Monthly Archives: October 2019

29th October 2019- League Cup Fourth Round, Everton 2 Watford 0

Referee: Simon Hooper
Attendance: 34,979

Match Report: Everton 2-0 Watford

Watford look to win at Everton in Carabao Cup fourth round

Watford beaten by Everton in the Carabao Cup fourth round

Quique Sanchez Flores blames bad decisions for Watford’s lack of creativity at Everton

Marco Silva describes Everton’s Carabao Cup victory over Watford as ‘fair’

Domingos Quina suffered a groin injury during Watford’s Carabao Cup loss to Everton

Everton advanced into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup as goals from Mason Holgate and Richarlison secured a 2-0 victory over Watford at Goodison Park.

Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores: “It was important to see [Domingos] Quina, to see [Sebastian] Prodl, to see [Dimitri] Foulquier, to see many players who are part of the squad. They are not playing too many minutes. “If we were able to win here then perfect, if we were not able to win, we need to set up for the next match at the weekend. We need all of them, in our situation we need all of them. The players got some confidence and they will need this for the future.”

Watford’s best chance came after an hour, a thunderous drive from Andre Gray that Jordan Pickford did well to parry. It was perhaps not the most difficult of saves, though Pickford was doing well just to be awake after enduring 60 soporific minutes as a spectator, and Gray’s shot came with little warning.

This was a generous cup draw for Silva. Watford’s league predicament at the bottom of the Premier League making this competition a distraction they could do without. Quique Sánchez Flores’ side look more organised since his appointment, even with eight changes from the last league game. Attacking flair is evidently an optional extra at this point of his rebuilding.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019%E2%80%9320_EFL_Cup

26th October 2019- Premier League, Watford 0 AFC Bournemouth 0

Referee: Mike Dean
Attendance: 20,821

Match Report: Watford 0-0 Bournemouth

Watford and Bournemouth battle out goalless draw

Quique Sanchez Flores reflects on Watford’s lack of goals after Bournemouth draw

Watford players rated after bore draw with Bournemouth

Christian Kabasele thinks Watford have a confidence issue after Bournemouth draw

Christian Kabasele tells Watford team-mates to ‘leave now’ if they don’t believe

Watford are “getting closer” to their first victory in the Premier League this season, says manager Quique Sanchez Flores, despite their winless start stretching to 10 games with a goalless draw against Bournemouth.

Watford needed Ben Foster to deny Diego Rico and Arnaut Groeneveld just before half-time, while Aaron Ramsdale had to be at his best to keep out Gerard Deulofeu’s individual effort after the interval.

“I am confident and I am realistic too,” said Flores, who oversaw his third straight draw since taking the Watford reins. “I know how the players are training every week. They deserve to win. We are creating something solid for the future. I believe that. I want to think in a positive way and that this was a good base for the future.”

Ben Foster made crucial saves to help Watford take a point in the week in which team-mate Troy Deeney complained about death threats being sent to the goalkeeper last season.

It’s not a cold day. No need for layers, not yet. But it’s wet and windy. And it’s wild. I love weather like this. “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing”… and this is ferocious and invigorating. This is the weather in which heroes are made, the weather in which great deeds are done. The weather in which we claim our first three points of the season, reverse continental shift, put the enemy to the sword. Do stuff worthy of being put to a song, stuff worthy of “do you remember when…” stories in 20, 30 years time. Or. Or it could be a bit shit and underwhelming. That’s always an option, obviously.

The final whistle was greeted with some half-hearted boos from the home supporters. The Hornets had the better of the second half but, after the promise of the performance against Tottenham, it had proved to be a very disappointing game. The good news is that we are now three games unbeaten and the defence is looking far more solid.

Another draw against Bournemouth, another clean sheet, but yet another missed opportunity to kickstart the season. Jon, Mike, Jas and DCW reconvened after the latest stalemate with our old friends from the south coast to try and work out if this was a point gained or another two squandered.

19th October 2019- Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur 1 Watford 1

Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Attendance: 58,754

1-0

Match Report: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Watford

Watford draw with Tottenham Hotspur after their lead is cut out by controversial goal

VAR controversy as Watford denied win at Tottenham Hotspur

Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores reflects on VAR involvement after Tottenham Hotspur draw

Apology issued to Watford and Tottenham Hotspur fans following ‘no goal’ graphic

Watford players rated after their draw with Tottenham Hotspur

Craig Dawson frustrated after VAR decision meant Watford had to settle for draw at Tottenham Hotspur

Watford’s Danny Welbeck substituted at Tottenham Hotspur due to ankle problem

Dele Alli rescued a late point for Tottenham to deny visitors Watford a first Premier League win of the season amid video assistant referee (VAR) confusion.

