WATFORD UP NEXT

harvey wrote:
I was 5 when I went to my first game, Altrincham v Hartlepool , anyway.........have a good day Saturday !.

You have moved to the Southampton area since?

I'll be prepared for the worst seeing as I support the Saints but can always find a Mcdonalds after if he needs cheering up. Got to make it a day he will remember no matter what.

SaintMike wrote:

harvey wrote:
I was 5 when I went to my first game, Altrincham v Hartlepool , anyway.........have a good day Saturday !.

You have moved to the Southampton area since?

Full circle......... Southampton, Manchester, New Zealand, Southampton.

Hope you had a lot of air miles.

harvey wrote:

SaintMike wrote:

harvey wrote:
I was 5 when I went to my first game, Altrincham v Hartlepool , anyway.........have a good day Saturday !.

You have moved to the Southampton area since?

Full circle......... Southampton, Manchester, New Zealand, Southampton.

Just to clarify, that Altrincham v Hartlepool game was circa 1970-71

What do you remember about the day? Is it a fond memory and what do you remember most?

SFC Forever wrote:Looks like a similar formation to ours at the moment. Whatever the result Saturday I hope we meet again next season. Maybe a fight to go up next time around.Though to be fair a few good results can propel either side up the league. We need another season for the kids to learn their trade and get stronger. I think that with your injuries your lot will need to wait until next year as well.
How do you rate Aidy and the job he's done? Small club as is ours means you don't have as much dosh as some appear to have.

SFC, we're going through a transitional period, very much like yourselves. The kids are gradually getting first team action. The likes of JJ O'Toole, Mariappa, Doyley, Lee, Bangura, L.Young (Ashley's brother), L.Henderson, Ross Jenkins & Jordan Parkes have all played some part of our 16 man squad this season, and the above mentioned players have all come up through our excellent youth set-up. The most exciting player in my opinion is Ross Jenkins. Central midfielder, 17, totally dominated Mark Noble when we played against West Ham.

Both our clubs may be skint at this moment in time, but we've both got a conveyour belt of talent coming through our set-ups, which is more than you can say about most clubs.

I feel the job Aidy has done here has been mixed. Much more good than bad. Outsiders like yourselves would look at that statement and say, 'mixed'? He got you promoted in his first season, got you to an FA Cup semi-final in his second, and last season into the play-offs.

Aidy came in at the back end of the 04/05 season. He had 7 games to keep us up. We won two and drew two (if memory serves me correctly) and it was enough to stay up. The away win at Stoke on the penultimate game of the season was what kept us up. I remember Ashley Young's performance in that game, and remember saying to my mates during the game, that's the best we've seen of him in a Watford shirt, and he'll be some player next season.

His first full season we went up through the play-offs, finishing in 3rd place. We scored a lot of goals that year. Marlon King scoring 22, Henderson 15, Young 15 and Matt Spring got 10 from midfield. (All four of these players have moved on since). He did a great job. He re-built the SQUAD with just £1,100,000 he raised from the sale of Heidar Helguson to Fulham. He signed King for 500k, Henderson for 400k, Spring for 100k, Carlisle for 100k, Mackay on a free, Foster on a season loan.

We were always going to go down in the Prem season. We started well, although we didn't win until November, we went to places like Wigan, Bolton and even Everton and dominated matches. We just lacked the quality at both ends of the pitch to stop the silly mistakes. We conceeded silly goals, and missed great chances. Then King got crocked for the season in the 3-0 lose at Arsenal back in October. Ashley Young left in January for £9,650,000 and we signed Championship standard players in the Jan transfer window.

Last season we spent a lot of money (wasted a lot of it) on crap like Nathan Ellington (£4,000,000), McAnuff (£2,000,000), Rinaldi (£250k...he didn't play one league game), Matt Jackson and Mart Poom (both free but on about 10k per week).

We blew a 9 point lead in November. Marlon King spat his dummy out in December and allegedly handed in a transfer request (if it wasn't for us he'd still be sitting in the Forest ressies or playing league two football). Ellington wasn't getting a game, McAnuff was wasteful in possesion, we lost Adam Johnson back to Boro, he spent two months here and scored 5 goals from left-midfield. He was different class, and he'll play for the full England side before long, and Boothroyd's tactical abilities from his previous two seasons seemed to have desserted him. Losing games and leaving £6,000,000 worth of strikers on the bench The club was falling apart, a lot of unrest behind the scenes with player egos and a manager that had appeared to have lost the plot. We were playing some AWFUL football (if you can call it football, it was more Rugby)...very predictable, and that was the main problem). We somehow managed to scrape into the play-offs (we've only one once away from home since our win at St.Mary's on New Years Day, and that was taking Ipswich's unbeaten home record in Feb). For anyone that saw our play-off defeat against Hull last season may agree with me here, we were very unfortunate to lose 6-1 on agg. We lost the home leg 0-2. We had a perfectly good goal disallowed after 4 mins, and then it all fell apart. Gifted them two soft goals, and their keeper pulled off 5-6 stunning saves to keep us out. Eustace got sent-off (for nothing, it was later rescinded) and we lost our momentum in the last 30 minutes of the first leg. In the second leg we went 0-1 up after 9 minutes, but AGAIN gifted them a silly goal on the stroke of HT. 3-1 down on agg, and we went for it second half...we took off a defender and brought on Priskin who is a striker. We got overrun in our desperation to get back in the game and ended up conceeding 3 more goals second half. A very harsh overall scoreline, BUT, considering the way we played in the final half of the season, we didn't deserve to go up, and Hull did.

