Tuesday 31 January 2012

WFC in 100 Objects 16#: A Cool as Craig T-Shirt


PODCAST: Hear our interview with Craig and the other Watford Legends - CLICK HERE

After a brief break to prepare for and then recover from all the Christmas and New Year festivities, we’re delighted to be able to bring you the next in the series of our ‘Watford in 100 objects’ list. This object, whilst never the height of fashion, should bring a smile to the faces of Watford fans of a certain age. Ladies and gentlemen, we bring you the limited edition, the unique, the original ‘Cool as Craig’ t-shirt.

21 February 1994. John Major was Prime Minister, East 17 were top of the charts with the unforgettable (unforgettably dire) ‘It’s Alright’ and ‘Forrest Gump’ was about to take the cinema-going public by storm. Elsewhere, somewhere in Hertfordshire, Craig Darren Ramage was signing for Watford.

Craig. Not a name that will have instantly given Watford fans cause for hope or great excitement, especially considering that under Glenn Roeder the Hornets were putting on some pretty average displays. A £90,000 signing from Derby, as I remember it there was no real fuss about the arrival of ‘Rambo’. That soon changed.Ramage made his debut in a game against Charlton and his performance left Watford fans exhilarated enthralled, but also exasperated as to how we’d landed such a skilful player for such a paltry fee. No matter, he was ours now and Ramage proceeded to delight the Vicarage Road faithful with his swaggering style of play, his ability to beat a man and his penchant for blatant showboating. After some fairly dire times at WD18, Craig Ramage was a breath of fresh air and largely thanks to him Watford finished seventh in his first season with the club.


The night we met Craig he and the Watford Legends had won the London Masters Cup

If we’re honest, that’s as good as it got with Craig. Our hero returned from the summer break having clearly enjoyed himself a bit too much and he found himself out of the side at the start of the season. When he did force his way back into the side, it briefly looked like he was going to conjure up another memorable season , marking his return to the side with two goals and a memorable belly rubbing celebration. Many fans will also remember his ‘cigar smoking’ celebration when scoring away at Southend and despite the club getting relegated that year and Ramage departing for Bradford, he remained something of a cult hero. So much so in fact, that he was immortalised in a t-shirt, created by Dave Messenger, Matt Bentote and Stuart Brown from legendary fanzine ‘Clap Your Hands, Stamp Your Feet’. The t-shirt, featuring a Terry Challis cartoon depiction of Ramage, bore the slogan ‘As cool as Craig’ and like the player, was a hit amongst fans.  The slogan was a reference to the nonchalant way in which Ramage seemed to skip round defenders – he used to make the game look so easy (when he wanted to!) and it summed him up perfectly.

The fact that his flame burned so bright for what was a relatively short time means he is still fondly remembered and that his tribute t-shirt was a must have inclusion in our Top 100 list.We were lucky enough to meet Craig recently, when he turned out for Watford’s victorious London Masters side. I’m delighted to report that he is everything we hoped he would be. Confident, friendly, funny, and for those who saw him in action at Wembley last July will testify – still pretty good with a ball at his feet.

If only everyone was as cool as Craig.

PODCAST: Hear our interview with Craig and the other Watford Legends, Derrick Payne, Kevin Miller, Micah Hyde, Marcus Gayle, Steve Palmer and Tommy Mooney - CLICK HERE
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Saturday 28 January 2012

TO ‘B’ OR NOT TO ‘B’

Mike explains why he’s got issues with the current Chelsea manager…

Not content with upsetting his own supporters (and perhaps more worryingly for him, his billionaire Russian boss) by creating one of the most ineffective Chelsea teams for a decade, Andre Villas-Boas also lost any friends he may have had in lower league circles when he suggested that Premier League ‘B’ or reserve teams should compete in the Football League.

The problems with such a suggestion should be apparent to all, but in a season that has already seen Premier League clubs suggest that there should be no relegation or promotion, Liverpool decree that they should have a separate, more lucrative TV deal and initial approval being granted for the controversial Elite Player Performance Programme (EPPP) – AVB’s proposals provide yet more damning evidence that the welfare of clubs outside the top tier is deemed of less importance than ever before.

