Watford fans' wait for Geijo's debut continues (From Watford Observer)
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Udinese loanees Alex Geijo and Cristian Battocchio set to miss Watford's trip to Huddersfield Town
12:24pm Wednesday 26th September 2012 in Watford FC News By Richard Lee
Cristian Battocchio in action against Derby County. Picture: Action Images
It looks unlikely that either Alex Geijo or Cristian Battocchio will feature this weekend against the high-flying Huddersfield Town.
Watford fans will once again have to wait the for the opportunity to watch Geijo, despite the striker joining the club seven weeks ago.
Geijo notched 26 goals in 36 matches whilst on loan at Granada two seasons ago to help the club to promotion.
But he suffered an injury setback early into the 2011/12 campaign and was unable to regain his form in La Liga.
Geijo agreed a season-long loan with Watford from Italian side Udinese on August 9 but has struggled with fitness issues - he was set to return after the international break but picked up a groin problem.
Zola admitted this weekend would be too soon for the 6ft Swiss-born striker when he spoke to the Watford Observer yesterday and that the Charlton fixture next Tuesday may be a more realistic target.
Another player who has not featured lately is fellow Udinese loanee Battocchio, who made a brief substitute appearance at Derby on September 1 but has not been involved since returning from international duty with Italy Under-20s.
Hornets head coach Gianfranco Zola said: "Battocchio came back from the national team with a problem with his groin and we’re just taking it easy as we don’t want it to get any worse. Yesterday (Monday) and today (Tuesday) he’s been training with Geijo and he should be available shortly."
"I don’t think they will be available for the weekend, maybe for Charlton," Zola added.
Zola also revealed that John Eustace is close to returning to the training ground after missing the previous seven games following back surgery. Eustace has been training at a specialist centre and is recovering well, although no date has been given for his return.
Zola said: "He is doing strengthening work and he’s getting better. I don’t know when he’s going to start [full training], hopefully next week he will start training on the pitch. I spoke to him and he hasn’t got pain any more and that’s very important."
Comments(29)
aefevans
says...
12:46pm Wed 26 Sep 12
Chris the Vic
says...
12:51pm Wed 26 Sep 12
Where is lady luck when you need her?
aefevans
says...
12:55pm Wed 26 Sep 12
Chris the Vic wrote:Lady Luck's currently got a muscle imbalance so won't be around for a few weeks.
Before the season started we needed a keeper, a left back , winger and a striker. Now we need a central midfielder (JE) a centre back and a striker, despite having a squad of almost double the size. Where is lady luck when you need her?
Holly68
says...
1:08pm Wed 26 Sep 12
I still believe in the medium term once we have the defence and forward line sorted we will b a very good team ....
Hampshire hornet
says...
1:28pm Wed 26 Sep 12
aefevans wrote:No Lady luck has a problem with her groin..... "apparantly"
Chris the Vic wrote: Before the season started we needed a keeper, a left back , winger and a striker. Now we need a central midfielder (JE) a centre back and a striker, despite having a squad of almost double the size. Where is lady luck when you need her?Lady Luck's currently got a muscle imbalance so won't be around for a few weeks.
Bush Hornet
says...
1:30pm Wed 26 Sep 12
Muscle imbalance is a common cause of injuries, particularly knee injuries. Don't know why some can't understand that.
Holly68
says...
1:31pm Wed 26 Sep 12
eltonsarmy
says...
1:49pm Wed 26 Sep 12
deeney must start even if 80% we cant keep dropping points, we need to be on our way to 50 points and soon,get stuck down there at christmas and we all know the normal outcome. forgot play off's forget prem league start thinking about getting away from the bottom 3 and quick!
jasonwatford
says...
1:53pm Wed 26 Sep 12
Holly68
says...
2:27pm Wed 26 Sep 12
eltonsarmy wrote:Neuton just needs to get used to Championship defending, with big oaths jumping all over him. Football wise he is a beckenbauer
just pray Hall starts saturday or we in for big trouble with the side they have! the joker (Neuton) that cant defend set pieces or even head ball will get murdered against there forwards.
deeney must start even if 80% we cant keep dropping points, we need to be on our way to 50 points and soon,get stuck down there at christmas and we all know the normal outcome. forgot play off's forget prem league start thinking about getting away from the bottom 3 and quick!
Toshhorn
says...
2:50pm Wed 26 Sep 12
bushey tales
says...
2:56pm Wed 26 Sep 12
Derry Beckham
says...
3:03pm Wed 26 Sep 12
.co.uk/sport/article
-2208564/Watford-sna
pshot-thats-wrong-mo
dern-football-Martin
-Samuel.html?ito=fee
ds-newsxml
Thoughts?