This season we've had to rectify last season's cock-ups financially by selling Ellington, Henderson and Shittu for £6,000,000 combined. Francis & Jackson retired, Poom is crocked for 6 months but on a 10k per week contract (cheers) and we may possibly be forced to sell Smith, McAnuff, Demerit & Hoskins in the january transfer window, UNLESS, we are brought out. Rumours going around a Hungarian and Romanian consortium are interested. On the field we've been very inconsistent...we've taken points off most the 'better' sides in the league like Reading, Ipswich, Charlton, PNE & Palace aswell as beating WHU in the cup...but yet we've lost to some poor sides like Sheff Weds, Plymouth & Forest.

We'll be ok this season, providing we can keep hold of our top players (the ones we have left anyway). Next season we'll hope to push on and see if we can gain some investment to compete in the market with everyone else.

Financially we've fu*ked up big time. We've had £45,000,000 come into the club from the Prem, and we've also sold £25,000,000 worth of players since leaving the Prem. Most of the expenditure has gone on paying Championship players Premiership wages!! :?:

That's the histroy of my club since Aidy came in. Sorry it's long-winded, but I think you'll agree, it's been a roller-coaster last few seasons...and I also think there are similarities with yourselves.

SFC Forever wrote:What do you remember about the day? Is it a fond memory and what do you remember most?

All that I remember is that we were stood on the terraces and it was freezing cold :| .......we won 2-0 though so it couldn't have been all bad

Harvey, I have started you a thread in the League Section and hope you will join us in trying to forecast Jan's team selections.

Copied from the A Little Rivalry section of this forum..

Re: A WATFORD FAN SAYS....
by SFC Forever Today at 9:18 am

Apert from the fact that we seem to have a different manager every other week we are in a similar position as you say. Money is tight and I am hoping some smaller clubs(if there are any) will be forced into letting players go on the cheap. Players good enough to strengthen us if not make us world beaters. I am looking forward even more to seeing the match now to see two young sides fight it out.
Thank you for an excellent post. Please keep in touch after the game because it is always interesting to hear the views of opponents fans.You could always leave the link to your favourite Watford site in case some of us would like to chat on yours. It's frightening really when you realise that their are even more clubs in the mire financially. Main difference seems to be that you have a board that stands by the main man and gives him time.

SFC Forever wrote:Yep. Probably, will use the bus and then get one from Central station to St Marys. Will let you know later when I know how, when and where.

have you found out yet?????

if the tv camaras are not there were going to win simple as that but if for some reason we are on the box then we lose stands to reason i say ban the camaras.

Vegas we will get X7 to Central station and find way from there. Hope to get to grondaround midday.

From another site:

Saints v Watford. Round 2.
By David of Clausentum - 17/10/2008 15:01

Tomorrow we entertain the Hornets, and over recent years that has not ended well for us at home or away. This season Watford have a similarly indifferent start as we have, so tomorrow both teams will be looking for that corner turning win. So guaranteed 0-0 it is then!!
We will have a choice to pick from back from injury and what have you, but like Burley at times will JP find himself confused with so much to chose from? Last game the less said the better at Coventry, so will massive changes be rung tomorrow?
Simon Gillett is back and i like him but to be honest i feel maybe we play better and more balanced without him, i wonder if i will be alone in that thought? New signing Ryan Smith is up for selection after apparently impressing in the reserves, and there seems to be an outside chance that Stern John may make it back and get over his jet lag from TT.
Things is do any one of those 3 merit a start tomorrow or should we stick with the front two from last time? I think stick at the moment. Midfield may need a slight re-shuffle but the real worries are at the back as sadly Olly is proving to be a bit out of his depth. But with Svennson out, who will be along side Perry with all other injuries to Thomas etc? Bit of a mess at the back as ever at SFC.
Have we got a tester coming tomorrow? Yes i think we have, and i think if we win the lads deserve a night out as this is a lot tougher than the table tells. Watford will be hard to beat of that you can be sure. So are we heading for a draw? I hate settling for points but i think tomorrow i will settle for the draw.
COYR.

Vegas should get to Central station about 1145. So hope to be at ground about 12.

SFC Forever wrote:Vegas should get to Central station about 1145. So hope to be at ground about 12.

have you got tickets already or getting them today