Zarathustra

Frustrating day at the office, no doubt, but as they say if you can’t win, don’t lose … oh, and preferably don’t boo either. Imo, we’re obviously (and unsurprisingly) still carrying too many limited players in the squad, most of whom (for example, Miggy) can do fine if the overall mix of the team is right, but each of whom look shite if too many of them are on the pitch together at the same time. As far as I’m concerned, from the outset Miggy, Fraser, and Willock was never going to work well, and neither was Murphy, Longstaff, Willock, and Wood later in the game. With the likes of Maxi, Shelvey, and Anderson unavailable, however, Howe isn’t exactly spoiled for choice. On another matter, I love the Isak signing, and remain confident that it will be a very successful one in the end. That having been said, I think that both he and we have a lot to learn to get the best out of him. I thought that some of his positioning today was at odds with his teammates, and that despite his height we need to quickly realise that he’s not that much of an aerial threat - it’s simply not his game.

Indeed. Paqueta and Aouar wouldn’t go astray …

Yeah, with Wirtz I should have clarified I was thinking medium term rather than this window. These days I find it all too easy to get ahead of myself!

Agreed. I would love to see us sign Florian Wirtz - I think he’s been fantastic both domestically and in Europe this season. In an interview I watched, he also seems to be very grounded, and to have the sort of character that would dovetail perfectly with what Howe wants in his players.

Perhaps we’re planning to go double Dutch at the back - that is, Bakker and Botman (at some stage)? If so, imo it would be a very exciting young combination that might serve us well for years to come.

Indeed, and it didn’t inspire confidence when Howe went out of his way in the pre-Watford press conference to say that Sean Longstaff had “a long term future at the club”. Granted, for various reasons he can’t go ahead and say “tbh, I intend to piss him off at a hundred miles an hour”, but surely he could have left the door for him to leave at least slightly ajar, because for a long time now Longstaff hasn’t looked fit for purpose (even if his surprisingly good performance against Man U was encouraging).

I’ve always had a soft spot for Miggy. I used to think it was in my heart, but increasingly I’ve come to fear that it’s in my brain. Atm, he seems to offer little more than midfield mania, with defensive lapses at one end, mixed with precious little end product at the other. To be fair to Miggy, I feel that his confidence is shot to pieces, and he’s no Robinson Crusoe there - at least half our squad seem to suffer from that affliction (imo, that’s one reason why we need to be as active as possible throughout this transfer window). I also see no evidence that Howe and his staff have any real idea of how to employ Miggy in what they’re trying to do with the side, and more often than not they just throw him on at the death to chase a goal or to preserve a lead … both of which are equally elusive. Atm, tbh I’m struggling to see a positive short - never mind medium or long - term future for him at the club.

In a fixture of this magnitude against an opponent in such appalling form, one shot on target (from an individual Watford error, followed by some Saint Maxi magic) is obviously beyond poor. In fact, we’ve probably got Sissoko to thank for a point - how he failed to at least hit the target from that gilt-edged chance is beyond me (in the EPL, that would surely end up in the back of the net 7 or more times out of 10). Especially seeing that it’s only mid-January, there’s such dross around us, and we’re highly active in the transfer market, I for one will not be raising the relegation white flag at this point … or indeed anytime soon. However, to turn this sinking ship around, imo we need at least one quality centre back, another striker, and especially some central midfield reinforcements (probably 2 complementary players - one to drive the attack and the other to protect the defence). Atm, and despite Big Joe’s best and much improved efforts, it seems that we have very little steel, guile, or creativity in central midfield. In turn, this makes both our defence and attack look even worse than they are. If Shelvey and Longstaff are the answer, it’s a seriously weird question as far as I’m concerned.