Cheerio (for now)

After keeping this up to date for the last two seasons and with a new season bearing down on us unbelievably quickly I've decided to withdraw from the Watford blogging community for a while.  I certainly don't mean this to be the end of my blogging days.  But working, family life and watching football takes up so much time that finding extra minutes to then blog about what I've watched seems to get less and less every week.

Thanks to everyone who has ever stumbled across this page whether by design or whether they were mysteriously searching for the terms 'watford' and 'prostitution' on Google (try it, it still works).  Thanks also to all those who've got in touch.

If the mood takes me I might still post stuff or tweet ocassionally.  But if you're after a regular Watford blog then I'd strongly advise you to check out the guys at From The Rookery End who don't only blog but podcast too.  The old favourite bhappy is always worth a read and give the new kid on the block a try And It Was All Yellow.

Come on you 'Orns!

All the best,

hb.

And It Was All Yellow

http://jfreedman1993.blogspot.com/

Another Watford blog to spend time browsing when you really should be doing some work. 'And it was all yellow' has just been started by an occasionally suicidal teenage ST holder.

A great first post about the World Cup, especially the comment about ringing up someone with Sky+.  I look forward to reading his thoughts about the 'Orns when the season gets going.

Borehamwood 0 Watford 5

Flamin' Nora.  The first game of pre-season, the first proper football for two months and I end up missing it because of a car problem.  Thanks to the hot weather for that one.  It was one of the few pre-seasons I could get to as well.  Hope this isn't a sign of things to come.  

However, a good win for the first half team, and a decent run out for the reserves + Doyley, who always seems to get lumped in with the less experienced boys at this time of year.  Great that Buckley got a hat-trick because from his brief appearances last season I was slightly worried he was one of those that wasn't quite sure where the goal was.  Hopefully he won't do a Liam Henderson and only ever perform at Meadow Park.  

My son looked through the other results and pointed out that we were the days world champions as no other team playing managed a plus five goal difference, not even the Germans.  I reckon that can be classed as successful start for the team, even though it wasn't for me.

Big Game of the Weekend

Not the one in Soccer City on Sunday but Meadow Park, Borehamwood tomorrow.  I can't wait.

BOOOOOOOOOO!

I usually disagree with everything thats comes out of Alan Green's mouth but I reckon he is bang on the money today.  This from the BBC World Cup Live feed...

Contributor BBC Radio 5 live's Alan Green "I hope the players are embarrassed and slink away in misery. And in economy class. But I fear they'll just jet off to Barbados, and it will all be a vague memory to them in a few weeks - unless the English public remind them. They should be booed onto the pitch at the friendly against Hungary in August."


I was considering going to the Hungary game.  And then yesterday evening discounted the idea as stupid, but I think he's just sold it to me again. 

Fantastic News

No, not England finishing runners-up in the most piss easy group ever.

But Clap Your Hands Stamp Your Feet is coming back for a one off special!!!

http://fromtherookeryend.blogspot.com/2010/06/clap-your-hands-stamp-your-feet-returns.html

Back around the turn of the Millennium Watford fanzines seemed so numerous there was almost a new one every game.  Well, okay that's a bit of an exaggeration but with Clap, The Yellow Experience and the short lived All Watford All Lovin' It there was always plenty to read on a matchday that wasn't just the programme.

When GT announced his retirement they all got together to do a special tribute publication and this led to a regular mega-fanzine called Look At The Stars which was quite brilliant.  It sadly died sometime after the Vialli fiasco (I'm sure it's another thing we can blame him for).  Even so, I still look out optimistically on a matchday when I walk past the hospital to see if any-one is selling it, or any other Watford related unofficial mag.

So its fantastic news that Clap will be back at the beginning of the season.

Whilst I'm plugging I must give a huge and very much overdue shout out to the 'From the Rookery End' podcast.

http://rookery.receptionmedia.com/audio/podcast-2010-05-25-94463.mp3

It is marvellous and very professionally done and even has decent jingles.  It certainly doesn't sound like one of those podcasts recorded in someone's bedroom.  I look forward to hearing many more of them.

FIFA unveil 2014 World Cup Ball

Due to the Latin American connection the new FIFA World Cup ball for the 2014 tournament in Brazil has been named Dora.

FIFA thought the financial opportunities it presented, with millions of pre-school age kids around the world expected to nag their parents to get one, outweighed the fact that it moves with the lightest gust of wind and bounces more than a Portsmouth cheque.

A Bit Pants? Review of the Season

The aim was to write this before the end of May, then before the World Cup and finally before the fixtures came out as otherwise its relevance would have diminished completely.

So the season. How was it? Well my gut reaction is a bit pants really. No cup highlights, with any excitement only really being generated by the successful fight against relegation.

However taken in the context of the position with which our club found its self in we didn't do badly at all. Consider that we had bickering major shareholders some of whom took us to the brink of administration before Christmas. We sold our best striker and defender before August was out. We had to play some very very inexperienced squad members and had a rookie manager. Therefore 16th is very respectable.

The high points came on those unlikely footballing days of Friday, the 4-1 win against Sheffield Wednesday, and Monday, the 3-1 win over QPR featuring THAT goal. We saved them specially for the nice men from Sky. Remember the time back in the 90's when we went a ridiculous amount of games without winning a live TV match? It seems a long long time ago now. A mention should also go to the unlikely 1-1 draw at home to West Brom which was completely unexpected and the 3-0 win against Reading which ensured survival. What a great shame they weren't still being managed by Judas.

The low points came in a number of heavy defeats, the like of which I've never seen us suffer before, even in our two Premiership stints. A 4-0 defeat at home to Cardiff was bad enough but less than a month later we conceded five without reply at The Hawthorns and did it again in the New Year at Chelsea. The inability to take so much as even a point off bottom side Peterborough also comes into this category.


The real star was Tom Cleverley who throughly deserved the Player of the Season award, although its a bit sad that the prize goes to a kid on loan from Man U rather than someone who is genuinely one of our own (although I bet we’re not far off a loanee of the season award). The reason Tom really deserved it was that he put his heart and soul into our club from day one. Unlike some other loanees who look like they’d rather be anywhere than playing in front of the East Stand (Cathcart, Bridcutt, Agbonlahor.) Cleverley seemed proud to wear our shirt, and we were proud to call him ours, even though we all knew it was only a temporary thing. Saddest sight of the season was the premature ending of his loan spell with his broken leg against West Brom. I hope some-one told him of the reaction he got as he was stretched off as I doubt he was in a state to appreciate it.

John Eustace kind of won the honour of contracted Watford player of the season with his victory in the players player award and the reaction from the fans about the news he has signed a new contract. The turnaround in him being generally derided to becoming a must stay player is incredible. Usually it takes a season to do this as in the case of Gavin Mahon or Marcus Gayle. However as late on as the first half of the home Plymouth game he was getting chants of Useless from the Upper Rous. However his performances against Reading and Coventry seem to have won everyone over.

Personally I’d give the award to Lloyd Doyley but then I’ll admit to being a big fan. He’d get it not just for the goal but for the complete commitment he puts in to every performance. We all know he’s not the best player in the world but he plays each and every game the same way and to a team like ours that is just as important. I was delighted he came second in the player of the season and hope he goes one better next year.

Scott Loach deserves a mention for his decision to stay with us in the New Year rather than cash in on a big money move to Spurs, although now I slightly wonder whether he and we might have missed the boat. I like Scott, I really do, but sometimes I can’t believe he is the best under 21 year old England have got. Given England’s current predicament with Robert Green I don’t feel particularly inspired for the future. If we hadn’t been through the Richard Lee experience I’d expect us to try and persuade Scott to stay for another year to get more games at this level under his belt before he tries his luck with a Premiership team. However remember that once Lee was touted as being the next great keeper so much so that Blackburn took him on loan. I wonder whether we should cash in our wonder boy when we next get the chance.

Finally to Malky. At times he frustrated with odd or late substitutions and confused us, and probably the entire squad, when he took Ryan Noble on loan. However as a first time manager I guess it’s to be expected he’ll make some mistakes. But he carried himself with the dignity and poise of someone who’d had far more experience than a short caretaker spell in charge. In fact, he reminded me with his considered responses and frequent communications to the fans, of our current chairman and I don’t think I can pay him any higher compliment.

Of course, the fact that he kept us up was all he was ever going to be judged on. With more sales and cost cutting to come, the same is likely to be true of every future season he can keep us at this level.

Cheerio

I started to write this on the day we announced they were going but only got round to finishing it today.

Sad, but rather predictable news about those out of contract who are leaving the Vic.

Richard Lee
The most lovely bloke you could have in your side and not at all a bad keeper either. Certainly not in the Ben Foster ranks, but certainly good enough to deserve getting a few seasons as a club's No.1 keeper. He was very unfortunate that for various reasons that never really happened at the Vic and has been extremely tolerant and loyal not moving before now. I really hope he goes on to shine so brightly at Brentford that its not long before the various Watford manager's who overlooked him regret not including him in their plans.

Jay DeMerit
The beginning of his association with Watford came at the humble surroundings of an Isthmian League side and will end at the World Cup. In between he quickly established himself in our side, helped gain promotion to the Premiership and became captain putting in some brilliant performances. Probably at his weakest when he was alongside someone less experienced than himself its a great shame we won't get to see him continue to forge a solid partnership with Martin Taylor.

Jon Harley
We'll all miss Harley. Not just his experience and skill but the fact he had the best Watford chant since Moons, always played with a smile on his face and was great at winding up the opposition. He might not have been as fast as he once was, but as a second half replacement for a knackered Cowie, Cleverley or Lansbury he was invaluable.

