OI! Zola, what are you looking so happy about? |
I’ll be honest. I wouldn’t have made six changes.
That said, Gianfranco Zola and I differ in many ways. There
are a lot of things that he has done that I haven’t. Among them, making 629
club appearances and picking up 31 International caps during a playing career
that spanned over two decades. He’s also managed in the Premier League. It’s
fair to say our footballing experiences have been slightly different. A
glittering career and a (well deserved) reputation as one of the nicest men in
football shouldn’t mean he is exempt from criticism of course, but I must
confess to being shocked at the level of abuse headed Zola’s way in the wake of
Watford’s defeat at Bristol City.
High on the list of accusations was complacency. Of not
taking bottom of the table Bristol City seriously, making changes because he
thought we could just turn up and win. I find that a tough notion to entertain.
In twenty seasons of football, Zola will have played against bottom of the
table sides at least forty times. I find it impossible to believe that he and
his teammates will have left the field after any of these encounters thinking “crikey, that was easy, we should have sent
out the reserves…” That’s just not how football is. With this in mind, why
would Zola change his outlook now? After being involved in the professional
game for 29 years, why on a wet Tuesday night In Bristol would he decide that
bottom of the table teams are easy to beat?
The other main charge levelled against Zola, was one of
playing a weakened team. A weakened team? A team weakened by the presence of
Fitz Hall, one of our most consistent defenders, fans favourite Sean Murray,
club captain John Eustace, Jonathan Hogg – who supporters had fretted about
losing to Ipswich, Alex Geijo, complete with his record of almost a goal every
other game in La Liga and cult hero Fernando Forestieri? I’m sure there are
plenty of other clubs who would like to have those sorts of weaknesses.
Quite apart from anything else, if players aren’t good
enough to feature in the first team, what are they doing on the books? Weakened
team my foot. I’m not having that.
What (I hope) people were actually upset by was the changed
team. I wouldn’t say I was particularly angered
by the changes, but I’ll repeat my first sentence – I wouldn’t have made six of
them. If it ‘aint broke don’t fix it is on the surface of things, a fairly
sound motto, but I’ll repeat my second point – Gianfranco Zola knows a lot more
about football and the inner workings of this Watford team than I do.
The elephant(s) in the room are Deeney and Vydra. Two of the
most feared strikers in the division left on the bench. Were they tired? Did
Zola want to keep them fresh and hungry for the upcoming games? Were they
carrying slight injuries? Perhaps. We’ll
never know. It was a brave move, whatever the reasoning behind it, and whilst
it didn’t pay dividends in this particular game, it may benefit them and the
team as the season progresses. There’s a long way to go and perhaps even
hotshot strikers need a bit of looking after from time to time.
Two of our other stellar performers have been Chalobah and
Cassetti, both also left on the bench, both for presumably the same reason. One
is very young and playing his first season of competitive football, the other
is older and is playing in what must be one of his last. Chalobah has been
showing signs of needing a break, losing possession easily on occasion, whilst
expecting Cassetti to play 46 games is totally unrealistic. Resting them at
different times may have made more sense, but if it turns out we’ve sacrificed
this game to keep those two at peak performance for the rest of the season,
then it might have been worth it.
Battochio and Doyley were the others to drop out, both of
whom will have been disappointed. It’s unlikely however that they’ll have been
as disappointed as the 1,000 Hornets fans who had travelled to Ashton Gate and
the countless others who were listening in, hoping that Watford could secure
second place in the table. I count myself among that number. I hate losing,
especially in what looks like a winnable game on the back of a terrific run of
form.
The chances are that Zola probably made a few mistakes last
night and I’m sure they won’t be his last as Watford boss. I’d be amazed if he
wasn’t as frustrated as the rest of us with the result. As supporters our duty
isn’t to blindly praise or defend everything that happens, we have the right to
be critical, to pass judgement, to offer our opinion. It’s part of the fun, an
intrinsic part of the football fan experience. If however you’re going to be
critical, try and think it through. Take your arguments or observations through
to their natural conclusion. Weigh up both sides before condemning. I repeat.
We all have the right to criticise, but there are very few occasions,
especially at this moment in time where that criticism can’t be constructive.
Come on You Horns.
---
Download the latest podcast via iTunes. Plus, get FTRE blog posts sent straight to your inbox. Simply enter your email address in the "Subscribe by Email" box in the right hand column near the top of this page. Or if you're really technical you can use this RSS code.