Sunday 27 April 2014

JINKS



This man wants his fan card taken off him for this! Reminds me of the Bristol City "Division 2 Champions 1997-1998" banner. We all know how that went for them.

Thursday 24 April 2014

HAPPY HORNET BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday Paul Shearring! You 'Orns!

This is the incredible birthday message that Paul Shearring is enjoying today! Organised by his three sons and wife, this fantastic billboard is currently on display in Croxley. 

Has anyone seen a better Watford FC themed birthday surprise, and who can name all those that feature?...

Sunday 20 April 2014

PODCAST: AS ONE ENDS, ANOTHER BEGINS

We're pleased to announce that the new From the Rookery End podcast is out now!

We had huge levels of interest in the Scott Duxbury special, so thanks to everyone that listened and for all the great feedback we received. One of the key messages that we took away form the interview was how integral the Harefield Academy remains to the club's plans, something that some supporters had questioned after the Pozzo family takeover. This was obviously great to hear, and in this podcast we continue our investigation into the state of the Watford youth setup with an interview with Academy Chief, Chris McGuane.

Chris explains where we're at in terms of EPPP as well as providing an overview of the other aspects of youth football at Watford FC.

Whilst a combination of poor results elsewhere mean that at the time of writing Watford still have an outside chance of the play-offs, the sensible money is on the 2013/14 campaign ending fairly shortly. Not so for Watford Ladies FC however, who as part of the newly formed Women's Super League will be continuing to play throughout the summer.

We recorded a large portion of the podcast at Watford Ladies first ever fixture in the Super League (highlights can be seen below) where we spoke to the manager John Salamon and Women's football expert Kieran Theivam. As well as being a Watford supporter, Kieran hosts the excellent Women's Football Podcast



In addition to our features on the Academy and the Ladies team, there is of course the usual chat about the football we've seen this month, including a debate about the future of Troy Deeney and a search for the reasons behind the alarming number of late goals the Hornets have conceded. We also introduce some new items into our rapidly expanding 'Watford in 100 objects' list.

We hope you enjoy the new podcast, and please do let us know if you have any ideas for topics and features for future episodes. Thanks for your support and Come on You Horns!

Saturday 19 April 2014

An acrostic poem - for Deeney

We talk about Troy Deeney's future in the next From The Rookery End (out tonight after Ipswich game), and in tribute here is an acrostic poem for the man.


If you fancy writing your own acrostic poem for another Watford player, or even Beppe, then send them to us - podcast@fromtherookeryend.com. The person who can do one for Forestieri will win 50 FTRE points.

Wednesday 9 April 2014

BEPPE v ZOLA - with more detail!

After Jason's blog post "Boring Boring Beppe" and a mini league table of Zola v Beppe after each being incharge of 20 games this season, our Watford brothers in Denver USA took the analysis a little bit further and have done an interesting graph.


The graph above shows how points were picked up by game under our two managers.  

As you will see there are three straight lines:
-------- The red line represents relegation form (50 points for the full season) 
-------- The green line represents playoff form (73 points)
-------- The gold line represents automatic promotion form (87 points)

Then curved lines represent the each managers accumulation of points: 
-------- The black line represents Sanninio
-------- The purple line represents Zola.  

So what does it show? 
Zola got off to a slightly better start than Sannino, and after game 11 (away at Huddersfield Town) the Golden Boys were on track for automatic promotion! That was the last win under Zola, and our form dipped below the pace needed to reach the playoffs, and headed towards that of a team involved in the relegation scrap.  

Watford under Sannino have been more consistent, catching up with Zola's points total after 15 games, and ending 6 points better off.  Over Sannino's time in charge, our form has been just a fraction of a point below that of a playoff team (based on historical averages).

One final comparison
According to the BBC's report after the home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, Watford were in 13th place and 8 points behind 6th place Leeds after Zola's last game in charge (20 games).  After 20 games under Sannino, we are now in 12th place and 7 points behind 6th place Reading.  But we also have a game in hand over all of the teams above us (away against Charlton) - if we win that, we would be in 10th place and 4 points off the playoff spots.  A modest improvement perhaps, but an improvement nevertheless.

As Jason's original post inferred, many Watford fans will judge the two managers on the entertainment value and not the stats. However, the analysis of the two men over the last day or so shows that there isn't a huge amount between them, but maybe Beppe's emphasis on tactics has resulted in a slightly better run of results!

BEPPE v ZOLA - A league table


Tuesday 8 April 2014

I. AM. GAFFER.


Just in case you were still in any doubt! If you aren't sure what this quote refers to, make sure you watch this excellent BBC interview with Beppe: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26926405

Monday 7 April 2014

A New Look Vicarage Road




Not long until there will be a great view from both sides at Vicarage Road



http://ift.tt/PR3ILh

Sunday 6 April 2014

100 Objects - The next 50

We've been searching for 100 that define Watford FC for a while now. It's a wonderful list, and full of some fantastic personal stories from fans. So as we head towards our 50 Objects mark, we want to know what MUST we include in the list?