The first issue with this latest hair-brained scheme is surely the most obvious one. If Premier League outfits are going to enter their reserve teams into the npower league, what happens to the clubs currently occupying those places in the three divisions? Will they be relegated? Kicked out altogether? Or would an existing club be morphed into a mini version of a more illustrious neighbour? Would Stockport become ‘Manchester United B’? Would Tranmere become ‘Liverpool Lite’? Would QPR become ‘Watford Reserves’? Simply relegating or removing clubs from their existing league position would surely be a bridge too far, even for the notoriously self-important Premier League, and I can’t see many supporters readily agreeing to relinquish their club’s identity in exchange for providing a decent run out for another clubs youngsters and fringe players. Can you?

Logistics also provide a compelling argument against this particular proposal too. Something similar is in operation in Spain, with both Real Madrid and Barcelona having reserve teams competing in the Segunda DivisiĆ³n and the rules state that neither team can face their ‘B’ team in the league, but are permitted to do so in the Cup. Fine, perhaps. Let’s imagine for a minute Aston Villa take over struggling Coventry, turning the sky blues into the claret and blues, operating in the Championship. The next season Villa struggle (they never really recovered from losing Ashley Young), finish bottom and are relegated. All of a sudden, they find themselves in the same division as their reserve team. They obviously couldn’t play each other, so what would happen? Would Villa not be relegated? Would Villa reserves be forced to drop down a division? If so, who would replace them? Would a team be spared relegation from the Premier League or would an additional team be promoted form League One? Questions, questions, questions. All with unsatisfactory answers.

So, in the space of around 500 words I’m pretty sure I’ve made a pretty good case against Andre’s idea. It doesn’t take a genius to see the numerous pitfalls and complications, neither is it hard to see how such a suggestion threatens the integrity and ethos of football in this country. It’s an idea founded solely to ensure the big and wealthy get bigger and wealthier, whilst lower league clubs are marginalised still further and if it’s the best you can come up with Mr Villas-Boas, then I for one won’t be shedding too many tears when you inevitably lose your job at Stamford Bridge.

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Friday 20 January 2012

Laurence Bassini: Five Questions. Five Answers?

Well, it’s finally happened. After periods of prolonged silence, a couple of false starts and dubious excuses, the owner of Watford Football Club, Laurence Bassini has at long last responded to supporters. Following the publication of an interview between the evasive businessman and the Watford Supporters Trust, the official club website has published details of a question and answer session, in which Mr Bassini answers fans questions.

Let’s start with a positive. He has answered all the questions sent in. We’ve been crying out for responses, so to answer each query – the club have confirmed that none were omitted or censored - is welcome. On the downside, adding up the questions asked, it appears (I say appears – my maths is dreadful!) that there were just 32 questions sent in by supporters. Now a session in which an individual asks 32 questions may initially sound quite impressive, but with around 8,000 season ticket holders, that means around 0.4% of that number took the time to get in touch. 0.4%. That’s pitiful by anyone’s standards – and if Watford fans are serious about finding out what is going on at our club, if they are serious about making sure the club is in safe hands, then these are the kind of opportunities that shouldn’t be passed on. There is nothing more deadly than apathy. Have a quick chat with Darlington fans if you think that who is in charge doesn’t matter…

As regular listeners to ‘From the Rookery End’ will know, we’ve had some questions for our mysterious owner from the start. We made a list of five simple questions that we felt, if answered, would provide us with an understanding of our new owner and what his plans were. Nothing more, nothing less – just an understanding of why Mr Bassini was here and what he planned to do. Fair enough, right? Well, as regular listeners (and readers!) will also know, getting these answers has been hard, giving rise to increased concern about his motives and plans.

The club’s question and answer session has helped. We reckon he touched on answers for each of our questions, which are listed below:

1)Why did you decide to 'invest' in football?
2) Why Watford?
3) As owner, what will represent a successful tenure?
4) What are your plans for the Stadium redevelopment and the timescale for completion?
5)
Where is the money for bond repayments, stadium redevelopments and future player purchases going to come from

The full transcript of the questions asked and the answers given is available on the official club website but we’ve been through the detail and here at FTRE, we think that it’s a start.

The answers provide a brief outline of what Mr Bassini hopes to achieve, his aims, hopes and dreams for our beloved club. In short, they are; promotion, a completed Vicarage Road Stadium and a profit. I think we can all agree that if the first two come to fruition, then no-one will begrudge Mr Bassini making some money out of the project – he’ll have earned it, having succeeded where businessmen the world over have failed – making money out of a football club.