Will Hoskins
A bit like Richard Lee he's had to face the reality of not being fancied by three Watford managers. However whereas Rich's lack of first team opportunity was down to many factors Will really only has himself to blame. He had a lot of opportunities to cement his place in the team but didn't really take any of them. The fact he's been let go when we are desperately short of goalscorers says it all.


All the best to them all and also Jonathon North, Billy Gibson and Lewis Young.

New Shirt Unveiled

Elton gave a sneak peak at the concert but finally a pic has appeared on the official site.  I think it looks good.  Kind of a updated reverse of the 97/8 stripe.

Sarries

http://www.watfordfc.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,10400~2059633,00.html

Bloody wonderful news today about us breaking the agreement with Saracens.  I really hope its not re-negotiated.

We should go back to having a half decent pitch from 2011/12 and please can the reserves start playing again at the Vic rather than the extra 15 minutes round the M25 in Borehamwood?

Multi-tasking- Coventry City 0 Watford 4

A great game to listen to, although I will confess to multi-tasking as I was also watching Liverpool-Chelsea on the telly and Wednesday-Palace on the computer.

Four-nil away!  Was the last time that happened against that Conference lot up the road?  Great for Danny Graham to get two more.  Quite harshly treated at some points this season, to end up with 14 isn't a bad haul for his first time in the Championship.  Be great if he could press on for 20+ next season.  Good on Marvin as well to open his account.  Is he the answer to the reliable striking sub Malky has been looking for?

As with last season, history will eventually make out we did okay finishing outside of the bottom third of the table.  Only those with good memories will recall just how closely we flirted with that 22nd spot.

Coventry City v Watford- Previously...

We've visited Coventry 39 times of which we've won 14, drawn 7 and lost 18, scoring 43 goals and conceding 62.  Our first visit to Highfield Road was back on New Year's Day 1927 when we went down 5-1.  This will be our fourth time at the Coventry Tesco that also happens to house their football team.  It is the most depressingly sponsored ground I've ever been to.  Watford fans sit in the charmingly named Jewson stand.  Our record at the Ricoh is won 2, lost 1.  If you've got a Tesco clubcard make sure you take it along as you can scan it at the turnstiles to get extra points.

Last time we were there was the penultimate weekend of last season, when we needed a point to be safe and came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 with goals from Smith, Raziak and Priskin.  This season we met them back at the end of September when our team was ravaged by injuries and a vomiting bug.  We still played well but went down 3-2, Cleverley and Hoskins scoring for us.

Coventry are currently 16th on 54 points and will finish in the bottom half of the Championship for the fourth successive season.  At home they've won 8, drawn 9 and lost 5.  However they've not won at the Ricoh since the end of February when they beat Scunny 2-1.  They've drawn their last two games 1-1, home to Preston two weeks ago and at Middlesbrough last weekend.

Jack Cork, who played for them against us in September, is no longer there on loan preferring Premiership experience with Burnley.  Their only Watford link is Assistant Manager Steve 'in a cup' Harrison.  Was that something he ever did with us or was it something he learnt at Millwall?

By the way, I might have dreamt that bit about the clubcard so I wouldn't actually bother.

A Bit of Luck- Watford 3 Reading 0

It didn't bode well when one of our mascots tripped and fell just as they were all running off the pitch and departed in tears.  In the opening exchanges we looked a little too desperate and kept making mistakes and giving away the ball.  There was much huffing and puffing in the Upper Rous and it didn't take long for a few 'sort it outs' to be yelled.  A long afternoon appeared to beckon. 

Then came the penalty decision.  It looked a cast iron one, far more so than on Tuesday night.  Taylor unfortunately always looks like the guilty party in any challenge being twice the size of everyone else, but this time it was obvious that he'd hauled over the Reading player.  The ref was in a good position to see it, following the play just outside the area.  We all waited for his arm to go up and indicate the inevitable, which had it gone in, given our absymal record at coming back into games, probably would've been it and meant a nervous trip to Coventry awaited.

But, hold on.  What had just occurred?  That thing that deserted us many many moons ago whose name we've almost forgotten.  It was a bit of luck.  The ref impausably indicated no penalty, play continued and we went down their end and Graham headed in.  Given our excellent record at winning games where we've gone ahead suddenly all was wonderful, sunlit and golden. 

We easily held Reading off until half time and then, just to ensure they didn't react to any half time pep talk Helguson scored within a minute of the restart.  For the first time in absoultely ages it became clear we were going to be able to sit back and really enjoy a game of football featuring Watford without any worries. Reading looked like a team who weren't really that bothered anyway but to be fair to us we looked like a team who weren't going to give anything away even if they were.

Graham then scored a sublime goal to make it three and was very unfortunate not to get two more.  Sordell replaced Helguson who got a standing ovation for possibly his last appearance at the Vic in a Watford shirt and Bennett replaced Hodson.  If I was Malky I would've taken Lansbury off just before the end so we could've shown him our appreciation too.  Rather overshadowed by his mate from Man U, Angela has still been one of the reasons we've escaped the drop and deserves to take some of the applause himself. 

As is the custom now, the players and their kids walked round the pitch at the end thanking us as much as we were thanking them.  It's in those moments I know just how much I love this football club.  Yes, it been a long rocky road this season and its not all been fun, but I was bloody proud of them following that display. We may have no money, the future isn't that bright but when its matters the playing staff of our club are bothered and we can't really ask anymore than that.

Watford v Reading

Bugger the usual stats.  Its not about them.  Neither is it about Wednesday or Palace.  Or any connections we might have with the Royals. 

Tomorrow its all about us.  Its in our hands.  We control our own destiny.  A win, three points is all we need.  Lets all do our bit to ensure we get them. 

COME ON!!!!!

New Hornblogger Poster Unveiled

Thanks to my mate Laurence for creating this on Andy Barefoot's excellent site.  I wonder how much it would cost to put it up on the poster site opposite the Vic?  To make one yourself click here

London- Queens Park Rangers 1 Watford 0

Is it a requirement of every London team to play 'London Calling' before the game? Is it meant to intimidate the opposition, or is it just meant to prove how Cockney the home side is?  We had it at Chelsea and QPR went one better by following it up with "I've been thinking about you" by Londonbeat at half time.  Clever that, two references to London when you play in the capital.  Maybe we should only play songs with the word 'heart' in them. 

Also, were the pictures of Lee Cook in the programme meant to wind us up?  The editor had adopted the porn mag practise of featuring Cook not only on the front cover but also in the centre pages as well, clothed fortunately.  He told us how much he loved Rangers and that he likes playing against us.  Yes okay mate, we know.  Its getting boring now.  In fact I think it would be fun next time he faces us if we all just completely ignored him.  No boo's, no chants.  Now I bet that would wind him up. 

All this is a good way of not mentioning anything about the game because it was as predictable as all our recent away matches have been  We didn't get going properly until the second half by which time we were already playing catch up, Marriappa having conceded a penalty towards the end of the first.  I haven't seen it again so can't really say if it was as unfair as we all made out, but either way it's not the first time Adrian M has given one away and he must learn to be more careful with his challenges in the box. 

Our first half performance was especially frustrating because when you only need three points to be safe you'd expect us to come flying out of the blocks and QPR didn't really look bothered. Maybe they'd read Warnock's programme notes in which he revealed that most of them are unlikely to be there come August. It was certainly the least 'Colin' like performance from one of his teams I can ever remember. The man himself even remained calm and serene when John Eustace's winding up came to fruition yet again towards the end of the game and potential fisticuffs seemed likely.

Dale Bennett was fantastic again, and I've no idea why he should have made way at half time, although it was good to see Lloyd back who I would've played up front given his goalscoring prowess against QPR.

Marvin Sordell, who came on for McGinn, was up front and looked good.  He's certainly got pace which is more than you can say for Liam Henderson.  Not so good was the introduction of Michael Bryan for the last ten minutes.  Again he's fast and twice raced to the byline only to allow the ball to go out for a goal kick, which I don't think would've been the case if Hoskins had come on. 

We were much better in the second half and did create chances but, yet again, the luck wasn't with us.  It was a depressing evening all in all.  I can't really see us going down with the games Palace and Wednesday have got this weekend.  But it's very frustrating to see us failing to grasp the chances to save ourselves.

On the tube back R's fans were excitedly talking about next season and who Warnock would bring in over the summer.  It was hard not to be envious.  Whichever division we're in very little is likely to change given our current financial situation and its hard to see us doing a Norwich or Leicester even if we do end up in League 1 next season.

Queens Park Rangers v Watford- Previously... (again)

As long as the volcanic ash or any other natural phenomenon doesn't descend on Loftus Road this will be the 59th time we've visited Queens Park Rangers.  We've won 12, drawn 21 and lost 25, scoring 71 goals and conceded 96.

Things have changed at Loftus Road since that rainy night in February when the elements caused the postponement, the most significant of which is that Neil Warnock is now in charge.  Since he took over the R's have won 3, drawn 4 and lost 3.  On Saturday they lost 1-0 at home to Cardiff.

Of their former Horns, Tamas Priskin has started the last two games for Rangers, whilst Lee Cook has warmed the bench.  Still no sign of Gavin Mahon who is either injured or isn't in Colin's plans.

H won't be able to play for us as he's ineligible to meet his parent club.  Be interesting to see if Colin likes the look of him once his loan spell is up.

A Tough Run In- Leicester City 4 Watford 1

It was very frustrating to hear how bad the ref was and that two of their four were conceded when we had a man advantage.   But I didn't really expect much out of this one and, looking ahead, I don't really like the look of our run in at all.

QPR might be having yet another bad spell but Tuesday night will be as tough as Warnock games always are.  He has already managed a 3-0 win over us with his other London team back in November.

