Nathaniel Chalobah

[ja1 1,166]

HT, 0-0, Chalobah has been quiet, hasn't seen much of the ball. Watford need to improve defensively.

[DanishBlue 426]

Do they need to win to get into PL?

[ja1 1,166]

Leicester score..

[ja1 1,166]

Do they need to win to get into PL?

First of two legs

[DanishBlue 426]

Ok, they still have a chance then.

Go Zola and Chalobah

[The Skipper 20,593]

Watford have been poor. Leicester deserve their win.

[ja1 1,166]

FT 1-0 Leicester, still second leg to come though.

Thought Chalobah was poor tonight

[Bir_CFC 3,455]

Played like a shitty Mikel tonight, except had some nice passes but also lost as many balls as Mikel would loose in 3-4 games.

[themightyblue 443]

Was too casual on the ball and didn't look like he was putting in any effort (highlighted that he has a tendency to do this earlier on in this thread). Lets hope he steps it up next leg

[Styles 9,790]

He attempts way too many risky, low-percentage passes like David Luiz. It looks great when it comes off but they usually don't and it just puts his team under pressure. Maybe I always watch Watford on one of his bad days but I'm usually not impressed with his passing at all.

It's no use having great attacking players if your central/defensive midfielders give the ball away every other possession. We need specialist ball-playing midfielders that don't give the ball away cheaply.

Chalobah is naturally a CB. It's great that he can play in midfield if needed but just like Luiz I want to see him play his proper position.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Yeah it wasn't his best performance, but I didn't think he was that bad, especially if you consider that he is a 18yo playing the biggest match of his career so far in his first season of competitive football. Did people really expect him to completely control and run the show? This is what I meant in my criticism last week when some were saying that he'd make the England WC squad next year. Those unrealistic expectations will only make people write him off too quickly after a few below average performances which are inevitable at his age.

The position that Chalobah plays is, imo, the toughest on the pitch and it requires a lot of experience and knowledge of the game. I don't think that Nathanial should switch back to defense. The fact that he made that position at Watford his own at such a young age alone is a huge achievement. It shows that he has potential to become something special, but that won't happen next season or the season after. He needs to be given time and be handled correctly by the club and the fans.

[The only place to be 11,313]

He attempts way too many risky, low-percentage passes like David Luiz. It looks great when it comes off but they usually don't and it just puts his team under pressure. Maybe I always watch Watford on one of his bad days but I'm usually not impressed with his passing at all.

It's no use having great attacking players if your central/defensive midfielders give the ball away every other possession. We need specialist ball-playing midfielders that don't give the ball away cheaply.

Chalobah is naturally a CB. It's great that he can play in midfield if needed but just like Luiz I want to see him play his proper position.

So he has a bad game and he's now in the wrong position?

He's a great passer of the ball. He always has been and he's one of those players who more often than not puts players into better positions. That entire Watford performance was pretty poor last night and they looked completely directionless, but Nat had a bad one too. They all looked like they were still in shock from the last game which can happen to teams who finish third in that league.

But that doesn't change my view of him. He's a fairly unique player right now who has the ability to sit and pull the strings from a deeper position or drive the team forward in a more advanced/box-to-box role. Last night he didn't seem to have any particular instructions, at times going forward at will and leaving gaps.

I think something that perhaps get overlooked is that Zola might just be a very average manager, and that's fine because he was a brilliant player. Turning Julian Dicks inside and out doesn't mean he'll be the next Sacchi.

This is what I meant in my criticism last week when some were saying that he'd make the England WC squad next year. Those unrealistic expectations will only make people write him off too quickly after a few below average performances which are inevitable at his age.

Hey a dig at me....I'll re-write my comment though in the hopes that it gets through this time.

I said he could be a bolter for that squad if he comes in and has a good season because at the moment he is capable of doing things that very few English players can do. His competition for that deep midfield role are players like Rodwell, Barry and Jones, so there's plenty of opportunity for a wildcard to come in and win a spot.

[Styles 9,790]

Yeah it wasn't his best performance, but I didn't think he was that bad, especially if you consider that he is a 18yo playing the biggest match of his career so far in his first season of competitive football. Did people really expect him to completely control and run the show? This is what I meant in my criticism last week when some were saying that he'd make the England WC squad next year. Those unrealistic expectations will only make people write him off too quickly after a few below average performances which are inevitable at his age.

The position that Chalobah is, imo, the toughest on the pitch and it requires a lot of experience and knowledge of the game. I don't think that Nathanial should switch back to defense. The fact that he made that position at Watford his own at such a young age alone is a huge achievement. It shows that he has potential to become something special, but that won't happen next season or the season after. He needs to be given time and handled correctly by the club and the fans.

