Watford FC – CaughtOffside

Sky Sports man apologises to Leeds star during Watford clash

Jason Pettigrove — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 10:35:53 +0000

Illan Meslier dropped a clanger recently for Leeds United, and that must’ve been playing on the mind of Sky Sports News pundit, Gareth Ainsworth.

Fortunately for the all whites, since snatching a draw from the jaws of victory up at Sunderland, they’ve won against both Sheffield United and Watford, keeping them right up there at the top end of the Championship table.

Indeed, their win over the Hornets means that Leeds are now joint top with the Black Cats, albeit Sunderland do have a game in hand over Daniel Farke’s side.

Pundit says sorry to Illan Meslier live on air

When one considers how many top class players Leeds had to lose across the summer, and the disappointment of not being promoted, Farke deserves a lot of credit for ensuring his side have bounced back in the right way.

Against Watford the hosts were 2-0 up within the first seven minutes, both goals coming as a result of howlers from keeper, Daniel Bachmann.

Gareth Ainsworth had committed the cardinal sin of mixing up the two keepers, and so apologised during the game, live on Sky Sports News.

Gareth Ainsworth apologised to Illan Meslier live on TV. Photo by George Wood/Getty Images

“I’ll have to give an apology to Illan Meslier, the Leeds keeper. I said it was him who made the mistake for the goals but it’s obviously Daniel Bachmann,” Ainsworth said.

“I got my goalkeepers mixed up, so sorry Meslier! It was Bachmann with the errors.”

Though Ainsworth clearly wouldn’t have made the error deliberately, it’s clearly a hugely embarrassing one for him and for the broadcaster.

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Leeds themselves might not see the funny side, particularly if they’re trying to build Meslier’s confidence back up after the Sunderland game.

For now, Farke and his players can bask in the afterglow of a job well done, and who knows… the point gained at Sunderland might well still end up being a difference maker at the end of the season.

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Hornets buzzing as brilliant ex-West Ham ace expected to sign before transfer deadline

Jason Pettigrove — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 05:47:19 +0000

With a week or so still to go of the transfer window, Watford could be about to sign a player who has been a brilliant servant for West Ham over the past nine years.

Angelo Ogbonna is now 36 years of age and arguably coming toward the end of a career that began at Torino, took in a loan spell at Crotone before a short stay at Juventus and then onto the Hammers where he cemented his legend.

Though he may not have always grabbed the headlines in East London, the Italian was a reliable and solid performer for the Hammers, and was part of David Moyes’ successful Europa Conference League winning side.

Ex-West Ham defender Ogbonna to sign for Watford

Now a free agent, the Watford Observer note that the player will move to Vicarage Road before the transfer deadline.

The Hornets have begun the season the 2024/25 Championship season well, with two wins from their two games.

Though they’re currently third in the table, they are actually joint top with Burnley and Sunderland – who both have a better goal difference.

Ex-West Ham defender Angelo Ogbonna will sign for Watford.

Watford head coach, Tom Cleverly, is actually a year younger than Ogbonna at 36, and will surely value having a player of such experience to shore up his side’s defence, as Watford look to make a real dent in the English second-tier this season.

If he can remain injury-free for the bulk of the campaign, then it’s clear that the Italian will be a huge asset for the club.

West Ham, for their part, were always going to go in a different direction this season more than any other after Tim Steidten won the battle of wills with David Moyes.

Given his transfer business for the club this season, one can’t really argue that allowing Ogbonna to leave wasn’t the best choice for all concerned.

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Carabao Cup R2 draw: Newcastle, West Ham, Everton and other Premier League clubs learn their fate

CJ — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 21:45:41 +0000

The draw for the second round of the Carabao Cup has been made, with the likes of Newcastle United, West Ham United and Everton learning their fate.

After round one saw Championship, League One and League Two sides kick things off, we’ve reached the stage where the Premier League clubs not competing in European competition enter the tournament.

All-Premier League ties of Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle and West Ham vs Bournemouth are among the most eye-catching, while there are also some local derbies like Millwall vs Leyton Orient, Barnsley vs Sheffield United and Blackburn vs Blackpool.

Read on for the full Carabao Cup round two draw, with all ties to be played the week commencing August 26.

