williamson, McAnuff), leave at the end of loan contracts that we could reasonably have expected to extend (Lansbury, A. Taylor, Mutch) or be released on free transfers on cost grounds (DeMerit, arguably Harley and Hoskins). EDIT: as for Barnsley, we won the game, and frankly Mingoia was the most experienced avaialable central midfielder, unless you're suggesting that Danny Drinkwater should be starting for any reason whatsoever. Not a thrilling watch, but tactics wouldn't have made any difference to the outcome.
Sort of welcome to not606 Garry - but I hope you are going to sprinkle a few good words and enthusiasm in with your more morose 606 style contributions
I did have it in mind to lend a few bob to the club myself in order that Malky could strengthen the team. It turned out however that the sort of cash I had available wouldn't quite meet the bill for electricity used by the floodlights for an evening game. Now if we all club together and all put a bit in maybe we could get the services of a Blue Square star. Would Garry like to lead the way on this one and organize the collection? We could have a special sticky where we all state the amount we will pledge. Maybe though this is not the real Garry if such a person exists and he wouldn't really wish to help the club out.
OFH - if we could get together with a few more "exiles" I am sur ewe would have more than the three and sixpence that Baz is putting into the club