Fair enough. He could do with learning the role properly because at the moment he's making way too many mistakes. He has to make smarter decisions on the ball. With regards to switching back to defence I don't want us to end up with a Chalobah that's not quite good enough to cut it in midfield (which may happen especially at the top level) and that hasn't played CB for years which leaves him in a weird place.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Fair enough. He could do with learning the role properly because at the moment he's making way too many mistakes. He has to make smarter decisions on the ball. With regards to switching back to defence I don't want us to end up with a Chalobah that's not quite good enough to cut it in midfield (which may happen especially at the top level) and that hasn't played CB for years which leaves him in a weird place.

Too many mistakes. Couldn't disagree more and I've watched him a fair few times this season and know people who go to Watford week in and week out.

But we'll just have to agree to disagree on that one.

[Styles 9,790]

So he has a bad game and he's now in the wrong position?

He's a great passer of the ball. He always has been and he's one of those players who more often than not puts players into better positions. That entire Watford performance was pretty poor last night and they looked completely directionless, but Nat had a bad one too. They all looked like they were still in shock from the last game which can happen to teams who finish third in that league.

But that doesn't change my view of him. He's a fairly unique player right now who has the ability to sit and pull the strings from a deeper position or drive the team forward in a more advanced/box-to-box role. Last night he didn't seem to have any particular instructions, at times going forward at will and leaving gaps.

I think something that perhaps get overlooked is that Zola might just be a very average manager, and that's fine because he was a brilliant player. Turning Julian Dicks inside and out doesn't mean he'll be the next Sacchi.

Watford as a whole were very poor which may have affected his performance. I think 'great passer' is pushing it a little however. When he gets them right it can be great but great passing implies some level of consistency which I haven't seen from him. He is just as likely, if not more likely, to get it wrong than he is to getting it right (I'm talking about overly ambitious passes here). I'll admit I haven't watched a lot of Watford this season so my sample size is small.

Chalobah has all the athletic ability in the world and good technical ability. I see his long-term future at CB which is really the crux of my argument.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Watford as a whole were very poor which may have affected his performance. I think 'great passer' is pushing it a little however. When he gets them right it can be great but great passing implies some level of consistency which I haven't seen from him. He is just as likely, if not more likely, to get it wrong than he is to getting it right (I'm talking about overly ambitious passes here). I'll admit I haven't watched a lot of Watford this season so my sample size is small.

Chalobah has all the athletic ability in the world and good technical ability. I see his long-term future at CB which is really the crux of my argument.

It's possible. The problem then is having a team with both him and Luiz in it....Two marauding centre-halves is going to give half the crowd heart-attacks.

I also think that Ake is going to face the same issue in the next couple of seasons.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Hey a dig at me....I'll re-write my comment though in the hopes that it gets through this time. I said he could be a bolter for that squad if he comes in and has a good season because at the moment he is capable of doing things that very few English players can do. His competition for that deep midfield role are players like Rodwell, Barry and Jones, so there's plenty of opportunity for a wildcard to come in and win a spot.

Yes I understood you the first time, and again I say: Those are completely unrealistic expectations. Nathanial is, atm, is no where near Barry and Rodwell, let alone Carrick. They are on a different level technically and tactically. This position needs a lot of experience because the tactical awareness and decision making on and off the ball can only get better with match experience.

I'm not pointing this out because I don't like Nathanial or don't think he is good, I'm pointing this out because you say that he could be a late addition to the WC squad, a few people agree and get their hopes up, then the next game Nathanial puts in an average performance that is no where near the England squad level and those people who got their hopes up get disappointed and start saying that he's not good enough.

All I'm saying is that let's not get ahead of ourselves and see how Nathanial progresses.

Fair enough. He could do with learning the role properly because at the moment he's making way too many mistakes. He has to make smarter decisions on the ball. With regards to switching back to defence I don't want us to end up with a Chalobah that's not quite good enough to cut it in midfield (which may happen especially at the top level) and that hasn't played CB for years which leaves him in a weird place.

I get your concern and you may have a point. He's very sloppy now when under pressure and his decision making is poor at times. But he has the physical and technical skills to play this role. Those weakness are only natural, imo, at his age. You can't expect an 18yo with no experience to have the passing accuracy, retention skills, and tactical awareness of Carrick for example (I'd say Mikel but some people are allergic to praising him!). In fact most DMs only start to shine after they're 25-26.

The main reason why I don't think Nathanial should switch back to defense is: Do you think that he could be, right now, a starter for a championship team at CB? I honestly don't think so.

[Styles 9,790]

It's possible. The problem then is having a team with both him and Luiz in it....Two marauding centre-halves is going to give half the crowd heart-attacks.

I also think that Ake is going to face the same issue in the next couple of seasons.

Haha it'd be crazy but the football would be quality. Two very good athletic, ball-playing CBs is a dream. Either one could step out of defence carrying the ball creating mismatches on both sides of midfield. I'd love it!

Agreed same goes for Ake. We're bringing through so many good all around footballers most of them are going to be able to play different positions.