| Few Thoughts 23:19 - Aug 5 with 24694 views | daveB |
Hard to know where to start today, Ainsworth has had all summer to put a game plan together, some sort of plan to stop opposition playing and to create goals and chances for us, that today was an absolute disgrace.
Just stood off them with everyone behind the ball, plan was when they have it keep dropping deeper, never tried to win the ball back, no closing just hold the shape it will be alright, never worked from the 1st minute, Watford could and should have scored 7 in the first half and added at least 3 more in the second. It was men against boys, the number of times the centre half ran 20 yards forward with not a tackle and 2 passes after they were in behind us was laughable
Ainsworth hung several players out to dry today. Playing Kelman in a 4-4-2 against this Watford team was suicidal. Chair stuck out on the left wing looking lost and bringing on Willock with 2 minutes left was a piss take. he can give it back the boys as much as he likes, maybe he should start doing it rather than playing tactics these players can't play.
Players have to take some responsibility as well, Dozzell went missing again. Kakay was embarrassing, Fox looked like he hadn't played football before and Field was awful as well. Gubbins did OK on debut but thats being kind, Duke Mckenna at least put a foot in, Begovic man of the match for keeping the score down but his time wasting at 4-0 down was awful.
One thing I noticed at half time is something Clive talks about a lot, our warm up. I went to the Womens FA Cup final in May, at half time both teams had proper training drills, cones out doing short quick passes then shuttle runs and the shootings practice. Watford today had players running together in one group others doing a triangle passing drill. Our lot? Willock and Richards doing kick ups and having a chat. Archer booting the ball to the other side of the pitch for Dixon Bonner to boot back to him and the others having a chat, no coaches to be seen, we've got hundreds of them why are they not managing this? It was beyond pathetic and sums up the general malaise at the club
We were marginally better second half mainly as we had some sort of shape and pressed the ball every now and then but it was still a long way from being any good and Watford really eased off yet still could have scored 2/3 more goals.
I thought we'd struggle before today, certain of it now. No one is finishing below that rabble. Needed major changes at the end of last season, still need them now and hiding behind FFP now. Ainsworth should have gone in May, Hoos as well, just sleepwalking towards League one [Post edited 5 Aug 2023 23:23]
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| Few Thoughts on 12:01 - Aug 8 with 2582 views | daveB |
| Few Thoughts on 11:25 - Aug 8 by EastR |
We can't trust anything that GW is spouting whether that's to do with injuries, players giving their all, can't ask for me etc. He's slipped very easily into bs mode and gaslighting the support base
Don't judge him by what he says, but what he does
Willock and Richards weren't benched as a reward for their hard work, can do attitude and willingness to fight for the cause |
I get them being benched at the weekend after Oxford, no real issue with it but at some point we're going to need to either just pay them off or put them in the team | | | |
| Few Thoughts on 12:05 - Aug 8 with 2527 views | QPR_Jim |
| Few Thoughts on 08:40 - Aug 8 by daveB |
you say he's been shocking, he's only played 6 times this year. How do you get any rhythm in your game especially for a flair player when you hardly ever play
Always two sides to every story, as a club we haven't given Willock or Richards much first team football in 2023 so the chances of them buying into it all is pretty remote if they know know matter what they do in training they won't be playing |
Rhythm I agree would be difficult with little game time but that doesn't exclude him from being able to pass to his own players or run (track back).
