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January 2008 Summary

(Championship unless stated)

Preston 0-2 Watford
Priskin (45) Ellington (90)

(F.A Cup 3rd Round)
Man Utd 4-1 Watford
Nani (52) Saha (57) Brandy (79) Giggs (pen 89) : Priskin (7)

Watford 2-1 Burnley
Ellington (35) Priskin (69) : Blake (49)

Stoke 1-2 Watford
Keene (64) : King (18) DeMerit (77)

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<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> PL W D L GD PTS1. WATFORD 29 18 11 0 +33 652. Sheff Utd 29 16 8 5 +19 56-----------------3. Southampton 28 15 9 4 +26 544. Leicester 29 14 8 7 +14 505. West Brom 29 11 10 8 +14 436. Wolves 29 12 7 10 +4 43-----------------7. Sheff Wed 29 11 9 9 +3 428. Blackpool 29 12 5 12 0 419. Preston 29 9 13 7 -2 4010. Charlton 29 9 12 8 +3 39</pre>

The League table made for excellent reading for the team , and for any Watford fans, but I was surprised to hear that many of the so called 'experts' hadn't favoured us for promotion before the start of the season, so it was nice to be proving them wrong so far. Having a 9 point lead with nearly a third of the season gone was a luxury that I could have only dreamt about when I started at Vicarage Road, but it was truly a reality now. I was looking to extend that lead as we played to host to a greatly underachieving Charlton, who sat four places and four points outside of the play-off places. There was talk that a few more defeats would see Alan Pardew making his way to the nearest job centre. We were sluggish at the start, and within 120 seconds of the opening whistle we were behind, Izale McLeod tapping in the rebound from Andy Reid's shot. This definately woke us up, and despite creating chances we still find ourselves going in 1-0 behind at half time. Marlon King soon changed that, as he equalised within 5 minutes of the re-start. This was what we needed, and when substitute Krisztian Nemeth scored his first goal for the club in the 83rd minute it secured us our third successive win in the League

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I had still not had any contact with Emma since she left to go to her mum and dad's, but I was still thinking about her all the time. I knew that I couldn't let it affect me too much though, as I had a job to do. I won't deny that it didn't hurt me, it hurt me really badly. I just wanted her back in my life, I loved her more than anything, and she was the most incredible woman I had ever been with. It hurts me so much that I can't be with her, but maybe she is right. Maybe we do need to be apart for our while, go our seperate ways. We need to talk about it though, and I want to see her to sit her down and talk about it

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We took the short trip south to face mid-table Crystal Palace, who had recently dispensed with Peter Taylor's services due to their shocking season so far that saw them lying in 17th place, a position that a side with their quality should not be occupying. Nathan Ellington got his place back in the side, while Nemeth stayed on the bench, but it was Ellington that made the difference, his fourth minute goal and early second half goal giving us a good platform to build on. We hadn't counted on the on loan striker Frazier Campbell though, as he scored with his first touch of the match, but we defended well and held on for our fourth successive 2-1 victory, which extended our lead further thanks to Wolves holding Sheffield Utd to a draw at Molineux

Three days later, we entertained Bristol City at Vicarage Road, a side who had comfortably adapted to life in the Championship, sitting in 12th place. We were the better side throughout the 90 minutes, with Priskin, Ellington, King and McAnuff all forcing the Bristol City 'keeper into good saves, but we could not find that all important goal. The worst miss of the match came from Priskin, as he turned his marker before firing over from just 6 yards. He missed a hat-trick of good chances himself, while Ellington and King missed a brace each, but in the end all we could do was settle for a 0-0 draw, a disappointing result in the circumstances, but one that kept out unbeaten record in tact, a record that now stood at 32 games

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The football side of things was going well, and I couldn't have asked for anymore on the pitch from the lads. In terms of the off pitch activities, and my life away from the footballing side of things, it wasn't as good as it could have been. I hadn't got Emma living with me anymore, and my nights were spent alone, generally looking towards the bottom of a glass. I was definately drinking too much, but it was the only thing that gave me solace these days. The chairman had invited me along to another of his gatherings, but I made my excuses and managed to get out of it. I didn't really want to tell him about my problems with Emma, but I maybe would have to eventually.

