I'll keep this short because i feel too annoyed to write about the game. Also I'm in the pub and don't want to seem unsociable!!
Basically the game started and Watford chased shadows for the opening 10 mins. We were struggling and referee Kevin Friend didn't help matters when he gave a penalty after a shove on Alexis. Controversial to say the least but if you play with fire you'll probably get burnt. Surprise surprise Cazorla scored and they led.
Watford came back into the game and did show promise but despite a lot of positivity from other supporters I think we were still pretty poor. At this point I decided I'd had enough of watching such a poor performance and went for an early half time pint. Next thing I know we've conceded 3 and are 3 down at half time. Classic.
I returned for the second half and was fortunate enough to see Watford snatch a goal back through new signing Roberto Pereyra. He was a bright spark on a pretty dismal day for the Golden Boys.
We put pressure on but didn't find a second, the game finished 3-1.
Final score: 1-3
Man of the match: urmmmmmmm
Match rating- 2/10
@@Adzrowe
Saturday 27 August 2016
Friday 26 August 2016
Watford v Arsenal preview 27th August
Watford take on Arsenal this Saturday at Vicarage Road, with both sides looking for their first win of the season. The visitors are under particular pressure after a slow start that leaves them 5 points adrift of the league leaders. The Hornets themselves suffered a shock cup defeat to Gillingham in midweek and will be desperate to pick up their first 3 points of the season.
Mazzari's men were desperately unlucky not take at least a point against Chelsea last time and they will know that if they can play like they did for the first 70 minutes last week then they can cause a fragile Arsenal defence problems. Star strikers Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney are yet score a league goal and are under pressure to find the net to kick start their campaigns. Ettienne Capoue is in fine form and is The Hornets only goalscorer so far this season, he will be hoping to have a consistent season and to continue his goalscoring form.
Arsene Wenger is under pressure from Gunners supporters and many feel that his time as the clubs manager is up. This could majorly play into Watford's hands as they know if they can score an early goal then the atmosphere in the away end could turn sour. The London side leaked four goals at home against Liverpool on the opening weekend and they are crying out for a centre back to sure up their defensive line. Troy Deeney will be licking his lips at the prospect of coming up against an unconfident Arsenal defence as if he can bully them like he did in The FA Cup last season then we could see a win for the home side. What they lack in defence Arsenal clearly make up for going forward with star player Mesut Ozil set to return to the squad for the game. Alexis Sanchez will be key to putting pressure on the Watford defence who themselves look suspect when put under consistent attacking pressure.
Watford could give debuts to new signings Roberto Pereyra, Younes Kaboul and Daryl Janmaat against The Gunners Saturday but it would be 'almost impossible' for all three to start according to Watford 'Head Coach' Walter Mazzari. Arsenal yet again have had a reasonably disappointing transfer window with Granit Xhaka being their only major signing in this window.
The pressure is on at Vicarage Road and it will be interesting to see if either side can pick up their first win of the new Premier League season.
Score Prediction- 1-0 Watford
Mazzari's men were desperately unlucky not take at least a point against Chelsea last time and they will know that if they can play like they did for the first 70 minutes last week then they can cause a fragile Arsenal defence problems. Star strikers Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney are yet score a league goal and are under pressure to find the net to kick start their campaigns. Ettienne Capoue is in fine form and is The Hornets only goalscorer so far this season, he will be hoping to have a consistent season and to continue his goalscoring form.
Arsene Wenger is under pressure from Gunners supporters and many feel that his time as the clubs manager is up. This could majorly play into Watford's hands as they know if they can score an early goal then the atmosphere in the away end could turn sour. The London side leaked four goals at home against Liverpool on the opening weekend and they are crying out for a centre back to sure up their defensive line. Troy Deeney will be licking his lips at the prospect of coming up against an unconfident Arsenal defence as if he can bully them like he did in The FA Cup last season then we could see a win for the home side. What they lack in defence Arsenal clearly make up for going forward with star player Mesut Ozil set to return to the squad for the game. Alexis Sanchez will be key to putting pressure on the Watford defence who themselves look suspect when put under consistent attacking pressure.