In terms of our questions – the first two were answered quite clearly. Why football? Simple, this one. As mentioned above - to make a profit. Mr Bassini has made it clear he sees it purely as a business venture. Whilst people may be sceptical about just how he is going to make money out of a club such as ours, at least he has admitted this isn’t just some sort of philanthropic gesture. On this score, it feels like he is being honest – which is something. As for Why Watford? His main answer is locality. Having lived relatively locally to the club for much of his life, Mr Bassini states that it is his proximity to WD18 that encouraged him to get involved. I think the initial way in which Mr Bassini dealt with both the club and it’s fans shows that he didn’t have a deep understanding of football, so I’m not buying the fact that he has ever been a fan of the club or indeed football in general, but at least as a local(ish) resident, he should have some understanding of the way Watford works and what it means to the fans. Having said that, would anyone who understood the ‘Watford way’ choose to pick such a public fight with Graham Taylor?...

Our third question, what will represent a successful tenure? received a three pronged answer. 1) Stability for the club, 2) a completed Vicarage Road stadium and 3) success on the pitch. Mr Bassini’s answers did seem to make it clear that he isn’t underestimating the task he has undertaken in delivering these three targets. Each of them will take time, a considerable amount of money and no little luck along the way. Ultimately, it will be against these three targets that Bassini as an owner will be judged, but I think in identifying these aims, he has at least shown that he shares the same hopes of us, the fans. Let’s hope he can deliver.

In response to question four, What are your plans for the Stadium redevelopment and the timescale for completion? He stopped short of providing actual timescales, but did explain that the East stand is the third priority out of three major building projects, falling in line behind The Red Lion and the fit-out of the South West corner. Questions remain over the viability of The Red Lion as a pub and so as a fan, I have to ask why this would be deemed a priority ahead of the corner of the Rookery and Rous – currently a concrete shell after work was suspended a few years ago. As home to a number of vital facilities, including the dressing rooms, completion would enable a move away from the East Stand – obviously no longer fit for purpose. Would this have been a more suitable focus than the refurbishment of a pub that will see little custom on non-match days? Only time will tell.

As is to be expected, in his answer to our question number 5 - Where is the money for bond repayments, stadium redevelopments and future player purchases going to come from? -there is no mention of exactly where the money is coming from, but in fairness, that’s nobody’s business but his. However, in talking about the scheduled bond repayments, a large amount of money still owed to former owner Lord Ashcroft, he did say that he is planning to pay all of them off in one go, meaning that for the first time in a long time, Watford Football Club would be in effect, debt free.I don’t think there can be a Watford fan on earth who wouldn’t be pleased with that particular outcome.

So. we’ve been asking questions and finally, we’ve got some answers. They are by no means extensive, in depth or conclusive, but at least it’ something. At least we understand our new owners aims, why he's here and what he hopes to achieve. It's a start.

As fans, there is no way we should have had to wait this long to hear from the owner. Supporters are the lifeblood of any club, never more so at relatively small, community focussed clubs such as Watford. Mr.Bassini misjudged this and as a result was met with scepticism and mistrust, whilst his appallingly handled withdrawals from two events at which he was due to speak lead to a combination of anger and ridicule. Hopefully these experiences will have highlighted to Mr Bassini the need for open and honest communication with fans – his meeting with the supporters trust and the Q&A session would seem to indicate this is the case. Let’s hope it continues.

In his interview with the Supporters Trust, Mr. Bassini made it clear that he wanted to be judged on what he achieves for this football club. Our football club. Well, the time to deliver is upon us. Over to you Mr.Bassini. Over to you.

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Wednesday 18 January 2012

Pod 2.7: Live and Interactive... Sort of!



DOWNLOAD - iPhone and iPod 

DOWNLOAD DIRECT - Blackberry and Android

Scientists claim that Monday was the most depressing day of the year, (‘Blue Monday’ is the third
Monday in January) there is good news for Watford supporters as the latest edition of the fans
podcast ‘From the Rookery End’ is now available for download and will lift you out of the depth of depression.


The bulk of the latest episode was recorded during Watford’s home game with Reading and in
a unique twist, saw the podcast hosts interacting with listeners during the recording. Podcast
presenter Jon Moonie explained:

“The Reading game was live on TV, so we knew there would be more people than normal watching
the game and we wanted them to be a part of the show. We posed questions via our website, Twitter
and Facebook and discussed the responses in the podcast. We were delighted with the number of
people that got involved and whilst the game was a disappointing one, our interactive experiment
was a definite success.”

“We asked the questions that we felt most fans will be talking about at the moment, for example
– who are you most worried about losing in the transfer market. In the light of some high profile
players returning to their clubs, we also asked who they would most like to see back at Vicarage
Road. Listeners came up with some great answers, which can all be heard in the show.”


