Tuesday 24 September 2013

The Waiting Game...

The best things come to those that wait...
Exactly two years ago (24 September 2011), this was the Watford line-up that was named to face Nottingham Forest at Vicarage Road: Loach, Doyley, Mariappa, Taylor, Dickinson, Yeates, Eustace, Hogg, Forsyth, Garner and Sordell. The subs were Deeney, Iwelumo, Gilmartin, Mirfin and Murray. (The Hornets lost 0-1, with the game broadcast live on the BBC).

Whilst there are a number of players that remain dear to our heart in that list, it was a squad that lead to more concerns about relegation than it did hopes for promotion.

Fast forward to 2013 and not only has the squad improved beyond our wildest dreams, but yet another piece of the Pozzo puzzle (formerly the Elton John jigsaw) has fallen into place, with the announcement that the East Stand will be demolished and rebuilt this very season.

For us long-suffering Watford fans this is brilliant news. A piece of brilliant news that we can add to the other brilliant news we’ve been receiving seemingly non-stop since Laurence Bassini was chased off and into hiding. Being a Watford fan hasn’t been this exciting for a long, long time.

It’s the right of every football fan to have their say. To moan, to groan, to scream to shout. To be happily optimistic or to be constantly supping from a half-full pint. To be impressed or to be irritated; It’s a game of opinions, and thankfully, there are a wide range out there. I thought we’d be united in agreeing that it’s pretty hard to find fault at the moment, though.

I’ve heard quite a few complaints. Complaints about players, complaints about performances, complaints about transfer activity, and now, complaints about the new stand. Apparently it’s not going to be big enough. Now don’t get me wrong, complaining is allowed. Football fans can’t be happy all the time (unless you’re a Premier League club supporter in Asia, they seem to be delighted ALL the time) and if we all just trundled along, meekly accepting everything we saw without voicing our views, then I’d go and do something else with my Saturday. It’s also fair to say that the negativity has been far from overwhelming, but come on…

Players

With a host of new signings arriving alongside our old friends from last year, it was (and still is) impossible not to be excited by the group of players now plying their trade at Vicarage Road. Watford now boast Internationals all over the shop, a heady mix of youthful exuberance and vast experience. Without any shadow of a doubt, we’ve got one of the best squads in the Championship. It was hoped, that with a more structured pre-season, the team would gel and hit the ground running. They kind of have. Loads of goals, one defeat and fifth place in the League. It’s hard to be anything but satisfied with that.

The performances have been enjoyable in patches but there is a general consensus that we haven’t out together the complete 90 minute performance yet. That will come, and I fear for the poor team we’re facing when it arrives. What’s annoyed me has been the criticism of individual players.
I’m not going to single any player out, but those coming in for criticism are in the main, new arrivals. Guys who have played an absolute maximum of ten games for us. It isn’t long to adapt to new surroundings, a new team, and most importantly of all, Championship football. As we know, it’s a beast of a division to play in and will have undoubtedly come as a shock to a few. Whilst not every signing we make will prove to be a success, these boys need time. Not convinced? Ask any Arsenal fan about Thierry Henry or Robert Pires’ first seasons. They ended up having reasonable careers after fairly humble beginnings.

Cutting players some slack isn’t accepting second best, it’s giving them a chance. We still owe ALL of them that.

Performances

The performances so far have been patchy. We haven’t done it for the full 90 minutes yet, but by gum we’ve had some fun already. Bournemouth. Reading. Barnsley. Three memorable occasions already and we’re still not firing on all cylinders. I’d love to be top of the league having won every game, but don’t you think its fun that we are gradually building? We’re like an ever tightening spring, ready to uncoil in the face of the Championship. We’re fifth in the table without really catching fire. I for one am excited by what will happen when we do…

Transfers

Despite a poor second half of the season, we were always going to miss Matej Vydra. Even when he wasn’t finding the back of the net, his pace was a constant concern for defenders. Opposition teams had to worry about him whether he was scoring or not.  This contribution can’t be overlooked and it’s no surprise that we look like we’re missing some pace up front, compared to this time last year. The cries I’ve heard from Hornets fans for a new pacy striker are of course sensible – who wouldn’t want a lightning front man who can score goals? They don’t grow on trees though and simply going out and replacing Vydra was always going to be nigh on impossible.

More recently, Watford have failed to bring back Nathaniel Chalobah. Again, he was always going to be a miss, and we could certainly have done with him on occasion this term. However, the goalposts have moved since last year, he is now on a five year deal at Cheslea earning a reported £35k a week, and when it became apparent that Cheslea expected the team taking him on loan to pay the majority of his wages, Watford were out. I’ve heard this criticised, a failure from the Pozzos. I see it as nothing of the sort – they have a structure, a plan, and it doesn’t involve paying £35k a week to a teenage midfielder. We’ve embraced the Pozzo family and their methods, but you can’t just pick and choose which bits of their approach you agree with or that suit what you think is best at that time. In my opinion, they did the right thing.

