[theo_luddite]

15:00 UK Summer Time
McGalphSmiths Farm
The Big Blue Stadium
With Premier League Floodlights
(We can turn some of them off next season)
HD1 Just off Leeds Road, t'other side o' t'River Colne.


WFC or WWF?



https://talksport.com/football/528338/tr...-torreira/

Troy Deeney showed some of his other sporting abilities with a running forearm smash to the head of Lucas Torreira on Monday night.
That got him a red card and a 3 match suspension, so he misses this one. Don't forget to update your predictions folks.  
So, does that hint at where his future might lie when his current deal runs out?

WFC - sign another contract with Watford Football Club?
WWF - sign a pro-contract with the Watford Wrestling Federation?
WTF - apparently muttered by Lucas Torreira as he fell to the floor in the 11th minute of Monday's game.

Apparently trying to appeal the decision according to some news outlets - which could get him the rest of the league season off if it fails.
Meanwhile Watford have announced a new initiative.

https://www.watfordfc.com/teams/first-te...-behaviour

Somehow I don't think Mr. Deeney will be the poster boy for this one this side of the Summer transfer window.  

Right, got that off me chest, now how about the football?

Quite.

To say the end of this season has fizzled out into a roaring disappointment is at best an understatement. We all know the main reason why and it's in the goals for column. That said, our once usually difficult to beat defense has 'mailed a few in' recently too.

Not sure if they are chewing wasps or hornets, the look on their faces might tell us more if we could see them, but Martin from Wakefield is getting a lot of flack from some sections of the Town support, including columns in the Unexamined by a former not particularly brilliant Town goalie and now hairdresser of the parish.

To be fair, he's only getting the flack that Herr Wagner would have been getting because, and I said it around the time this season was starting, 'my only problem with the way Wagner has us play is the lack of goals' or words to that effect. We've now added lack of defense to that too. We do try to attack the oppo's penalty box a tad more, but we still don't know what to do when we get there, except for the first 75 minutes at West Ham.

The good news

We're on a sequence of 0 goals, some goals, 0 goals some (a) goal(s). This weekend is a 'some goals' match, though if we play like we did at Watford earlier in the season, we'll break that sequence too. (If that's good what's the bad look like?)

The indifferent news

Any faint hope we might have had of finishing 2nd bottom all but disappeared in a puff of goals over the last few days. Fulham beat those useless Blue Scousers 2-0 and with Cardiff beating the other Blue 'n' White Stripes 0-2 in the big car park with another big Blue Stadium in it at Falmer, it only served to confirm roughly where we might have been with even a mediocre offense rather than a non-existent one. We all know what we did at Spuds brand spanking new over-priced and horrendously late but exceedingly flash and did I say brand spanking expensive new stadium last weekend, so we don't need too many reminders.

Still, we've always got the sanctuary of the Chumpionship next season



The bad news

I'll be watching this on Sportsnet One with a big mug or two of


and a Bacon and Egg Butty, or maybe a couple of these to help wash the coffee down.



I won't get a

to numb the pain until well after the final whistle blows.

I Guess That's Why They Call Us The Blues.
(I did enough Elton Bogg puns last time - first and last one this time).

One thing's for sure, before we kick off next season ....



How are they doing?

Well, apart from the 3rd Round, when they made loads of changes, they've played nigh on full strength sides and made a seriously good fist of The FA Cup this season. Having come back from the dead to beat Wolves 3-2 after extra time in the semi-final, they will be red hot favourites to watch the Blue Mancs run round Wemberlee with the Cup. Having said that, City have previous of grabbing a defeat from what should be a walk-over victory in the Cup Final.



In the league they've lost both games against the Blue Mancs, 2-1 at home and 3-1 away. Deeney might just get away with being back for that one.

Apart from that, they've rarely been out of the top 10 and are hanging on to mid-table mediocrity with some aplomb.


Form is sooooooo over-rated :



Who's banging 'em in?

Apart from said Mr. Deeney? They spread 'em around a bit.



New faces and Exiteers

The brass they got for Richarlison, from those afore mentioned Blue Scousers, was wisely invested in a young chap from Barcelona who has bagged a few in return.





We've played 'em before

It's a rare season when we don't got some points from fixtures against Watford, thought it's a rare season when we play them these days.
Just a hunch, as Quasimodo once said, but I would not be surprised if we get nowt this season.
(Might be considered a hot tip that one, but don't bet too much on it. I wouldn't want you to get burned).



Last time out





Can they all lose?

Nope, but they can't all win either, but I'll bet everyone is sat in their seat 5-10 minutes before kick-off at the Emptihad for their game if Wednesday night's Chumpions League game is repeated in any form.



On the tellybox?

If like me, you're sat on a sofa in a far off land on Saturday (or whatever day it is in your part of the world) check here. It's not live on the tellybox in the good old UK, unless you can convince your IP Address provider you're actually somewhere else other than your mum's attic and stream one of these feeds.

https://www.livesoccertv.com/match/30190...s-watford/

Siewert's Slaver

It's a bit early for the pressers, so I might be in the airport departure lounge when I post this bit or even on the other side of the pond by the time I track anything down. Whatever he comes out with - you'll probably watch, hear or read it somewhere else before you read it here.  

Radio Local have posted their pressers early for a change
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p076wr59

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p076wgln

Watford's Waffle
https://www.watfordfc.com/teams/first-te...ddersfield

Happy Easter folks, don't pig out on the choccy eggs too much.



Here's to next season - this thread needs another musical interlude to help get us over this one.

[Lord Snooty]

Nice one, theo.

But oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. The sight of 60 year olds pogoing in that Pistols clip!!!

Gi' ovver!

As for the match, this is the one! This is the one we're gonna win!

Aw come on, we must do some time.

[theo_luddite]

Pogoing while hanging on to zimmer frame? Never going to work properly is it?

[Lord Snooty]

Deeney has lost his appeal.

[theo_luddite]

Yeah, but ban still only 3 games so he gets the chance to play at Wemberlee again.

---

10+ minutes of Siewert on Radio Local added to the OP.

[Lord Snooty]

Lossl returns.

[Amelia Chaffinch]

Jonas, Jonas,
Jonas, Jonas,
Jonas Lossl.

---

He is having a warm reception from the crowd.

[theo_luddite]

---

Well that didn't take us long to go behind -

[Amelia Chaffinch]

East is the new Oliver.

[Lord Snooty]

I thought we played really well today, particularly the second half. Best performance in ages. So it was very disappointing when they got the second, at the 3rd attempt after a couple of heroic blocks. But that's what you get from a top class finisher, which we don't have. His first goal was very well taken when it looked like the chance had gone.
We should've been level earlier when Mounie had the easiest ball of all to play to Matty Daly. But instead took it himself and ran into defenders. That was appaling from the big man and would've been a great boost for the kid had he received the pass. Positive he would've taken it too. He's shown for England he can take his chances.
Was very pleased with Daly's game. He looks a very good prospect, as did my current favourite Town player, super Juninho Bacuna. A couple of passes he played in the first half to Durm were fantastic. Pity it was Durm and not Lowe cos the crosses were pisch. Whereas when Lowe did come on he provided the perfect cross for Grant to score.
I'm not gonna jump on the Siewert out bandwagon that's cropped up. He's been given a hopeless task, but I wouldn't be too surprised if he's not in charge come the game down at Southampton.

---

But who gave Mbenza man of the match?

I thought he was our worst player, sorry second worst behind big Steve.