The aim of Watford in 100 objects has always been to bring together a list of one hundred different items, each providing an evocative memory or time in Watford's history. 

So who must be represented, what events have we not marked yet and do you have a special object that you'd like to add to the list?

Here is the list so far:

1: Pierre Issa's Stretcher
2: Jason's Knitted Wilf Rostron
3: Cardboard Andy
4: Junior Hornets Membership Card
5: IVECO Truck

6: Cally's Decks
7: Square Programme
8: Tight Red Shorts
9: Steve Palmer's 14 Shirts

10: The Watford Observer Clock
11: Watford 7-1 Southampton Pen
12: Gerad Lavin's Boot
13: A Watford Mug
14: Elton John Album "Single Man"
15: Anatomically Correct Harry the Hornet
16: 'Cool as Craig' T-shirt
17: The Steamship Vera

18: Doughnuts from Gymkhana
19: The Lucky Norwich Canary
20: Matt Rowson's pennant from Kaiserslautern vs Watford
21: 1971 The Wonderful World of Soccer Star Gala Collection
22: Benskin - 1984 Cup Final Bottle of Beer
23: Steve Sims's Mustache
24: Steve Terry's Headband
25: Ben Iorha's Bunions
26: The Watford Parade Pond
27: Peter Morgan's Football Rattle
28: CYHSYF Fanzine
29: The Ivanhoe Knight
30: Kevin Miller's Clean Sheet
31: The Family Enclosure and Terrace 
32: Joy Garden Takeaway Menu
33: The old Vicarage Road Scoreboard
34: Sudbury Court Football Kit
35: John Barnes's Woolly Gloves
36: BSAD Server
37: BHaPPY's Smuggled Fruit and Vegetables 
38: Aidy Boothroyd's UFO 
39: Tim Turner's Personalised Subbuteo Team
40: Harriet Hornets Head on a Silver Platter
41: Nick Cox's Teamsheet
42: The Watford Stadium Halt Railway Station 
43: Peter Birch's Wedding Rings
44: An ITV Digital set top box45: The Watford double-decker bus - minus a roof

46: A Watford FC - Passport to Europe
47: Luton Town Membership card

Friday 4 April 2014

Boring, Boring Beppe?

We’re all aware of the personal significance to Troy Deeney’s when he second his goal against Sheffield Wednesday last Saturday. However, it also hit a threshold for Beppe Sannino. That’s now 30 goals in his 18 Championship games at Watford, which matches the 30 goals that Watford scored in the division under Zola’s reign this season. That number was achieved in 20 games overseen by Gianfranco. Only a couple of games more, but more nonetheless.

Quite surprising then for someone labelled boring and negative by some. So why, if we have become more productive in front of goal, does he still give this impression of playing less entertaining football than his predecessor?

SOLID
The first thing Beppe did was to try and shore up the defence. Goals were harder to come by at the start of his reign as he focussed on the issues at the other end of the pitch. Comparing the same period of games for the two Italians, Beppe’s side is conceding a third of a goal less per game than Zola’s. Is it more exciting to have a fear that we might concede in an end to end humdinger, than watch a standard home 2-0 victory?

RUBBISH
Not us, but the shambolic excuses of football teams that we’ve faced recently. How many goals would Zola’s side have dispatched past Blackpool and Barnsley in recent weeks? Well, let’s not forget Zola’s 30 goals included 6 against a naïve Bournemouth, who have now matured to a decent Championship side, and 5 against the perennially slow starters Barnsley.

LIES, DAMNED LIES & STATISTICS
So I could have compared Beppe’s side to last season’s Watford under Zola. No contest. No-one in the Football League was that good. But then Zola had different players then. Beppe started with the same squad that Gianfranco finished up with and this is a much fairer comparison.

IF GOD HAD WANTED US TO PLAY FOOTBALL IN THE CLOUDS… 
Let me just clarify, I’m not saying that Beppe is a long ball man. Not at all. But you get the analogy right? Remember how annoying it was that the likes of Clough and press-men like Jeff Powell (the Daily Mail hated us then too) slagged us off for playing the long ball game in the Eighties, despite (or more likely because of) the success it brought. So why should we look a gift horse in the mouth? Shouldn’t a more successful, if patient, style of play be preferred over a more cavalier, yet inconsistent approach? 


This isn’t intended to be a first term school report on Sannino. Nor is it a stick to beat Zola with. If I’m honest, I’d have liked to have seen him tough it out and try and turn it around. But that’s more of my thoughts on the “change it, change it!!” mentality in modern football as soon as things start to dip, rather than my opinion of our previous manager. No, it’s just one of those occasions when the statistics don’t necessarily agree with the perception. Interesting?

-- Jason