The podcast also features an interview with Hornets striker Chris Iwelumo, a song for new singing
Nyron Nosworthy and a fascinating chat with the new Chair of the Watford FC Supporters Trust,
John Fawell. In talking about the interview with Mr Fawell, host Jon Moonie said:

“The Supporters Trust is a really important organisation who works hard to ensure the views of
Watford fans are represented. Like us, they have been keen to talk to Watford owner Laurence
Bassini about his plans for the club, and recently they managed to organise a meeting with him. John
was able to fill us in on what Mr. Bassini had to say, as well as explaining the way the Supporters
Trust works and what its aims as an organisation are. It was fascinating and ‘m sure listeners will
agree.”

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Monday 16 January 2012

Happy Returns

Whilst Watford were busy dismantling Bradford City in the FA Cup last weekend, a few hundred miles up the M6 Sir Alex Ferguson was busy planning a move that to steal all the third round headlines. The inclusion of recently retired midfielder Paul Scholes as a substitute caught the footballing world by surprise. His performance in a memorable win over fierce rivals Manchester City was only overshadowed by Thierry Henry scoring a late winner for Arsenal on his first appearance for the club after his controversial return on loan. Both men have made a mockery of the oft held belief that ‘you should never go back’. 

Here at Watford we’ve had our fair share of returning heroes – Luther Blissett, Tommy Smith and of course the one and only Graham Taylor have all made triumphant returns to WD18, and as Scholes and Henry completed their triumphant comeback this weekend, Henry with a bit more Va Va Voom, I couldn’t help thinking about which names from Watford’s past I’d like to see make a return…

GT and Ross Jenkins at the Doncaster game - we'd have them back in a second.

Sunday 15 January 2012

Every cloud has a silver (yellow?) lining...

It's fair to say that Watford's televised fixture with Reading didn't go quite as we'd hoped. A 1-2 home defeat wasn't what we needed, and the team will have to bounce back quickly if we are to continue pulling away from the dreaded relegation zone.

HOWEVER, it wasn't all bad...

As you may have noticed, we at From the Rookery End used the Reading fixture as a bit of an experiment, recording the podcast before, during and after the game and asking you for your input, thoughts and comment throughout the evening -with the aim of featuring as many of your opinions on the podcast as possible. We were delighted with the response, with many of you sharing your thoughts on the topics and questions we posed on Twitter and Facebook.

We also did some live updates here on the blog, along with a few photos, hopefully providing those of you who couldn't make the game with a feel for how things are going. See how the game unfolded, live, here on the blog.

Here are a few of the questions we put out there, along with a selection of your great responses:

Which player are you most concerned about losing in the transfer window, and which former Hornet would you most like to see return?

In terms of who you didn't want to see go, it was a toss up between Marvin Sordell and Adrian Mariappa, some of you keen to keep it tight at the back by hanging on to Aidy, whilst others feared for our goal scoring capability should Marvin leave for pastures new. Fair play to Luke Fox (@lukefox88 on Twitter) who was the only one worried about hanging on to Mark Yeates. Congratulations on having a unique suggestion, Luke!

There was an overwhelming consensus that the best player to have back would be Tommy Smith, with a few votes for Ashley Young, Danny Graham and everyone's favourite puffin muncher - Heidar Helguson. My favourite response came from Jason Chapman on Facebook who called for the return of Paul Robinson. Great shout Jason - Is there anyone out there who wouldn't like to see 'Robbo' back in a yellow shirt?

Podcast co-host Jason missed the first goal as he was answering the call of nature. We asked what Watford moments you have missed, and why?

On Facebook, Rob Bennell remembers missing most of the Cardiff game last year - "Because it was foggy!" You and the rest of us Rob! Several of you have missed crucial goals following in Jason's steps and going to the loo when you should have been watching the game, whilst Alex Stephenson proves that celeb spotting has no place at football. He told us:

"At the Play-Off Final in 1999, someone next to me said Lennox Lewis was in the stands with us. I looked over to try and see him and missed Nick Wright's goal".

Not to worry Alex, I'm sure there will be plenty of other overhead kicks scored by Watford players at Wembley! Our Facebook favourite though, came from Robert Bliss who missed the Play-Off Final in Cardiff:

"I missed the Final in Cardiff as I had to finish my dissertation which was due in the next day. When I say 'finish off' I actually mean write 10,000 words! I was pushed for time as I'd only had six months to write it..."