The East Stand

Whilst the news of the new stand has been met with near universal delight, there have still been rumblings of discontent, largely around the size. The capacity has been announced as being 3,000 with a view to possible expansion in the future. That’s an additional 3,000 usable seats, where currently there are none. I understand the desire to aim big and to look to what we hope will be a successful future, but for now, I confess to being happy that we are just building something…

Reasons to be cheerful…

As I said at the outset, no-one is above criticism. Football fans have a voice and should continue to use it. But we’re in a unique situation. We’ve come so, so far in such a short space of time – I think it is important to stop and to savour what’s happening, enjoy it, take it all in.

The list above shows that Watford haven’t got everything right yet, but this shouldn’t be cause for complaint, it should be enjoyable. Things improving steadily, surely, is a wonderful thing. It’s part of the process. Something is building at our Football Club, something good. What’s happening now, the good and the less good, is part of that process. What would be the fun in the finished product landing on our doorstep? Part of being a supporter is being a part of something, seeing it evolve and improve. Having been on that journey, the taste of success can be so, so sweet.

I want what you want. I want Watford to be as successful as possible. But I’m also prepared to wait, and not only that – to enjoy waiting. Don’t worry though. I’ve a feeling we won’t be waiting long…


Come on You Horns.
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Friday 13 September 2013

We know what it costs. But what's it worth?...

Non League Day 2013 was spent at The Meadow, home of Chesham United


In the wake of the BBC’s annual report into the cost of football, most of you will have used their handy calculator to work out exactly how much we spend on football. And then probably wished you hadn’t.  

Despite what are often eye-watering prices (Hello Ipswich!), supporters continue to flock to grounds and I don’t think it’s just us Watford fans that have been waiting for the end of the International break so we can head back to Vicarage Road and spend more of our hard earned cash supporting our team. Why then, despite it costing us a small fortune, do we do it?

I’ll tell you. It’s not about the cost. It’s about the value.

As with all the best things, it is hard to articulate exactly why football is so enjoyable. You either get it, or you don’t. You can feel it or you can’t. On top of that, if you asked a cross section of football fans about their favourite aspect of the game, you’d get countless different responses. The answer to what is so good about football is that there is no answer. It just is.

My view was backed up last Saturday. That afternoon, I  joined hordes of other football supporters in attending a game at my local non-league club, playing my own small part in non-league day. The fixture I went to was Chesham United V Truro City. It was a good game, with some excellent goals and Chesham continued their fablous start to the season with a well deserved 4-2 win.  Despite a six goal bonanza, it was what I saw on the terraces that really got me. Behind one of the goals was a band of 50 or so noisy supporters from Truro.

I’ll say that again. 50 supporters from Truro. That’s Truro in Cornwall.

To put it into some sort of context, that’s a round trip of over 550 miles. A minimum journey time of five hours. EACH WAY. 550 miles and ten hours in the car to see your team in the Calor League Premier Division. It’s as impressive as it is bonkers.

The intrepid group generated an impressive noise throughout, despite what was unfolding before them and at the final whistle they sang their team’s name proudly as the players trudged over to acknowledge them. They’d lost, but that wasn’t the point. They’d been there and they’d loved it. Their team had been heavily defeated and their journey home was going to take 60 times longer than mine, but they were undoubtedly the happier. They’d done their bit and had enjoyed themselves. It was mission accomplished.

It will have cost those travelling fans a fair few quid, but the value they got from the trip is immeasurable. They were at the game watching their team. It’s all that counts.

Price is a problem. Football is (in most cases) too expensive. People that want to go are often unable to and one day I hope this will be successfully addressed. That day at Chesham however was reaffirming for me. It reminded me just how much football is worth to so many. It’s why so many of us keep going back.

It’s football. It’s brilliant.

Come on you Horns!
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Watford's Greatest Captain?..

Who is Watford's Greatest Ever Captain?....
Prostate Cancer UK are once again the official charity of the Football League, and they will be running a series of campaigns and features throughout the 2013/14 season. They are creating a 'Men United' squad, and one of their first projects was to find a captain for this super squad. They asked supporters of every League club to nominate their suggestion for their greatest ever captain.

I was lucky enough to be asked to provide my thoughts, and I made what some may see as a controversial choice...

We love a good debate here at FTRE, so if you agree with me, fine, but if you don't - even better! Leave us a comment telling us who you think Watford's greatest ever captain is and we'll discuss the responses on a future podcast.

To find out more about the Men United project, please click here.
To find out who I chose, please click here.

Come on You Horns!

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Download the latest podcast via iTunesPlus, get FTRE blog posts sent straight to your inbox. Simply enter your email address in the "Subscribe by Email" box in the right hand column near the top of this page. Or if you're really technical you can use this RSS code.