Espania blade
Active Member
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2016
- Messages
- 1,077
- Reaction score
- 1,187
Ratings:
Henderson 6/10 – Had little to do but I have to say I think he did not cover himself in glory on the goal. He did not come out to narrow the angle which was fair enough but then left his whole near post to aim at making it easy for the striker. He needs to be a few yards further across and make him go across him. Outside of this he had little do really in terms of saves but his kicking was poor as he constantly booted it to no one as all our players went across the other side of the pitch.
Baldock 7/10 – More dangerous than Stevens going forward and had a few galloping runs and then of course invited the challenge to win the penalty. He was sound defensively and always an outlet down the right second half but maybe at times took too long to do things/get the ball in the box. He did not have the overlap or extra man as he has in other recent home games.
Stevens 6.5/10 – Not sure it was his best day today and his touch/control and overall play was off where it has been. I felt this was the case at Brighton and he has had a few down games for him. Not awful but just not quite at his best. Attacking wise he over crossed or over hit it and not sure many attacks came from his side or his play.
Basham 7/10 – Our best defender and showed his reading of the game a few times including a lovely piece of improvisation and skill in the first half when he got himself out of a tight spot. Came across and covered a few times and was just solid really at the defensive side. He tried to get forward but they got lots of bodies across and our slow build up made it hard for him to find space.
O’Connell 6.5/10 – Ok from a defensive point of view for most of the game but he seemed slow to react to Deulofeu when he got clear and maybe should have got across quicker. Outside of this he defended ok and tried to get forward when he could and was quite well advanced first half and led to us gaining possession/winning corners/throws high up the field. Gave away a silly free kick right at the end that could have cost us.
Egan 6/10 – Thought this was his poorest game of the season in that he let Deeney impose himself on him and the striker won several headers. Not sure he ever got on top of him or won the key battles. The goal came form a simple header he did not win when Chalobah flicked it on also and then they had other attacks where Deeney just flicked on. He has to make it harder for the target man but today felt physically Deeney actually won this battle. On the ball he was way too slow to move it on and they often realised his weakness in terms of coming out with the ball. He actually looked quite frustrated that he was not winning the 50/50 balls and started to retreat with Deeney being surprisingly too strong for him.
Norwood 7/10 – Our best midfielder and maybe rivalled Bash and Baldock for our best player in many quite ordinary individual performances. Some of his passes went awry but he always was looking to get on it and saw more of the ball than any other player on the pitch. Several excellent crossfield balls although it became a bit of a predictable tactic and we did not vary it. Took and confidently dispatched the penalty. Second half he was maybe guilty of trying to do too much. Still for me one of the standouts in rather meh type game.
Lundstram 5.5/10 – Really off the pace much of the game, particularly first half where nothing really went right. He gave it away a lot and made poor decisions in terms of when to keep it and when to release it. Defensively also his man ran off him a few times. He looked really sluggish. Second half he did improve a bit but still was not really affecting the game in terms of dribbling runs, passes or touches that affected the game. I was surprised he stayed on especially after he got a kick in the second half. He did have a decent volleyed effort.
Fleck 6.5/10 – Maybe a touch off his best but still did some decent things with a few driving runs and bits of interchange. Not sure he quite got on it as much as I would like nor got ahead of the strikers as much as he has been doing. Missed a really good chance at point blank range which was a good save but he had the whole goal to aim at and has to score really. Kept plugging away and looking for it but like others did not quite come off today.
McGoldrick 5.5/10 – Not his day today. His touches and flicks did not quite come off. He did drift off the front and try to get on it but today he may have been better staying up top as Watford sat so deep most of the game. Worked hard and chased bac to win a few tackles but he gave it away a lot and not sure he created much at all. He only had one rebound chance after the McBurnie effort that was crowded out and then the one that hit the post when he was offside but did not look remotely close too breaking his duck today. Surprised he stayed on as it was not working for him today at all. Everyone was hoping today would be the day but he never looked likely at all. Looked very tired at the end.
McBurnie 5.5/10 – As with McGoldrick, I felt the front two were as ineffectual today as they were effective at Brighton. A few days ago, they led the line, chased hard, linked and had lots of chances. Today they were second to the ball, did not even carry a nuisance factor and the centre backs had it too easy. They needed to work harder and hold it up more. It was a game of little quality so we needed to get up the field. I felt Deeney with scraps did a better job than these two today. Been decent recently but both strikers not at it today. He did not have the energy we saw at Brighton and the defender got in front of him a lot.
