retired_brianrt

September 2007 Summary

(Championship unless stated)

Watford 2-2 Plymouth
Stewart (2) Priskin (78) : Fallon (86) Wotton (90)

Burnley 2-3 Watford
Duff (7) Elliott (58) : Stewart (10) Smith (39) Priskin (84)

Watford 0-0 Stoke

Watford 2-0 Crystal Palace
Ellington (16) King (57)

Bristol City 1-1 Watford
Showunmi (46) : Priskin (81)

retired_shaneltolbert

Good start Sherm :thup:

Looking forward to more

retired_brianrt

Cheers danny.harv. Its always nice to get support from other people and really encourages me to keep going

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We had started well, and September had been relatively successful. I was happy with the way the team were performing, although the lack of goals had me worried. It wasn't like we weren't creating chances, but we could not seem to finish them as much as we should be. With this in mind, I was slightly worried going into our opening game of the month, a trip to London to play recently relegated Charlton. They were a side that should be heading the table, especially with the amount of talent and depth in their squad, and I would quite happily have settled on a point from the game. Four minutes into the match we were behind, Luke Varney sliding the ball past Mart Poom. I hadn't counted on Marlon King though, as the big man sent us in at the half time interval in front, thanks to two goals in four minutes. He completed his hat-trick nine minutes into the second half, his looping header sealing the victory, but the scoring wasn't finished, as Lee Williamson scored his first goal for the club after 66 minutes to send us to a very good victory over a very good side

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My footballing philosophy was one of attacking proportions. I believe that you cannot win football games if you do not score goals, and as a player, and now as a manager, I instilled that into the team I was involved with. We had been creating chances in games, and it seemed to be all coming together in the previous game against Charlton. I wanted the team to score more goals than whoever they played, basically, if you score three, we'll score four, which was always a good thing to have, especially in our division, and I wanted us to carry that philosophy into the next match

That next game was a home game against QPR, and typically, it finished 0-0. It was a dire game, one that we should have won easily, but we barely created a chance. The QPR defence stifled everything we had, and no matter what we threw at them they stopped it all. Marlon King and Tamas Priskin missed a couple of good chances, and the visitors had a few good opportunities, but we couldn't find the opening and had to settle for a point

retired_brianrt

The chairman had invited myself and Emma to one of his 'social gatherings' at his mansion. I was never really one for parties, always prefering the more quieter occasions or a bit of time to myself in the house. I didn't really think it was appropiate to say no to my chairman, so I accepted the invitation. As it was, I ended up going to the gathering on my own, as Emma couldn't make it due to previous commitments with friends. I was glad in a way, as maybe it gave me an excuse to get out of the chairman's early. Champagne was flowing, and with many suited and booted men there, I expected a few high and mighty looks. As it was, I was quite surprised, as many of the chairman's friends were down to earth, genuine people. I probably shouldn't admit this, but I had a good time. I might even go to another of the chairman's little gatherings

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On the pitch, I was struck by news of an injury to Jordan Stewart, on which would keep him out for up to a month. As my search for a replacement left back had been unsuccessful, youngster Jordan Parkes was the only man who looked capable of stepping into Jordan's on form shoes. It was a massive blow, and a bigger one was to follow when Ronnie Wallwork was added to the injury list with a bruised foot, which meant Douglas Rinaldi came into the squad.

Parkes started on the left, while Rinaldi took his place on the bench for the trip to Ipswich, another game I thought could be difficult. This proved to be an inaccurate assessment, as we found ourselves four goals clear within the opening 35 minutes, thanks to a hat-trick from Nathan Ellington and Jobi McAnuff's free-kick. Danny Haynes got a goal back for the home side, and Billy Clarke halved the lead fifteen minutes from time, but Ellington grabbed his fourth goal four minutes before the end to seal a fabulous victory and send us into second place

My worry about the lack of scoring had been blown out of the window in the last three games, as we had scored 9 times, against two very goos sides, and both away from home. I expected more goals at Vicarage Road, but our away form was a lot better than it was at home. Not that I was complaining mind, I was just happy to be on course for promotion and having the team starting to find their scoring boots

retired_brianrt

The stunning win and performance against Ipswich had left me in a good mood, one made even better by Marlon King's return to the starting line-up alongside Ellington. Lee Williamson picked up a knock in the win at Ipswich, meaning a half fit Ronnie Wallwork had to be put on the bench, with Douglas Rinaldi starting. Jordan Parkes had been impressive in the previous game, and I had no problem keeping him in the team. The visitors for the game were Sheff Wed, a side struggling down the bottom of the league. Marlon did the business again, heading us in front after 18 minutes, but Marcus Tudgay's sublime volley levelled the scores for his side. After that, we dominated the game, King completing his hat-trick and Wallwork scoring with his first touch to give us another comfortable victory

