Clockwork Cheese

Totally missed his total season appearances and for some reason worked out 3.04 from league games - didn't include him playing for Castilla though, 45 in 83 there in the Segunda Division does fluff it somewhat.

Hodgson has win rates of 33% Palace, 37% WBA, 39% Fulham... If he can manage 30% win that could put Watford on at least 32 points, plus whatever draws they come about. Think we really need Everton to appoint Ferguson until end of the season, and hope Brentford's slide continues. The more clubs down there come the 30 game mark the better for us. Anyway, we just need to win games - give a fuck what other clubs are up too - doesn't change anything our end really.

Morata - 3.04 across both his spells at Real and Juve, Chelsea, Atletico Morata's 29 now, players mentioned are at the start of their careers, playing for 'lesser' sides - the premium placed on them is the expectation that they are going to get better, especially when paired with better players. Morata is clearly a top player, but not one of Europe's elites. Situation now though is that no other clubs other than the elite can afford to sign/pay him - but personally I'd be thinking Barcelona could still be aiming higher than Morata.

I was thinking the same - Swap those numbers/ratio into Dusan Vlahovic, Julian Alvarez, Darwin Nunez and no chance Europe's elite are queuing up.. Surely clubs like Atleti, Juve, Barce are looking for a forward to be scoring more than around 1:3 - especially if you're paying fees Morata has gone for, and no doubt massive money.

England hat on - hope to fuck Lingard is nowhere near the starting XI for England come end of the year

Hodgson was booted by Watford's owners at Udinese 20 years ago On Saturday a report in the Daily Mail quoted Hodgson as saying: "Udinese is an extremely strange club - Inter by comparison was a cakewalk." https://www.theguardian.com/football/2001/dec/10/europeanfootball.sport2

I imagine the contracts the managers are put on a massively performance based - stay up, top half, probably down to being paid £X to individual league placing - and the contracts being nicely weighted with clauses for Pozo that he can get rid at a moments notice. Not surprising it's the way he does business from his experience owning in Italy, and culture, ability and rate managers come and go at clubs below top tier. For this reason, it's why no top level manager in Europe will look at Watford - the way they do business just removes them from the market of a manager that would actually be good for them. There isn't ever going to be a guaranteed £Xmillion worth of contract on offer regardless of being sacked.

Agree on this - I'd be more 25-75. Tarkowski has been a 'name' for quite a few seasons now. Sounds simple to say, but I think if he was that good - good enough that we should be seriously looking at above alternatives from European level clubs - he wouldn't still be playing for Burnley. A bigger and better club than us would have surely come in for him over past seasons if he really was thought to be a cut above the bottom rung of the PL - never getting a sniff from Southgate would also speak to his limitations I think as well. For £10-£15M, yeah - don't have to think twice; that would have been situation likely many times when clubs have looked at him, but he's not going to be worth the value Burnley are wanting. Keane didn't stick around at Burnley too long after coming to prominence. Tarkowski did 6 months after Keane leaving, and is still there 5 years on. Keane was a lot young, far better on the ball and has at least gone on to play for England before his career tanking.

Don't think Tarkowski is actually a target to be honest, or ever has been. He was one of the first names to be tossed out months ago by the likes of Jim White and the Talksport bunch as a solid do no wrong Premier League experience is important in a relegation battle foreigns cant be trusted to hit the ground running sort of signing.

Didn't do himself any favours 10mins earlier running at the ref flapping and throwing his arms because that FK wasn't given for a shirt tug. Really pissed me off that came with his arm throwing - needs to just get on with it and chase after/close down the Leeds player that just has got the ball. After not getting his pen, he collapsed to the floor then trotted back to his defensive positioning - it took him a whole minute from the refs decision to be back in position.