Reading are rejuvenated since ditching Rodgers and could still squeak into the playoffs with a minor miracle.  Hopefully they will come to the Vic with nothing to play for and McAnuff won't inspired when we start singing rude songs about him.  As we're at home I reckon we've got a chance but again it'll be a tough game.

We always seem to do well at the Ricoh and guaranteed survival there last season.  Our future is probably going to be decided there again which maybe bodes well as we've beaten Coventry twice in three meetings at their new ground.  But they beat us earlier in the season at the Vic and, again, I can't help feeling the phrase 'tough' can be applied to this one as well.

So I think a lot of the remainder of the season is going to be about hoping other teams lose rather than relying on those in yellow to get three points.  Here are how the remaining games pan out for those most likely to still be battling to avoid 22nd until the bitter end.

Scunthorpe  (50 points, three games remaining)
Tuesday  v Reading (home)
Sat 24 April  v Doncaster (away)
Sun 2 May  v Forest (home)

Watford  (48 points, three games remaining)
Tuesday  v QPR (away)
Sat 24 April  v Reading (home)
Sun 2 May  v Coventry (away)

Palace  (47 points, two games remaining)
Mon 26 April  v West Brom (home)
Sun 2 May  v Sheffield Wednesday (away)

Sheffield Wednesday (45 points, three games remaming)
Sunday  v Sheffield United (home)
Sat 24 April  v Cardiff  (away)
Sun 2 May  v Crystal Palace  (home)

I think we could end up at the Ricoh with our ears pressed against radios listening more keenly to what's going on at Hillsborough than the game going on in front of us.  Let's hope not.

Leicester City v Watford- Previously...

This will be the 25th away meeting for Watford against Leicester City, or the Fosse as they were when we went there for the first time back in 1909 and lost 3-1 in the FA Cup.  We've won just three times, drawn 9 and lost 12, scoring 29 and conceding 53.  The wins came in 1987, 1992 and 2004. 

Our last meeting in Leicestershire was a rather bizarre affair.  Aidy's post Premiership season had started very well and we went to the Walkers unbeaten only to go down 4-1 to Martin Allen's side.  He was sacked as a result (Allen, not Aidy!!)

Earlier this season Leicester's visit coincided with the second coming of H when he came on as a second half substitute to turn around a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead before going off injured.  We then conceded in the last minute to share the points. 

Leicester looked like cruising into the playoffs with no problems before having a wobble at the end of March which looked like letting in Ian Holloway's Blackpool.  However they've recovered in their last two matches beating QPR 4-0 at home and Peterborough 2-1 away. 

They'll have added incentive to try and win tomorrow as Blackpool have a tough game against Forest whilst Middlesbrough who could still mathematically make the top six go to West Brom.  If both lose and Leicester win they'll be confirmed a place at the end of season party. 

At our end of the table Palace go to Derby, Scunny are home to Bristol City and Wednesday host United for the Steel City bragging rights on Sunday. 

Mike Keen Charity Cup- Wycombe Legends 4 All Star XI 5

I thoroughly enjoyed an evening at Adams Park especially watching Moons score a hat-trick (which I don't think I've ever seen before).  He still very much has 'it' and could easily be doing a job for someone.  I'd much rather see him come on for us with 20 minutes to go than Liam Henderson, for example.  In much the same way if Gianfranco Zola wants to solve West Ham's problem he should just look in the mirror.  He was breathtakingly fantastic even taking into account the slow nature of the defence he was up against.  He played like a Harlem Globetrotter showing off remarkable skill at keeping the ball and hit some sublime efforts at goal, two of which went in.

Malky was one of the few who played the full 90 minutes and was the same as ever.  Solid, dependale and hilariously taking it all so seriously that he gave the linesman what for on more than one occassion.  It was good to see Alec back between the sticks.  He made a few decent saves and wasn't really to blame for any of the Wycombe goals, all of which were just as fine as those scored by the All Stars. 

The game was a fitting tribute to Mike Keen, with all money raised going to Cancer Research UK.

During the game I wondered how come the pitch at Adams Park is so fine and so green that it could be entered in a Gardener's World competition.  It must get just as much use as ours so why does ours looks like a herd of cows regularly lives on it?  However they might have the pitch but never the weather.  Even on a clear spring evening Adams Park still manages to be the coldest ground in the south.  In the second half some of the crowd were huddled under blankets to keep themselves warm. 

One problem we both have is that of the erratic scoreboard.  The final score was recorded in algerba as their scoreboard read y-5 after 90 minutes.  Ours seems to struggle to cope with a game that has one goal in it, so it would still probably be trying now to correctly reflect a 5-4 scoreline.  Don't these things come with receipts or guarantees?

Malky, Alec and Tommy Mooney Playing Tomorrow

I'm really surprised there hasn't been anything about this on the OS.

Tomorrow night at Adams Park there's a charity match in memory of former Watford and Wycombe manager Mike Keen.  A Wycombe Wanderers legends XI will face an All Star XI.  Lining up for the Chairboys will be Sir Tommy Mooney.  Amongst the lesser stars for the All Stars will be Malky and Alec Chamberlain.  They'll be playing alongside Gianfranco Zola, Teddy Sheringham, Gus Poyet, Clive Allen and Alan Pardew.

More info is available on the Wycombe website.

A Poor Standard- Watford 1 Plymouth Argyle 0

I walked into the Vic to the sound of 'Teenage Kicks' and feared this was some comment on the team we were putting out.  I was even more concerned to see some tiny kids milling around by the tunnel in their Watford kits and assumed this was the bench.  But actually the team we put out was pretty standard apart from the lack of expensive Premiership loanees. 

However it was a poor standard that looked much more League 1 than Championship.  It shows how much we've come to rely on the young stars of the division above.  If you strip them away and throw in a couple of injuries then we're very very average.  Plymouth were worse.  They didn't go into the game looking like they believed they had any chance of avoiding the drop, although maybe that's fair enough considering they've still got Newcastle and Forest to come. 

But its concerning that we just beat them and nothing more.  This wasn't a performance to warm the heart.  It wasn't anything like West Brom.  We had a couple of good chances which we failed to score from, Graham hiting the post and H shooting over from a couple of yards out, but had to rely on a rather ridiculous goal which was handed to H when a Plymouth defender failed to clear.  

Scott Loach had very little to do all afternoon, partly because the excellent Dale Bennett was so good at ensuring the Plymouth attack never got a proper sight on goal.  He looks like he's going to steal the young player of the year crown from Lee Hodson when he's played far fewer games.  Hodson was okay, but not as self assured as he'd been earlier in the season.  DeMerit and Mariappa did fine but then you'd expect that against a side so bad. 

The midfield was far more obvious than usual in its attempts to feed the ball up to H and Danny Graham.  For some of the afternoon you might have thought Hoofers was back in charge.  Eustace continued to excel in his role as winder up in chief, Jenkins display won't keep Lansbury out of the side once his suspension is over. McGinn looks like he's got potential.  I used to think that about Cowie but anything he brings to the team seems to evaporate the moment he is either challenged, or has to make a challenge.

Danny Graham had his best game for a while.  He might not be our 20 goal a game striker but his work rate is exceptional.  He didn't stop running all afternoon and rightly kept pressuring the dodgy looking Plymouth keeper.  H, however, just looks tired.  It was great he scored but there were times when he lost the ball and didn't bother to try and win it back again.  He doesn't look himself and the end of the season probably can't come quick enough for him.  I don't think it will be long before he's joining the likes of Mooney in the 3CR commentary box. 

Malky could be critisized for not making substitutions again, but possibly this was because of the injury/suspension situation.  H came off after about 80 minutes to be replaced by Liam Henderson.  Despite his recent hat-trick in the reserves he still doesn't look ready to be challenging for a regular first team place, which makes me wonder how bad Ryan Noble must be. 

It would be very dangerous for us to go away from this game thinking everything will be okay now, even though all the results went for us.  We'll need to improve massively if we're to get anything from Leicester, QPR, Reading and Coventry.  Luckily Lansbury will be back but we need more West Brom type displays from the rest if they don't want to risk playing Plymouth again next season. 

Watford v Plymouth Argyle- Previously...

Plymouth.  A side I would've expected us to have a fairly good record against, especially at home.  But no, in 32 home meetings we've managed 11 wins, 6 draws and 15 losses, scoring 37 and conceding 43.  Our last home victory was in August 2004 when Ray Lewington's side won 3-1 with goals from Neal Ardley and two from Danny Webber.

Of course we do seem to beat them when it matters.  Wednesday will be the 26th anniversary of our only victory in an F.A Cup Semi-Final when we won 1-0 against the Pilgrims at Villa Park courtesy of George Reilly's 7th minute header.  It was a goal that would eventually cost him part of his ear (or so he claims). 

Last time at the Vic we lost 2-1 back in September 2008, although having just re-read my comments it seems decades ago.  JJOT scored our goal late on.  In September 2009 we went to Home Park and won 1-0 with Tom Cleverley scoring after 4 minutes.  The result put us up to 6th.  That seems years ago too. 

Plymouth are currently 23rd in the table with 41 points from 42 games.  Their away record reads won 6, drawn 2, lost 13 and they've won their last two on the road, 2-0 at Ipswich and 2-1 at Doncaster last Saturday.  On Easter Monday they lost 2-0 at home to Middlesbrough who are having a big impact on proceedings at the bottom as they next host Sheffield Wednesday tomorrow. 

A win for us and Plymouth are virtually gone as they still have to face Newcastle and Forest.  Lose and we bury ourselves much deeper in the mire.  I cannot fathom what sort of team Malky is going to be able to put out.  I just hope they've still got the same Easter Monday vibe going on.

Tom Cleverley

Very sad, but not surprised, to hear that his season is over.

