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Match day thread: Watford

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  • @eric_plant said:
    Parkin and Cheesewright, surely the Old Kent Rd and Whitechapel in the Wycombe Wanderers monopoly game

    (Dave Carroll is Mayfair, since you asked)

    Gareth and Dobson for Mayfair and Park Lane surely

  • Peterborough and Sunderland fans - Water Works

  • Positively my last word on Rocky.

    I’m pretty sure that I’ve never posted an opinion on his qualities as a ‘keeper and he seems to have performed perfectly well since a slightly rocky spell towards the end of last season. I don’t normally comment on a player’s appearance either (books and covers come to mind here) but Rocky does have a facial pallor and slightly nervous demeanour which (for me at least) does detract slightly from the level of confidence that he inspires in penalty box melees.

    But, as with the majority of our squad, he is the right man for the job. In particular his distribution has improved markedly this year and his accuracy in “finding” Bayo with his goal kicks is a real plus - as are the roll-outs to defenders (especially Grimmer).

    A brief postscript. I think most of us have heard about the kindness and generosity of David Stockdale (eg in helping Jacob Gardner Smith when the latter was sidelined with an ACL injury) but fewer people will have heard about Ben Foster’s kindness in rescuing an 80 year old Watford supporter who was stumbling along the roadside on his way home after a match.

    Two of a kind, by the sound of it.

  • I think Allsop has been a really good keeper for us and has shown his worth since coming back from being dropped.

    My only criticism is that he hardly ever seems to be even close to saving a penalty. Nikki Bull,for example, always seemed to know where the shot was going and more often than not made a decent effort at saving it. I must have seen Rocky face at least 20 pens and can’t recall him saving a single one, or even looking like he might.

  • These days with the rules about staying on your line at Pens, you need to have quick feet to get anywhere near well struck pens.
    Sadly Allsop doesnt have these, and hence why he rarely gets anywhere near penalties.

  • I think the only one he's saved for us was at Wimbledon in 18/19 - which he gave away.

  • @ChasHarps said:
    These days with the rules about staying on your line at Pens, you need to have quick feet to get anywhere near well struck pens.
    Sadly Allsop doesnt have these, and hence why he rarely gets anywhere near penalties.

    They’re extremely quick at the start of his run up to a goal kick. Stutteringly quick.

  • Oxford supporting friends described his stuttering run up as like the cars in Wakky Racers (That's one for the oldies)

  • edited October 2020

    I didn't think Rocky was in the top half of league 1 keepers for all round game, let alone championship. His flaws are so obvious, (no command of area, palms shots back into the danger area, decision making when coming out and ability with his feet).

    Having said that he's started reasonably well and he is a decent shot stopper. He's clearly also been told to stay on his line whatever, which mitigates a couple of his weaknesses a bit.

    I was surprised we didn't get a quality loan in, but I'm not as panicked by him starting in the championship at I would have been in the past as he has definitely improved.

  • Not sure why the last game has brought such animated discussion of Allsop up.

    Apart from for one moment looking like he was going to smash their striker he was fine. And has been good this season, above expectations.

  • @Username To be fair, he doesn't really need to be good with his feet in our system.

  • Really good watch, missed the incident out at the end but I enjoyed it.

  • Nice to see him asking Bayo for his shirt.

  • @ryan_w_kirkby said:

    Really good watch, missed the incident out at the end but I enjoyed it.

    That is a really well made good watch but laughable not to include the "event". To not even mention it can only show there was nothing in it.

  • Yep, a good watch that. Ben appears to be a top bloke.

  • @chairboyscentral said:
    @Username To be fair, he doesn't really need to be good with his feet in our system.

    For sure, but it's still not ideal! The now weaknesses you have to mitigate for with gameplan the more restricted GA is.

  • Why are they staying in a hotel for an away trip to Wycombe?

  • edited October 2020

    @Chris said:
    Why are they staying in a hotel for an away trip to Wycombe?

    Must cost a few £, noticed he seemed to have his own room, so probably 25+rooms Inc staff at a Crown Plaza, really is easy to piddle away lots of money as a football club. I know we talk about budget a lot but you forget other teams having little things like that just because they can. One of the numerous ridiculous things in that Sunderland doc was them finding that they have a cryo chamber that wasn't ever used by anyone other than the kit man.

  • The hotel itself was in Marlow too, so they drove further to get there than if they'd gone direct to Adams Park.
    I suppose it does means players travel in the day before and get temperature checked, so no surprises on match day.
    Even so seems like a luxury we'll not be indulging in before the return fixture.

  • Ben Foster comes across really well in that video. Thanks for sharing it.

  • Comments after our game were very honest too. Admitted they'd done well to get out with a draw.

  • Possibly reflects Foster's background.

    Rather than starting out in an Academy from the age of 4, Foster used to play part-time for Racing Club Warwick (in the Midlands Combination?) while trying to qualify as a chef. He got a move to Stoke (when they were in the third tier - I think), before moving to Manchester United. At the time he left United, to join West Brom, he said something to the effect that the intensity required, the need to win every match and the huge reaction to every mistake was too much. Sounds like he is content with his lot, and good luck to him.

  • It's a shame he's retired from international football. With the possible exception of Nick Pope, I reckon he's the best English 'keeper right now.

  • Ben Foster has blossomed as a keeper in the last few years. Some of his performances for Watford were out of this world last season.

  • Nice video, came across really well... must admit I also thought to myself 'bloody hell a sleepover for an away game at Wycombe !"

  • I imagine they'll stay the night before every away game, all about routine.

  • Not to be results-orientated but maybe they should try not doing that.

  • @Malone said:
    Not sure why the last game has brought such animated discussion of Allsop up.

    Apart from for one moment looking like he was going to smash their striker he was fine. And has been good this season, above expectations.

    The thing is, he didn’t look like he was “going to smash their striker” at all. He wandered out indecisively, and half committed to a challenge. That’s part of the problem. As soon as he leaves his line he looks like a fish out of water. See the Fleetwood play-off penalty. Don’t get me wrong, that was a clear dive. But the fact is he wandered out towards their forward and didn’t really know what to do with himself. I think he’s a decent shot stopper (although palms far too much back into the danger area) and I actually think his distribution is pretty tidy. He hits his distance targets on either wing with impressive regularity. But his scrambled brain as soon as he leaves his line will continue to be a problem and will cost us this season unless he works something out.

    As a wider observation, it’s blindingly obvious to me that strengthening our goalkeeper should have been one of our top priorities. I’ve seen a lot of comments to the effect of “if we have the money I’d spend it elsewhere”. Where exactly? Where in our first XI do we currently have bigger questions to answer than in goal? A proven Championship goalscorer perhaps?! Good luck with that. Maybe more was/is expected of Stockdale. Time will tell. But I can’t help thinking we’ll regret not working the loan market to secure an affordable upgrade. There are a lot of quality goalkeepers out there doing very little.

  • Maybe I’ve missed something, but has Allsop been at fault for any goal we’ve conceded this season?

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