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I remember going to watch Aberdeen for the first time with my dad, I was 7 years old. He took me to Pittodrie, which was his side. We lived closer to other grounds, but Aberdeen were always his team. That day, January 23rd 1982, was a bitterly cold day, typically Scotland really. I took my seat, next to my dad and his friends, with a hot flask of hot chocolate. They were playing Kilmarnock that day, and the atmosphere was incredible. From that moment on, I was hooked. Although the Aberdeen side were on the wrong end of a 2-1 defeat, I wanted to go every week. I went until I signed for the club, for 6 years I went to Pittodrie every week. I loved it. Admittedly, Aberdeen are seen as my hometown club, but for some unknown reason, I hold Watford in my heart. I can't explain it, I just want to make Watford the most successful side ever. I love the club, I really do.

The month closed off with an away trip to Iain Dowie's Coventry, another game I felt could be tough, but our away form had been very good of late. This fact seemed to bolster the side, Tommy Smith sliding us in front after 8 minutes, although within 60 seconds we were pulled back, as Simpson headed his side level. Tamas Priskin put us in front for a second time, after 35 minutes, but again we were pulled back by that man Simpson again, this time he waited five minutes to pull his side level. The second half was one way traffic, as the lads took my words on board and dominated the possession. We made five top notch chances in the match, and should have won the game, but the we could not find our way through to the Coventry goal and we had to settle for just the one point.

Marlon King earnt the player of the month award, after two hat-tricks and a string of excellent performances, while Jordan Parkes came third in young player of the month, despite having only played twice for the first team. I had been delighted to hand Marlon the player of the month award, one he thoroughly deserved, and his 9 goal haul so far had seen us up to second place in the league. I also had my scouts out on assignments, as the winter Transfer Window was a matter of weeks away, and I was always looking to strengthen the squad with new and quality acquisitions. A left back had been top of my list, but with Parkes looking more than capable of holding his own it was not as important as it used to be. I did want a central midfielder though, a creative player who could burst forward, almost like a Frank Lampard style role.

retired_brianrt

October 2007 Summary

(Championship unless stated)

Charlton 1-4 Watford
Varney (4) : King (32,36,54) Williamson (66)

Watford 0-0 QPR

Ipswich 2-5 Watford
Haynes (42) Clarke (75) : Ellington (2,20,34,86) McAnuff (28)

Watford 4-1 Sheff Wed
King (18,30,pen 55) Wallwork (72) : Tudgay (26)

Coventry 2-2 Watford
Simpson (9,40) : Simth (8) Priskin (35)

retired_brianrt

Goals were coming rather more freely now, and the worry I had going into November was the fact that we had kept three clean sheets in our last ten games, and with clean sheets a key part of winning games I wanted us to be a bit tighter at the back. The first opportunity for us to do this was a home game against the Simon Grayson infused Blackpool. The side that Simon had created were much like him as a player, tough and gritty, and they were a darned hard side to beat. This showed, as they were the dominant force throughout the first half, and Keith Southern's 20 yard drive put them in front a minute before the interval. As it was, my Alex Ferguson impression at half time seemed to do the trick, as Nathan Ellington and substitute Douglas Rinaldi scored our goals and sent us through to a 2-1 win, which was quite comfortable in the end, seen as we dominated the second 45 minutes and created 6 or 7 good chances, but I was happy enough to settle for the one goal victory

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> PL W D L GD PTS1. Sheff Utd 14 9 4 1 +17 312. WATFORD 14 8 6 0 +16 30------------------3. Southampton 14 7 6 1 +14 274. Leicester 14 8 3 3 +9 275. West Brom 14 8 1 5 +14 256. Preston 14 6 6 2 +2 24------------------7. Sheff Wed 14 6 4 4 +4 228. Plymouth 14 6 4 4 +1 229. Barnsley 14 5 6 3 +8 2110. Wolves 14 6 3 5 +1 21</pre>

