Post by QPR Report on Nov 21, 2008 8:54:59 GMT
Watford's Blind, Stupid and Desperate
The site closed down about a year ago, but the site still operates and all the old material is still there.
That was a really, really, REALLY fine fansite. Shame it ceased to operate. www.bsad.org/index.html
And just as an instance: The site's view of Helguson
Player profiles:
Heidar Helguson
Position: Striker. Yes, Luca.
From: Lillestrøm, Norway - £1.5m - January 2000
Career stats: Soccerbase
He is: A loony. Most of the time.
Past profiles: June 2000
Profile:
A recurring cartoon / comic book formula sees all-conquering superheroes emerging from nervous, timid alter-egos... witness Clark Kent as Superman, Peter Parker as Spiderman, and Penry the mild-mannered janitor as Hong Kong Phooey. It's conceptually appealing, the meek little guy shaking off his shackles and striking a blow for the downtrodden masses.
There's something of this in Heidar Helguson. A shy, nervous individual prone to cataclysmic collapses in confidence, the transformation to the rabid, pain-in-the-arse of a striker when his tail is up could hardly be more dramatic.
Heidar made a bold start to his Vicarage Road career, albeit not quite bold or early enough to threaten to salvage our Premiership season. His first full season gave us the good (some brutal, rampaging performances), the bad (a chronic loss of form that tied in with that of the side as a whole), and the ugly (a red card for a two-footed hack at John Curtis of Blackburn).
Helguson suffered more than many during Luca Vialli's season, inexplicably being employed, when at all, in midfield and even at wing-back... his complete lack of defensive awareness contributing to a crucial own goal at home to Manchester City. His desperate, isolated expression as the ball went in ranks amongst the lowest points of that season.
So when the Icelander made an injury-delayed start to 2002-03 in mid-September, it was good to see him back up front and with his hyperactive lunatic switch set to "on". Scoring in five of his first six starts, and leaving a trail of bruised and exhausted centrebacks in his wake, it was reassuring to be shown that what had gone down as one of Luca's most obvious errors really was as bad as advertised.
There are still criticisms, obviously... ever susceptible to swings in form, a bad day from Heidar is often characterised by either a life-threatening tackle or a patience-threatening tumble under challenge, and you'd still never put better-than-even odds on him in a one-on-one with the keeper. But in several respects Heidar has no peer at Vicarage Road... he attacks the ball in the air better than anyone we've had for years (bar Mooney, arguably), his predatory instincts mean that he's the man most likely to tumble on scraps, and he covers a monumental amount of ground in the course of ninety minutes.
Heidar Helguson. Number-one super guy? Could be.
Matt Rowson
Last updated: December 2002
II: Heidar Helguson
Position: Striker
From: Lillestrøm, Norway - £1.5m - January 2000
Career stats: Soccerbase
He is: A Centre Forward
Profile:
Watford have, as is widely acknowledged, progressed immeasurably during Graham Taylor's second coming, much as we did during his first. The indications of this are many... things we can see and things we feel as much as the club's public exploits.
Perhaps the clearest indicator of Watford's renaissance is represented in the forward line. The not too distant past contains the uncomfortable memories of the willing but watery Jamie Moralee, the loveable but immobile Devon White and the tearfully grim Mickey Quinn . Christ, it's only three years ago that we were desperate to sign Keith Scott. We never dreamed of signing a player like this.
Heidar's good in the air, right? On the end of so many crosses, headed goals in narrow defeats against Liverpool and Manchester United - only the Moonster comes close to attacking the ball this well in the current squad. But get this... he's good on the deck as well! Witness elegant finishes against West Ham and Arsenal, and his constant involvement in build-up play. Good in the air and good on the deck... in the days of Devon and Jamie just one of the two would have been more than enough.
Would things have been different if our first seven-figure signing had arrived last summer? If Coventry hadn't been panicked by GT's presence at a Lillestrøm game and splashed out on Runar Normann, giving the Norwegians the freedom to barter? Well, maybe, maybe not. At any rate, GT will have permitted himself a smile as Heidar's outrageous scissor-kick sealed City's winless away record on the last day.
Reservations? Well, it says something that Heidar's five goals prior to the City game all came in defeats. He doesn't dominate games yet; he's not really been frightening since his debut against Liverpool... merely fiercely effective. We've also seen a suggestion that he goes down a little too easily (not that being tapped on the head by a large Frenchman is much more acceptable than a full-blown butt).
However, six goals in fourteen starts in a season like last season is a mighty fine ratio to be getting along with - only Gifton in the current squad has anything comparable. With the tiredness which was evident in May alleviated by an overdue close-season, there's no reason to suspect Heidar won't get even better.
He can head the ball. And play on the deck. And he's going to get better. Things are definitely looking up.