All the best, Tom.  Thanks for everything you did for us.  You're guaranteed to get a warm reception whenever you return to Vicarage Road.

A Team Performance- Watford 1 West Bromwich Albion 1

Having said on Tuesday night that it was important to maintain perspective when all I really wanted to do was say 'what the bloody hell was that', similarly I think the same is true now when all I can think of are superlatives for the overall team effort.

I can't remember the last time I'd less looked forward to a Watford game, or the last time I walked away from the Vic feeling so proud.  Whatever Malky said to them this time it really worked.  They did sweat for the shirt for the entire 96 minutes, and 'they' weren't anything like our best 14 from our very small squad.  It was very much a team performance but I can't resist picking some of them for special mentions.

Dale Bennett, as with earlier in the season, showed that he is just as good as any other central defender at the club.  There were a couple of times when he was the player to put in the decisive tackle when Mariappa and DeMerit had tried and failed.  If I was Martin Taylor or Jay I'd be seriously worried about keeping my place in the side.  

Adrian Mariappa.  Is he trying to emulate Lloyd?  He had that great chance in the first half that Carson tipped over the bar and then a superman style shot in the second that he struck so hard Carson visibly shook his hands in pain after saving it.  A most welcome and unexpected new attacking option.

John Eustace, lots of fun to watch at the moment especially his cheeky wrestling match in the first half.  He must have known he wasn't going to get anywhere with it and was going in the book.  But it was worthwhile as it eventually resulted in three West Brom players joining him for their protests.  He seems to know just how far he can go in winding up the opposition before getting into serious trouble.  

Danny Graham.  I think very unfairly picked out by a small section of supporters as being one to blame for something or other over the last couple of months, yet this was his 10th goal of the campaign.  He's kept plugging away, making himself awkward and struck what would be goal of the season if the voting hadn't already closed.  

And, of course, Tom Cleverley.  If that's it then its a horrible way to end his Watford career.  I hope we get another chance to say thank you, because he has been a constant shining light through a fair amount of gloom this season and without him we'd be in a far worse position than 21st.  

All in all very heartening, especially coming away feeling bitter at having only taken a point when beforehand we would've taken it without thinking.

Watford v West Bromwich Albion- Previously...

This will be the 18th time West Brom have visited Vicarage Road.  We've won 7 games, drawn 3 and lost 7, scoring 25 and conceding 21.  Our first meeting at the Vic was on a wonderful afternoon in early September 1982 when we won 3-0 to go top of the old Division One.

Last time at home was not so wonderful when we lost by the same score to the Baggies in Nov 2007.  Even worse, in our last meeting at the Hawthorns we went down 5-0 in a Halloween horror show.

West Brom are on the brink of the Premiership again.  They are currently 2nd with 82 points from 41 games.  If they pick up three points tomorrow and Nottingham Forest lose to Cardiff they'll be promoted.  Luckily the Forest game is a 5.15pm kick off so at least we won't be witnesses to the confirmation.  Away from home West Brom have won 9, drawn 8 and lost 3, less than they've lost at home.  Their last defeat was 3-0 at QPR at the beginning of March.  To stack the odds against us even more they'll have fresher legs than us as they last played on Good Friday when they won 3-0 at home to Leicester.

Still No Luck- Preston North End 1 Watford 1

It was said on Tuesday night by a bloke in front of me how nothing is going for us currently and that it will probably cost us our place in the Championship.  I'm not sure luck alone can be blamed but its true that we haven't had any at all recently.

Todays reports again tell that we should've had a penalty and of a goal disallowed.  Nevertheless, its still an unexpected and welcome result.  Its disappointing, of course, that Palace and Wednesday matched it and that Plymouth won.  Our game with them next Saturday now becomes far more significant than we would've wished.

Still no sign of Ryan Noble today.  As Cowie wasn't on the doubtful starters list beforehand I guess he's seen as being partly to blame for Tuesday's second half debacle.   Moons was saying on 3CR how tired Helguson looked.  Good that Will Buckley got what will hopefully be the first of many goals this season.

With DeMerit missing today, Taylor now injured and Lansbury serving a two match ban, Monday's game has become slightly more interesting just to see what sort of team we put out.  Victory will almost put West Brom up so they'll arrive in party mode.  It would be so lovely to be the poopers but I can't really see it.  In the other games Palace are home to Preston, Plymouth welcome Middlesbrough and Wednesday host Bristol City.

Preston North End v Watford- Previously...

If you don't want to be anymore depressed than you already are then don't watch West Brom v Leicester like I am at the moment.  Currently, Easter Monday's fixture appeals as much as an emergency visit to the dentist. I'd also advise against reading the second paragraph of this preview as it doesn't make encouraging reading at all.

We've visited Deepdale 19 times and have won just twice.  Once in an FA Cup 3rd round replay back in 1950 when we won 1-0 and then again in 1979 in the old Division 2 when we came away with a 2-1 victory.  We've drawn 5 times and lost 12, scoring 18 goals and conceding 35.

Last season we lost 2-0 in Lancashire when Aidy was still in charge.  The last time we got anything at all out of a visit to Preston was in 2005/6 when we drew 1-1.  Earlier this season we won 2-0 at the Vic with goals from Heidar and Cleverley.

Preston are currently 15th with 49 points from 40 games.  At home they've won won 8, drawn 9 and lost just 3, against Reading, Newcastle and Barnsley.  Their last win was at home to Forest on 13th March when they won 3-2.  Since then they've drawn 2-2 at home to both QPR and Sheffield Wednesday and lost away at West Brom and Middlesbrough.

Over-reacting- Watford 1 Crystal Palace 3

After these sort of games over-reaction is an easy thing to fall in to.  So I'll try and stay on the right side of rationality. 

As I wrote in an earlier post Palace are not your usual relegation fodder kettle of fish.  They are only in the bottom three having fallen foul of this stupid rule that deems it acceptable that something that happens in the boardroom can have a bearing on a competition which otherwise uses football matches as its way of determining the order of things.  Therefore we shouldn't see this in quite the same way as losing at home to Peterborough.

After all, for 49.9% of the match we were the better team.  I can't remember a more bold and effective first half performance.  We hit the post, the bar and had the officials not been incompetent in the extreme would've had one, if not two penalties.  Our defence went to sleep for a few seconds and as soon as you spotted the big figure of Stern John free in our 6 yard box it was obvious that Palace were going to score a very undeserved goal. 

At half time one would expect the manager to say all the right things about keeping going, staying alert and generally encouraging his players to continue in the same vein and that something will eventually happen.  I'm sure Malky did this.  But he must accept that whatever it was he said it seriously didn't get through.  He must find a way of ensuring that for the remaining 7 games we never again get a 45 minutes like the one we did when the players reemerged. 

He must also realise his own responsibility in being able to change what's happening on the pitch.  We appreciate he can't kick or header every ball but he could've acted far far earlier than he did and with much more impact in the second half.  The time to act was after that second goal.  It needed a big response that said we're not accepting this in the way GT did so famously all those years ago against Tranmere.  Waiting until we were 3 down was akin to giving up.  The crowds reaction to Danny Graham replacing Don Cowie spoke volumes through its muted response.  None of us believed it was going to make a difference. 

What we needed was an impact player, just as Middlesbrough had with Leroy Lita on Saturday.  I know we have very limited options but what about Heidar?  Unfortunately he's beginning to look like the slightly older footballer we all know he's become but don't want to believe.  So rather than flogging him to death every game lets keep him back and bring him on for those grandstand finishes that I'm sure he still has the strength and energy to conjure up.  Remember how he changed that game against Leicester?  That was what we needed. 

Its been much said already but why have Ryan Noble on loan if we aren't using him, particularly in a situation like Tuesday night.  Otherwise just what situation have we got him in on an emergency loan for, when we're a couple of goals up to come on for a cameo?  The only reason I can think that he hasn't featured is that he actually isn't as good as Malky was led to believe.  If that is the case then a serious word needs to be had with whoever scouted him because we really don't need to be looking after another teams young kid at such a crucial stage of the season. 

The worst bit about Tuesday was the reaction of Palace when we finally did score.  They were worried, really worried even though they only had seven minutes to hang on.  They didn't believe they could do it.  Unfortunately neither did we.

Watford v Crystal Palace- Previously...

This will be the 52nd time Watford have hosted Palace in a competitive game.  We've won 24 of these, drawn 13 and lost 14, scoring 87 goals and conceding 71.

Last season they came to the Vic twice in just over a month and both times went away empty handed.  We beat them 4-3 in the FA Cup and then 2-0 in the League with goals from Don Cowie and Jose Fonte putting through his own net.  Earlier on this season we went to Selhurst and lost 3-0. 

Palace are currently 22nd with 39 points from 39 games however they were deducted 10 points for going into administration in Janaury.  Neil Warnock left a month later to join QPR.  They won their first match with Paul Hart in charge, 1-0 against Sheffield United. Since then its all gone wrong as they've lost to Bristol City, Leicester and Cardiff at home, whilst on their travels they've drawn at Barnsley and Blackpool and lost at Forest.  Their overall away record this season is won 5, drawn 9, lost 5.

Shooooot!- Watford 1 Middlesbrough 1

Can we have Graham come out and give a little pep talk every game? It was especially pleasing that it didn't even seem to be completely 'on message'. Was the bit about shooting a very small dig at Malky and his team? GT's philosophy was always get the ball in the box as often as possible and shoot because you're more likely to score goals (sounds obvious really). This is why I was surprised at what seemed to be GT's whole hearted endorsement of the Rodgers regime when it involved taking free kicks backwards and the like.