Carabao Cup draw

Northern section

Grimsby vs Sheffield Wednesday

Everton vs Doncaster

Blackburn vs Blackpool

Fleetwood vs Rotherham

Shrewsbury vs Bolton

Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle

Barrow vs Derby

Leicester vs Tranmere

Middlesbrough vs Stoke

Barnsley vs Sheffield United

Harrogate vs Preston

Walsall vs Huddersfield

Wolves vs Burnley

Southern section

Coventry vs Oxford United

Swansea vs Wycombe

AFC Wimbledon vs Ipswich

Birmingham vs Fulham

Watford vs Plymouth

West Ham vs Bournemouth

QPR vs Luton

Brighton vs Crawley

Crystal Palace vs Norwich

Cardiff vs Southampton

Millwall vs Leyton Orient

Colchester vs Brentford

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Leicester City closing on £21m transfer of South American winger

CJ — Sat, 03 Aug 2024 16:13:56 +0000

Leicester City are on the verge of signing Yaser Asprilla from Watford, according to reports.

The Colombian forward arrived at Watford from Envigado — the same club that produced Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran — in the summer of 2022 and particularly caught the eye last season, with six goals and seven assists in 44 Championship appearances.

Asprilla — who already has two goals in six caps for his country at just 20 years old — has entered the final year of his contract.

Given his form in the second tier last season, coupled with his exploits for Colombia so far and young age, it’s unsurprising to see a number of clubs making an approach for Asprilla this summer.

French side Rennes are thought to have made an approach for Asprilla but, according to Foot Mercato journalist Sebastien Denis, it’s Leicester City who have won the race for his signature.

?#Srfc ???
??malgré une approche concrète du Stade Rennais pour le jeune ailier colombien de Watford Yasser Asprilla, le joueur est en route pour Leicester
??son agent est en Angleterre pour négocier un deal qui pourrait atteindre les 25 M€ pic.twitter.com/2QBPU5tj1m

— Sébastien Denis (@sebnonda) August 3, 2024

Asprilla on the verge of Leicester City move

Denis’ report states that Asprilla is ‘on his way’ to Leicester, with the player’s agent already in England negotiating a deal which could reach €25m (£21.3m).

Leicester’s hunt for attacking reinforcements ahead of their return to the Premier League has been no secret this summer. The 2023/24 Championship winners lost out in the race for Argentine talent Matias Soule, who opted to swap Juventus for Roma.

A left-footed winger who operates from the right, Asprilla would compete with new arrivals Issahaku Fatawu and Bobby De Cordova-Reid for a starting berth in Steve Cooper’s side should he seal his King Power Stadium switch.

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Video: Ex-Watford star stuns with spectacular bicycle kick-style goal for Canada against Uruguay

Eduardo Razo — Sun, 14 Jul 2024 00:39:40 +0000

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur wants to help Uruguay end its Copa America tournament on a positive note as they face Canada in the third-place match.

However, Canada responded with a goal of their own in the 22nd minute as former Watford and now current Olympique de Marseille standout Ismaël Koné scored an impressive bicycle kick-style goal off a corner kick set piece.

After giving up the first goal of the match, the Canadians aren’t going down without a fight as they look to secure third place in this tournament.

pic.twitter.com/O8oUieTb4K

— starsballsvb (@starsballsvb) July 14, 2024

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Video: Ex-Watford star propels Canada to Copa America semifinals with decisive penalty shootout goal

Eduardo Razo — Sat, 06 Jul 2024 03:29:50 +0000

Former Watford standout Ismaël Koné has sent Canada into the semifinal of the 2024 Copa America. After the Canadians took the 1-0 lead in the first half, Venezuela responded in the second half to level the scoring 1-1.

Neither team could find the game-winning goal in the remaining time, so the matchup went to a penalty kick shootout. Venezuela missed three shots, while Canada failed twice. As a result, Koné had the chance to win it for Canada, and the current Marseille player scored; now Jesse Marsch and his team will get a second crack at facing Argentina.

??? CANADA ARE THROUGH TO THE SEMI-FINALS OF THE COPA AMERICA!pic.twitter.com/NNi4DEbugV

— Tekkers Foot (@tekkersfoot) July 6, 2024

The post Video: Ex-Watford star propels Canada to Copa America semifinals with decisive penalty shootout goal appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Watford set for heavyweight investment into club

Jason Pettigrove — Fri, 31 May 2024 10:14:17 +0000

It was only two seasons ago that Watford were in the Premier League but as we’ve seen time and again, things can change very quickly in football.

