Watford v Burnley

[king canary 7,606]

I know we've not started brilliantly but I'm not impressed by either of these guys too.

Watford have been largely outplayed in their games this season but have scraped some points. Burnley look like first season Farkeball- dominant in possession with minimal creativity or cutting edge.

Nothing I've seen in the Championship so far dispels my pre-season belief that this is a very weak league. 

[Spillay 180]

Watford have had a tough start,  Blades, Baggies n Clarets in the first 3 and despite not playing great havent lost any of them. Would we manage to do that? Im not so sure. Its a weak league I agree,  we need to start showing how weak it is, sooner rather than later!

[king canary 7,606]

1 minute ago, Spillay said:

Watford have had a tough start,  Blades, Baggies n Clarets in the first 3 and despite not playing great havent lost any of them. Would we manage to do that? Im not so sure. Its a weak league I agree,  we need to start showing how weak it is, sooner rather than later!

They've been incredibly lucky though- Burnley and West Brom both dominated them. 

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,759]

Watford have got 7 points without lifting a finger...they may even get away with losing Dennis as this league is so poor

Burnley wouldnt have scored if they were playing til midnight

Lose tomorrow and we're already 6 pts behind Watford

Its a poor league...but it balances out for us as we have a poor manager who will fail to rise us above it

[The Real Buh 3,432]

A proper Norwich team with a proper Manager behind us would blast this league it’s got to be said

[Ian 1,129]

16 minutes ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

Watford have got 7 points without lifting a finger...they may even get away with losing Dennis as this league is so poor

Burnley wouldnt have scored if they were playing til midnight

Lose tomorrow and we're already 6 pts behind Watford

Its a poor league...but it balances out for us as we have a poor manager who will fail to rise us above it

You are so reactionary it is almost unbelievable.

[Grando 260]

7 minutes ago, The Real Buh said:

A proper Norwich team with a proper Manager behind us would blast this league it’s got to be said

Hang on, so now you’re implying it isn’t just Smith to blame and that the team is also not ‘proper’…

[hogesar 9,674]

24 minutes ago, king canary said:

I know we've not started brilliantly but I'm not impressed by either of these guys too.

Watford have been largely outplayed in their games this season but have scraped some points. Burnley look like first season Farkeball- dominant in possession with minimal creativity or cutting edge.

Nothing I've seen in the Championship so far dispels my pre-season belief that this is a very weak league. 

 

14 minutes ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

Watford have got 7 points without lifting a finger...they may even get away with losing Dennis as this league is so poor

Burnley wouldnt have scored if they were playing til midnight

Lose tomorrow and we're already 6 pts behind Watford

Its a poor league...but it balances out for us as we have a poor manager who will fail to rise us above it

Agree King.

GJL I think you're missing the point. Watford have been dominated in their past two games. That they've picked up points is more than likely luck. That's based on tens of thousands of matches and the stats that follow.

Look at the stats for them tonight. Extrapolate that over a season and they won't pick up many points. Looking at point totals this early is far less relevant than looking at performances. If Burnley find a goalscorer then they would be much bigger concerns than Watford in reality, who will be found out if they play like they have done.

Of course,  because it's so early on there is plenty that could change.

[chicken 2,625]

Thing is with Watford, it's very much about Sarr. If they keep Sarr, barring injury, they'll be able to turn draws and even some losses into wins. Dennis is good, but they rely heavily upon Sarr. 

[The Real Buh 3,432]

5 minutes ago, Grando said:

Hang on, so now you’re implying it isn’t just Smith to blame and that the team is also not ‘proper’…

Uhhhhh it’s not the most stellar squad of players we’ve ever had, that’s for sure.

[Unhinged Canary 375]

35 minutes ago, king canary said:

Nothing I've seen in the Championship so far dispels my pre-season belief that this is a very weak league. 

We'll fit in just fine then..... 👍

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,759]

10 minutes ago, hogesar said:

 

Agree King.

