Monday August 2, 2004:
Memo To: Graham Simpson, Chairman
Good evening Graham,
Well, I had to open my trap about our luck avoiding injuries, didn't I?
Neil Cox will be out at least three weeks with his groin strain and to add to our misery, in-form striker
Hameur Bouazza twisted his ankle in training on Thursday and will likely be out for 7 days.
Our final friendly of the season is against Rushden and Diamonds in Irthlingborough tomorrow evening. I plan on fielding our forecasted first team to start the game in order to develop a bit more chemistry before our Championship debut on Saturday. Scout Kevin Hardwick tells me that Rushden are an average side and play a direct 4-4-2 formation. I'm just hoping to escape the game without further injury.
Oh, did you see what the media are saying about our chances in the Championship this season? Not surprisingly, they feel we are hard-pressed to stay afloat and consider us relegation candidates and an 80-1 longshot to top the table. I'll just have to work even harder to prove the naysayers wrong.
I'm sorry you aren't able to attend tomorrow's game but we'll talk later this week.
Matt Bosela, Manager
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Late Rushden Goal Dooms Watford
Tuesday August 3, 2004 (watfordfc.co.uk) -
Rushden's
Daniel Talbot scored on a laser-like free kick from just outside the box in the 83rd minute to send Watford home with a 2-1 loss.
Rushden midfielder
Andrew Sambrook was the architect of the lovely first goal, spotting Jamaican striker
Simeon Jackson open down the middle of the pitch. Jackson took the classy feed and made no mistake, putting the shot past Hornets keeper
Richard Lee at the 29 minute mark. Lee's teammates were a lethargic bunch in the opening 45, showing no pace and very little battling spirit.
Things picked up for the Golden Boys in the second half with the introduction of the second team and a change to an attacking 3-1-3-1-2 formation. Watford's newfound determination was rewarded when striker
Bruce Dyer headed midfielder
Jermaine Darlington's precise cross into the back of the net to knot the score at 1. It just wasn't to be, however, as Talbot fired a rocket over a wall of Hornets past backup keeper
Alec Chamberlain to seal Watford's fate.
"I'm extremely disappointed in the effort our players put forth tonight", a downcast Matthew Bosela offered postgame. "We may not have the most talented team in the Championship but I know we have more fight than we showed in this match. If we're to succeed this season, we'll need that effort in every game and I'll settle for nothing less." Bosela left the media throng declaring that changes might be made to the starting eleven for Watford's Championship opener against Coventry on Saturday afternoon. Game time is 3:00pm at Highfield Road. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">FRIENDLYTUESDAY AUGUST 3, 2004.FULL TIME FROM NENE PARK, IRTHLINGBOROUGHRushden and Diamonds 2Watford 1------------------------------------------------GOALS: Rushden: Simeon Jackson (29), Daniel Talbot (83)Watford: Bruce Dyer (71) ------------------------------------------------SHOTS ON TARGET:Rushen: 2 Watford: 4------------------------------------------------Attendance: 6386 Score at Half: 1-0Referee: Barry Knight Weather: Dry 22ºC</pre>
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Watford Draw Colchester United in Carling Cup First Round
Friday August 6, 2004 (watfordfc.co.uk) -
The draw was made for the English League Cup today and the Golden Boys drew an away match against League One side Colchester United.
"This is a tough draw for us, going on the road for our first cup match", manager Matt Bosela indicated after the conclusion of the draw. "I'm quite certain Phil Parkinson will have his team well prepared for the contest and I can only hope that we are in good form for the match. I can tell you that I plan on playing our first team for the duration of our stay in the competition - many managers like to play their youngsters as a means of introducing them to big-time football but my main concern is winning games."
The first round match will be played on Wednesday August 25th at Layer Road. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday August 6, 2004:
Memo To: Graham Simpson, Chairman
Good evening,
I assume you saw the draw for the Carling Cup a couple hours ago. I hoped for a draw at home but I suppose we're fortunate to have avoided another Championship side for our first round. Still should be a tough fight.
On to more important matters - our big Championship opener tomorrow afternoon at Highfield Road. I'm going to go with a bit more of a defensive look than I've showed in the preseason, with my central midfielders
Gavin Mahon and
Brynjar Gunnarsson dropping back into a DM position. I feel this tactic will give us an excellent chance at victory. I have a couple changes in store for the game tomorrow: in-form midfielder
Jermaine Darlington will be inserted into the left midfield position in place of
Paul Devlin, who hasn't shown much confidence on that side of the field. I'm also going to play youngster
Jack Smith in the right fullback position in place of
Lloyd Doyley for the first match.
Advance scout Kevin Russell Hardwick says that manager
Peter Reid plays an attacking 4-4-2 formation and he specifically praised their pacy attack. After perusing their roster, I feel that if we are able to contain Trinidad and Tobago striker
Stern John, we have a good shot at victory.
