Forza Watford! Forza Beppe! - Notes For Watford Friday, 18th Apr 2014 10:00 by HarryFromBath HarryfromBath assesses the mood in the opposition camp ahead of Saturday's game by delving into their forums. "There's a lot of football to be played. The race for the eighth-place finish may yet throw up an unlikely hero", "We are walking this league right now. The trouble is that our opponents are all running", "Roll on June 18th when next season's fixtures are announced." The majority of Hornets have decided that "at least this play-off business is finally over", but their team is unbeaten in five games going into Saturday's fixture. A comfortable midweek 3-0 win over Leeds last Tuesday week was followed by a 2-2 draw at Millwall on Saturday. Watford's home form is noteworthy. They have won six and drawn two of their last eight games with an 18-4 goals record. One Millwall supporter offered an accurate summary of the pattern of many recent Watford games after Saturday's draw: "In the first half you played well and were much quicker to the ball. You pressed us well and played attractively. "In the second half you sat back and invited us on. You took a battering but looked dangerous on the break. The general consensus on our boards is that you have a good forward line and midfield, but are not good enough at the back to be a top-six team." Conceding Late Goals"We have conceded when leading by one goal in three of the last five games. Ten minutes of concentration would have left us with an extra six points." Millwall scored a stoppage-time equaliser on Saturday and many Hornets believe they would be in the play-off race but for these late goals. "We resorted to the long ball in the last 20 minutes against Burnley [who equalised late on in a 1-1 draw last Saturday week] because our entire team was knackered", "Teams worth their salt know we have a reputation of being weak in the last 10 minutes and will use it against us." Fitness and cautious tactics are blamed. "I'm not a fan of Beppe's negative approach when we're leading. We go completely defensive when ahead in the second half. We go too deep and lack the pace to counter-attack. With our defence, it's such a stupid tactic." Giuseppe Sannino"Sannino has been outstanding. He's really throwing his all into this opportunity. I think we've got a cracker. I can't wait to see what he does once he's had a full pre-season to prepare." A recent poll saw 76% of Hornets happy to give the Italian boss a second season. "Sannino deserves his chance. Miracles don't happen overnight and he has been focussing on the defence since he first arrived", "The team haven't set the pitch alight but they've stopped the rot", "It may not be pretty or free-flowing, but it's the ‘Plan B' that everyone was calling for." The critical minority struggle with the style of play on offer. "That was dreadful [against Leeds]. Every pass was sideways or backwards and we rarely committed men forward into the Leeds half", "We'll never get promoted being that defensive", "He errs on the side of caution too much." A Change of Style"As soon as went a goal up against Leeds, we resorted to type, giving the ball away and hoofing it up the pitch." Sannino has retained Zola's 3-5-2 formation, but has shifted the balance from the romantic passing football played under Zola to a more pragmatic style of play. "Get over last season. We will never see football that good again at the Vic, if not for a very long time. Beppe's football is better than what has been served up in previous years so stop being spoiled. How can you not enjoy a 3-0 win over Leeds? I despair." "While we had flair last season, the emphasis has been far more about controlling the game to some degree", "We cannot play counter-attacking football with no pace in the team", "People complaining haven't seen much Italian football." Defence"The whole defence is shocking. They just can't hack it when the pressure starts. I'm sick to death of how naïve they are", "Dropping too deep was our downfall again", "We need to sign at least one defender who can instil some grit into the defence." "Our lack of tough centre-backs has to be one of the major reasons we aren't doing as well", "We are weak at defending crosses and we do not have the ‘hard nuts' in defence to be able to cope. Time after time we are bullied in defence." "Horrific goalkeeping", "Manuel, Manuel, Oh why Manuel?", "An awful mistake after he made some outstanding stops earlier in the game", "He's a good keeper but has made quite a few of these errors." The 36-year-old ex-Arsenal keeper mishandled a tame Millwall shot to concede a late equaliser.