Malky hasn't gone down quite the same road but we still pass the ball sideways far too much for my liking. So GT's request for us to yell 'Shoot' at any player nearing the box, not just Lloyd, was most welcome and even better, the players responded to it.

Eustace was the most effective with his long range lob going in.  It was overly harsh when he tried a couple more of these sort of things in the second half that much abuse was shouted at him from the Rous (by people clearing not listening to GT). I don't mind a player occasionally shooting and hitting row Z if they also occasionally hit the back of the net.

Will Buckley made his debut and a storming one it was too.  Okay, it was slightly difficult to judge just how good he was seeing as Middlesbrough only gave him a few seconds on the ball before hacking him over every time, but the fact they felt it necessary is encouraging.

Overall, it was a good team display and one that certainly wasn't that of a team who are one of the worst three in the division.  So how do we find ourselves in a situation where we're still one of the major contenders in the dogfight?  I think the answer was on the back of the programme.  In place of the depressing league table they'd printed clubs in order of average points gained when taking the lead.  We were 5th, just below Newcastle and West Brom.  Possibly this was the only stat they could come up with that put us this high up the table but it also explains much about our current plight.  The confidence of the team very much depends on who gets the first goal.  If its us then we have the belief to get something out of the game.  If it goes against us then that belief disappears, which explains the hammerings we got against West Brom and Cardiff as well our dreadful away form.

Had Boro scored, as it looked like they might have done a couple of times early on, I reckon we would've have come away very depressed.  Luckily they looked like a team that is already preparing for another season in the Championship.  Only Leroy Lita (who else) looked really bothered and as soon as he came on 5 minutes after half time it was clear he was the one we needed to worry about.  Unfortunately our defence only woke up to this after he'd equalised, but at least they then marked him out of the game.

Palace now decreases ever so slightly in importance on Tuesday.  If we can then come up against other teams who are already looking forward to the summer break we might still be able to finish somewhere slightly more respectable than 21st.

A Message from Malky

Had an email today from Malky. Obviously not to me personally, but to all those who have 'Watford in their hearts'. However I've not seen it on the OS so I thought I'd share it here.

I know I've been critical about the whole 'get behind us' thing but fair play to Malky. I do geniunely believe he is 100% committed. None of us want relegation and from kick off for the remaining 9 games I've no doubt the fans and the players will give their all to try and ensure our survival.


Please support us!

I’m writing this message today to everyone with Watford in their hearts. I wanted to communicate with you directly, rather than through the media columns that get reported after every match, to personally ask for your support over the next nine very tough and very crucial games for this Football Club.

I am fully aware of the emotional rollercoaster ride that Watford fans have been on over recent years – some extreme highs and some disappointing lows too. We are coming towards the end of what was always going to be a very difficult season where we have all been involved in transition – on and off the pitch.

My message to you today though is please stick with us and give all your energy to support your team through to the end of the season. The atmosphere at the Ipswich game last Tuesday made a real difference and I thank you for that.

I look at my staff and my players every single day and challenge them to be strong enough to represent this Club. I’ve said from day one that I will not tolerate anyone who doesn’t give everything they’ve got – especially the players who I know are a young, honest group and have truly given 100% in a yellow shirt this year.

I can promise you I will leave no stone unturned to ensure we get the wins needed this season to keep us up. When times are tough supporters will always question the manager and I’m ok with that. I just ask that over the next five home games and four away games you do all you can to fully support the 11 players who are wearing the shirt.

The time really is now. I am 100% committed to you and this Club. This is a fight and we’re in it together.

See you tomorrow.

Malky

Two good articles posted today

One from Sheffield Wednesday's Michael Gray about what's important when you're in the relegation dogfight.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/michaelgray/2010/03/pretty_football_is_not_a_prior.html

The other from the blog Rookery Thoughts about how, even in our current perilous state, we're still pretty well off really. After all, you could support the lot up the road, and I don't mean that in a sarcastic way. I know this won't be the most popular thing I've ever written but bloody hell, talk about being dealt with harshly. A 30 point deduction for the mistakes of someone not even at the club anymore.

http://rookerythoughts.wordpress.com/2010/03/26/the-state-were-in/

Watford v Middlesbrough- Previously...

This will be the 12th time Middlesbrough have visited Vicarage Road. Our home record against them is completely even having won 5, drawn 1 and lost 5, scoring and conceding 13 goals. The first time they came to Hertfordshire was in the Old Division 3 back in October 1966 when we won 2-0.

The last meeting at the Vic was in the Premiership in November 2006 when we won for the first time that season 2-0. A Jonathon Woodgate own goal got us on the way after six minutes and Ashley Young secured the three points in the second half.

Earlier in the season we were the final nail in the coffin of Gareth Southgate's reign as Middlesbrough manager when a Tom Cleverley goal gave us a 1-0 win at the Riverside.

Middlesbrough have not exactly blossomed under new manager Gordon Strachan. They are currently 8th with 53 points from 39 games. Their away record reads won 6, drawn 5, lost 8. You have to go back to 26 January for their last away win, 4-1 at Doncaster. Since then on the road they've drawn with Ipswich and lost at Blackpool, Forest, Cardiff and Derby. Last Saturday they drew 1-1 at home with Reading and on Tuesday night won, again at home, 2-0 to Preston.

A match against Middlesbrough sounds like the perfect opportunity for a young loanee who was born and bred in Sunderland to make a name for himself. Ryan Noble, your newly adopted public awaits.

Dodgy- Sheffield Wednesday 2 Watford 1

Listened to most of the game tonight and it was the usual story (again) of playing well, not deserving to lose, penalty injustices, etc, etc...

Whatever. It is looking dodgy now. Very dodgy. Yes we've got games in hand but I don't much like the look of our run in. I'm not expecting anything out of Saturday. Palace is obviously vital on Tuesday. As relegation battle buddies I don't trust them to do us any favours as they are only down here because of administration.

Preston and then West Brom at home both sound awkward. Plymouth at home is winnable. Then Leicester, QPR, Reading, Coventry. All also sound awkward. So that's one obviously winnable game out of 9. If we are going to avoid the drop we're going to have to pull a couple of surprises out of the bag.

Maybe we need to abandon this policy of playing nice good football and go back to playing some nasty hoofers stuff and grind out a couple of 1-0 wins. It worked for us in 2004/5 albeit with a change of manager. It might not be pretty but its better than the alternative.

Sheffield Wednesday v Watford- Previously...

This will be the 22nd meeting at Hillsborough between Sheffield Wednesday and Watford. Up there we've won 6 times, drawn 5 but lost 10, scoring 25 goals and conceding 36.

We've not been up to The Owls for over 18 months. Our last visit in Sept'08 ended in a 2-0 defeat. Incredibly 9 of the players in our squad of 16 from that day have since moved on. Our last league meeting was one of our finest victories of the season when we took Wednesday apart 4-1 at the Vic in front of the Sky cameras. Mariappa, Lansbury (twice) and Harley scored our goals.

Wednesday look to be in worse trouble than us at the moment, although that perception could radically change after the game. They have 40 points from 38 games, two points less than ourselves but having played two more. At home they've won 7, drawn 4 and lost 8. Their last victory was 2-0 at home to Leicester on 6th March. Since then they've lost away at West Brom and drawn at Swansea, Preston and most recently at home to Derby on Saturday.

This is a game that screams 'six pointer' at you. Looking at our fixtures to come you can't help feeling that we need something out of this even if it's just a point. If not, and Palace and Scunny get results tonight, we could be in the bottom three come 10pm tomorrow.

Same Old Story- Cardiff City 3 Watford 1

I listened to bits of the game on 3 Counties and apparently we had the majority of the possession, Cardiff were fairly awful, we hit the post and had a few glorious chances. However, we still managed to come away without the points.

Oh well, beforehand this wasn't a game I expect any of us really thought we had much likelihood of getting a result from. Wednesday night however is a completely different and much more important proposition.

Cardiff City v Watford- Previously...

This will be the 23rd time Watford have visited Cardiff City. We've won 5, drawn 4 and lost 13, scoring 24 goals and conceding 36. Three of those wins have been in our last four visits.

However our most recent games against The Bluebirds have hopefully been deleted from your memory. Our final visit to Ninian Park saw us go down 2-1 to a 90th minute penalty. At the beginning of October Cardiff came to Vicarage Road and put four past us without reply.

After today's games Cardiff are 6th in the Championship. They've got 55 points from 36 games. Their home record reads won 8, drawn 4, lost 5. They've not played at home since the beginning of the month when they beat Middlesbrough 1-0. Their last three games have all been away. They beat Coventry 2-1 on Tuesday but before that went down to both Leicester and Ipswich.

The last man to score four goals for the Hornets, Michael Chopra, will be available for Dave Jones' side after missing the last two games through suspension. Other old friends include Terry Burton who has been Cardiff's assistant manager for 5 years now. Paul Wilkinson is reserve team manager whilst Neal Ardley looks after their academy.

Giving Us Something To Cheer- Watford 2 Ipswich Town 1

Those who bought it were greeted by loads more 'sticking together' type sentiments in the matchday programme. This is obviously a particular bugbear of the club at the moment. It would be a completely legitmate thing to moan about on this scale if the dissent had reached unrealistic proportions to our current situation. People baying for Malky's head in the way they did Bassett's would be unacceptable right now. But good grief, lose at home to Peterborough and what do you expect??

Also it would be a fair point to make if we had entered into some sort of pact. How about let us in for free and we won't boo? But if you charge us £20 you can't expect us all to come and play the part of Watford cheerleaders.

A very obvious retort to all this is 'give us something to cheer about'. Luckily, from kick off last night, we did get a much improved performance and it fed the crowd who in turn fed the team. Cleverley was very unlucky early on not to put us ahead when a free kick that looked like it was going in got deflected and hit the post. Ten minutes later Lansbury scored from nearly the same position with a free kick which beat everyone and went in.