The comparisons to Adel are a stretch, even when Adel had a bad game he'd have some sort of impact or excitement to his game as he always seemed to want to show he was the best player on the pitch. Even at his worst, sitting on the floor, he didn't pass it to the opposition first. |  | | |
| Few Thoughts on 12:07 - Aug 8 with 2505 views | connell10 |
I just see Willock as a part of the problem, it's obvious he dosent want to be here. |  |
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| Few Thoughts on 12:47 - Aug 8 with 2398 views | PhilmyRs |
| Few Thoughts on 12:07 - Aug 8 by connell10 |
I just see Willock as a part of the problem, it's obvious he dosent want to be here. |
"it's obvious he doesn't want to be here". The key is why does he not want to be here. Could the role the Manager wants him to play, the type of Football we play where we're much more direct and him not seeming to be an Ainsworth player also be a reason for this? Start of last season he was flying and then had a bad injury and has really only come back onto the scene under Ainsworth and suddenly people saying "poor attitude", "wants out" etc. I just don't know, and lean more towards him not being suited to an Ainsworth style Team and probably sulking as a result. A team with Chair and Willock behind Dykes is one that will cause teams problems. A team with Paul Smyth and Kellman behind Dykes will not. |  | | |
| Few Thoughts on 13:05 - Aug 8 with 2330 views | QPR_Jim |
| Few Thoughts on 12:47 - Aug 8 by PhilmyRs |
"it's obvious he doesn't want to be here". The key is why does he not want to be here. Could the role the Manager wants him to play, the type of Football we play where we're much more direct and him not seeming to be an Ainsworth player also be a reason for this? Start of last season he was flying and then had a bad injury and has really only come back onto the scene under Ainsworth and suddenly people saying "poor attitude", "wants out" etc. I just don't know, and lean more towards him not being suited to an Ainsworth style Team and probably sulking as a result. A team with Chair and Willock behind Dykes is one that will cause teams problems. A team with Paul Smyth and Kellman behind Dykes will not. |
As far as I can remember he was doing a good impression of someone not wanting to be hear under Critchley as well. | | | |
| Few Thoughts on 13:31 - Aug 8 with 2227 views | EastR |
| Few Thoughts on 13:05 - Aug 8 by QPR_Jim |
As far as I can remember he was doing a good impression of someone not wanting to be hear under Critchley as well. |
Correct! | |
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| Few Thoughts on 13:35 - Aug 8 with 2212 views | connell10 |
| Few Thoughts on 12:47 - Aug 8 by PhilmyRs |
"it's obvious he doesn't want to be here". The key is why does he not want to be here. Could the role the Manager wants him to play, the type of Football we play where we're much more direct and him not seeming to be an Ainsworth player also be a reason for this? Start of last season he was flying and then had a bad injury and has really only come back onto the scene under Ainsworth and suddenly people saying "poor attitude", "wants out" etc. I just don't know, and lean more towards him not being suited to an Ainsworth style Team and probably sulking as a result. A team with Chair and Willock behind Dykes is one that will cause teams problems. A team with Paul Smyth and Kellman behind Dykes will not. |
Maybe sack Anisworth and get boil in the bag Beale back , that might cheer WIllock up ! | |
| AND WHEN I DREAM , I DREAM ABOUT YOU AND WHEN I SCREAM I SCREAM ABOUT YOU!!!!! | | Poll: | best number 10 ever? |
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| Few Thoughts on 13:42 - Aug 8 with 2172 views | daveB |
| Few Thoughts on 12:05 - Aug 8 by QPR_Jim |
Rhythm I agree would be difficult with little game time but that doesn't exclude him from being able to pass to his own players or run (track back).
The comparisons to Adel are a stretch, even when Adel had a bad game he'd have some sort of impact or excitement to his game as he always seemed to want to show he was the best player on the pitch. Even at his worst, sitting on the floor, he didn't pass it to the opposition first. |
easy to forget how awful he was in the 2 months before Warnock came in. Lots of assumptions being made abut Willock at the moment | | | |
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| Few Thoughts on 13:44 - Aug 8 with 2158 views | spencer |
| Few Thoughts on 12:01 - Aug 8 by daveB |
I get them being benched at the weekend after Oxford, no real issue with it but at some point we're going to need to either just pay them off or put them in the team |
I agree, point made , either play them or sell them . But.... in Richards case.. he is here for next 4 years ? |  | | |
| Few Thoughts on 13:47 - Aug 8 with 2141 views | PhilmyRs |
| Few Thoughts on 13:05 - Aug 8 by QPR_Jim |
As far as I can remember he was doing a good impression of someone not wanting to be hear under Critchley as well. |
Took a quick look at the stats so not 100% reliable but every game Willock started under Critchely we drew or v occasionally won. The only game he started and we lost was the FA Cup match where I thought everyone was shocking. All league defeats suffered under him Willock didn't start. There were quite a few games where Willock started on the bench and if I remember correctly was because he was looking after his injury.
