Football Thread 2017/18

[Manoverboard]

Mob's lot must be getting used to playing with 10 men by now. Did Deeney deserve to be sent off?

It was borderline but it was 2 footed from behind and he was going down, however the ref made up for it by giving our captain a very harsh 2nd yellow, so both sides ended up with 10 men.

On balance we were rubbish; was it because of the ever growing number of injuries and banned-ees in the squad or because the players have cooled a tad cos they believe that Silva has / had a bag packed ready for a move to Everton.

The Officials were also rubbish - Terriers first goal was offside yet Watford had one disallowed. Deeney's Red card was a Yellow and Hogg's second Yellow was a non event.

I warmed up for the Footy w/e by watching Palace demolish the Foxes, at least we managed to score against them

[oldbluefox]

Be careful who you upset on the way up cos you might meet them on the way down!!! I'm getting Mob a parachute for Christmas!!!

No excuses,we were poor yesterday and hardly troubled their keeper all afternoon. Zaha and Benteke had a field day and Sakho's goal with the last kick of the match was sublime. Can't say I'm keen on the chavs of Palace but their team was the better on the day. Well done Woy!!

[towny44]

I watched David Wagner, pronounced Vagner, our manager on Goals on Sunday on Sky today, certainly came over as one of the more intelligent of managers and spoke very sensibly, Mrs T thought he was rather dishy as well, I might have to revise my opinion of him.

[RB1961]

So 2 games and we give away 2 penalties....or were they?

What do you guys think.

RB

[barney]

It's irrelevant rb. All that matters is that they were given. We had two goals not given in consecutive games because the officials did not see them. Cost us five points although clearly over the line both times. Unless the game recognises technology these mistakes by officials will continue.

[Manoverboard]

So 2 games and we give away 2 penalties....or were they?

What do you guys think.

RB

I think that Wenger jumps up and down and shouts from the rooftops every time a penalty is awarded against Arsenal, be it a dive or otherwise but when a penalty is awarded to Arsenal and it is a nailed on dive ... for some reason he never sees it.

He seems to think that his team have some God given right to get all the decisions in their favour and especially so when playing against the small clubs like Watford.

I have NO respect for him or his judgement in such matters and will welcome the arrival to VAR to even things up a tad.

ps ... I note he has been fined £40,000 and given a 3 match ban for being a one sided pig headed fool

[oldbluefox]

I don't take too much notice of Wenger. He's always moaning and whingeing about something. But some managers are like that, Mourinho being a good example.

[RB1961]

So we're they penalties?

That was all I asked...I was expecting a yes or no and a comment on technology.

As for divers...we've all got them. Whinging managers well some are not around long enough to find out.

The only defence I have for Wenger Is that he is passionate about the club however I also think he is past his use by date and should go at the end of the season.

RB

[towny44]

I worry that Refs now assume that if a player falls in the area its either a penalty or a dive, on action replay I find that I disagree with the ref in about 50% of each case. A run into the area at speed whilst swerving to avoid players quite often leads to a player losing his footing without it being either a penalty or a dive. Surely unless the ref is 100% sure he should just let play flow.
As far as video technology to help refs, apart from whether the ball crosses the line, I think it should be avoided, slow motion seems to exaggerate things and just raises doubts about the original decision, so not a good idea IMO.
As regards managers and players expressing their opinions, why not most fans do it, and players and managers are normally keen fans.

[RB1961]

Well that was s?!t
One of the worst performances I have seen. Got what we deserved.
I hope the lad up front for Forest gets the break he needs.

RB

[oldbluefox]

Well that was s?!t
One of the worst performances I have seen. Got what we deserved.
I hope the lad up front for Forest gets the break he needs.

RB

Don't worry RB - been there, done it on more than one occasion. We were lucky to come away with a 0-0 against Fleetwood who deserved a win for the amount of effort they put in. To say we were utter gash would be an understatement. Their keeper must have got bored with the inactivity for we didn't have one decent shot on goal in the full 90 minutes. Two hours of my life wasted.

[towny44]

Well that was s?!t
One of the worst performances I have seen. Got what we deserved.
I hope the lad up front for Forest gets the break he needs.

