I know I'm a little early, but I've got an important meeting with Wild Rostron for the next 3 days. Previous match... Wow, Buzzin, amazeballs, other such positive words. Who knows where Ranieri can take us to? I'll continue this thread with something that 352 wrote for the previous match. About the author. Me, I am 47 years old from a small village on Anglesey. My first language is Welsh, but my English is ok (I hope). I started supporting Watford after we finished 2nd to Liverpool in the old first division in 1982/83? Why did I choose Watford, you may ask? Well, all my friends supported one of three teams....Liverpool Everton or Man U. I didn't want to be a sheep and follow the herd, buy my young brain knew nothing about Watford. But they nearly won the league, so Watford must be a brilliant team. Idiotically I didn't know how far away from Anglesey Watford was, but never mind, I had chosen my team, and that was it. I would be a Watford fan till I die. Welsh language music is 99% of the time awful, but this song is a popular drunk singalong song, which reminds me of Watford. IN SPITE OF EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING WE ARE STILL HERE The song is really about the Welsh language, and the problems it's had in the past, being banned etc. My favourite ever Welsh language song is this, sung by Super Furry Animals vocalist Gryff Rhys when he was a teenager, trying to be like The Jesus & Mary Chain. The ending to Valium is great. As a youngster I wasn't the greatest of footballers, but I was left footed. I was quick, could cross the ball ok, and I enjoyed a sliding tackle. Thus, I played for my local village in the Anglesey Junior Leauge as either a left winger or a left back. I stopped playing when I was 15. Our football pitch was being transformed into an industrial estate, oh well. As a Watford fan, over the years, I've been to the Vic 6 times. I've been to many an away match. No further than Leeds or Burnley or Crewe, but everywhere in between. BUT. When I was 30 years old in 2004, I fell badly ill, became totally immobile, unable to feed myself etc. I got diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis. At the time I was working as an office manager, I got offered a nice redundancy £££, so I semi-retired Since then I've only seen 3 Watford away matches at Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff. SOUTHAMPTON FC To begin with, I have Albanian heritage in my family, so I've always kept a look out for the national team. Now, Southampton have a 20 year old 6'3" centre forward on loan from Chelsea. Armando Broja. He has scored a goal in Soton's last two matches, the young kid has skill... His Albanian isn't too great though... He is the new hope of Albanian football. He was born in Slough, his family is from Northern Albania, my past family were from Gramash in South Central Albania, but gone have the times when they would bicker and fight over Goats, Cheese and Sexy Ladies. Southampton also have other splendid footballers, none more famous than the nippy little Nathan Redmond. After a weak start Southampton kickstarted their season with a BOSS 1-0 against Leeds. But, last weekend they could only manage a 2-2 home draw bs Burnley. FAMOUS SOUTHAMPTON fans... Craiiiiiig Daiiiivid, the singer. He is also famous due to his pet Kestral Kes.... https://youtu.be/q1i65GlLSek Chris Packman,the birdtwitching naturist... https://youtu.be/1EVJBcObzh8 Prediction? Tricky one, should be close, game of two halves, I'll go for a draw 2-2. Sarr, Pedro....Broja, Broja
Wow, that's certainly a mixed stewpot of heritage! Is there ever any call to translate Albanian to Welsh or vice versa? The reason for asking is that I saw a job once which required translating Vietnamese to Welsh and pooh pooh'd it thinking there must be about 2 people in the world who could do that.... Shitluck with the MS man. I look after one or two clients with MS, so I see it up close. The thing is that it affects women 3 times more than men they say, but as a male carer all I run into is blokes with MS. Best advice I can give from what I've seen is make sure you take the meds on time - that stuff is very time sensitive - but I'm sure you know that already. Otherwise, you lucked into the most beautiful of choices of club you could have made. Whilst I'm sure your Welsh stamping grounds have their well-publicised charms, you will have been awestruck into silence by the imposing majesty of the Vicarage Road precinct, the matchless beauty of the tranquil, rippling waters of the pond, the ancient cave paintings in the underpass, the minty mountain fresh breezes from the ring road and Frydays chippy.