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I was still in a downbeat mood as we took the trip to QPR for our next league game. It was a game we should win comfortably, and we were in front after 25 minutes, the on-form Tommy Smith sliding the ball across the goal and into the far corner. We could have had several more during the remainder of the game, but once Marc Nygaard was sent off after 68 minutes, the game was ours. The home side didn't help their cause by finishing the game with 9 men, Stefan Bailey's terrible two-footed lunge earning him a straight red card. I was happy with the win, and a performance that was a lot more comfortable than the 1-0 scoreline suggested

We only had 48 hours to prepare for the final game of February, one which saw Jim Magilton's floundering Ipswich side travel south to Vicarage Road. This time, we started lethargically, and Pablo Counago made us pay when he headed home Matt Richards' left wing free-kick. We counted our blessings to be going in at half time just the one goal behind, but four minutes after the restart, we were back in it, substitute Tamas Priskin volleying home from 18 yards. That was the final piece of action in terms of goal-scoring, but both sides did have chances to win the, but in the end we were both content to settle for the point, as we continued our amazing unbeaten run

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February 2008 Summary

(Championship unless stated)

Watford 2-1 Charlton
King (50) Nemeth (83) : McLeod (3)

Crystal Palace 1-2 Watford
Campbell (60) : Ellington (4,46)

Watford 0-0 Bristol City

QPR 0-1 Watford
Smith (25)

Watford 1-1 Ipswich
Priskin (49) : Counago (14)

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Shaun knew I was hurting, and he also knew I was drinking too much. His solution? To drag me out of the house and make me join a golf club. Having not played golf in about 5 years, I wasn't sure how good I'd be, but I surprised myself as I carded a 71 around the course. I actually enjoyed myself too, not soemthing I admit too often. I decided that if I ever wanted to take out my frustrations or anger on anything, I'd hit a few golf balls, get myself relaxed. I think I'll enjoy this golfing lark

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Our first trip of the month saw us travel to White Rose country to face Brian Laws' mid table Sheff Wed side. The fact I went into the game with one fully fit striker saw a tweak in formation, as five occupied the midfield and Priskin took the lone strikers role. It was left winger Tommy Smith who put us ahead though, as his cross looped over everybody and into the far corner of the goal, to put us in front ten minutes into the second half. We were only in front for 6 minutes, as Wednesday striker Akpo Sodje drew his side level with a screamer from 25 yards. In injury time, it looked like we might win it, as Tamas broke free and was hacked down in the area, but referee Trevor Kettle deemed it a fair tackle. I was livid on the touchline, and I had to be restrained from literally thumping the referee at the end of the game

I had been furious with the decision, and had stated as much (except for a few stronger words) in the interview after the game. If I had kept my comments to just the television cameras then I might have got away with a warning, but the fact I stormed into the referee's room and hit a volley of colourful abuse towards the officials was probably what earnt me a touchline ban, as well as a £2,300 fine. I got a ticking off from the board too, who were not happy that I had drawn attention to myself and the club, and they ordered me to send a letter of apology to Mr Kettle, and the F.A Chief of Referees Keith Hackett. I was still livid with the decision, but I didn't really want to lose my job over it so duly did as the board requested

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My touchline ban came in our next game, as we entertained Coventry at Vicarage Road. Keith Burkinshaw would take charge of the team through the 90 minutes, but I picked the side to take the field. Ellington came back into the side to support Priskin, while Adrian Mariappa replaced the injured Lloyd Doyley. I took my place in the stands amongst the fans, and for 90 minutes I was as much a spectator as they were. I was left just as frustrated as the fans too, as I watched my side create chance after chance after chance yet not finding the back of Coventry's net. The final statistics read 27 shots to the visitors 4, yet we could not find the goal we needed, and had to settle for a goalless draw. The most frustrating thing was knowing that I could not do anything about it, and I wanted to go and encourage the lads. Damn it was hard.

