My blog from http://thewatfordnest.blog.com/ I’ll start by saying losing 2.1 against Newcastle at James Park might not sound like a terrible result. On paper it certainly looks respectable. But so did: losing 1.0 to Bolton and losing 2.1 to Portsmouth. But what is it all these defeats in particular have it common? A defeat in the last five minutes This is a simple formula which can be used to sum up the season thus far: Effort = Rued chances = Loss. It is a strange emotion I feel at the moment, having been distanced by events due to my geographical location I have not experienced the true turmoil of this Premiership season. But I can remember the emotions of last time only to well, particularly with the help of mini diary reports I made. I happened to look at these over the summer. As in the summer of 1999 I thought we’d stay up. At the start Graham Taylor and all those players were legends, who could do no wrong, but by December the entries had gradually become more negative. This eventually cumulated in the following quote ‘Watching Watford now feels like a chore!”. This was written after that 4.0 defeat to Tottenham at White Hart Lane. I can’t defend that quote at all, all I know is I gave up hope because I was na*ve. The only excuse I can offer is that watching Watford or any team at the wrong end of the Premiership as a teenager opens you up to so much more public abuse and therefore felt so much more painful than relegation from the First Division in 1996. Where is all this leading and how do I feel second time round? Thankful, thankful that we are even in the Premiership, however long that may last, may that be months or years. Hindsight is wonderful, during the dark days of the ****** era I’d have given anything to experience Premiership football once more. I hadn’t realised just how much we had once achieved until the club was almost taken away from me, taken away from us. When I started University in September 2004 we were in the process of beginning another season of relegation battle, by the end of March, League one was looking a likely destination for us, especially after we threw away that 2.0 lead against Leicester City. Just over a year later, the Premiership was our destiny and without the help of a Russian Billionaire! This alone is keeping me positive, making me believe we can stay up. The clubs youth policy and the redevelopment of the stadium suggests we do have a bright future wherever we are next season or the season after that. I’d like to end by saying those players that pulled on the yellow shirt today (against Newcastle) are still heroes, you have to respect them for the determination they give each game and they walked across hot coals for the club! But unfortunately determination only gets you so far, quality is the key to Premiership survival, and upfront (in particular) we lack in that department. Whilst our attack is poor, any defensive errors will be punished so much more severely. We don’t need lots of new players, just a couple of good buys here and there. I am aware that this ‘match report’ hasn’t directly commented on the Newcastle game but trust me it has been all about the emotions of that Newcastle game. For those of you that want to know match details. Watford failed to take their chances (again) and when it had looked like we’d be the more likely side to nick a win, Martins scored twice when given too much space in the box. By this time tomorrow I will be back in (cold?) Hertfordshire, and back in touch with reality! Any comments will be much appreciated as always. Thanks Aber
I know when we are losing we all seem to be down, but you are right, it aint all so bad. We just get so emotional about it because deep down it really matters to us, thats all.