In a VAR-free world, it's fair to believe the referee sees in real time that ASM has gone down on his own trying to buy a penalty, or has just slipped over through his momentum and change of direction - thus not bothering to give anything. He didn't give ASM a card for simulation, so I think the ref has just thought he's slipped over whilst trying to shift his body weight back. I can accept the refs decision on that basis, but what pisses me off is that once it goes to VAR, it's slowed down to a level where you cannot fail to see contact has been made - and still no penalty. VAR is used at slow speed to detect handball and give penalties, it's slowed down to frame by frame milliseconds to rule out goals for offside (to such a fine degree that a player could be ruled both on and offside throughout the time the ball is in contact with assisting players foot!). In those cases, whatever evidence for positive ruling is found through VAR - however impossible to spot from a refs stand point - penalties are given. I hate VAR with a passion simply through the seemingly endless amounts of inconsistency and unfairness - even to the fact only PL teams playing at home can use it in the FA CUP. I can accept a referee making a decision. Won't always like or agree with it mind.

Looked to see what other players shared Wood/Tripp's agent last week, and seems their with a company called CAA Base - who are huge judging from their website and have dozens and dozens of agents working throughout Europe and up and down UK leagues. UK based players seem to be quite London centric - a lot of players with links to or back to Spurs especially. Wouldn't read too much into anything from foreign based players sharing agents - although wouldn't be a bad thing for us to now gain a reputation of being good to deal with. For years now seems like we've been a black hole when it comes to agents wanting to take their players here, and plenty of other clubs have surpassed us through being able to buddy up with agents to get first dibs on some cracking players, especially from Europe.

So did Danny Rose.

Any player above age of 21 needs registering towards a 25 man squad, although any U21 player doesn't need registering regardless of homegrown status. Out of the 25 man squad, you need at least 8 players registered that are classed as homegrown. Currently only Matty Longstaff, and Elliot Anderson are the only players we have U21 that have actually played for the club!

'Outgoings' Jeff Hendrick, Gillespie, Gayle if we get another forward in I'd be guessing. Our squad is paying the costly price of our academy being an absolute shamble for the past 15 years. This window has become the breaking point of years of neglect - academy wise, and squad balance/development to the fact we now need to offload before we can PL register, or have players kicking around being paid not to play again ala. Saivet/Atsu/Lazaar. \ Fortunatly we're in a position were we can take the financial hit of paying players not to even be able to play, but if we're in for two centre backs you'd be thinking that Ciaran Clark will be told he can get to fuck. That'll mean a big pay-up on his contract likely if he wants to find a club to play; even it can be afforded, doubt heiracy will want to just be bleeding money on someone like Clark - not being able to find an exit for him could potentially stop a 2nd new CB being signed. Every other club in the league has a handful of U21 players - thus no need for PL registration - from their academies that they can rely on for 10 or so appearances a season. We haven't a single player in that regard, just seemingly a few names that fill up space on a match day bench.

Just seen that Ziyech goal - he bloody loves that top corner at that Chelsea end! Exact, near enough the the millimeter spot he scored for Ajax.

Everyone saw this coming surely. Ranieri has been predictably shite. This will be one of their more justified bootings, his record is shocking; even taking out the Watford/Pozo factor he'd getting sacked at any other club - P14 - W2 - D1 - L11.

Don't get the 'better players than Dummett' angle... Correct yes, but those better players don't play for us. Paul Dummett plays for us (still) and it's our problem when he gets spun silly. Fortunately it didn't cost us. To reverse the statement - Plenty worse players than Raphinha will rinse Dummett, and I will hold it against him.

Spotted yesterday that Premier League have photoshopped his head onto some other players body for their line ups

Aye, he defiantly one headers and offered the classic Chris Wood presence up front - competing and jumping for anything coming down from the sky - but I did notice Leeds' centre backs still getting there ahead of him on a quite a few occasions. He far from bullied them, or dominated aerially. Rarely noticed anything coming from he did win or get anything on; just scraps falling here and there. We obviously play a bit more direct to him because he is 'Chris Wood'. There is clearly a pattern of play involving Trippier playing up to him, with Fraser running off I've spotted against Watford and today - but based on these two showings he's worse than Wilson when it comes to actually playing as a target-man. Whilst he may be taller, Wilson uses his size far better coupled with being technically streets ahead.