Thanks for all that Clive. As regards translating Welsh to Albanian, that'd never happen. With my MS I am currently Seconday Progressive, so there is no disease modifing medication, just Meds for pain relief, spasms, toiletry requirements and some viagra too I've also been mentally ill since I was 19, got sectioned and stuff. Schizoaffective Disorder, Schizophrenia mixed with bipolar. But with Meds, I was able to work and have a normal life. I've never physically spoken to another Watford fan, but it's nice listening to Peeps on here
Really good first preview Klein. Great read and a mixed bag of emotions. I've actually met Chris Packham, think he used to be on the Really Wild Show in the 1990s. Nice bloke. This is going to be a game we really need to get something from. Even if we draw, it's 4 from 6 and gives us a slight cushion to fall back on before we enter the horrible run of games. I would of taken a win over Southampton and a point at Everton before last week - however there is nothing saying we cannot beat Southampton, and lately they seem to be a bit of a bogey side for us a home. I went to the 2-2 draw a while back when Doucoure' "handed" us the equalizer. Southampton are not pulling up any trees, but they don't concede much, even got a point at Man City. I would personally start King, I would also drop Cathcart for Ngloulou (spelt that wrong I know). Not sure how Claudio see's the game but perhaps give Pedro a full 90 might not hurt. I'll be brave and suggest we can get back to back wins the first time this season. Watford 1 Southampton 0
Nice preview. Rollercoaster. We’re gonna smash this lot. Watford 5 - 0 Southampton King x3, Nkoulou, and an absolute thunderbastard from Sissoko.
Thanks Skyla, I found it fun to do. Having worked in Admin previously, it was like an enjoyable task with a deadline. Giving Pedro 90 would be a good idea, they do say not to change a winning team though, Dennis is banned for this match, but he was only a sub vs Everton. Who would you eplace Pedro with though? Cucho, Sarr or King?
Well Pedro is an attacking midfielder, but who else do we have? Cleverley? Gosling? Shows how much we are missing Etebo. Gosling has had practically no game time and he won't be ready. Cleverley is never a bad option off the bench.
Good preview, nice to hear the interesting back story as to how you came to follow Watford. Wonder if you're are only one who is a first language Welsh speaker?
Really interesting, different preview. But I think we’ll have to accept that Chris Packham is a naturalist, rather than a naturist….
Yeah, you are spot on. We could replace Tufan or Cucka, but that would leave the midfield a little weak.
Ha, who knows? Skyla has met him, so maybe she could ask him if he likes to show off his body in public with other naked people?
Good read. I thought my Armenian and Swedish heritage was unusual, but you've done me there. In the ups and downs of life, football is always a consistent and a great comfort (even if the football being served up itself is complete terd).
Nice one. My prediction 2-2. The only Welsh song I know goes on about saucepans and vacuum cleaners. Oh and I suppose that one about the holy bread roll but that's in English and I hear that too often after my mate from Cardiff has had a few too many sherberts.
Armenian and Swedish is a great combination. An uncle of mine lived near Gothenburg for a few years, I was about 8 when our family visited, i remember the oceans of trees and the naked ladies in the saunas
Nicky Wire from the Manics had an obsession with vacuum cleaners, is he related to that song? Probs not
Mystic Lloyd foresees a frustrating 1-1 draw with a late, late equaliser for Saints - possibly an own goal or a penalty
I hope we beat them 9-0, anything less and I will question the team's commitment and CR's credentials.