The table made for good reading, as we sat unbeaten in second place, and although it would be nice to be in first place, I was confident that we could do it eventually, although we did have some games against some of the top 6 coming up in the next few weeks. I had faith in my players, and the fans had faith in me, and I want to go up with the league title in my hands, with the fans adoring me as a real legend at this club

retired_jamjam1

this is a good story man keep it up

good to see you had a good start, 14 games and not one loss is great

I know you didn't field a full strength team for the League Cup (i never do either) its just a shame you didn't progress a little further still promotion is they key

retired_brianrt

A tough away game was next on the agenda, with a visit to the Hawthorns to play 5th placed West Brom. Tony Mowbray's side had some real talent to choose from, and particularly upfront they were dangerous, so I was wary of the threat that they posed. Come the start of the second half though, I needn't have been, as it looked like we were going to cruise to victory thanks to first half goals from Jay DeMerit, the American rising highest to head home Smith's corner, and Hungarian Tamas Priskin sliding underneath the home 'keeper. We should have taken all three points from that position, but Bartosz Slusarski pulled a goal back on the hour, capitalising on McAnuffs poor pass, and another bad piece of defending from Jordan Parkes allowed McDonald to equalise and earn a point for his side which there was no way they deserved, as we had run the game from first whistle to last whistle

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There had been some interesting transfer targets in the market, although one of particular interest to me was Ranger's midfielder Kevin Thomson. He was unhappy at Ibrox, and disillusioned with his sides poor start to the season which saw them sat in 5th after 13 games, a position they should not be occupying. He was a hell of a midfielder, reminding me of the role that Paul Gascoigne used to play for England, and I was very interested in signing him. Keith Burkinshaw, my assistant, a man whos judgement I trusted without a shadow of a doubt, recommended him, but felt he might not want to move anywhere lower than an average Premiership club. I made the enquiry to the Scottish side, who held my offer in consideration, but I did inform the scouts to keep their eyes out for other potential targets, should Kevin not wish to move

Newly promoted Scunthorpe were our next challenge, and without their top scorer of the previous 3 seasons Billy Sharp, they had struggled to adapt to Championship life, sitting 23rd in the table. I planned on making life even more difficult for them, and with that in mind, Ronnie Wallwork came into the side in place of Rinaldi, while Ellington dropped to the bench to make way for Marlon King. It was Marlon who got us off and running after 14 minutes, using his pace to break clear and slide in his tenth goal of the season. He doubled that lead 13 minutes later, Priskin winning a penalty and Marlon duly ramming it into the top corner. The visitors got back into it right on the stroke of half time, Brett Ormerod beating Poom with a delicate little chip, but Jobi McAnuff's sole second half strike just four minutes from the end was enough to put the seal on the win and make it comfortable enough, a win which sent us top thanks to Sheff Utd's surprise home defeat to Burnley

retired_brianrt

Thanks a lot IrishLad, it's always good to know that people are interested in my writing

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Unfortunately, the win against Scunthorpe brought a major blow for us, as Marlon King picked up a torn calf muscle that would keep him out until January, meaning that Priskin would get his chance for some regular playing time. His first chance for that would come in the teams trip to Southampton, the team sitting in third place in the league. If I'm honest, it wasn't the greatest of games to watch for the fans, but the key was that one goal decided the game, that coming from Tommy Smith in the 26th minute, as he broke free of his marker and slid the ball home underneath Bialkowski. Chances were few and far between in the match, the best for the home side falling to Marek Saganowski, while Nathan Ellington missed two good chances in the second half, but we held on to claim the win and all three points.

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There had been some possibilities that had been thrown up to me from the transfer market, and there were two in particular that caught my eye. One was left winger Jorge Rojas, who looked like he could do a hell of a job at this level, even though he was the wrong side of thirty. He could play on the left of midfield or the left side of defence, something which I had been looking for since the Summer transfer window. Another player who looked like he might be a useful acquisition was Aberdeen's central midfielder Barry Nicholson. The man who occupied my old position at my old club looked a good player, and one that I was quite happy to bring to the club. Bids were duly faxed off to both of the respective clubs, and I was hoping to complete the transfer dealing in time for the start of the January window

November drew to a close withg a home game against Hull. They had some talent among the ranks, with Jay Jay Okocha and Henrik Pedersen in particular. In the end, neither of them made any difference to the game, as a Tommy Smith goal in either half secured three points for the side. His opener came on 26 minutes, heading home McAnuff's cross before he slid home underneath the Hull 'keeper in the second minute of injury time, extending our lead at the top of the table to 6 points, making me a very happy man going into the Christmas period