Hampshire hornet
says...
3:08pm Wed 26 Sep 12
Derry Beckham wrote:I was going to post on the site -- think some of our guys have done a cracking job already -- I got as far as the box to fill in where it states no libelous comments are to be submitted -- I thought that was hypocritical due to the nature of his report .. dont think there will be many favourable match reports in the Mail about Watford this season! ..
Everyone read this yet? http://www.dailymail .co.uk/sport/article -2208564/Watford-sna pshot-thats-wrong-mo dern-football-Martin -Samuel.html?ito=fee ds-newsxml Thoughts?
Ronny oh Ronny Ronny
says...
3:37pm Wed 26 Sep 12
Derry Beckham wrote:I too was going to post something back at Mr Samuels, even tried to find him on twitter but he isn't there.
Everyone read this yet? http://www.dailymail .co.uk/sport/article -2208564/Watford-sna pshot-thats-wrong-mo dern-football-Martin -Samuel.html?ito=fee ds-newsxml Thoughts?
Its a typical nonsence report where he has done little research and doesnt understand the situation we were in or the massive benefits we now have.
Can't believe he gets paid to write that rubbish.
As for the injuries, dont see why Chalobah and Eustace can't play together. Really looking forward to seeing Geijo, the home sick reports were also rubbish apparently.
pete50
says...
3:46pm Wed 26 Sep 12
cliff46
says...
4:49pm Wed 26 Sep 12
Hopefully the side will settle down during the next couple of months so that we can have a successful and enjoyable remainder of the season.
No doubt if we are successful Samuels and his media mates will eventually stir things up so that the football authorities close off the
Pozzos ability to import so many loan
players from their other clubs.
Ronny oh Ronny Ronny
says...
4:56pm Wed 26 Sep 12
cliff46 wrote:He is a bitter West Ham fan, whose biased views shouldn't be allowed to go to press.
Many of the comments in the Daily Mail are similar to many of the comments expressed on here in recent weeks.. Hopefully the side will settle down during the next couple of months so that we can have a successful and enjoyable remainder of the season. No doubt if we are successful Samuels and his media mates will eventually stir things up so that the football authorities close off the Pozzos ability to import so many loan players from their other clubs.
Holly68
says...
5:10pm Wed 26 Sep 12
Patience a virtue for Pozzo project
SO WE'RE under national scrutiny it seems, but not for the right reasons. After Rory Smith's fairly upbeat & informative piece for The Times centred around the Pozzo family's model, comes Martin Samuel's article for The Daily Mail which suggests Watford 'are a snapshot of all that's wrong with the modern game.'
The way the Pozzo family have gone about their business so buying out Laurence Bassini over the summer is a contentious issue for all Hornet's supporters.
Whether or not you're enjoying the influx of exotic talent from Udinese or Granada, there's no getting away from the fact that Watford is a club built of two fundamental pillars; one being it's family club reputation, and the other being the constant conveyor built of home-grown talent.
We might not churn out the same calibre of player that Dario Gradi has been consistently responsible for at Crewe, but it's fair to say that from John Barnes to Sean Murray, some extremely talented individuals have graduated from the Vicarage Road youth ranks.
Understandably Samuel attacks the fact that the sheer volume of loanees is blocking the route to the first team for the Murray's of this world, conveniently ignoring the fact that for every Murray, there are five Dominic Blizzard's or Jerel Ifil's who make the grade out of necessity alone.
Whilst we undoubtedly have far too many players, (42 if you include those out on-loan), Gianfranco Zola is in the luxurious position of not having to call upon any Tom, Dick or Harry who might be up to the rigours of professional football in order to fill out his squad.
One of the benefits of having such a large roster to choose from is that the 18 who are selected on a matchday have earned the right to be there. They're no longer there because there's no one else, those are the 18 form players in Zola's ranks come matchday.
Quite simply, players who are good enough to make the grade for the first-team will continue to progress from the academy, be that in conjunction with the Harefield Project or not.
Probably the most contentious issue is the number of loanees. There are too many and nobody is denying that. As mentioned previously there are advantages to be gained from the regulations regarding international loans, which leave a Steve Beleck-sized loophole which the Pozzo's continue to exploit.
Let's get a few things straight - it is ridiculous to borrow so many players from one team, but there is nothing to stop other clubs filling out the gaps in their squads with loanees from abroad. The rules are the same for everybody after all.
Having had the privilege of speaking to Daniel Pudil amongst others, it is very clear that the players do not have to come to Watford and that whilst Zola isn't the man who produces the names, he can say 'no' if he doesn't fancy the player.