Watford could give debuts to new signings Roberto Pereyra, Younes Kaboul and Daryl Janmaat against The Gunners Saturday but it would be 'almost impossible' for all three to start according to Watford 'Head Coach' Walter Mazzari. Arsenal yet again have had a reasonably disappointing transfer window with Granit Xhaka being their only major signing in this window.
The pressure is on at Vicarage Road and it will be interesting to see if either side can pick up their first win of the new Premier League season.
Score Prediction- 1-0 Watford
Tuesday 23 August 2016
Watford 1-2 Gillingham
I'll keep this relatively short because to be honest I don't want to have to relive this game ever again and I'm sure neither do any of you.
Anyway here's my take on the game
Firstly the league cup clearly didn't captive the imagination of the fans tonight with only 7000 hearty souls making the journey to Vicarage Road. Seen suggestions that we should have the opening cup game on our season tickets, a suggestion which could be worth it in order to boost attendance to games such as tonight.
On to the game and the players did very little to reward the fans, The Hornets showed a lot of endeavour in the first half but didn't test The Gills keeper too many times. Anya in particular saw a lot of the ball on the wing but many wayward crosses from both sides of the pitch saw a lack of chances. Watford didn't find the breakthrough and went in at 0-0.
The second half started very similar to the first with Watford having the ball and not doing anything much with it. As frustrations grew on came Odion Ighalo and with his first shot he scored putting The Hornetd infront. Now time to kick on and get a second! Of course not.
Again we sat back and let the opposition come on to us and with little under 15 minutes to go The Gills grabbed an equaliser after a long range curling effort flew past Pantimilon. The scores stayed level and extra time was needed.
Extra time was just completely terrible and The Gills took the lead after comical Watford defending allowed Dack to get infront of his man and squeeze the ball past Pantimilon. Ah classic Watford.
The score stayed that way until the final whistle and Watford embarrassingly crashed out of the cup at the first hurdle. It was terrible to watch at times but Gillingham deserve a lot of credit grew into the game and took their chances. On the balance of play they seemed more threatening in the final third. I for one wish them luck in the next round.
Anyway that's enough. On to Arsenal.
Watford 1-2 Gills
Attendance- 7004- (850 away)
Match rating- 4/10
Probably the last time we will see Vydra too, a bad night all round
Anyway here's my take on the game
Firstly the league cup clearly didn't captive the imagination of the fans tonight with only 7000 hearty souls making the journey to Vicarage Road. Seen suggestions that we should have the opening cup game on our season tickets, a suggestion which could be worth it in order to boost attendance to games such as tonight.
On to the game and the players did very little to reward the fans, The Hornets showed a lot of endeavour in the first half but didn't test The Gills keeper too many times. Anya in particular saw a lot of the ball on the wing but many wayward crosses from both sides of the pitch saw a lack of chances. Watford didn't find the breakthrough and went in at 0-0.
The second half started very similar to the first with Watford having the ball and not doing anything much with it. As frustrations grew on came Odion Ighalo and with his first shot he scored putting The Hornetd infront. Now time to kick on and get a second! Of course not.
Again we sat back and let the opposition come on to us and with little under 15 minutes to go The Gills grabbed an equaliser after a long range curling effort flew past Pantimilon. The scores stayed level and extra time was needed.
Extra time was just completely terrible and The Gills took the lead after comical Watford defending allowed Dack to get infront of his man and squeeze the ball past Pantimilon. Ah classic Watford.
The score stayed that way until the final whistle and Watford embarrassingly crashed out of the cup at the first hurdle. It was terrible to watch at times but Gillingham deserve a lot of credit grew into the game and took their chances. On the balance of play they seemed more threatening in the final third. I for one wish them luck in the next round.
Anyway that's enough. On to Arsenal.
Watford 1-2 Gills
Attendance- 7004- (850 away)
Match rating- 4/10
Probably the last time we will see Vydra too, a bad night all round
Monday 22 August 2016
Watford v Gillingham (EFL CUP) 23rd August- Match preview
The Hornets face The Gills in the second round of the EFL cup at Vicarage Road on Tuesday night, in a match that gives Walter Mazzari his first taste of English cup football. Gillingham beat Southend in round 1 to earn themselves a tie against a Premier League outfit. It is a certainty that the league one side won't come to make up the numbers and know if they can progress it could be on of the shocks of the round.