GJL I think you're missing the point. Watford have been dominated in their past two games. That they've picked up points is more than likely luck. That's based on tens of thousands of matches and the stats that follow.

Look at the stats for them tonight. Extrapolate that over a season and they won't pick up many points. Looking at point totals this early is far less relevant than looking at performances. If Burnley find a goalscorer then they would be much bigger concerns than Watford in reality, who will be found out if they play like they have done.

Of course,  because it's so early on there is plenty that could change.

No point missed

Theyve got 7 points against 3 of the 'better' teams in this league without playing well

If they're not losing here...then who in the league will beat them?

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,759]

15 minutes ago, Ian said:

You are so reactionary it is almost unbelievable.

If we lose tomorrow , which I wouldnt put past us , we're 6 pts off Watford which is neither reactionary or unbelievable

[hogesar 9,674]

6 minutes ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

No point missed

Theyve got 7 points against 3 of the 'better' teams in this league without playing well

If they're not losing here...then who in the league will beat them?

Youre taking too small a sample size

Luck doesn't last the whole season, not with those levels of being dominated. You're being far too reactionary to such a small sample size..their points are irrelevant at this stage. Their results will match their performances long term so their performances will have to significantly improve.

[Capt. Pants 4,234]

If we had 7 points after Sheff Utd, WBA and Burnley some on here would be creaming themselves over Smith and Webber. Early days yet but it's clear Burnley are starting slowly and Watford look as though they will grind out results.

Let's see how we do tomorrow. Just feels for Smith's sake we can't afford to lose. 

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,759]

3 minutes ago, hogesar said:

Youre taking too small a sample size

Luck doesn't last the whole season, not with those levels of being dominated. You're being far too reactionary to such a small sample size..their points are irrelevant at this stage. Their results will match their performances long term so their performances will have to significantly improve.

...but we can take an educated guess at which clubs will be the better sides in this league and Watfords first 3 opponents will be top 6 contenders IMO

Would certainly have preferred a draw tonight as a win tomorrow would have had us back within a point of them both

Edited August 12, 2022 by GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary

[Mr Angry 1,561]

18 minutes ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

If we lose tomorrow , which I wouldnt put past us , we're 6 pts off Watford which is neither reactionary or unbelievable

With only another 43 matches to play-how on earth will we catch up?

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,759]

 

6 minutes ago, Mr Angry said:

With only another 43 matches to play-how on earth will we catch up?

With the current manager in charge...the answer is we wont.

If Watford get too much of a league ,thats one team we wont catch and one promotion place gone.

Top 6 at absolute best under Smith/Shakespeare I fear

[Ian 1,129]

4 minutes ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

 

With the current manager in charge...the answer is we wont.

If Watford get too much of a league ,thats one team we wont catch and one promotion place gone.

Top 6 at absolute best under Smith/Shakespeare I fear

Just for the record, how did you feel about Farke after our start a couple of seasons ago?

[Canaries north 151]

Possession will not get you promoted. Points do. I have watched all their games so far and against West Bromwich they shoul not have walked away with anything. Sheffield United really didn't look like scoring against them. Burnley didn't either until the sending off. That is the fun thing about this league. Solid defence and a forward line that has players like Sar or Pedro and you will win far more than you lose. We have Pukki but we can't service him and until that is fixed we have a problem. 

[AJ 1,221]

I thought Watford looked fairly good defensively and although they had a few half chances I never fancied Burnley to score. I think we forget how awful we were at the end of last season. Those issues don't just disappear overnight, we're every bit as bad as these two, it's why none of us stayed up last season

Edited August 12, 2022 by AJ

[Duncan Edwards 2,236]

6 point lead already unassailable. You have to ask after all our chances at the big league, why aren’t we Watford? 

[Google Bot 3,278]

After that opening game watching Burnley, it was quite a releif to see them giving the ball away tonight, must admit.  So many mistakes in posession, let's hope it continues. 🙂

Truth is, we need to be concentrating on ourselves.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,759]

6 hours ago, Ian said:

Just for the record, how did you feel about Farke after our start a couple of seasons ago?