We continued attacking thoroughout the half most memorably when a Lloyd Doyley stepover and cross set up an H header which hit the post. Had it gone in it would've been goal of the season.

The only real negative point of the half concerned Scott Loach not coming out to collect crosses. He left a questionable one which Taylor got rid off, but minutes later neglected to get one which should have been his comfortably. Communication is clearly something he needs to improve with Taylor and DeMerit because a better side would punish such hestiancy.

You can't treat a Roy Keane team like we did in the first half and not expect a reaction after the break. Unfortunately whilst maybe we were ready for it, we didn't seem to know how to cope with the Ipswich attack, especially down the right flank and so defended deeper and deeper until the inevitable happened.

At 1-1 it would've been easy to capitualte totally and for a while I think we all feared the worst. But Will Hoskins, who started in place of Danny Graham, justfied his inclusion by scoring with a fine strike following a Cleverley cross. He seemed to collapse with the effort of it all straight afterwards but its to his credit he is prepared to run himself into the ground for his team.

In the final ten minutes we still defended far too deep, had too many unpleasant moments and seem to have forgotten completely how to run the ball into the corner and keep it there (could Gifton be the next legend to visit the Vic and maybe give some lessons??), but we hung on and that's what mattered. No boos or dissent at the end. All of us sticking together, but grateful to have had something to cheer.

In Malky's post match comments on the OS he did admit that the fans thoroughly deserved to voice their opinion. But this is something that is probably much easier to say when you've walked in from a standing ovation than to the boos echoing round a half empty stadium.

Watford v Ipswich Town- Previously...

This will be the 30th home encounter for Watford against Ipswich Town. We've won 13 of them, drawn 7 and lost 9, scoring 44 to their 36.

I've just read what I wrote about the previous encounter between us at the Vic and it seems like it happened ten years ago rather than twenty months as it includes such names as Aidy and Poom. We went a goal down early on after a Poom mistake, came back into it when Eustace scored after half time and won it three minutes from time with a JJOT goal.

This season we visited Portman Road in October and drew 1-1 with Nathan Ellington (yes, really) scoring for us in injury time.

Ipswich are currently 17th in the Championship with 44 points, 5 ahead of us although they've played two games more. Away from home they've won 3, drawn 7 and lost 8. They've won their last two games which were both at home, 1-0 against Scunthorpe and 2-0 against Cardiff. They lost their last away game 1-0 at Blackpool.

Misquoting Aristotle- Watford 0 Peterborough United 1

Yes yes. We have to stick together. No booing. Yada yada. Okay, we know. But the very fact people are booing says something is wrong. That the team who are bottom of the table and whose manager considers them relegated, has now done the double over us bellows in an extremely loud way that something is wrong.

It is much said that all you need to survive in this division is to find three teams worse than you. For much of the season we've been comfortably above that threshold. But suddenly form, cohesion and the ability to shoot seem to have deserted us at just the wrong moment, which means a league meeting with Rochdale in the near future doesn't seem to be quite such an unlikely prospect as it was after those fine Tuesday night wins in early February.

I wouldn't usually quote Aristotle but his 'The whole is greater than the sum of its parts' comment applies to this Watford team, only in reverse at the moment. If I consider each player individually I come to the conclusion that we've got enough quality to easily survive in the Championship. Loach, not the finished article yet but capable of making brilliant saves, who should be protected in his more vulnerable moments by the sheer brute force of DeMerit and Taylor in front of him. Mariappa, when he isn't suffering a crisis of confidence, quietly effective at the back and useful going forward. Lloydinho doing the same on the other flank, the Watford player you'd want beside you in the trenches. Tom and Angela, too quick and clever for most in this division. Eustace and Cowie, not in anything like the league of our loanees but always willing to try, always running. H and Graham, the perfect make up of centre forwards, tall enough to win headers but skillful enough to not just rely simply on nodding in crosses. Then add in a supporting cast of Hodson, Jenkins, Harley and Hoskins.

It sounds like a decent enough team. But put them all together and it isn't working. The man responsible for them needs to start coming out publicly with some home truths. I'm sure he is doing this in the dressing room. But to constantly remind us about sticking together is beginning to stick in the throat in the same way Aidy's 'Show your colours' and 'Who are we-Watford' did at the end of the 07/08 season. It sounds as if we're being at least partly blamed for what's going on. What we witnessed yesterday wasn't good enough and Malky needs to come out and say that so we know he is seeing what we see. Not to do so risks the likelihood of more rather than less booing. It also might give the players the kick up the backside they need to start playing as a team again and avoid a trip to Spotland in 2010/11.

Watford v Peterborough United- Previously...

This will be the 16th home meeting for Watford against Peterborough United. Of those meetings we've won 6, drawn 2 and lost 7, scoring 22 and conceding 21. A bit of a surprise as they were one of the teams I would've thought we'd have a positive record against.

Our last meeting at the Vic was in the Southern Area Semi FInal of the Associate Members Cup when we went down 0-1 in February 1997. Five months before that we'd met them in the 'new' Divsion Two and drawn 0-0. This season we gave their ex-manager Mark Cooper his one and only success when we went down 2-1 at London Road just before Christmas.

Peterborough are currently bottom of the division with 27 points from 35 games. They are yet to win on their travels this season and have only managed four draws in their 17 away games. On Tuesday night they beat Sheffield United 1-0.

They have no ex-Horns on their playing staff currently, but a mutual friend is Aidy Boothroyd who lined up for the Posh in our meetings in the 96/97 season.

It goes without saying we need a win today. Without wishing to turn this blog into some Mystic Meg type site I vaguely recall dreaming on Thursday night that we'd lose today. Going by my record with the Swansea match I hope I did.

Uneventful- Watford 0 Swansea City 1

I hate missing games but due to a family situation tonight I was forced to sit this one out. However, having just checked the OS and seen they've described the game as uneventful, even I feel quite glad to have stayed in the warm.

I think this has to be looked at in the context that Swansea are doing rather well. Lets concentrate on Peterborough and Ipswich, both of whom won tonight and neither of whom will be easy. Both are must wins if we want to stay away from that 22nd spot.

Moons

http://www.watfordfc.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,10400~1988685,00.html

Tommy Mooney is making his debut as a summariser on BBC 3CR tonight. Could Malky name him as one of the seven on the bench just in case we are struggling for goals and need a bit of aggression?

I think there should be a few Mooney chants during quiet moments tonight.

If the point of it is to make people sign up for Watford World it's a good idea as for the first time in a while I'm considering it.

Watford v Swansea City- Previously...(again)

Not much has really changed since the last previously.

Swansea are now 4th with 56 points. On their travels they've won 6, drawn 7 and lost 4. On Saturday they went down 1-0 to Nottingham Forest conceding in injury time. Before that they won 1-0 at home to Peterborough and 1-0 away at Derby.

I had a dream on Saturday night that we'd win 4-0. I'm tempted to put a bet on although the game was played in front of the old Vicarage Road terrace and Luther scored one of our goals so it might have been a retro dream.

6 out of 9- Derby County 2 Watford 0

Depressing result but three games at home gives us a chance to pull away from what looks like being the only undecided relegation spot. Two out of three wins I think is realistic. The toughest test will be the first one on Tuesday.

Derby County v Watford- Previously...

This will be the 15th meeting of Derby County and Watford up in Derbyshire. To avoid being dragged into the relegation dogfight we could really do with a win but the stats do not make kind reading. We've won just 3 times there, drawing 5 and losing 6, scoring 17 and conceding 24.

Last time at Pride Park we went down 1-0 to a late Rob Hulse goal. On the last day of the season they came to the Vic and we won 3-1, however they visited again earlier this season and beat us 1-0.

Derby are currently 16th with 39 points, the same as us but we do have two games in hand over them. They've won 9 of their home games this season, drawing just once and losing 7.

We've not won away since the unlikely victory over Middlesborough on October 17th. Lets hope we can change that today.

Enough of the Foreplay- Watford 1 Newcastle United 2

A game that gave us all a reminder of what it was like to be amongst the elite for two seasons and how, when you're the smaller team, nothing seems to go your way. I find it depressing to think such thoughts but I came away deciding that I prefer it in the Championship playing average Championship teams where, by and large, you have a 50/50 chance of getting a result. Against a team like Newcastle you seem to have a 10/90 chance and not just because of their superior resources.

The officials might as well have taken to the pitch in black and white stripes rather than bright orange. They clearly favoured the big team, looked like they were on first name terms with their players and gave them free kicks every time they fell over. Any similar 'light' challenge on a Watford player went unpunished and we only got something if the foul was particularly nasty. With offsides the linesman on the Rous side ignored most things in the first half but gave everything in the second.

The opposition only really created four chances all afternoon but scored two of them. However, I've no doubt had we managed to get back into the game early enough they would've easily managed to conjure up some more. Its true to say we had the majority of the possession but they seemed content to allow us to pass it between ourselves without ever looking threatening until it was too late.

Sometimes I feel Malky's Watford believe that games are decided on the amount of passes completed rather than goals scored. So often we seem to have the opportunity to break but elect to the hold the ball up, wait for opponents and team mates to catch up and then pass the ball sideways, allowing any advantage we had to disappear.

"Get stuck in" the bloke behind me shouted, for once making perfect sense. "Yeah" said another bloke "enough of the foreplay, just stick it in". Its easy to say in a game against the league leaders and probably not as simple to do, but it applies to all our games this season. Sometimes we'd be much more effective if we just had a shot rather than trying to create the perfect goal.