Shame on you Robert, but thanks for sharing and may it be a lesson to all those other Watford supporters currently at University!

Over on Twitter, we had some absolute belters.

Damian Owens (@demonskot) missed a couple of goals in a game with Brentford after taking a wrong turning en route, whilst Jordi Connor (@jordiconnor) missed our 7-2 demolition of Bradford in '89 as he went to see the Nutcracker Suite ballet instead! Come on Jordi - there is a time and place for culture, and that time is NOT when Watford are playing!

One man had a very good excuse for missing the entire 2002/03 season though. Step forward Matt Page (@matt_s_page) who spent that year out in Bosnia.

Ying and Yang - What have been the best and worst moments in the last month of watching Watford?

A pretty unanimous answer on this one. Michael Kightly.

The good? Seeing him in action for Watford.
The bad? Seeing him in action back at Wolves.

I'll leave you with another one.

The bad? Losing at home to Reading.
The good? Hearing from loads of fellow Watford fans and recording another great edition of 'From the Rookery End'!

The new episode will be out in the next couple of days and you can get it direct from this site, or download it from iTunes. Thanks to you all for taking part - let's do it again soon!

PS You can see a few pictures from our day over on our Facebook page. Don't worry, you don't need to be a Facebook member to see them!


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Saturday 14 January 2012

Watford v Reading - LIVE!

We're always looking for new, fun and exciting things to do here at From the Rookery End so today we're trying something new...

We'll be tweeting and posing questions on our Facebook page throughout today's televised fixture with Reading and it is your responses that will help shape the podcast, which will be out in the next couple of days. Get involved as you watch the game, tweet us, facebook us and if you see us at the game tell us!

We'll also be posting pictures and comment as the game goes on right here on the website, so keep refreshing this page to see our updates as the game goes on!

Enjoy!

Watford V Reading - As it happens...

4:00pm - The camera's are in place. What sort of performance will the watching millions
see from the Hornets today?




4:30pm - Jon and Jason, two-thirds of the From The Rookery End team are in place...



4:35pm - The teams are in...


Disappointing to see that Jonathan Hogg is missing from the sta
rting line up. Perfect opportunity for John Eustace to stake a claim or his first XI place back. Good to see you back Johnny...

Monday 9 January 2012

INTERACTIVE-TASTIC

For the 22nd From The Rookery End podcast, out in Mid-January, we are going to try something out, something that may or may not work, but we need you to get involved and be part of it.



This Saturday (14th January 2012) Watford take on Reading at Vicarage Road. The game is live on the TV (Sky Sports 2 / HD2 from 5pm) and 10,000 of Watford fans around the world will be watching the game live on. To capitalise on this mass community experience we thought we would record the podcast during the game asking you to send us your comments and thoughts via our Twitter and Facebook accounts as you watch along either in the ground or at home (wherever in the world that might be).

At points through out the afternoon we will tweet/post a question or observation about something specific that we want you to comment on. It could be about the line up, a specific player or an on pitch incident. We’ll put it out there, wait 10 minutes for your response and then record our chat including your input. We get so many of you sharing their thoughts and passions via email, Twitter and Facebook but we're not able to get it into our pre-recorded podcast. In the first 21 editions of FTRE you’ve helped us write songs for players, suggest objects for our Watford in 100 Objects list and write comedy PA announcements. Due to the way we record the podcast you've not been able to mould our chat.

If you’re on Twitter then make sure you follow three of us - @RookeryMike, @RookeryJon and @JasBailey – and during the game use the hastag #FTRE in tweets and responses. And on Facebook make sure you like our page – www.facebook.com/rookeryend and you can comment on the wall and on anything we post up.

We can't wait to see what you've got to say!

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Thursday 5 January 2012

REVIEW / INTERVIEW: Rise & Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story

I'm not quite sure where my dream to become a professional footballer went wrong. Perhaps it was in my moody teenage years, but whatever happened I didn't follow my childhood dream. So when I was offered the chance to watch "Rise and Shine: The Jay Demerit story", a documentary about Jay Demerit's journey from Wisconsin to the the World Cup via his big break at Watford, I was interested to see what Jay did that I didn't?

It's only been 18 months since Jay last played for Watford, which in the grand scheme of things isn't that long ago. I has half thought that it was still too soon for a biographical film when Jay is only32 years old and got a few years left him in being a professional footballer. I was very wrong.

Most football fans will find Jay's story interesting and enjoy watching it, but two groups I think will LOVE it.