Farke had already proven that he was capable of winning this league 2 seasons earlier

Smith has proved nothing so far

Edited August 13, 2022 by GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary

[horsefly 4,300]

19 minutes ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

Farke had already proven that he was capable of winning this league 2 seasons earlier

Smith has proved nothing so far

And what about the season before Farke's first promotion when City finished in the bottom half below Ipswich? Smith also got promoted, and also managed to keep a promoted team up. Like it or not, it is very obvious that Smith is going nowhere in the short term and will be given a chance to get the squad performing to the high level its talent merits. Just what purpose is the bile aimed at Smith supposed to serve?

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,759]

44 minutes ago, horsefly said:

And what about the season before Farke's first promotion when City finished in the bottom half below Ipswich? Smith also got promoted, and also managed to keep a promoted team up. Like it or not, it is very obvious that Smith is going nowhere in the short term and will be given a chance to get the squad performing to the high level its talent merits. Just what purpose is the bile aimed at Smith supposed to serve?

If we've got the wrong manager, we've got the wrong manager.

Look what happened to Forest last season after Hughton was replaced by Cooper

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,431]

Good start by Watford . They will be top three . Not sure luck has much to do with it . 

[horsefly 4,300]

2 minutes ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

If we've got the wrong manager, we've got the wrong manager.

Look what happened to Forest last season after Hughton was replaced by Cooper

Your opinion, certainly not Webber's, nor the board's, or many City fans. Perhaps you have have some privileged access to knowledge of the future, in which case I suggest you pick today's winning lottery numbers and keep doing so until you can afford to buy Delia out and employ a manager who will guarantee the PL title within a couple of years.

Btw, Hughton got Newcastle promoted, and achieved a higher PL position with Norwich than Lambert. Replacing managers does not guarantee success; just how many examples of clubs getting demoted after changing their manager do you want me to cite? We are two games into the season, Weber is not stupid enough to sack the manager after two games just because a section of irrational fans don't like Smith's character. He will act if and when there is sufficient evidence that Smith can't achieve the club's objectives. In the meantime why not get behind the team and show some support, or at least show the honesty of Canary Bubbles and admit your hatred of Smith is personal and not rational.

[horsefly 4,300]

50 minutes ago, Graham Paddons Beard said:

Good start by Watford . They will be top three . Not sure luck has much to do with it . 

It's certainly true that a team that wins automatic promotion needs to be able to get results even when their performances are sub-optimal (that has certainly been the case in our promotion seasons). The weird thing about Watford atm is that it has yet to put in anything like a convincing display. 

Edited August 13, 2022 by horsefly

[BroadstairsR 2,168]

1 hour ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

If we've got the wrong manager, we've got the wrong manager.

Look what happened to Forest last season after Hughton was replaced by Cooper

There are two considerations that come into play here.

Firstly, Smith needs to be given a fair run, and it is not difficult to argue that this should include a decent number of games this season in order to demonstrate his worthiness. He had a particularly bad hand at his disposal last season, we're barely into this, and the fact remains that he has yet to field a single player of his own (signing) in a league game.

The second is, as always, the cost of replacing yet another entire managerial team so soon after Daniel Farke and his assistants have been paid off. Without knowing the details of Smith's contract, these things never come on the cheap.

Both these, rightly, take precedent over anything that has happened on the field of play. Nobody can be over the moon with Smith's performance so far, and may be there are regrets held by one and all, but a sacking now would be quite absurd. We are some time away from needing another Wee Alex style appointment.

From a personal point of view, pre-season and the disappointing start to this campaign has somewhat dissipated confidence. It is not just results, either.

I am, however, very encourage by all the new acquisitions and even by some things that the manager seems to be trying to change for improvement. Things can only get better!

Can they? 😟

 

Edited August 13, 2022 by BroadstairsR