Watford:
It is almost inevitable that there will be wholesale changes to the Watford starting line up so that new players and fringe players earn there chance to force their way into the team for the upcoming league matches. Despite the changes it won't be a weak Watford side and there will be plenty of quality, most heading to the game tomorrow will be hoping to see Matej Vydra given a full game to show his quality and we may also see the introduction of Jerome Sinclair to the team. If these two are given a run out then it certainly adds a different look to the side as the pairs pace could cause The Gills backline problems. In other team news Ben Watson returns from suspension and could return to the midfield for the tie.
It will be interesting to see how many changes Mazzari makes for the game and i wouldn't be surprised to see a completely changed starting XI with the depth within the squad. The players shouldn't need much motivation with some players playing to prolong their Watford careers.
Gillingham:
Gillingham have made a solid start to their new league one campaign and have only lost one game from their opening four. However that loss came Saturday and in crushing fashion too as they went down 5-0 away to Scunthorpe, so they will be hoping to reward their travelling fans with an upset on Tuesday night. Despite the relatively strong start, The Gills haven't kept a clean sheet all season and could easily be venerable to the strong attacking options Watford have on offer.
One player to watch will be Jay-Emmanuel-Thomas who has scored 3 goals this season and will be a threat to The Hornets defence with his powerful attacking style.
The Gills crashed out of the cup at the second round stage last season suffering a 2-0 loss away to Championship Birmingham.
Last time we met:
The Hornets last faced The Gills in the league cup back in 2007 a game where the Golden Boys came away with a 3-0 home win. That game was played in front of just 7,000 fans and is a clear sign of perspective to how much we have grown in 9 years.
My score prediction- Watford 3-0 Gillingham- A relatively comfortable home win but it may take some time for the game to come to life.
Watford:
It is almost inevitable that there will be wholesale changes to the Watford starting line up so that new players and fringe players earn there chance to force their way into the team for the upcoming league matches. Despite the changes it won't be a weak Watford side and there will be plenty of quality, most heading to the game tomorrow will be hoping to see Matej Vydra given a full game to show his quality and we may also see the introduction of Jerome Sinclair to the team. If these two are given a run out then it certainly adds a different look to the side as the pairs pace could cause The Gills backline problems. In other team news Ben Watson returns from suspension and could return to the midfield for the tie.
It will be interesting to see how many changes Mazzari makes for the game and i wouldn't be surprised to see a completely changed starting XI with the depth within the squad. The players shouldn't need much motivation with some players playing to prolong their Watford careers.
Gillingham:
Gillingham have made a solid start to their new league one campaign and have only lost one game from their opening four. However that loss came Saturday and in crushing fashion too as they went down 5-0 away to Scunthorpe, so they will be hoping to reward their travelling fans with an upset on Tuesday night. Despite the relatively strong start, The Gills haven't kept a clean sheet all season and could easily be venerable to the strong attacking options Watford have on offer.
One player to watch will be Jay-Emmanuel-Thomas who has scored 3 goals this season and will be a threat to The Hornets defence with his powerful attacking style.
The Gills crashed out of the cup at the second round stage last season suffering a 2-0 loss away to Championship Birmingham.
Last time we met:
The Hornets last faced The Gills in the league cup back in 2007 a game where the Golden Boys came away with a 3-0 home win. That game was played in front of just 7,000 fans and is a clear sign of perspective to how much we have grown in 9 years.
My score prediction- Watford 3-0 Gillingham- A relatively comfortable home win but it may take some time for the game to come to life.
Saturday 20 August 2016
Watford 1-2 Chelsea my post match thoughts
I think the majority left Vicarage Road disheartened this afternoon, well apart from the 2000 Chelsea fans opposite me. However from a personal perspective there are a lot of positives to take from the game despite the disappointing late defeat at the hands of a fortunate Chelsea team. Here are my 5 key points from todays clash and my reflection of this afternoons encounter.