"ryderesque". Fuck sake May have just not noticed Willock as much in second half, but was good to see him breaking beyond Leeds' midfield and getting touches and involving himself further up. Should have scored at the end! Still, probably one his best performances since signing permanently. If he can keep to that level of performance, and give some link up to the forward line we'll be in much better shape for remainder of season - has had a shambolic season up until this afternoon.

Just watched the game back, huge result - certainly one I wasn't expecting! Leeds looked pretty toothless up front without Bamford, but we did with Wood though. Impressed with midfield matching Leeds' intensity and bothering to get in their faces - that was night and day from Bruce's performance there last season where we didn't lay a glove on them (Shelvey moaning Rodrigo running around too much). Dubravka - 7 Solid enough, not tested too much Trippier - 7 Wasn't worried by Harrison, not helped going forward playing on same side as Fraser Lascelles - 6 Meh, wasn't as shite as normal. Clark - 6 Won a header I think, hoofed a ball. Fortunately not on long enough, or involved in much to cause us any harm. Schar - 7 Better than usual Dummett - 5 Fuck all going forward, got in the way a few times, but turned inside out by Raphinha as expected. Manquillo 7 Vast improvement on Dummett. Not as stiff as PD, and bothers crossing halfway line. Joe - 7 Strong, used the ball well, and broke up play when on. Longstaff - 7 Vast improvement on what we're usually treated too. Shelvey - 8 - Fortunate with Meslier spanner handing his FK in, but thought he was decent throughout - like Longstaff, much better than usual. Willock - 6 Good first half, but anon in the second. ASM - 5 Consensus from his thread that he had better game, but thought he had a twat of a performance.. Constantly throwing his arms up in the air and having a strop with Fraser. Looked like he deliberately played one-two with Fraser straight after not playing him in, just to give it away. Offered usual threat dribbling forward, but everything he tried was nullified or just shite. Spent over a minute to get back in shape after his lie down and throwing toys out after no penalty. Fraser - 4 Hopeless. Drags down efforts and effectiveness of ASM and Trippier when they have to link up with him. Wood - 4 Leeds CBs seemed to win everything in the air, and what he did win/hold up was just to nobody or shite. No threat on goal whatsoever other than his pop-shot late on, can't remember him linking up or involving himself whatsoever.

Thought he was utter shite today, offered no threat whatsoever. Llorente and Struijk won pretty much everything sent up to him, and can't ever remember him involving himself in any link up with Joe/Willock/ASM.

Sargent's hair is on fire, your defence is terrified.

Bit highlighted makes me think to compare Shelvey's slow, painful fall from grace to where he is now - albeit having the success in first few years. League 1 club to top Premier League club. Liverpool had that Doc with Rodger's first pre-season, remember him not really taking to Shelvey then. Jonjo has always come across cocky, but every couple of years he'll come out and do an interview professing to finally live up to his talent/hype and you can see he's not confident and it being a front. He's an enigma when you think about it, as Pochettino essentially developed him and got him performing to a point where he was one of the best young players in Europe and was smashing all sorts of stats for his age in comparison to Lampard/Gerrard. Poch is million miles away from what Redknapp was, or what a modern day interpretation of a Redknapp motivator type. Used to always seem to have that bit of shithouse in him on the pitch, which personally I don't mind - albeit annoying when your a fan on the wrong end of. On the Doc he comes across as if he just doesn't give a shit; the exact sort of big time bastard attitude you'd expect him to have in a parallel universe where he's still at MK Don's - sour that he never got his move, all talent, no application. Spurs fans will probably be able to pin point where he fell off. Can remember talk that Man United/Mourinho were interested, rumours of Real Madrid. Wouldn't be surprised that he became disenchanted when Levy told him he's staying put, and to swivel for a bigger deal. Instead of getting his head down, he let it get to him and he's now too far gone. Can only dream to have watch the dressing downs Conte has given him if that's what Mourinho had to say.