"Making three world-class saves and then a howler kind of sums him up. I'll always love him for his performances last season", "Every professional keeper pulls off world class saves. Even Loach did", "He doesn't have the mental strength to be a great keeper. He is scared of making mistakes." Centre-back Marco Cassetti received a two-match ban for picking up his 10th yellow card this season against Leeds and is a big loss for Saturday's game. The 36-year-old ex-Roma player "plays like Liam Neeson in a film where his daughter has been kidnapped. I wouldn't mess with Marco". "If Joel Ekstrand goes this summer, he wouldn't be much of a loss", "His feeble attempt to block Millwall's late equaliser was embarrassing", "He gave away a needless corner which led to their second goal", "Some proper Julian Clary defending from Ekstrand there." The 25-year-old Sweden international's "distribution leaves a little to be desired", "I'm not sure why he's still starting games", "He seems intent on doing risky stuff at the moment", "He tries to play football on the edge of their box and turns his back on shots." Lloyd Doyley divides opinion. The 31-year-old, who has been with the Hornets since 2001, "is technically the worst player at the club", "He may be the best in one-on-ones, but there's more to defending than that. He never wants the ball from the keeper and panics in possession." "Teams with big lumpy centre-backs tend to get promoted", "He's the only defender who actually tackles people", "Lloyd stays with his man, but backs off too much, and allows his man to reach dangerous positions. Anyone can run backwards." "Gabriele Angella has showed his class since we have become more organised", "We are so much better with his ruthless streak down the centre." The 24-year-old ex-Empoli defender "is calm and composed on the ball and reads the game well." Some Hornets have doubts about him. "Angella is immense and worrying in equal measure", "I worry about his lack of concentration at marking crosses", "He's easy on the eye, brings the ball out well and does alright when the ball is played into the channels, but he's not commanding enough." Central Midfield"With opposition defences able to push up, our space to operate is limited. Opponents have done this to us several times this season. It makes it difficult for us to play football on the floor and keep possession", "Burnley stifled our space. Long-ball clearances were our only option to counter this." "Cristian Battocchio reminds me of a little terrier dog that doesn't give up. He has a great work rate even if he does go missing in some games", "He's a great little player. I've always rated his work-ethic and attitude, and he can always pop up with a goal." The 22-year-old ex-Udinese man "makes sure the opposition midfield doesn't have time on the ball. He's our best player at sprinting around chasing and harrying players", "His passing is still awful most of the time", "He's not the strong midfield type, but holds up play by constantly applying pressure." "I'm still not sure what Sean Murray does other than run around", "He worked hard against Leeds but didn't seem to get into the game", "I think games pass him by too often." The 20-year-old youth product "creates a lot of space with his movement. You don't need to be on the ball to play well". "Daniel Toszer has a superb touch and passing", He's good for us and is definitely a missing link." The 28-year-old Hungary international is on loan from Genoa, and is praised for his "unfussy, accurate play", "He is the key permanent signing we need to make." "It looks like he loves playing for Watford. Him and Abdi in the heart of midfield does not get much better, "Toszer and Abdi seem to have clicked. They played a delightful one-two in the lead-up to the Leeds opening goal." Lewis McGugan"McGugan has been a good signing, but his decision-making is average and often very poor. He could become a far better player if he looked up and also took more care in keeping possession", "So many times I have seen him waste great passing opportunities."
"McGugan has moments of great play and moments of sheer frustration with his decisions. Forest fans did warn us." The 25-year-old "has a lot of quality but is often too greedy. He should also try and place his shots rather than trying to rip the leather off the ball". "McGugan has an inability to do anything defensively", "He can score wonder goals and make decent runs, but he can't defend and does go missing in games when the going gets tough." Almen Abdi"If Almen had been fit for the whole season, we would be in the top six and Zola would still be our manager. He's that important to us and that good." Hornets have rued the loss of the 27-year-old Switzerland international who has missed much of the season with a foot injury.
"While he is technically sound, the thing that makes Abdi so good is his brain. He reads the game better than anyone in this league and seems to know that is going on in all directions around him", "The passing between him and others just creates space, even when the ball is played simply." "Abdi can play the killer ball not by splitting the defence in half, but by filling that lovely area in front of defenders and behind the last midfield man", "The pass to release Anya [against Leeds] was a joy to behold", "He's our most dangerous freekick taker", "He's our most accurate finisher." He is still adjusting to the new style of play, having played four times [twice from the bench] since returning from injury. "Several times Abdi dropped deep to pick up the ball from our centre-backs, and visibly shook his head as he watched the ball punted up field." Wide Midfield"Our wing-backs play like full-backs against good teams, and it makes it very hard on the midfield and forward players", "We should use what pace we have out wide to get behind opposition defences and let strikers Deeney and Ranegie tear the division a new one." On the left flank, Czech Republic international Daniel Pudil "lacks the pace to be a wing-back, but he's definitely someone who can come on and help us sit on a lead", "He's our solid and dependable option", "As much as I like him for his effort, he has no right foot and his finishing is generally poor."