Firstly, young lads who still have 'the potential', something I lost about 15 years ago. A lot of young footballers could still be in a position where they might make it as a footballer. Are they in the Watford Academy with a mapped out journey into the first team? No, but nor was Jay. He had the vision to keep banging on doors, playing whatever game of football he could get involved with to get his break. He played organised college soccer, but was unsuccessful getting into the Chicago Fire development scheme. So off he went over to Europe to realise his American Dream. He went from not making it in a juvenile football league to trying it in some of the most competitive countries in the world. In fact I think it was his battle to get just one game of non-league football and his traveling around Europe begging for a trial was a big part in his preparation for his role in getting Watford into the Premier League and being an on pitch leader for the club. Jay made it with hardwork and determination.

The other group who will love it are Watford fans. I finished watching the film having not only with the biggest grin on my face having seen clips of the Play Off winning side of 2005-2006, but my other lasting feeling was of pride. Pride in the fact that Ray Lewington and his team had the guts to take a risk on a comparatively inexperienced yank. Our club has played a big part in developing young talent that has always been, and continues to be, something that makes me proud to be a Watford fan. Lewington giving Jay his first professional contract and giving his a major bump on his way to representing his country at the 2010 World Cup finals. The club helping the development of another player, but in a very different way from the normal Academy graduate.

So I never made it as a footballer or fulfil my childhood dream, however, as a life long Watford fan, watching Jay fulfil his dream of playing professional football was FANTASTIC.

What a day for Watford fans and one young American!

The film is co-directed and produced by Nick Lewis and Ranko Tutulugdzija and Nick was good enough to answer a few questions

1) How did you get involved with the project?

I met Jay when he was in college through a friend named Ranko.  Ranko and Jay played soccer together in college and that is where I met Jay.

Around 7 months before the 2010 World Cup I called Ranko and said that we need to make a documentary, and do it now.  When I talked to Ranko about it he agreed and called Jay the next day.  We pitched it to Jay and he was a bit hesitant but ultimately realised it was a story with a bigger meaning, especially because he was heading to the World Cup. He was also interested in hearing what others had to say along the way, such as the guys at Watford who had a random American show up and play with the team before even training with them.  That is how it all came about.  Ranko and I actually had a professional director lined up but he had some family issues and couldn't do it at the last minute.  So we were forced to do it or let it fade away... and we jumped in without really knowing what exactly we were doing.  We knew enough about Jay's story and the game though to start and from there we never looked back.

2) Was it tough to get a film made about a Watford player?

I think getting a film done in general is tough!  Then on top of that a documentary, and one about soccer, especially in this day and age where most films are big budget comic book remakes, sequels, etc.  But with all that said the technology available makes anything possible, that and a lot of work.  I feel like the film is actually blessed because it could have fallen apart many times along the way but at every hurdle something happened that allowed us to keep going. Interestingly enough I think it was easier having a film about a Watford player for one reason, because of Watford FC.  We didn't come as professional filmmakers with a long resume or big film crew.  However the entire club and its fans welcomed us with open arms, allowing us access to the players and the stadium and helping out wherever they could.  The club realizes how special the story is and backed it 100%.

3) What was the most surprising thing you learnt about Jay and his rise out of no where?

There are many things that I learned throughout the process about just how crazy and amazing Jay's journey was.  One "surprising" moment that stands out of the many is that in his try out game against Real Zaragoza (where Jay started and played the entire game even though he hadn't even practiced with Watford before) his cleats had busted before the game so he had to borrow some because he didn't have the money to buy new ones at the time.

4) Out of all the footballing characters you met making the film, who was the most 'interesting'?

Difficult question as everyone that we interviewed was articulate, passionate, and funny. Stu Holden is a great character.  Aidy Boothryd is an extremely articulate and passionate guy and Ray Lewington is the same.  However, I think the most "interesting" would be Jay's non-league coach at Southall F.C. who would pick Jay up and drive him and his team mates to games in the back of his van.. which he also used to sell women's underwear.

5) Is there one particular moment Watford fans should be looking out for during the movie?

Of course! The goal against Leeds in the Championship Play-Off game that helped push them into the Premier League. I won't say anything more...

6) Where can Watford fans see the film?

The film is playing at Odeon Theaters throughout the country on January 17 and January 29.  It is a film for all ages and we highly encourage families, teams, and fans to go.  There are a few theaters located very close to Watford that are showing the film.  The entire list can be viewed at jaydemeritstory.com.