RB

I doubt that Wenger will get the same treatment as Mark Hughes but he should get his backside spanked. What on earth was he thinking, Arsenal are not going to win the league and may even struggle to get in the top 4, however the FA Cup was a distinct possibility but not with that team selection. Our manager made as many changes to his team, because he knows PL survival is the top choice, but he still managed to win.
RB I agree that Brereton is certainly worth some PL team taking a chance on him over the January window, and maybe even Lichaj if he can re-produce that sort of goal.

[Manoverboard]

Too many changes, in truth, shows a lack of respect for the opposition.

We played Bristol City in the League Cup a few rounds back and made the same mistake, they beat us 2:0 - ish

This past Saturday we played them in the FA Cup. We fielded a very strong team but they make umpteen changes so as to prepare for their game against Man City tonight. We beat them 3:0 and didn't need to break into a sweat.

Was hoping for Yeovil in the 4th round but we got Southampton instead, we also play them this coming Saturday.

ps ... our gate was down 34% ... so much for the glamour of the FA Cup.

[towny44]

Quite right about attendances Moby, the Amex stadium looked deserted last night, despite all the hype about the rivalry between the two teams.
I hope our chairman sets the price for our home tie against Birmingham at giveaway prices, otherwise the stadium will be nearly empty with no atmosphere.

[barney]

It's funny how it's changes over the years.

FA cup ties used to draw bigger crowds than league matches at some clubs.

Even relative minnows at top level (you know who you are) field B sides when in reality, it's the only thing that they have a hope of winning.

Down at our level (football gutter) it's still seen as a decent money spinner and a good cup run and decent draw can make a hell of a difference financially.

[Manoverboard]

Breaking News ...

Watford have sacked Marco Silva

" The reason for our poor form and focus stems from the unwarranted approach by Everton FC tp poach the services of our Manager. " ... ish.

[barney]

The real surprise, Moby is that no one is surprised

It really has become a bit of a farce, but at least his bank account will be healthy.

I'm not really quite sure what the position of a club the size and status of Watford should be, but from an outside perspective, I see Watford as a larger Championship / lower Premier side.

Maybe the owners are expecting too much, with the investment they have made.

This new guy (that nobody has heard of) will be your 10th manager in 6 years. He'll probably be gone by the end of March.

[Manoverboard]

The Club Owners set a target for survival but with a longer term aspiration for mid table. Given their investment compared to other Premier League sides that is not totally unreasonable. The one thing that they do ' demand ' is total loyalty to Watford Football Club.

Marco it seems openly stated that he was interested in talking to Everton about their vacancy earlier in the season. That was not a smart move from ' The Arrogant One ' but it was something that he may have got away with if he hadn't also openly challenged Members of the Board in the Press ... coupled of course with the fact that his recent results were not good enough which overall meant that he was a dead man walking.

It could have been so much better but this fella needs to learn that he is not bigger than the Club that employed him.

ps ... Our latest Manager, one Senor Javi Gracia, is taking training this very morning ( Monday )



.

[towny44]

Watford must have one he'll of a budget for paying their managers' wages plus all the compensation after they sack them.

[barney]

Four wins on the trot and we are up to tenth after looking certs for relegation. Funny old game innit

[towny44]

Not looking forward to playing Liverpool on Tuesday, after they have suffered two defeats in a row Klopp will be desperate for them to get back to winning ways.

[RB1961]

Brackley town play in the FA Trophy semi final 1st leg today. 2 games from Wembley....come on.

RB

[RB1961]

Second leg today won 2 nil 3 nil on aggregate. So the town will be off to Wembley....fantastic.

RB

[towny44]

Well I used my lucky charm attendance at today's game and we won, only other game I've been to this season was Brighton and we won that as well, maybe I should go more.
Moby your team only got what they deserved, you have much more skilful players and were far more comfortable in possession, but you seemed to have set up for a point. Every goal kick, throw in corner and free kick you wasted time on, and despite your quality on the ball you made little use of your possession, Town meanwhile were trying to win and as you defended deeper and deeper in the last 10 minutes we got a lucky break and Ince scored.
I still think you are too good to go down but maybe you need another change of manager!!!

[Manoverboard]

Well done you Terriers

I sincerely hope those three points result in your survival in the Prem, ideally at the expense of Swansea rather than Southampton.

We were indeed playing for a point as our recent away record is a tad dismal. The tactics were necessary due to the high number of key players who are either below required fitness levels or are recovering from long term injury. When we have a full turnout a top 10 place seems possible ... even with Javi Gracia at the helm.