Samnuel suggests that after just seven league fixtures the die is cast for the Hornet's season, in what he himself labels as a 'famously unpredictable league'. We're relegation fodder already by all accounts, which seems a tad premature with 39 league fixtures still to play.
He even goes as far as to admit that it's too early to judge the success of the project, before launching into an attack on the Pozzo's plan.
A project is exactly what this is, and a plan is exactly what the family come armed with. They have been in football long enough to know that wholesale change of this degree takes time to have the desired impact, and that success won't be instant, but they do at least have a track-record of bringing success to clubs on this model.
The less said about Laurence Bassini, the better, but one can only assume that Samuel would be (rightfully) scathing about an owner with Bassini's (lack of) credentials. This are proven owners, and in a country where foreign ownership so often turns sour, perspective is needed.
A large chunk of the article is dedicated to lamenting the relationship between Zola, technical director Gian Luca Nani, and CEO Scott Duxbury.
Whilst the trio didn't bring unparalleled success to the Boleyn Ground, they kept them in the Premier League - unlike messrs Gold, Sullivan, Brady & Grant.
There are doubts, and they remain prominent amongst even the most positive Watford supporters, but right now is not the time to judge the success of the Pozzo family's tenure. This is a radical departure from how the club has been run in recent years, but apart from a couple of single-season stays in the top-flight, where did that get us?
If in a couple of years time no progress has been made, then the project may not have succeeded, but for now patience remains a virtue.
For further reading on the subject of Samuel's article today, check out From the Rookery End's take on things. Make sure you have a read of A Watford Blog's view whilst you're at it.
Read more: http://www.watford.v
italfootball.co.uk/s
itepage.asp?a=294564
#ixzz27anLDUVM
Holly68
says...
5:17pm Wed 26 Sep 12
The rumour that he wanted to go home was started by a disgruntled member of staff !
There are those on the inside embracing change, and those that cant/won't and need to move on .....
We are in transition on and off the pitch ....
Hopefully this will be the last transition for a few years (if successful)
Toshhorn
says...
5:35pm Wed 26 Sep 12
Bobbyhowfield
says...
6:44pm Wed 26 Sep 12
eltonsarmy wrote:Give it a rest.
just pray Hall starts saturday or we in for big trouble with the side they have! the joker (Neuton) that cant defend set pieces or even head ball will get murdered against there forwards. deeney must start even if 80% we cant keep dropping points, we need to be on our way to 50 points and soon,get stuck down there at christmas and we all know the normal outcome. forgot play off's forget prem league start thinking about getting away from the bottom 3 and quick!
Look where we were at the time we played Peterborough last year.
Bush Hornet
says...
12:01am Thu 27 Sep 12
cliff46 wrote:The Daily Mail is a Tory rag that only sanctimonious fools who hate change and idealise the past would read. Surely no one who posts here would fit that mould.
Many of the comments in the Daily Mail are similar to many of the comments expressed on here in recent weeks..
Hopefully the side will settle down during the next couple of months so that we can have a successful and enjoyable remainder of the season.
No doubt if we are successful Samuels and his media mates will eventually stir things up so that the football authorities close off the
Pozzos ability to import so many loan
players from their other clubs.
PS Maggie was the devil
Watford Man
says...
7:38am Thu 27 Sep 12
mike c dorset
says...
9:23am Thu 27 Sep 12
Holly68
says...
10:24am Thu 27 Sep 12
Toshhorn wrote:See the official website for his interview
Thanks Holly really pleased to be wrong
YellowandProud
says...
10:52am Thu 27 Sep 12
Bush Hornet wrote:Thats the thing about football, it brings people together with differing views. Whether you like Martin samuel or not he does write articles that make us think about what is going on, the article creates debate and that is healthy..what is not healthy is putting people down every time their opinion differs to yours.
cliff46 wrote:The Daily Mail is a Tory rag that only sanctimonious fools who hate change and idealise the past would read. Surely no one who posts here would fit that mould.
Many of the comments in the Daily Mail are similar to many of the comments expressed on here in recent weeks..
Hopefully the side will settle down during the next couple of months so that we can have a successful and enjoyable remainder of the season.
No doubt if we are successful Samuels and his media mates will eventually stir things up so that the football authorities close off the
Pozzos ability to import so many loan
players from their other clubs.
PS Maggie was the devil
A lot of what Samuels talks about is utter tosh, in my opinion, but he does make some valid points. The jury is out, but the future is always bright in WD18.
watford1881
says...
4:30pm Thu 27 Sep 12
aefevans says...
12:45pm Wed 26 Sep 12
I for one am looking forward to Eustace's return. It'll make a change from having a different captain each week.