We've finalized our roster and I've made the following players available for loan: Defenders
Ben Herd,
Adrian Mariappa and
Cam Mawer; Midfielders
Dom Blizzard,
James Collins,
Paul Coyne and
Jamie Hand; Forwards
Gauthier Diafutua,
Scott Fitzgerald and
Jason Norville. I hope to further their development by getting them access to first-team playing time. As it stands now, they would be hard pressed to even get minutes with our reserve team.
That's all for now. The players are excited, as am I. We'll see you tomorrow!
Matthew Bosela, Manager
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Lee Saves a Point at Highfield Road
Saturday August 7, 2004 (watfordfc.co.uk) -
Watford was completely overwhelmed by Coventry City's attack this afternoon but keeper
Richard Lee was at his resilient best in a 2-2 draw at Highfield Road. Coventry had an incredible 19 shots with 9 hitting the intended target, while Watford could only muster 1 shot on target.
Indeed, one of Watford's goals was an inadvertent deflection and that was the opener. Six minutes in, Hornets midfielder
Jermaine Darlington sent a cross into the box that Coventry defender
Richard Shaw tried to clear. Unfortunately for him, it was rifled right at striker
Danny Webber and deflected right into the Coventry goal. A great start for Watford went sour only three minutes later, when
Gary McSheffrey went in unmarked and potted one past Lee to tie the game at 1. Injury struck one of Watford's best early season players when Darlington went down clutching his knee at the 17 minute mark and had to be replaced by
Paul Devlin.
Watford was able to right the ship and got off to a tremendous start in the second half as well.
Neil Ardley took an ill-advised clearing pass from the Coventry keeper and was able to find
Heidar Helguson with a deadly cross that was expertly finished. This did not seem to adversely affect the Coventry side, who continued to pester the shell-shocked Lee. They finally got another one past him at 71 minutes, when
Neil Wood accepted a cross inside the box and put a deadly strike into the left side of the goal to make the score 2-2. The Golden Boys held on for dear life the rest of the way, looking entirely out of shape during the final third. Adding to the problems was midfielder
Gavin Mahon, who received two yellow cards within a three minute period to earn an early trip to the showers. Ultimately though, Man-of-the-Match Lee was up to the task.
"I'm thrilled to get a point out of this game, to be honest", an exhausted Matthew Bosela said after the contest. "We were thoroughly outplayed the entire contest and I can say that Coventry likely deserved a better fate. However, there was one who did play his heart out for us and that lad is Richard Lee. He was truly spectacular today and single-handedly earned the point for us." Bosela then talked about the negatives, specifically his club's lack of fitness in the contest. "My coaches tell me that training is going well, but every player is sucking wind out there. The cancelled friendly certainly didn't help but we can't accept the players showing up for games out of shape. We may have to step things up in the days ahead if we're to keep pace with our opponents in future contests."
Bosela singled out two players for poor form: the aforementioned Mahon, who the manager said "should know better than to challenge a referee late in a contest" and "almost cost us the game." He also was dismayed at the very poor debut from Icelandic international
Brynjar Gunnarsson, who was given a 4/10 rating by the BBC for his 'performance'. "I'm shocked at how poor his form was today", Bosela opined. "However, he knows he played poorly and doesn't need a lecture from me. He's a very self-motivated individual and I know he'll be better in our next game."
That next game is the home opener for Watford against Derby on Tuesday night. Kickoff at Vicarage Road is 7:30pm. Mahon will be forced to serve a mandatory one-game suspension for the red card he picked up this afternoon, and therefore won't be available for the game. There is no news yet on the condition of injured winger Jermaine Darlington. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">CHAMPIONSHIPSATURDAY AUGUST 7, 2004FULL TIME FROM HIGHFIELD ROAD, COVENTRYCoventry 2Watford 2------------------------------------------------GOALS: Coventry: Gary McSheffrey (9), Neil Wood (71) Watford: Danny Webber (6), Heidar Helguson (49) ------------------------------------------------SHOTS ON TARGET:Coventry: 9Watford: 1------------------------------------------------Attendance: 18326 Score at Half: 1-1Referee: Paul Taylor Weather: Dry 24ºC</pre>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday August 7, 2004:
Memo To: Matthew Bosela
Good evening Matt,
I've conducted my post-match physical on midfielder
Jermaine Darlington. He has strained knee ligaments and will be sidelined for about a month.
He was completely heartbroken over this turn of events, especially considering his fine early season form. We'll miss his presence for sure but I don't feel there's anything to be worried about long-term.
Luke Anthony, Physio, Watford FC
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Watford - Cardiff Match Rescheduled
Saturday August 7, 2004 (watfordfc.co.uk) -
The Championship match between Watford and Cardiff originally scheduled for Tuesday August 17th has been moved to Saturday September 4th due to international call-ups. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Tap Next Week:
Tuesday August 10, 2004: vs. Derby County (Championship)
Saturday August 14, 2004: AT WIGAN ATHLETIC (Championship)
I'm also writing an NHL:EHM dynasty so I'm rotating between the two games on a nightly basis. I'm pretty excited about playing my week in FM tomorrow night; my Championship debut should prove a bit tougher than the friendlies!
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