I'm not saying he was great because he clearly wasn't but was returning from injury, but clearly we weren't getting rolled over and smashed by 4 or 5 when he started for us and were actually picking up points with him in the side. What we would give for that now... | | | |
| Few Thoughts on 13:48 - Aug 8 with 2129 views | OldPedro |
| Few Thoughts on 13:35 - Aug 8 by connell10 |
Maybe sack Anisworth and get boil in the bag Beale back , that might cheer WIllock up ! |
Although he played well under Beale, Willock ended up injured again because Beale played him too much and didn't manage his recovery. Who knows what would have happened if Willock hadn't got injured again. |  |
| Extra mature cheddar......a simple cheese for a simple man |
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| Few Thoughts on 13:49 - Aug 8 with 2112 views | sparkey |
Under Critchley, we were bad but not this bad. Remember Sheff Utd at home? I genuinely think if we won that game we wouldn't be in this mess right now. Slippery slope and all that. We had a game plan under him, we have zilch under Ainsworth | | | |
| Few Thoughts on 13:52 - Aug 8 with 2056 views | BrianMcCarthy |
| Few Thoughts on 13:48 - Aug 8 by OldPedro |
Although he played well under Beale, Willock ended up injured again because Beale played him too much and didn't manage his recovery. Who knows what would have happened if Willock hadn't got injured again. |
Good point.
Beale did that twice. |  |
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| Few Thoughts on 13:56 - Aug 8 with 2031 views | EastR |
| Few Thoughts on 13:42 - Aug 8 by daveB |
easy to forget how awful he was in the 2 months before Warnock came in. Lots of assumptions being made abut Willock at the moment |
There’s only two assumptions that can be made about Willock at the moment:
- He’s not a versatile/good enough footballer to be able to cope with a change of system
that is not his preferred shape; or
- He can’t be arsed. | |
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| Few Thoughts on 13:56 - Aug 8 with 2024 views | ParkRoyalR |
| Few Thoughts on 13:42 - Aug 8 by daveB |
easy to forget how awful he was in the 2 months before Warnock came in. Lots of assumptions being made abut Willock at the moment |
I don't get the criticism of Willock, unless others are privy to inside information I'm not,
I'v seen players hide from the ball in recent seasons (Wzolek away from home, Washington with his 5 yard lay-offs, Dickie when his confidence was shot) but I hav'nt seen this with Willock, Richards or last seasons scape-goats like Jeff Hendrick,
We need a Manager that these players can relate to and play football in a style they are suited to, ie a passing game on the ground; Willock, Richards & Chair will be by-passed and have nothing to offer in a long-ball team.
We obviously need a Manager who can develop our assets as Warburton was doing with Willock, when he was one of the best players in the Championship 1st half of last season before his injury, and was a £10m player imo.
Willock's move to Portugal shows he wants to progress his career, Richards played a season in League 1 for Doncaster, these are not traits of a JCS type Academy product who semi-retire on leaving a top 6 academy set-up, we need to play to their strengths for the benefit of the team this season and our short-term financial survival. | | | |
| Few Thoughts on 14:15 - Aug 8 with 1923 views | ParkRoyalR |
| Few Thoughts on 13:47 - Aug 8 by PhilmyRs |
Took a quick look at the stats so not 100% reliable but every game Willock started under Critchely we drew or v occasionally won. The only game he started and we lost was the FA Cup match where I thought everyone was shocking. All league defeats suffered under him Willock didn't start. There were quite a few games where Willock started on the bench and if I remember correctly was because he was looking after his injury.
I'm not saying he was great because he clearly wasn't but was returning from injury, but clearly we weren't getting rolled over and smashed by 4 or 5 when he started for us and were actually picking up points with him in the side. What we would give for that now... |
Great post,
It was Willock almost single-handedly (not Mick Beale ffs!) who won the points that kept us up last season, his goals to XP stats were ridiculous, as he was scoring key goals out of nothing,
Willock gets injured and the team collapsed, similar to key players being injured under Warburton led to a collapse in results,
I've long thought if we're missing one key component we're half the team, be that Willock / Chair missing @ 10, Dykes leading the line and pinning-back the Centre Halves, Field tackling, SJ controlling the tempo, Dieng playing out from the back etc etc
We need a 4-5-1 set-up for our next game with a 5 of Willock-Field-Chair-DMcK-Richards with Field and DMcK holding and Chair playing in an SJ type role, at least then we can see if we can survive this season with our best playing performing to their best. | | | |
| Few Thoughts on 16:38 - Aug 8 with 1719 views | daveB |
| Few Thoughts on 13:56 - Aug 8 by EastR |
There’s only two assumptions that can be made about Willock at the moment:
- He’s not a versatile/good enough footballer to be able to cope with a change of system
that is not his preferred shape; or
- He can’t be arsed. |
There could be a million other reasons but ultimately he's not in the team and has hardly been in the team since Beale left through injuries, loss of form etc. Ainsworth has only started him twice and not brought him on too often either so hes not really had a chance to show what he can do yet.