[Also interesting to read the views of Jackett and Palmer and Day and Cook and Furlong, and all the other Watford players who moved on to QPR)
The site closed down about a year ago, but the site still operates and all the old material is still there.
That was a really, really, REALLY fine fansite. Shame it ceased to operate. www.bsad.org/index.html
And just as an instance: The site's view of Helguson
Player profiles:
Heidar Helguson
Position: Striker. Yes, Luca.
From: Lillestrøm, Norway - £1.5m - January 2000
Career stats: Soccerbase
He is: A loony. Most of the time.
Past profiles: June 2000
Profile:
A recurring cartoon / comic book formula sees all-conquering superheroes emerging from nervous, timid alter-egos... witness Clark Kent as Superman, Peter Parker as Spiderman, and Penry the mild-mannered janitor as Hong Kong Phooey. It's conceptually appealing, the meek little guy shaking off his shackles and striking a blow for the downtrodden masses.
There's something of this in Heidar Helguson. A shy, nervous individual prone to cataclysmic collapses in confidence, the transformation to the rabid, pain-in-the-arse of a striker when his tail is up could hardly be more dramatic.
Heidar made a bold start to his Vicarage Road career, albeit not quite bold or early enough to threaten to salvage our Premiership season. His first full season gave us the good (some brutal, rampaging performances), the bad (a chronic loss of form that tied in with that of the side as a whole), and the ugly (a red card for a two-footed hack at John Curtis of Blackburn).
Helguson suffered more than many during Luca Vialli's season, inexplicably being employed, when at all, in midfield and even at wing-back... his complete lack of defensive awareness contributing to a crucial own goal at home to Manchester City. His desperate, isolated expression as the ball went in ranks amongst the lowest points of that season.
So when the Icelander made an injury-delayed start to 2002-03 in mid-September, it was good to see him back up front and with his hyperactive lunatic switch set to "on". Scoring in five of his first six starts, and leaving a trail of bruised and exhausted centrebacks in his wake, it was reassuring to be shown that what had gone down as one of Luca's most obvious errors really was as bad as advertised.
There are still criticisms, obviously... ever susceptible to swings in form, a bad day from Heidar is often characterised by either a life-threatening tackle or a patience-threatening tumble under challenge, and you'd still never put better-than-even odds on him in a one-on-one with the keeper. But in several respects Heidar has no peer at Vicarage Road... he attacks the ball in the air better than anyone we've had for years (bar Mooney, arguably), his predatory instincts mean that he's the man most likely to tumble on scraps, and he covers a monumental amount of ground in the course of ninety minutes.
Heidar Helguson. Number-one super guy? Could be.
Matt Rowson
Last updated: December 2002
II: Heidar Helguson
Position: Striker
From: Lillestrøm, Norway - £1.5m - January 2000
Career stats: Soccerbase
He is: A Centre Forward
Profile:
Watford have, as is widely acknowledged, progressed immeasurably during Graham Taylor's second coming, much as we did during his first. The indications of this are many... things we can see and things we feel as much as the club's public exploits.
Perhaps the clearest indicator of Watford's renaissance is represented in the forward line. The not too distant past contains the uncomfortable memories of the willing but watery Jamie Moralee, the loveable but immobile Devon White and the tearfully grim Mickey Quinn . Christ, it's only three years ago that we were desperate to sign Keith Scott. We never dreamed of signing a player like this.
Heidar's good in the air, right? On the end of so many crosses, headed goals in narrow defeats against Liverpool and Manchester United - only the Moonster comes close to attacking the ball this well in the current squad. But get this... he's good on the deck as well! Witness elegant finishes against West Ham and Arsenal, and his constant involvement in build-up play. Good in the air and good on the deck... in the days of Devon and Jamie just one of the two would have been more than enough.
Would things have been different if our first seven-figure signing had arrived last summer? If Coventry hadn't been panicked by GT's presence at a Lillestrøm game and splashed out on Runar Normann, giving the Norwegians the freedom to barter? Well, maybe, maybe not. At any rate, GT will have permitted himself a smile as Heidar's outrageous scissor-kick sealed City's winless away record on the last day.
Reservations? Well, it says something that Heidar's five goals prior to the City game all came in defeats. He doesn't dominate games yet; he's not really been frightening since his debut against Liverpool... merely fiercely effective. We've also seen a suggestion that he goes down a little too easily (not that being tapped on the head by a large Frenchman is much more acceptable than a full-blown butt).
However, six goals in fourteen starts in a season like last season is a mighty fine ratio to be getting along with - only Gifton in the current squad has anything comparable. With the tiredness which was evident in May alleviated by an overdue close-season, there's no reason to suspect Heidar won't get even better.
He can head the ball. And play on the deck. And he's going to get better. Things are definitely looking up.
[Also interesting to read the views of Jackett and Palmer and Day and Cook and Furlong, and all the other Watford players who moved on to QPR)
