When Standard Liege bought Tony Watt from Celtic a little over a year ago, I was excited. Excited because he had become a network player and one with a reputation for not getting on with others, thereby giving us the prospect of seeing him at some point in a red shirt. My Uncle is a huge Bhoys fan and he told me Watt was an unpolished diamond with huge potential.
Sure enough, Tony Watt made his way to SE7 last year in time to spur a revival in our fortunes and to show how just what potential he has. He was truly an exciting player and one capable of turning and winning matches. Yes, he had the playground immaturity to want to beat one player to many and his desperateness to get on the ball often saw him go out of position to seek possession. For all that, however, he was a distinct step-up from the likes of Simon Church and Reza Goochannejhad. He also promised to bring more out of Igor Vetokele.
In the 24 matches Tony Watt featured in, he scored seven and gave us some memorable moments. The bustling charge through the centre of the Huddersfield defence and his dramatic finish will live long in the memory as will his committed time-wasting as he ran the clock down against Forest. Watt was a real character and I was amazed to hear from excited Addicks that he was in McDonalds in Charlton barely fifteen minutes after a match finished and that he was happily chatting and signing autographs for all and sundry. He was an active communicator with fans and commentator about the club and other players. Not afraid to speak his mind but generally seen as supportive and positive.
After a fine start to this season where he again showed he can live with a better class of opposition (QPR and Hull), like the rest of the side, his form dipped. With little in the way of service, he was egged out of position and left having to beat three men to get into his striker position. He lost possession too often and he was dropped. He appears to have been disappointed more than most of the other players when Guy Luzon was sacked but well have also been picking up on the mood of the fans.
Irrespective, he hasn't featured in our two latest surprising wins and perhaps that has cast the die and emboldened Madame Meire to decide we can offload him to a Championship rival. She has already wagged her finger and said we are over budget. Vaz Te has come in and so Watty is taken off the wage bill. The person who told me he wouldn't play for us again on Saturday also said a fee had been agreed. That might not be the case but I doubt we will see Tony play for us again. At the grand old age of 21, I think we are making a mistake in letting him go. Reza Goochannejhad is still here, for fuck sake, and Makienok is clearly not going to weigh in with enough goals. There will be huge pressure on Vaz Te now and if he doesn't hit the mark we will be struggling again very soon.
Madame Meire really doesn't get it either does she? Already the target of the fans continuing protest, she must have known precisely the effect this casual move would have. Perhaps she has no option but again the club fail to attempt to justify the decision at the time it becomes public. It's true that the long awaited Comms Supremo won't start until February but that's no excuse. What we are left with is another huge own goal by the CEO laced with her usual slice of arrogance.
I am left eagerly awaiting the gift she offers us when she is finally forced into commenting. Her 'negative 2%' has already caught the imagination of more than 2% and I think she will be suitably embarrassed on Saturday when she has to endure another West Stand barracking pre-match and then listen to chants of "stand up for the 2%" on two minutes as decidedly more than 2% of those present make their point.
Sure enough, Tony Watt made his way to SE7 last year in time to spur a revival in our fortunes and to show how just what potential he has. He was truly an exciting player and one capable of turning and winning matches. Yes, he had the playground immaturity to want to beat one player to many and his desperateness to get on the ball often saw him go out of position to seek possession. For all that, however, he was a distinct step-up from the likes of Simon Church and Reza Goochannejhad. He also promised to bring more out of Igor Vetokele.
In the 24 matches Tony Watt featured in, he scored seven and gave us some memorable moments. The bustling charge through the centre of the Huddersfield defence and his dramatic finish will live long in the memory as will his committed time-wasting as he ran the clock down against Forest. Watt was a real character and I was amazed to hear from excited Addicks that he was in McDonalds in Charlton barely fifteen minutes after a match finished and that he was happily chatting and signing autographs for all and sundry. He was an active communicator with fans and commentator about the club and other players. Not afraid to speak his mind but generally seen as supportive and positive.
After a fine start to this season where he again showed he can live with a better class of opposition (QPR and Hull), like the rest of the side, his form dipped. With little in the way of service, he was egged out of position and left having to beat three men to get into his striker position. He lost possession too often and he was dropped. He appears to have been disappointed more than most of the other players when Guy Luzon was sacked but well have also been picking up on the mood of the fans.
Irrespective, he hasn't featured in our two latest surprising wins and perhaps that has cast the die and emboldened Madame Meire to decide we can offload him to a Championship rival. She has already wagged her finger and said we are over budget. Vaz Te has come in and so Watty is taken off the wage bill. The person who told me he wouldn't play for us again on Saturday also said a fee had been agreed. That might not be the case but I doubt we will see Tony play for us again. At the grand old age of 21, I think we are making a mistake in letting him go. Reza Goochannejhad is still here, for fuck sake, and Makienok is clearly not going to weigh in with enough goals. There will be huge pressure on Vaz Te now and if he doesn't hit the mark we will be struggling again very soon.
Madame Meire really doesn't get it either does she? Already the target of the fans continuing protest, she must have known precisely the effect this casual move would have. Perhaps she has no option but again the club fail to attempt to justify the decision at the time it becomes public. It's true that the long awaited Comms Supremo won't start until February but that's no excuse. What we are left with is another huge own goal by the CEO laced with her usual slice of arrogance.
I am left eagerly awaiting the gift she offers us when she is finally forced into commenting. Her 'negative 2%' has already caught the imagination of more than 2% and I think she will be suitably embarrassed on Saturday when she has to endure another West Stand barracking pre-match and then listen to chants of "stand up for the 2%" on two minutes as decidedly more than 2% of those present make their point.
I suppose it balances the book Dave, but it just reinforces that impression we are being kept on a life support machine - just ticking over. His very first touch for us was an exciting one. His form may have dipped over recent months, but hasn't every players'? He was coming deep to collect the ball because he wasn't given service. Better managed he would be our most exciting player for years.
ReplyDeletePembury Addick
Can't argue that the current regimes strategy is confusing & each positive is negated by a backward step. They must/should know that moving Watt will pee off the fans when they are trying to build bridges.
ReplyDeleteI sort of get the year by year improvements without bankrupting the club but can't accept the KM lies as being the way to build trust with us fans so have decided to join the protests on Saturday after all.
The board, "Madame Miere" in particular have once again shown just what contempt they/she has for the fan. Allowing Tony Watt, our most exciting payer to move to a rival team in our division is a decision that just about slaps us all around the face and laughs at us. Baffling, annoying, ridiculous call it what you like but it is potentially a very bad decision made to hastily. The new [interim] manager could have started with a clean slate and got Tony Watts head where it needs to be, at least they should have been given a chance of working together and if it didn't work out let him move in January, 2 months wages isn't likely to break the bank and you never know we might end up with the Tony Watt we all want to see. Comments on Twitter from Simon Makienok suggest that contrary to rumours Tony Watt got on OK with players. It all looks like an attempt to cash in and cut the wage bill. I'm gutted to be honest!
ReplyDeleteHi Cardiff fan here. I'm very excited to see Tony Watt in a City shirt. I've read the blog here plus other bits on your clubs forums, seem Watt is one of your most talented footballers.
ReplyDeleteI think some of your fears may come to life if he starts banging them in for Cardiff, in his first pre match interview yesterday he spoke of nailing down a starting place and saying that he feels settled already and doesn't just want 2 months here, in fact he said he hopes its going to be much longer.
I took from that interview yesterday that if all goes well, we'll see Watt move here permanently in January. All the best for your season.