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The Hornets had enjoyed a number of seasons in the English top-flight over the past decade, but since being relegated to the Championship, things have gone backwards for the club.

Watford want Anthony Joshua to invest

Last season Watford finished in 15th place with 61 goals scored and 61 conceded. They were a mammoth 17 points from getting into the Play-Offs, and just six points from being relegated into the third tier of English football.

Given that their form towards the end of the campaign was amongst the worst of all the teams in the division, had it gone on much longer, there could’ve been a very real threat of them going down.

Watford are seeking more investment

However, they live to fight another day in the Championship but it’s clear that things have to change.

To that end, according to The Athletic (subscription required), the club have approached Watford native, Anthony Joshua, regarding investing in the club.

As Goal also note, Watford is the club that the heavyweight boxer supports, so this is a move that will tug at the heart strings.

Whether any talks, which are described as being still at the early stages, will progress to anything more serious will only be seen over the course of the next few weeks.

The boxer might do well listening to Elton John to understand what he would be getting in return for ploughing his hard-earned into the club.

If Watford are unable to persuade him or anyone else to put a significant chunk of money in, however, then that doesn’t bode well for their immediate future.

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Watford manager slams decision that could cost Leeds hundreds of millions

Mehdi Gokal — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 20:53:15 +0000

Watford manager Tom Cleverley was left furious after his side conceded a 99th minute winner against Southamton.

The Saints lost a 2 goal lead but ended up winning late in stoppage time. However, Watford felt robbed due to a couple of controversial decisions including the game being allowed to play 2 minutes more than the 7 minutes time initially added.

Downes appeared to handle the ball before poking home the winner, two minutes after the minimum seven minutes added-time had been played.

Cleverley also claimed that a red card should also have been awarded to Sekou Mara for a clash with Ryan Porteous, but the Hornets boss was most concerned by the late winner.

He believed that the poor officiating is unfair to those fighting for the direct promotion, as it could cost them potential millions.

Cleverley said (quotes via YEP):

“That (late goal) is the biggest source of my frustration. The red card incident on Ryan Porteous was a genuine mistake. The fact that the corner gets delivered in the 98th minute after seven were added on is a worry.”

“It’s not affected the way our campaign ends so much. But when there are hundreds of millions of pounds on the line for Leeds, Ipswich and Leicester, I think they could argue that the top referees should be in charge of these games.”

“I will never, ever have a go for genuine mistakes. I’m disappointed the corner was taken. I am struggling to see how we’ve led to that after the 98th minute. The whole thing should never happen and I think this is where you need someone strong for sure in the game.”

English club sacks manager after latest defeat – Tom Cleverley appointed interim manager

Mehdi Gokal — Sun, 10 Mar 2024 13:35:22 +0000

Watford have parted ways with manager Valerien Ismael following their defeat to Coventry City yesterday, with Coventry rallying from a goal down to secure a 2-1 victory.

Ismael’s tenure this season saw Watford secure 11 wins, 12 draws, and suffer 14 defeats, leaving them just six points above the relegation zone.

The disappointing result against Coventry prompted the club’s board to make the decision for a change.

In an official statement, Watford expressed gratitude to Ismael and his staff for their dedication and commitment but stated that the board believes it is the right time for a managerial change to improve results.

The club statement read (via Sky Sports) :

“The Hornets thank Valerien and his staff for their dedication and commitment, however the club’s board considers it an appropriate time to make a change in order to improve results.”

Cleverley spent most of his career at Watford

Coventry City official’s WhatsApp chat leaked during Watford scouting mission

Saikat Chatterjee — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 11:10:44 +0000

Dean Austin from Coventry City was caught scouting the club’s next opponent Watford when they were in action against Swansea City earlier.

It appears that a Watford fan zeroed in on his private WhatsApp messages and published the images on social media.

The messages showed conversations between Austin, Mark Robins and agent Rob Segal. According to reports, Dean Austin is now considering legal action against the Watford fan who chose to breach his privacy by posting his WhatsApp images on social media.

Meanwhile, the messages showed Austin discussing Watford’s disappointing performance with Robins and Segal. Austin also discussed the future of manager Valérien Ismael.

Coventry have been captured scouting Watford.

Mark Robins, Coventry’s manager, messaged loads of times in the game vs Swansea today.

Damn this is brutal for Watford… ? pic.twitter.com/iu1QurHhPx

— Out of Context Football Manager (@nocontextfm1) March 6, 2024