As a tactic to try and beat a team that can probably create chances at will, scoring late in the game to set up a grandstand finish is probably as good as any. Unfortunately we left it slightly too late. We only managed one more attack after it was 2-1. Had Hoskins scored his goal a few minutes earlier an unlikely point might have been on.

For the record Williamson was booed but didn't get quite the amount of abuse expected. He didn't celebrate either of their goals and even seemed to fall out with his fellow defenders over our goal. Maybe they thought he was letting us score.

All in all an afternoon to forget. I look forward to things returning to normal against Derby next week.

Watford v Newcastle United- Previously...

This will be the 20th time Newcastle have visited Vicarage Road. The first time was back in 1924 when we met them in the FA Cup 3rd Round and lost 1-0. Six of those meetings have been in cup competitions including three played in 1988/9. Our record at home against them reads won 7, drawn 9 and lost 3, scoring 28 and conceding 21. The last time they beat us at home was in 90/91 when we lost 2-1 in the old Division 2.

Back in early December we lost 2-0 in a closely fought game at St.James'. The 'Toon last visited us on the final day of the Premiership season in 2006/7 when we bid goodbye to the top flight with a 1-1 draw. Marlon King equalised with a penalty for us.

Newcastle are currently top with 66 points from 32 games. Their away record for this season is won 6, drawn 5, lost 4. The losses were at Blackpool, Scunny, Forest and Derby. In their last away match they drew 1-1 with Swansea. Last Saturday they beat Preston 3-0 at home.

Hopefully Mike Williamson will decide that he is fit enough to face us given that last time he was involved in a Hornets fixture he self-diagnosed he wasn't up to the job thus forcing a move to Pompey. What a shame he managed to escape instead of Smudger. He's told the Newcastle website that he'll put his goodwill to one side for the afternoon. I'm sure we'll all do the same.

O'Connor Banned

http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/sport/5022936.Irons_midfielder_banned_for_Cleverley_reaction/?ref=mr

Turns out I was wrong. O'Connor has been banned for three games as well. Nigel Adkins rather went down in my estimation when he tried to make out that O'Connor had simply been pushing Cleverley away. Good that justice has been done.

Musical Chairs- Scunthorpe United 2 Watford 2

Here's a great game you can have with unsuspecting away fans. Firstly, print on your tickets 'Please sit in your allocated seat'. Then tell half the fans who enter that actually they can sit wherever they like. Only tell half of them 'cos otherwise the game isn't nearly as much fun. Cordon off just enough of the stand so that there aren't quite enough seats for the amount of tickets you've sold. Finally play some loud music, most of it featuring Cheryl Cole, and intersperse it with farting noises as your sound system slowly packs up. Stand back and watch the ensuing chaos. No-one wins but its great fun.

Welcome to the world of Glanford Park. Actually, apart from this organised chaos its a great little ground. It seems really old fashioned considering it was built in 1988 with some pillars in the way and the seats all crammed close together. But its got more character in one row of seats than some of the new grounds have in their entirety. I'd happily go back time and again. Its also got those rare vital elements that make the matchday experience hassle free. Its very easy to find being just off the end of the M181, it has bags of parking and there are plenty of food options nearby.

The game was quite difficult to follow as the seat I ended up with after musical chairs was directly behind the goal so I saw 90% of the game through the mesh of the net. For the whole game we looked far more dangerous than they did and definitely deserved all three points. Our defence got caught out once by the sort of slick move we're so good at pulling off to go one down. However the only surprise when Danny Graham got the equaliser was how long it had taken us to find the net. He looked so pleased to have got on the scoresheet and those of us in the front rows got to celebrate with him which was nice.

The ref had had an odd game pleasing neither set of fans. However, having seen Cleverley's not so clever challenge I think he was probably right to show the red card. What he definitely got wrong was not to show the Scunthorpe player red as well for the two punches he then threw at Tom as they got back up from the challenge. He was too busy enjoying the theatrics of immediately pulling out his red card to notice that a common assault was going on two feet in front of him.

Even with ten we looked better than them and when Eustace headed us into the lead with just minutes left our end went mad. I never thought I'd use these words in the same sentence but John's celebration was one of the campest I've ever seen by a footballer. I probably wouldn't say that to his face though.

It was the man in black who'd have the last word giving a penalty in dying throws of the game when the ball was kicked into Jay DeMerits face. Even behind the mesh it was apparent this wasn't a deliberate handball and 9 times out of 10 a corner would've been the result. Not for Mr.Theatrics however and although Loach went the right way he couldn't reach the spotkick. There was time for one final bit of controversy as the penalty taker tried to prevent Loach getting the ball out of the goal quickly which resulted in our goalkeeper being floored. Yet, he was the one who got a yellow card.

Both this and the punches on Cleverley can clearly be seen on The Football League Show. It would be nice to think some retrospective action might be taken but I'm sure this would be a pointless waste of a thought.

Scunthorpe United v Watford- Previously...

I'm slightly hesitant to write this as some recent previews seem to have been followed by atrocious localised weather conditions at the ground in question. However if the game survives the snowstorms, hurricanes or heatwaves that may now be on their way to Glanford Park this will be the 11th game Watford have played away at Scunthorpe United. We've won 5, drawn 3 and lost 2, scoring 11 and conceding 6.

All but one of our away games against The Iron took place at The Old Showground, where Scunthorpe played before Glanford Park was built in 1988. Our only visit to their current stadium was back in 2007/8 in the Championship when Aidy Boothroyd's Watford won 3-1. Adam Johnson, Darius Henderson and Marlon got our goals.

This season we met back in November at the Vic where we won 3-0 with two H goals and one from Danny Graham, which was the last time he scored for us.

Scunny are currently 17th, two places behind us. They've got 36 points from 31 games compared to our 38 from 29 games. At home this season their record reads won 7, drawn 3 and lost 5. So far in February they've lost to Palace, West Brom and Leicester but beat Barnsley at home 2-1 on Tuesday night scoring a winner 5 minutes into injury time.

We could do with starting to win away games again. It was unfortunate that the golden opportunity to start was taken away from us on Tuesday night and that we'll have to wait until late April now for that particular opponent. However tomorrow's is certainly a game we should be able to win if we can just start replicating some of our home form on the road.

Rodgers Returns?- Watford Youth 0 Chelsea Youth 4

It was a bit daft that having encouraged everyone to get behind the youth team the club seemed a bit overwhelmed by the turn out. I'd luckily rung up yesterday and got the ticket loaded onto my season ticket card thingy, but most people hadn't and so there were lengthy queues up Vicarage Road when I arrived at 6.50pm. I assume that people were still outside at kick-off as there was a constant trickle of people coming into the Upper Rous well into the first half. I guess this is the problem with getting rid of manned turnstiles. Apparently there were two women selling tickets in a makeshift booth outside the Rous for those who hadn't pre-booked.

The team were given the full first teamers treatment coming out to Z Cars and Richard Short announcing the line ups. For us I only recognised Eddie Oshodi and Matty Whichelow. Immediately the most striking thing was that the Chelsea side looked about twice the size of ours.

We gave a very good account of ourselves in the opening 20 minutes and came close to scoring when a header from a free kick went narrowly wide. Keeper Bond then made his only mistake of the night when he was caught in no mans land as Chelsea broke and the ball was bundled into the net. He was lucky however that the ref ruled an arm had helped its progress.

It was 1-0 a short time later though when Chelsea volleyed in the opener and they almost got a second straight away when a similar shot went just over. Just as in the game against the Chelsea senior team back in January, once we'd conceded any chance seemed to have gone. They moved up a gear, looked loads better than us and went in 2-0 up at the break after Oshodi conceded a penalty.

A rumour went round at half time that Brendan Rodgers had been spotted in the stand. I didn't see him and there were no obvious chants about him but I suppose it could've been true. He is presumably looking for employment and his former charges (Chelsea, not us) would be an obvious place to go. On the other hand it was an easy and obvious rumour to start up.

The only difference in the second half was the ref. He had had a decent unmemorable performance in the first 45, but decided he fancied a bit of action. After all, the Chelsea TV cameras were there! So he started being Mr. Pedantic, booking our players for dissent over a throw in, and the distance of a wall. Every free kick had to be taken from exactly the right spot, and the ball had to completely still. He even threatened to send the Chelsea coach to the empty East Stand at one point. All this was completely unnecessary and just made him look a right dick.

A disappointing night, especially as 2270 turned out. I know the club encouraged us to go but I do think that people are more likely to get behind the reserves and youth team when these games are played at the Vic rather than in Borehamwood. I can never make 7pm at Meadow Park. Its just too far round the M25 when I don't finish work until after 5pm. However 7pm at the Vic when you can park in the hospital is just about do-able. How about Watford FC? Could we have the reserves back at their proper home for 2010/11?

Queens Park Rangers v Watford- Previously...

This will be the 59th competitive time we've visited Rangers since we became members of the Football League. Our record in West London reads won 12, drawn 21 and lost 25, scoring 71 goals and conceding 96.

Last season we drew 0-0 there just after Christmas. I'm sure I don't have to remind you what happened in the previous fixture this season back in early December but the words Lloydinho, goal, Magilton and headbutt should jog your memory.

Since then QPR have won just once, 2-1 against Bristol City at home on Boxing Day. Their home record this season is won 4, drawn 6 and lost 4. They are currently 17th with 34 points. On Saturday they lost 1-0 at Coventry.

The boo boys should have a field day, or night with Mick Harford currently caretaker managing the R's and Lee Cook featuring regularly. Gavin Mahon isn't due back from injury until April. Tamas Priskin should play as he is currently on loan from Ipswich. The loan terms for H mean he can't feature against his parent club.

Loooofer

Great to see Luther pulling out the balls for the FA Cup draw. Even better to see some footage of him in the yellow shirt, and scoring that hat-trick against Luxembourg.