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The golf was becoming a regular thing, as myself and Shaun entertained ourselves in our free time by taking on a round. I was beginning to think that my 71 had been a bit of beginners luck, as I hadn't recorded anything less than 80 since, whereas Shaun was firing of 60 odds all over the place. A round generally took us 4 hours (5 if I was having an off day) so we had time to engage in some really long conversations. Ironically, the last one we had was about Emma, and I arrived home to find a message on my answer machine from her that had been left that afternoon

"Hugo, it's me. I'm sorry, but I can't do this anymore. We need to go our seperate ways. It's not you, it's me. Phone me later and we'll talk. Love Em"

Three hours later, that was that. Emma had decided that the marriage needed to end, we needed to go our own ways. She still wanted us to be friends, but she would be round to collect her stuff. I had offered to put her a deposit down on a flat when she found one, but she was determined to make it on her own. I won't pretend it didn't hurt me, because it did, badly. I loved her, she was the only woman I had loved, but our time had passed. She would be coming round to pick her stuff up and leave her key. That night, old habits came back to haunt me, as I sat down with a bottle of Southern Comfort and the series of Alien films to try and make myself feel better

I was still feeling the effects of the Southern Comfort a few days later, but the fact I was a single man now had hit me even harder. I had still not gotten my head round it, and everybody in the club could tell there was something wrong. Anybody who tried to ask got the same response, so they left me to it. I was as quiet as I ever had been on the trip to the North, and I didn't say much until half an hour before the match with Blackpool. I dopn't know whether it was my motivational skills that helped the boys, but Nathan Ellington's third minute strike was enough to give us the points. Kiegan Parker and Kaspar Gorkss both recieved their marching orders for the home side as they finished with 9 men, and we extended our lead at the top to 12 points

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I was still struggling to come to terms with the fact that Emma had left me, and the house certainly looked a lot emptier now she had gone. Shaun had been brilliant, and the chairman had been supportive, even offering me time off from the club. I had refused that though, I knew that the time off would only make me feel worse. I had to have something to concentrate on and to help me take my mind off it. It certainly did that, as the players and the staff all helped me get through it. We did have more games to get through that month, and West Brom visited Vicarage Road.

The 6th placed side had been out of form of late, and it was obvious that they were coming for a point. This was what they managed to get too, as we didn't play at all well. In the end, we were lucky to come away with a 0-0 draw, as the visitors had the better of the match. We seemed to suffer a bit of fatigue throughout the game, and with 8 games remaining it wasn't a good time to get fatigued. We didn't have much time to rest either, as we had to travel north to face Scunthorpe. Again, we looked sluggish and lethargic, and when Brett Ormerod put the home side ahead three minutes into the second half it looked like we might be handed our first defeat of the season. Our goal scoring ability shone through though, and Nthan Ellington rescued a point for us in the 72nd minute

I had been worried by the tiredness that seemed to be creeping in to the side. We never had the biggest squad in the division, and I hadn't really though that we would suffer fatigue. Maybe I have to take responsibilty for the squad's fatigue, I don't know. The one thing that I do know is that if we suffer fatigue in the Premiership, we will be in serious trouble. We need to have a big squad for the Premiership. Saying that, we have to get there first. I don't want to assume we're there already, but we are very close to the promised land. 14 points clear of second, 18 clear of the play-off places, and we were looking healthy at the top of the table

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The golf had started to become more and more regular, and even if I didn't have the time for a full round I would go and hit a few balls on the driving range. My game was improving, and I even managed to win a round against Shaun (albeit he was having an off day) but I was becoming more and more of a pleasure to be around. The squad hadn't trained for two days, and I hoped that it would show throughout the next match. The home match against Southampton would prove to be a walk in the park, as the visitors were awful. Nathan Ellington's 70th minute strike was the difference between the sides, but we could, and probably should have scored many more. Ellington and Priskin both missed good chances, while Lloyd Doyley and Jay DeMerit had headers cleared off the line, but I was happy to settle for the 1-0 win in the end

The final game of March, and our 41st of the season, saw us travel north for what seemed like the umpteenth time that season, as we played mid-table Hull at the KC Stadium. This was our most efficient performance for a while, and Nathan Ellington's first half brace, his 17th and 18th goals of the season, were more than enough to give us a professional 2-0 win. Again, we could have had more than we did get, but that wasn't something that bothered me too much. The good thing about this particular victory was that it meant we needed just a point to gain promotion, thanks to Southampton's surprise defeat to Barnsley, and I drummed this message home to the players, as we suddenly entered the final stages of the campaign

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March 2008 Summary

(Championship unless stated)

Sheff Wed 1-1 Watford
Sodje (61) : Smith (55)

Watford 0-0 Coventry

Blackpool 0-1 Watford
Ellington (3)

Watford 0-0 West Brom

Scunthorpe 1-1 Watford
Ormerod (48) : Ellington (72)

Watford 1-0 Southampton
Ellington (70)

Hull 0-2 Watford
Ellington (15,26)