The 28-year-old former Genk player "lacks that final quality ball", "Pudil is a defence-minded wing-back", "He can be a little rash in the tackle, but he's a really good outlet on the left as he is comfortable on the ball", "He has really settled under Beppe's new tactics." Pudil has been replaced in the last two games by 31-year-old former Liverpool and Galatasaray man Albert Riera, who joined the Hornets last month. "His provenance as a top footballer is way above what we're used to", "He a very classy player, although he obviously very rusty." "Riera gave the ball away a few times against Millwall at the start but grew into the game quickly", "He seemed to play very deep", "He has too much ability not to play. He can also cut in playing on the right flank and get some shots in." On the right flank, Marco Faraoni "doesn't know the meaning of a poor first touch", "When he's in the mood. When he's not, he's a passenger and definitely no defender", "He would be a great player if he was more consistent." The 22-year-old ex-Inter Milan man "is good at getting forward and has a thunderous shot". "Ikechi Anya's pace is invaluable for the counter-attack in away games." The ex-Northampton man is seen as the main counter-attacking outlet since Matej Vydra left last summer. "Any ball towards him out wide and he looks a threat", "His pace behind defences is invaluable." "There's no way Anya is a striker." The 26-year-old Scotland international right-winger has played up front recently. "He passed to Deeney when he should have shot", "His crawling shot against Burnley might prove costly", "His pace got him into a great position, but his open-goal finish was weak." Strikers"A little bit of pace up front will do wonders for us", "We don't necessarily need a fast striker to do well, but we will if we continue with 3-5-2 next year. It forces the defensive line further back, allowing the midfielders to take control of the game and leverage the five in the middle." Fernando Forestieri made his first appearance back after suffering a fractured toe, coming on from the bench against the Lions. "His strength is his close ball control and ability to drag defenders all over the place, opening up space for Deeney." The 24-year-old former Genoa striker is "a typical trequartista", "His technical ability and work-rate makes up for his inconsistency and poor decision making", "When he holds up the ball, he draws defenders in because he is moving with it", "He's occasionally brilliant and plays his heart out." Sweden international Mathias Ranegie joined from Udinese in January. "If ever I saw a player made for English football, this is it", "For him to be effective, we need wing-backs who can get to the line", "When Deeney inevitably leaves, Ranegie will be able to step in and take the role." The 29-year-old was sent off in a March defeat at Doncaster. "He was so stupid, leaving us with one fit striker", "He could hardly move after 65 minutes against Burnley. He was running on empty", "Playing Ranegie up front invites balls getting pumped up to him as he is a little limited." Troy Deeney"I dread to think where we would be this season without Deeney. His goals, work-rate and leadership have been invaluable for us", "He was like a man possessed against Burnley and scored a great goal", "He's our stand out player for me. He's in the form of his life."
The 25-year-old former Walsall striker "has played every game and done what he has had to do. Without him, we'd be in trouble", "I cannot see us winning games if he does not play", "Twenty goals in back-to-back seasons have earned him the right to test himself in the Premiership." "Deeney's general all-round play isn't always the best. He drifted in and out of the Millwall game, but won a number of important defensive headers in our box", "His inconsistent performances up front are due to a lack of support, and our punting aimless long balls between the centre-backs." Hornets' Views on ITFC and the Game"Although they may not play the passing football of old sides, Mick has installed a grim determination in to the team which maybe they've lacked over recent years. In fact it's something maybe we could have done with at times this season." There have been a small number of home win predictions on several message boards, but a lack of in-depth discussion about the game suggests that there is little riding on it for home supporters. "This could well be a tight game but with both sides desperate for a win. It could be an entertaining one as well", "We've always seemed to have the upper hand over these guys but I'm not so sure about Saturday. I'm not as confident as I would normally be against them." "I think if we are to get anything from this game we'll need to go at them from the start." A picture of the ‘Last Chance Saloon' was met with this remark: "We've been drinking in this bar for a while now. It feels like my new local." WebsitesThe busiest and most informed message board is The Sir Graham Taylor Terrace
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Daniel Pudil 