It’s quite remarkable how bad our record against this lot has been since we beat them for fun during the 90s/00s. It’s 7 points from the last 30 (and that’s even after not counting the two big defeats against them when they were heading back to the Prem). Here’s a rundown of the disappointments and frustrations amid one glorious match we’ve mostly suffered against them: 2015/16 (h) 0-0 Not a bad match, better side at times, but a bit too cautious during the second half (as we often were under QSF). Funnily enough, in the two opening home 0-0s, the BBC MotM was Jurado against WBA and Anya for this one - players who turned out to be two of our weakest in the Prem. (a) 0-2 A Mane-inspired rout where we were lucky not to lose 4 or 5 nil. Our worst performance that season, and that includes the 4-0 at Arsenal. But then Southampton were very good that season, they went on a brilliant run during the second half to finish 6th. 2016/17 (a) 1-1 A gritty performance playing with ten men in the last 15 mins in Mazzarri’s first game, generally looked well organised and more positive than under Flores, with Capoue’s first goal. But we didn’t control the game for any sustained period long before Watson got sent off, and we probably gave them too much respect as they turned out to be very average with a very flattering 8th place finish - one of many opportunities for three points against them wasted there. (h) 3-4 Oh dear, if ever there was a game that summed up nicely the shambles of much of the Mazzarri era, especially after Everton at home, this was it. Another chance to get three points in a winnable fixture wasted, following West Ham at home only the previous week when we also took the lead, especially disappointing after the win at the Emirates not long before. A result that flattered both us and the match, which was only a thriller to the away fans. 2017/18 (a) 2-0 One of those matches where you’re ever grateful to have been there. For me one of the top five performances in the Prem, we ran rings around a side that didn’t have a shot on target. (h) 2-2 Another poor performance and result against a relegation-threatened side following the disgraceful capitulation late on against Swansea in the previous home game. Lucky to even get a point with Doucoure’s unnoticed/overlooked handball leading to our late equaliser after being 2-0 down - Silva was deservedly sacked shortly after. 2018/19 (a) 1-1 The first of two frustrating draws in an otherwise great season. Referring decisions went against both sides and cancelled each other out, making the result a fair one, but disappointing following a defeat at Newcastle in a sequence of games we were looking to get 4-6 points from after an excellent start had much raised expectations. (h) 1-1 Shane Long’s eighth-second goal after a Cathcart error and a laboured attacking display in the absence of Deeney started the slide from a European spot to bottom half, at least Gray looked a semi-useful player back then. 2019-20 (a) 1-2 Horrible result following the home collapse against Burnley that led to Flores’s dismissal when we really needed to string wins together to escape a dire situation. Leading 1-0 and looking comfortable with some Southampton fans booing their side, only to lose the game through QSF’s defensive “tactics”. (h) 1-3 Probably the worst performance against them in the Pozzo era, especially given what was at stake. Managed just TWO shots against them with none on target (our goal was an OG), Southampton showed a lot more togetherness and desire despite having nothing to play for.
In the relegation season their equaliser was from a handball from the guy who crossed. one of many bad decisions that cost us that season .
Big plus point - no Danny Ings any more. Adam 'The Replacement' Armstrong hasn't exactly taken to the Prem like a duck to water, either.
At some point this season you’d assume, like an infinite monkey and typewriter scenario, that we’ll keep a clean sheet, will this game be it? If not when will it be?
I spent 3 days passing through Albania a couple of years ago. Was really impressed by how the Albanian mafia have been investing in Tirana and the Albanian Riviera. Money well spent.
The best one against them was that terrible cup defeat 2-0 when Jolly Jose Holebas ended up fighting with the front row of our supporters.
Great write up Who knows what will happen , it would be nice to get another victory before the really tough games start (I’m already scared about Man City and that’s a good month away) it’s a real shame Dennis is suspended, him and JP really got us moving on Saturday and seemed to just give King the confidence to run in to the right spot at the right time I’m going for 3:1 King, Sarr and kucka (another 6 wild shots and one in the back of the net)
We broke the Goodison Park hoodoo on Saturday. Can we beat Southampton at home? I'm going for a 2-1 victory to the Orns!
I am Welsh too (but from Neath so cant speak much Welsh) and went to Albania a few years back - loved it - Tirana, Shkroda and walking in the accursed mountains
Work with a load of Saints fans (scummers to me as I live in Portsmouth). Have to win this for bragging rights if nothing else! 2-1 - JP & King
In true Watford style we'll put in a complete non-performance, just like we did at Palace after the Liverpool game two seasons ago. Watford 0 - 2 Southampton.
Must win game. To keep morale high and hurt a relegation rival. WFC 1 (Cathcart) Soton 2 (Cathcart o.g, 2)