1. Subs cost us dearly today
We seemed to run out of steam after scoring the goal and when fresh legs were badly needed they didn't come at the right time. The 3 central midfielders for The Hornets had a tough battle against a class Chelsea midfield pairing of Matic and the energetic Kante (I'll get to him later) and changes were due perhaps just after the goal. The two mistakes that Guedioura made optimised the tiredness in the team where his loose ball which ended up at the feet of Cesc Fabregas allowing him to send a match winning pass to the eventual goalscorer Costa. Even if Doucoure and Zuniga were subbed on slightly earlier then the energy levels in the middle of the park would've been refreshed in enough tine to encounter the inevitable pressure that Chelsea put on us. Mazzari will learn from this I believe and if we are leading against Arsenal next week I'm sure there will be better placed changes than the ones today.
2. N'golo Kante
For me this could be one of the signings of the summer if the Frenchman's display today is anything to go by. He won't score many for the Blues but what he will do is run and put pressure on the opposition players which will lead to mistakes. His energetic midfield display was world class and for me the game was won in the midfield, his display will go unnoticed by many most weeks but he certainly improves a Chelsea midfield that lacked pace in the middle last season. The introduction of Fabregas also had a major influence on the result and the combination of the Kante and himself did benefit the creativity of Chelsea's attacking play something Matic doesn't offer.
3. Deeney and Ighalo
It is way too early to cast a major opinion on their start to the season particularly just two games in against two quality opponents but today they again looked majorly off the pace and at times the link up play that was so successful last season went missing today. Talking of Success, Issac (Apologies for the terrible pun!) will be a welcome addition to the attacking line up and most certainly add something different with his pace which was lacking in the final third today. I am almost certain Deeney and Ighalo will find their form but if they do continue to struggle it would be most welcome to see some fresh faces up front
4. Amrabat and Holebas
Yet again we found that we were most certainly missing a trick with these two last season as their opening two performances have quality. Amrabat offers pace and direct running and gave Ivanovic a torrid time this afternoon, I thought he was perhaps my Man Of The Match. He also offers defensive qualities too, he tracks back and gets stuck in which only benefits us on the break when he picks the ball up in a defensive area. Holebas wasn't quite as good today but again offered an attacking wide role as well as his defensive duties. Time will tell how Holebas fits into Watfords plans but on his first two showings he certainly at least gives competition to new wing back Brice Dja DjeDje and beats Ikechi Anya every day of the week to that starting slot.
5. Capoue
Yet again Capoue was a cut above the rest and even without his goal he still looked the most composed player on the ball in a yellow shirt today. He is playing with a freedom that he never did under Flores and you can certainly see he is more suited to his role in Mazzari's team.
Overall we move onto the Arsenal game next Saturday and again we have a chance of picking up points against The Gunners who will be desperate to relieve some pressure and get their first win of the season.
Onwards and upwards after the first 6
Final score- Watford (Capoue) 1-2 Chelsea (Batshuayi; Costa)
Match rating- 6/10 (poor first half, came to life in the second`)
Adam Rowe (@adzrowe)
1. Subs cost us dearly today
We seemed to run out of steam after scoring the goal and when fresh legs were badly needed they didn't come at the right time. The 3 central midfielders for The Hornets had a tough battle against a class Chelsea midfield pairing of Matic and the energetic Kante (I'll get to him later) and changes were due perhaps just after the goal. The two mistakes that Guedioura made optimised the tiredness in the team where his loose ball which ended up at the feet of Cesc Fabregas allowing him to send a match winning pass to the eventual goalscorer Costa. Even if Doucoure and Zuniga were subbed on slightly earlier then the energy levels in the middle of the park would've been refreshed in enough tine to encounter the inevitable pressure that Chelsea put on us. Mazzari will learn from this I believe and if we are leading against Arsenal next week I'm sure there will be better placed changes than the ones today.
