Analysing the current Watford squad
Looking at what the makeup of the squad is and why we're not clicking on the pitch just yet.
The inspiration behind analysing the outfield Watford squad in a specific way came from an Athletic article breaking down 18 player roles and how there’s effectively no such thing as positions (we knew that anyway) — but before I get into it, I’m going to add some of my own definitions to roles as I don’t think some of the 18 referenced in the article gives a fair reflection to the skillset of a number of players in the Watford squad. I also don’t completely agree with the idea of pigeon-holing roles onto players as they can overlap, but for the purpose of what I’m writing, I’ll play along. I’m also not going to reference data from each player since the 17/18 season as for the first time ever, I’m going to base this breakdown on just what my eyes tell me, although I will add data points as a team to prove or disprove a point. Before I completely get into it, I’ll list off the 17 roles from the Athletic article, and then the three roles I’ve added. The thing you also have to work out with certain role applying is, what has the player been asked to do, and what is the player adding to it. A lot of what is reflected in the data can be led by the team they’re in and what they’re tasked to do. Just because a player is in the lower percentile of a metric, doesn’t mean that player is bad at that specific thing, nor does it mean he can’t do it.
Now to get into the role explaining — some of these names are quite comical, so I’m just going to get that out the way first, and almost nobody uses these terms in football to explain things. But again, it looks good on paper.
Central defenders:
Aggressor: Likes to tackle and dribble. Not big on long passes or clearances, mainly attached to wide centre backs.
Spreader: Plays longer, direct passes and will sometimes step out in possession or close down in defence.
Aerial Anchor: (My tweak definition) — Plays safe in possession and does his defending close to goal with blocks, clearances, whilst being aerially dominant.
Wingbacks/Fullbacks:
Over lapper: Gets into the final third, dribbles, and hits crosses. Would rather receive long passes and recycle them than play long himself.
Progressor: Attempts long balls and progressive passes as well as crosses. Active in possession at both ends.
Safety: Stays home, getting involved in the defensive third whilst not taking many risks on or off the ball.
By-line threat: (My added role) — Hugs the touchline and looks for cutbacks or isolating his opponent one v one.
Deep midfielders:
Box to Box: Defends low but also gets up field to receive progressive passes. Not involved in possession much and is safe on the ball.
Distributor: Favours longer, more direct passes and switches. Active in the opponents half more than the defensive third.
Builder: Serves as the main circulation hub in build-up and as a stopper at the base of midfield.
Disrupter: (My added role) —Given the license to leave his set position to press hire up the pitch without the ball but is safe in possession.
Advanced midfielders:
Box crasher: (Tweaked role) Not involved in possession much, rarely touches the box unless close to goal. Looks to be a third man runner into the box to score goals.
Creator: Looks to break lines with his aggressive passes. Frequently central to the teams play in the attacking half.
Orchestrator: Prefers midfield circulation to finding the final ball. Likes shorter, higher-percentage passes. Will get involved defensively too.
Wide attackers:
Wide threat: Stretches the back line and gets into the penalty area. Does some crossing but likes to receive the final ball as much as playing it.
Unlocker: Likes to play midfield marshal in the opponent’s half. Big on crosses, switches, and forward passes. More of a provider than an off-ball runner.
Outlet: Gets on the end of dangerous passes but usually plays it safe on the ball. Takes a lot of touches in midfield or close to goal.
Direct threat: Will look to pick the ball up in either half and carry the ball and commit defenders before getting a cross or shot off.
Central attackers:
Finisher: Not involved in build-up, focused on getting into the box and getting shots off, keeps it safe in possession.
Target: (Tweak role) — Involved in the team’s build-up play, especially in the air or by dropping towards the ball. Not always the most prolific strikers.
Roamer: Likes to drop deep or wide to create for teammates when he’s not attacking the goal.
I want to partly link this piece to Watford’s start to the season, and perhaps point out an alternative view in why the performances probably haven’t matched the points we deserve so far this season. I also want to compare this style of squad to the one Rob Edwards had at Forest Green Rovers, and without adding too many spoilers, It’s vastly different. Whilst the players are obviously much better at Watford, the expectation to get promoted is quite similar, albeit the pressures are different — you’re at a much bigger and better club in a much more demanding league than FGR. I’m not going to go into too much depth regarding the players skillsets at FGR, but the squad was tailor made for his coaching style, with the ability to be a brilliant man manager and improve players he already had — most notably Kane Wilson.
Watford’s squad building has been poor for a number of years now, so the skillset’s each player has is a complete miss match for a coach with a set philosophy. Whilst we possess some outstanding players at this level — mainly Joao Pedro, Sarr, Davis and Louza; two of them haven’t been fit, and the rest of the squad is lower on quality in comparison to the league, as well as not complimenting each other well enough from a stylistic point of view. It’s not an excuse for Rob Edwards (it kind of is) but in my view he’s playing his Plan C, D and E rather than A and B as he doesn’t have the players who wants to play his way yet — so is doing what Arteta did at Arsenal by sacrificing style with pragmatism for results-based football early on. For starters the shape of the team is completely different, the way the team progresses the ball forward, and how we press without the ball is much different, especially ever since Cleverley became injured. But on to profiling each Watford player.
Central defenders:
Kabasele: Spreader
Sierralta: Aerial Anchor
Cathcart: Spreader
Hause: Aerial Anchor
Troost-Ekong: Spreader
Pollock: Aerial Anchor
Fullbacks/wingbacks:
Ngakia: Safety
Gaspar: Safety
Kamara: Overlapper
Sema: By-line threat
Midfielders:
Choudhury: Disrupter
Kayembe: Box to Box
Cleverley: Disruptor
Dele-Bashiru: Box to Box
Gosling: Box crasher
Louza: Builder
Asprilla: Orchestrator
Forwards:
Sarr: Wide threat
Hungbo: Direct threat
Joao Pedro: Roamer
Davis: Roamer
Bayo: Finisher
Manaj: Target
It’s not necessarily what Watford have; it’s more what Watford don’t have; and it’s very evident the lack of progressors in the side is quite worrying. At Forest Green, the wingbacks were the dribbling machines, key creators and pushed high to press. Going from Nicky Cadden to Ken Sema is a big stylistic shift. Cadden created more than three chances per game, crossed double figures — whereas Sema is creating 0.63 chances per game and crossing twice per game. We already know the issues on the other side with Kamara not suited to the role, but is still creating 1.64 chances from open play, whereas Gaspar has created nothing, as well as offering nothing from a ball carrying or passing progression standpoint. The reason Watford don’t have the capability to play a dominant style of football is because we simply don’t have the players to do so. It’s all well and good having Joao Pedro and Sarr, but if you can’t consistently get them on the ball or into good areas, then it’s pretty easy to defend against. But the style of the team changes dramatically when Davis is fit, Louza is fit and Ngakia can possibly adapt to a good enough version to play the wingback role. Then you’ve got partly a viable way of consistently sustaining pressure in the final third with Davis and Joao Pedro being exceptional ball players, and Louza being able to find them much easier and quicker than what we’re seeing now. It might take a while for us to properly click, but the signs are positive in spells a game.
Good stuff