Subs –
Mousset 7/10 – Much better than the other two strikers. Had two runs down the channels and one was a great run and cross that nearly led to a goal for Fleck. He looked a handful and started to ensure we turned the defence round rather than it coming back. Not everything came off but he at least offered us something up top.
Manager:
Wilder 6/10 – A flat performance as he concedes where we did not do enough to win the game. Not sure either half we had enough tempo or moved it quick enough. It was a bit safe and slow. Like the Newcastle game they sat back and we could not break them down. Some players touch and passing was not quite as it has been but we needed to raise the whole tempo of our attacks and move higher up the field and even though second half we improved we still did not do enough. Surprised he did not make more subs. We did not really look like breaking them down and were huffing and puffing. Maybe Robinson and Sharp are not game changers but with lots of games coming up; not sure he would have lost a lot by trying something different. We just kind of carried on with the same cross field balls and hoping something would drop. I thought that is what we signed the likes of Freeman?
Watford – Seen a lot of worse sides at the Lane. They have picked up under Pearson who has got them more resolute, organised and defensively stronger. They are looking more dangerous on the break also. They could have got something at Liverpool and beat Man Utd and seem like they have a chance of maybe getting up the league when they looked dead and buried a few weeks ago. They have some real talent in the likes of Deulofeu and Sarr really talented individuals with pace and trickery. They have some experienced players like Deeney and Foster too. I am not sure they are any worse than a group of sides down at the bottom but will need to keep the momentum going as they have had such a poor start to the season. Pearson is a decent appointment and is a solid no nonsense manager who will ensure standards do not drop and ensure they are disciplined. Today they did not attack much but got a decent goal on the break, had a few other breaks and defended really well. They slowed the game down and time wasted but we would do the same in their position.
Opponent Man of the Match – Foster made a really good save first half and then a stunner in the second to get them a point. Deulofeu took his goal well and is a talent but is another that hits the deck way too much. A lot of ability but the fact he has gone from Barcelona to Everton to Watford sums up his lack of consistency, His play acting and waving at the crowd was pathetic too. He got booked finaly or moaning and groaning. I thought Deeney with little service won most aerial balls and caused us problems with his hard work. Sarr was dangerous early on but then got a knock and went off.
Opponent Weak link – I felt Femenia at the back could be got at but we did not really take advantage. I like Will Hughes but his passing and touch was poor today and he gave away a penalty. I also think Capoue is a big lad with good ability on the ball but he was happy to sit off it today. Mariappa and Cathcart are experienced pros but we never really tested them till Mousset came on.
Referee/Officials/VAR – We did not get any bookings so no one suspended and they got three mostly for timewasting or taking an age to go off when subbed/going off from the wrong spot. Thought Coote was a bi slow to penalise timewasting and also feel for some pathetic theatrics which saw Watford get quite a few free kicks. He gave a soft one on O’Connell on the edge of the box and that could have cost us and then one for us on Lundstram for barely a challenge made. The game became a bit stop start. We had one VAR decision with the offside and I thought maybe we might get one but no one seemed convinced and apparently replays did show it was offside.
Crowd/Atmosphere etc – Started off quite noisy once everyone was in and there were some moments of willing the team on but for the most part the flat-ish performance on the field was matched on it and it was all a bit quiet. The crowd tried to lift the side second half a few times but we struggled to keep the momentum going on and off the field. Not sure what happened to delay the kick off (operational issues they claimed and some said the turnstiles were not working in some areas of the ground? Seemed a lot were not in at 3pm anyway?) My rant against fans are aside from the latecomers and constantly going in and out; so many just sit and mess with their phones and not even looking at football. Two women to my left were comparing photos of families from Christmas Day. Best team we have had in most of our lifetimes and many are scrolling down Facebook and Instagram. Those that managed to get Wi-Fi as that remains awful inside the Lane. Anyway, Merry Christmas!
Thanks DB.
I thought every time they (Watford) had the ball in our half they looked dangerous, Deeney didn't do much but he always looks a threat and is good "leader" on the pitch for them. Pearson is doing a good job.
Bash' frightens me to death when he tries to dribble coming out from the back, he gets away with it but he does frighten me.
I just hope we don't get a "tonkin" in either of the next two away games, I would probably burst into tears watching it, hopefully it would be brilliant if we could get anything from Citeh or Liverpool.
UTB