As you might have heard he is currently after our old shirts. If you've not heard, check out the details here.

Sighing, Moaning and Dissent- Watford 2 Bristol City 0

Another Tuesday night, another three points and another satisfying performance. Rather the reverse of the Sheff United game in that the first half was entertaining whilst the second half was rather turgid but we hung on and that is by far and away the most important thing.

Not that several of those I shared the Rous with seemed to agree. There was a lot of sighing, moaning and dissent during the second 45 minutes as we ensured that we picked up all three points. This was quite ridiculous. Do these moaners not understand how well we are doing given everything that has happened this season and that part of supporting a team that isn't one of the 'Big Four' is appreciating you can't just turn on the style and score goals for fun? Last night was a typical Championship game. If you want dazzling Premiership action you're in for a long long wait and even then it might not happen. If you're going to whinge about not seeing that at Watford then why not head to the Emirates or the Bridge rather than getting on the backs of a team that is winning 2-0.

The player who received the most abuse was Liam Henderson. I would completely agree that he didn't put in the best performance of his Watford career when he replaced Danny Graham, but to shout at him from the moment he gets on the pitch as the bloke behind me did last night is just insane. How is that going to help him or us in any way at all?

Liam hasn't copied Ross Jenkins, Scott Loach or Lee Hodson in bursting into the first team squad and never looking back but isn't that all the more reason to give him a chance? Leave the criticism to Malky to pass on. If he doesn't end up making the grade to stay at the Vic that should be down to him alone. Not because certain supporters, who are struggling to find a bogeyman post Simpson, Russo and Rodgers, have decided to start picking on a kid who is only just 20.

Watford v Bristol City- Previously...

If the game survives the snow that is meant to be on the way tomorrow night this will be the 43rd meeting hosted by the Horns against Bristol City. Our record at home against them reads won 18, drawn 12, lost 12, scoring 66 and conceding 52.

Last season we went down 4-2 at the Vic in a very depressing Boxing Day encounter that saw us concede in the first minute. Our last meeting was on 28 December 2009 when we drew 2-2 with Cleverley and Eustace getting our goals, the second of which came deep in injury time.

For the second game in a row we are pitied against opponents one place above ourselves in the league table. Bristol City are currently 11th with 37 points from 28 games. Their away record this season is won 2, drawn 6, lost 5.

Since our Christmas meeting they've had almost a more miserable time of it than we have. They've played Cardiff three times, twice in the cup where they lost 1-0 in a replay and a week later in the league when they lost 6-0 to them at home. Their only success in January was a 4-2 win over Preston. On Saturday they drew 1-1 at home to Coventry, the week before they shared a goalless draw with Middlesbrough.

Bristol City's ex-Horns remain solely on the managerial side with Gary Johnson in charge and Keith Millen as his assistant.

No Bull- Barnsley 1 Watford 0

We must have done okay if Malky reckons we deserved to get something out of the game. In a Ray Lewington type way I like the fact that he is completely honest about our performances. Its good to see we've maintained our position despite losing. That win on Tuesday really was an important three points. We now need another one against Bristol City this coming Tuesday.

Barnsley v Watford- Previously...

Tomorrow will be the 24th meeting between Watford and Barnsley at Oakwell. The first meeting up there was in the old Division 3 in March 1961 when we won 1-0. Our record is won 6, drawn 6, and lost 11. We've scored 21 goals and conceded 32.

Last season we lost 2-1 at Oakwell in one of Malky's caretaking games, Tommy Smith got our goal. It was Mark Robins first game in charge of The Tykes when we met in September at the Vic. Danny Graham got the goal as we won 1-0.

Barnsley are currently 11th, one in front of us. We've both played 27 and they have 36 points, one more than us. At home their record this season is won 5, drawn 4 lost 5. On Tuesday night they had an even more impressive win than our own, beating Preston 4-1 away. Last Saturday they lost 1-0 at Reading and before that beat Leicester and lost to Sheffield Wednesday both at Oakwell.

Martin Devaney remains the only tenious link between us and them.

Tuesday Night Fortress- Watford 3 Sheffield United 0

What did the first half of this game and our new centre back Martin Taylor have in common? Well, they're both about as far from pretty as it is possible to get. No offence, Martin. In fact judging by the comments around me you've already got a place in our hearts. You are big, menacing, effective, and have the added bonus of being able to get forward too. A white Danny Shittu if you like.

The first 45 was true traditional Division Two fare. An even battle with not much skill but a lot of heart. Henderson, in particular, looking threatening. It would've been no surprise had we conceded, especially in the opening 25 minutes when they were probably the better side, but with our back four looking the most settled its been all season and Scott showing £3million form we kept them out. Gradually we fought our way back into it with Eustace having a couple of chances and Cleverley's wonderful free kick hitting the post.

But then we took the kind of chance that was bound to come along eventually. You know, the sort of one other teams always seem to take against us. A moment of hesitation in the United defence and Cleverley popped up and was extremely brave to head the ball past the Blades keeper before crashing into him. A few minutes later and following another mix up Helguson was unlucky not to make it 2-0.

The five minutes of first half injury time can all be put down to United, even though a couple of our players had needed treatment. They are still as dirty as they were in the Warnock days but oddly delicate whenever they were on the receiving end of anything as physical as a tackle, going and staying down all too easily.

One expected Kevin Blackwell to give his troops a right rollicking at half time and for them to come out and take the game to us.

However it just didn't happen. In the second half it was so one sided that I can't remember Loach doing anything other than kicking the ball out when it was passed back to him. We took total control and deservedly scored twice more through another mix up that Helguson punished and a Cowie free kick that went through everyone and in. We could've had as many as four or five. Lloyd made his now expected charge for goal and was unlucky not to score. Substitutes Graham and Hoskins also both went close.

It was a fine team performance. Despite the newcomer it was a team that looked far more comfortable with itself, like it knew what it was meant to be doing. Its true to say that all of the goals were probably as a result of opposition errors but its to our credit that we punished three out of the four that Sheffield United made.

With Palace winning in the cup meaning yet another Saturday will go by the wayside this was a good first effort at turning the Vic into a Tuesday night fortress.

Watford v Sheffield United- Previously...

As long as the undersoil heating works this will be the 21st time The Blades have travelled down to play us. My Dad commented to me today that we never seem to do well against Sheffield United and I was surprised to see just how true that is even at the Vic. We've only beaten them 5 times at home, drawing 5 and losing 10, scoring 21 and conceding 24.

The last time we beat them was in the first home league game after we'd both been relegated from the Premiership when a Lee Williamson goal gave us a 1-0 win. A 1-1 draw at Bramall Lane followed, but since then we've had no joy. They did the double over us last season including that awful 2-0 home loss in which both Henderson and Webber scored. Earlier this season we lost by the same score in Yorkshire.

Sheffield United are currently 6th with 41 points from 27 games. Away from home they've won 4, drawn 3 and lost 6. They went down 3-1 to West Brom at The Hawthorns on Saturday. Their last away win was a 3-2 victory over QPR in an FA Cup 3rd Round Replay. They lost 2-0 to Bolton in the 4th Round.

Darius Henderson is currently the Blades top scorer with 10 goals. Jordan Stewart has appeared 14 times since joining from Derby and played in the defeat to West Brom. Other ex-Horn Lee Williamson has only appeared 7 times for Sheff United since he left us and seems to spend most of his time warming the bench.

Watford FC- On This Day by Matt Rowson

Without a game report to write I thought it was about time I got round to reviewing the club's most recent publication.

I hope you won't get the wrong idea when I say this is the perfect toilet book. Its been sitting in my loo since Christmas and is guaranteed to keep me in there longer than I necessarily need to be.

Top Bsad and Bhappy contributor Matt Rowson has come up with a perfect mix of stuff you expect to find, stuff that adds more colour to our history and stuff that you had no idea about.

I love the anecdote about the Birmingham playoff tickets and also the revelation that a top flight manager once missed a game against us because he was on a family holiday.

If you are even a half hearted Watford fan there is content here that you'll enjoy. I'm already looking forward to Matt's next book, a Watford FC Miscellany which is cleverly plugged on the cover sleeve. However, despite it saying 'out in 2010' apparently it won't actually be out until next year.

To buy Watford FC- On This Day click here to go to the club's online shop.

WO now saying postponed

Its great how the Official Site seems to be the last one wanting to break the news.

Today's Match

Beeb reckon its postponed. No word from OS or WO yet.

Watford v Swansea City- Previously...

Our first home meeting with Swansea Town was in the inaugural season of DIvision 3 football. We beat them 3-0 at Cassio Road on 8 September 1920, having gone down 2-1 the week before at the Vetch FIeld.

At home we've played Swansea 18 times, winning 10, drawing 4 and losing 4, scoring 29 and conceding 18. Our last home meeting with them was arguably Judas' finest hour. They were taking all the plaudits for their beautiful football and had just drawn 1-1 with Fulham in the FA Cup. We simply outplayed them and the 2-0 scoreline didn't do justice to our through superiority.

Back in August we drew 1-1 at the Liberty Stadium following Mike 'Geordie' Williamson's declaration that he wasn't fit to travel. Danny Graham put us ahead before Alan Tate equalised in the 90th minute.

Swansea are currently 5th with 42 points. On Tuesday they drew 0-0 at home with Coventry. Their away record this season is won 4, drawn 6, lost 3. They last won on their travels on 19 Dec when they beat Sheff Wed 2-0. Last Saturday they drew 1-1 at Middlesbrough.

Swansea might give a first ever start to our old Palace friend Shefki Kuqi. We can play Martin Taylor but are unlikely to include Will Buckley who is still recovering from an ankle injury.