I just think as fans we jump to conclusions about players quite quickly, he was the golden child this time last year, QPR can't win a game without him now he's a trouble maker, I'm not sure I buy it
To have any success this season we either need to sell him or get him in the team and find a way to make him feel special and get the best out of him | | | |
| Few Thoughts on 16:51 - Aug 8 with 1683 views | denhamhoop2 |
| Few Thoughts on 09:48 - Aug 6 by gazza1 |
All this nonsense about half time warm ups is rubbish.....
The two players who came on at HT, Armstrong and DM were proper warmed up by 2 coaches.
The others were doing 'their thing'.......why should they get a sweat on knowing that they are not entering play for ages. They then sit down for 30 minutes or more and need to warm up again if required. I'm not so sure that is good practise.
Anyways, HT warm-ups are the least of our problems. |
Think it's more to do with a mindset fail to prepare and you prepare to fail. I have always believed training should be relevant to what happens in games and encourage a sharpness and even more so just from a PR thing your team is 4 0 down at half time to meander around and dross around and chat is what I would expect of a Sunday morning outfit not a professional football team in probably the most competitive League in Europe. To anyone who says it doesn't matter watch Man City subs at half time in any game and you can see why they are at the level they are | | | |
| Few Thoughts on 17:38 - Aug 8 with 1600 views | Monkey_Roots |
When Gubbins was being treated on the pitch, the Watford players were knocking the ball around to keep warm and sharp.
Ours were chatting. |  | | |
| Few Thoughts on 17:41 - Aug 8 with 1579 views | Burnleyhoop |
| Few Thoughts on 11:25 - Aug 8 by EastR |
We can't trust anything that GW is spouting whether that's to do with injuries, players giving their all, can't ask for me etc. He's slipped very easily into bs mode and gaslighting the support base
Don't judge him by what he says, but what he does
Willock and Richards weren't benched as a reward for their hard work, can do attitude and willingness to fight for the cause |
Let’s play Dozzell, Kelman and Smyth instead, because they are showing fantastic attitudes and playing out of their skins, who needs our best player on the pitch?
My arse. | | | |
| Few Thoughts on 18:12 - Aug 8 with 1503 views | EastR |
| Few Thoughts on 17:41 - Aug 8 by Burnleyhoop |
Let’s play Dozzell, Kelman and Smyth instead, because they are showing fantastic attitudes and playing out of their skins, who needs our best player on the pitch?
My arse. |
you're confusing two different things.
One group is a set of players arguably not good enough, the others potentially are but can't be arsed. | |
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| Few Thoughts on 20:28 - Aug 8 with 1255 views | davman |
Most telling think about Willock is that there appears to have been ZERO interest in him. Why is that? Could be injuries, but most likely attitude.
If you are a fellow Champ team who can afford £2m (or even £500k) and he is available why wouldn't you? You could be getting 2021 Willock and he was unplayable...
Something not right there... |  |
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| Few Thoughts on 20:36 - Aug 8 with 1240 views | aston_hoop |
Watford only made one change for their cup game away at Stevenage tonight. Changed the goalkeeper, who had bugger all to do anyway other than get a smack from Sinclair Armstrong. 1-1 at Half Time.
I maintain the issue isn't entirely that we have a shit squad, I mean we do, but we have some quality in the team too. A better manager gets something out of these players. Sets them up to their strengths, not trying to turn us into the managers previous team. |  |
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| Few Thoughts on 21:03 - Aug 8 with 1186 views | Burnleyhoop |
| Few Thoughts on 18:12 - Aug 8 by EastR |
you're confusing two different things.
One group is a set of players arguably not good enough, the others potentially are but can't be arsed. |
“Arguably”, “potentially” more supposition and innuendo and the only thing I’m confused about is Ainsworth’s inability to field our best available starting eleven when anything less will have devastating consequences.
Willock may or may not have a bad attitude, Dozzell is definitely pony, Kelman and Smyth are highly unlikely to save our bacon, imo.
Let’s see how the next few weeks pan out and hope Ainsworth can prove us all wrong. | | | |
| Few Thoughts on 21:36 - Aug 8 with 1079 views | ChrisNW6 |
| Few Thoughts on 17:38 - Aug 8 by Monkey_Roots |
When Gubbins was being treated on the pitch, the Watford players were knocking the ball around to keep warm and sharp.
Ours were chatting. |
Would they have been doing anything differently under Warnock, Warbs, Beale or Critchley? | | | |
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