Alli’s leveller (86) – after Abdoulaye Doucoure (6) had given Watford the lead – was reviewed by VAR for a potential handball and referee Chris Kavanagh signalled for a goal but the big-screen message, which is controlled by Stockley Park, stated that the goal had been ruled out. After some confusion, the goal was eventually given.

For Watford this was one of those so-near-yet-so-far days, but the commitment from his players gave heart to Quique Sánchez Flores. The league’s bottom side were far from the rabble of early season here and, had they been more decisive in one of several counterattacking opportunities, they might yet have secured their first win of the season.

For much of the game Watford’s midfield was everything Tottenham’s was not. Tom Cleverley was calm and organised, Nathaniel Chalobah clever and ambitious, while Doucoure was quite superb. Strong in the tackle, athletic in possession, and with a clever final pass, he ran the game.

And here’s the VAR bit. Two big calls. A penalty shout for Deulofeu in the first half, not given. Alli’s goal, not denied despite a handball in the build-up and a shove on Christian Kabasele. No view of either at the time, both at the far end… Deulofeu’s penalty looks nailed on, Alli’s “handball” at least plausibly interpretable as shoulder rather than arm. We didn’t get either decision, it was ever thus away at a big club, these things matter more because we’re so desperate for the points. On balance wringing our hands too much about the equaliser is misguided; Ben Foster should have cleaned it out, Kiko could have been more decisive, and however inspiring our performance and well-judged the strategy if you spend most of the game defending your penalty area you increase the opportunity for such a decision to go against you.

If we continue to play as well as we did on Saturday, we won’t be in the relegation zone for long. This was the first time that we have seen a convincing performance from the whole team. I hope that we bring that into the Bournemouth game and have Vicarage Road bouncing again.

A much improved performance from Watford, while problems with VAR continue to leave Hornets’ fans confused and critical. This week Mike and Colin join Jon to discuss events at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where things could, and probably should, have been so much better. Find out if the boys think it’s a point gained or two lost and hear their answers to your questions.

5th October 2019- Premier League, Watford 0 Sheffield United 0

Referee:Andre Marriner
Attendance: 20,811

Match Report: Watford 0-0 Sheffield United

Watford earn their first clean sheet in 20 league matches with goalless game against Sheffield United

Watford record clean sheet but unable to beat Sheffield United in draw

Quique Sanchez Flores feels a more confident Watford would have beaten Sheffield United

Watford head coach explains Etienne Capoue’s absence against Sheffield United and sends a ‘message’ to his squad

Watford players rated after Sheffield United draw

Sebastian Prodl claims to have suffered a lot during Watford absence

Christian Kabasele thinks Watford have too much quality for relegation

Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores said his team are “on the road to finding” their first win of the season after they were held to a forgettable goalless draw by Sheffield United.

Despite having just 39 per cent of the ball and registering just two shots on target, Watford created the big opportunities in the match but Andre Gray, Danny Welbeck and Craig Dawson were denied as Blades goalkeeper Dean Henderson redeemed himself after last weekend’s error against Liverpool.

Gray’s horrific miss came following a 10th-minute counter-attack, as Pereyra cut in from the right and crossed to the back post, where the striker somehow shot over.

Watford’s teamsheet read like a classified ad: Desperately Seeking Solidity. Their manager, Quique Sánchez Flores, tried to repair a defence that had conceded 20 goals in their previous seven league matches by changing formation and giving Sebastian Prödl a first league start for 17 months, putting him in the heart of a five-man rearguard. Flores later denied it was his intention to sit deep and hope for counterattacks at home to a newly promoted team; but that is how things panned out. The Blades had most of the ball but were unable to unpick the Watford padlock.

Six months ago, as we entertained realistic hopes of European competition, it would not have seemed credible that we’d go into a match at home to a newly promoted side, even a Sheffield United who have started the season in decent form, not being strong favourites to win.

The main positive from the afternoon was that this was the first clean sheet since February. Our defence has been dreadfully leaky and we looked much stronger with three at the back, although this improvement at the back may have been helped by the opposition being Sheffield United. Still, Prödl had a great game, he is much more of a commanding presence at the back than either Cathcart or Dawson. Kabasele was immense and was named man of the match by the sponsors and thoroughly deserved it.

This week, Mike and Colin have two very different reactions to the draw against the blades. Regular listeners will be able to guess who took a positive and who took a negative perspective of the game.