2. N'golo Kante
For me this could be one of the signings of the summer if the Frenchman's display today is anything to go by. He won't score many for the Blues but what he will do is run and put pressure on the opposition players which will lead to mistakes. His energetic midfield display was world class and for me the game was won in the midfield, his display will go unnoticed by many most weeks but he certainly improves a Chelsea midfield that lacked pace in the middle last season. The introduction of Fabregas also had a major influence on the result and the combination of the Kante and himself did benefit the creativity of Chelsea's attacking play something Matic doesn't offer.
3. Deeney and Ighalo
It is way too early to cast a major opinion on their start to the season particularly just two games in against two quality opponents but today they again looked majorly off the pace and at times the link up play that was so successful last season went missing today. Talking of Success, Issac (Apologies for the terrible pun!) will be a welcome addition to the attacking line up and most certainly add something different with his pace which was lacking in the final third today. I am almost certain Deeney and Ighalo will find their form but if they do continue to struggle it would be most welcome to see some fresh faces up front
4. Amrabat and Holebas
Yet again we found that we were most certainly missing a trick with these two last season as their opening two performances have quality. Amrabat offers pace and direct running and gave Ivanovic a torrid time this afternoon, I thought he was perhaps my Man Of The Match. He also offers defensive qualities too, he tracks back and gets stuck in which only benefits us on the break when he picks the ball up in a defensive area. Holebas wasn't quite as good today but again offered an attacking wide role as well as his defensive duties. Time will tell how Holebas fits into Watfords plans but on his first two showings he certainly at least gives competition to new wing back Brice Dja DjeDje and beats Ikechi Anya every day of the week to that starting slot.
5. Capoue
Yet again Capoue was a cut above the rest and even without his goal he still looked the most composed player on the ball in a yellow shirt today. He is playing with a freedom that he never did under Flores and you can certainly see he is more suited to his role in Mazzari's team.
Overall we move onto the Arsenal game next Saturday and again we have a chance of picking up points against The Gunners who will be desperate to relieve some pressure and get their first win of the season.
Onwards and upwards after the first 6
Final score- Watford (Capoue) 1-2 Chelsea (Batshuayi; Costa)
Match rating- 6/10 (poor first half, came to life in the second`)
Adam Rowe (@adzrowe)
Wednesday 17 August 2016
Watford v Chelsea match preview 20th August 2016
Watford take on Chelsea at Vicarage Road this Saturday in The Hornets first competitive home fixture of the new Premier League season. Both sides started the season with new managers in the dugouts after Antonio Conte replaced Guss Hidink at the end of last season, whilst Watford boss Walter Mazzari joined the golden boys following Quique Sanchez Flores departure.
Watford started the season with a hard fought 1-1 draw at St Marys as they battled with 10 men to secure an opening day point. Like his opposite number Mazzari is experiencing his first season of English football and will hope to deliver a successful campaign in his maiden Premier League voyage. The Hornets had a good return to life in the Premier League last season finishing 13th just 5 points below Saturdays visitors but a poor second half of the season left Flores heading out of the ever revolving mangerial door at Vicarage Road. Mazzari will know that the Pozzo family will expect a strong second season and if he fails to at least match if not better last years efforts he could be next out of the door.
The Blues travel to WD18 after a dramatic late home win against West Ham United and will be hoping they can maintain their 100% record at this early stage of the season. Conte who is experiencing his first taste of English football will be under pressure to deliver results from the off after a largely unsuccessful season for Chelsea last year which saw them finish 10th after winning the title the previous season. Chelsea could perhaps benefit from a season away from European competition and will be able to have a fresh squad for most of their league campaign which could bolster their title ambitions. They will be relying on star man Eden Hazard to have a spectacular campaign after he himself saw his efforts last year as below standard. He scored in their victory Monday night and will be the man to watch for Watford defensive wing backs as if he is given the time he wants he can single handedly win the game.
The home side know that this is the start of a tricky run of fixtures where they face Manchester United and Arsenal at home and face a daunting trip to the Olympic Stadium (London stadium) to face West Ham United. So gaining points at home will be key if they want to cement a mid table place early on the season.
It should be a thrilling encounter at Vicarage Road on Saturday afternoon.
Score prediction- I'll go for an optimistic 1-1 draw!!
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