sherm Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 "Sit down. Now!" The men were rough, pushing the man firmly into the chair. At 6'1, and a squarely built man, he wasn't small at all, but with two 6'6 heavies either side of him, it wasn't hard to feel that way "Look, I can explain. I haven't had chance to get hold of it yet..." "My dear Graham, let's not get into that. So considering the delay, you now owe me...£15,000? "What? No, it can't be..." "Ah, not now. I do however, understand your temporary cash flow problem. So, I have a solution to this little issue" "A solution?" "Certainly. I believe your football team needs a manager?" "How do you know that?" "I do watch football you know? Anyway, I have a candidate for the managers position" "Really?" A smile crept across the man's face, while a frown formed upon Graham Simpson's face "Ivan? Call Mr. Fairhurst in would you? A man in a pinstriped suit walked into the room, adjusting his tie as he did so. He purposefully sat himself next to Graham Simpson, and held out his right hand... "Graham Simpson, meet Paul Fairhurst. Paul, meet your new boss" "Wait a minute, I can't employ a man with no experience..." "We don't use that word in this office Graham. You can employ Paul, and you will employ Paul. You do that, and we shall call ourselves even. Do we have a deal?" "I...but...Well, I don't suppose I have a choice really do I? We have a deal" "Excellent. Paul shall arrive at 9'o clock sharp to start work tomorrow" --- Graham Simpson and Paul Fairhurst shook hands, a Watford F.C scarf wrapped around their shoulders. Wide smiles on both their faces told one story, but both men knew it was an entirely different one. The newspapers had expressed shock at the decision to employ a 34 year old with no first hand knowledge of the game, and many said that following their relegation from the Premiership, it was now doubly difficult for them to gain promotion straight back there Both men sat in the Manager's office, but it took almost five minutes before the icy tension was broken. It was Graham Simpson that spoke first. "So what's in this for you?" "Im sorry?" "Why you? Are you employed by Singh to sort out problems?" "Not exactly. Mr. Simpson, we have a lot more in common than you might think" "Oh really? And how might that be then?" With that, Fairhurst dropped his voice to almost a whisper... "I'd forget the hostility - believe me, you want me to succeed at this job. It's in both of our best interests" "I don't follow?" "I owe Singh a lot more than money - and he's taken everything away from me so far. This is his final revenge. He wants me to slowly fail - he hates me, and he wants to see the end of me..." "Why? What could you possibly have done?" Fairhurst shook his head, before bidding goodbye and heading home, leaving Graham Simpson to ponder his thoughts... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos de la Fuente Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 A bit of intrigue to kick off with; interesting! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherm Posted November 6, 2009 Author Share Posted November 6, 2009 Cheers Carlos --- Having been in charge for just 72 hours, there hadn't been much time for Paul Fairhurst to delve into the transfer market - although with little over a million pounds in the kitty, he wasn't exactly looking far. Before he could look anywhere though, he had the first chance to assess his squad, as Scottish Premier Division side Motherwell made the trip to London, and a barely half full Vicarage Road A fast paced game was never going to be on the cards, as neither side had an abundance of pace going forward or at the back, but the midfield battle would prove crucial. Mart Poom, the big Estonian 'keeper, was tested early on by a thumping header by Mark Archdeacon, but it was Brazilian Douglas Rinaldi who broke the deadlock. He brought the ball out of defence, before swinging it wide to Tommy Smith. The winger jinked wide, but his cross was headed out by Stephen Craigan. It fell to Al Bangura, who flicked it to his left for Rinaldi to fire his shot off. It took a looping deflection, going over Fraser's head and into the back of the net. Bangura was sensational, cutting out everything that the Scottish side tried, and for a ten minute period following the opener, Watford dominated to such an extent that centre halves Danny Shittu and Lloyd Doyley didn't touch the ball. One man who did however, was towering striker Darius Henderson. Matt Sadler bombed forward, combining well with Collins John, before he was brought down in the area by youngster Michael Thrift. Henderson had no problem taking the penalty, and duly slammed it down the middle of the goal. Comfortable as it was, a silly mistake by Jordan Stewart, which saw his backpass fall short, allowed David Clarkson to nip in and slide his side back into the match. That was just the 23rd minute of the match, but with 8 minutes to go before half time, Al Bangura restored the two goal cushion, curling home a wonderful free-kick from the edge of the 'D', and sending his side in 3-1 ahead. The second 45 minutes never really got going, with both sides making changes regularly, but the win allowed a good assessment of the squad, and gave a good insight into who was up to the rigours and demands of Championship football and who wasn't -- Within two days of the Scottish side's visit to London, Fairhurst had secured his first new additions to his Watford squad, as two free agents joined up with the squad. Former Leicester man and Iranian international Hosain Kaebi was the first, and it was a signing that gave another option on the right hand side. At 22, he had 30 odd caps for his country, and plenty of experience in the Championship. Following the Iranian was a man who also had experience, but in the Premiership aswell as the Championship, and it was felt he would be a good signing, especially for the younger players. It hadn't taken long to agree terms with Matt Jansen, and Fairhurst had even considered the option of a player coach role for the former Blackburn man. Kaebi and Jansen both had a good first training session, fitting in well with the rest of the team, although there was nearly an incident with the fiery temper of Jordan Stewart, who wasn't happy about being clattered by Kaebi, but it soon settled down. Fairhurst had been warned about Stewart's temper, but he knew his importance to the side so was prepared to give him a little bit of leeway, although not too much. Five more pre-season games remained in which to fit the new players into the team, and in which the fitness of the players could get to an acceptable level. Results didn't matter at this point, it was how the players reacted. Paul Fairhurst sat pondering his thoughts, while he took a Hamlet cigar out of his case and lit it, his mood relaxing more and more with each puff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewis jib Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 good start enjoying this Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenjonty09 Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 A Watford story - cool Good start. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherm Posted November 6, 2009 Author Share Posted November 6, 2009 Cheers lads, glad you're enjoying the tale --- Lakshi Singh paced up and down his office, hands in his pocket, a look of distress on his face. That carried on for a good five minutes before the silence was broken "Boss, what's wrong?" Singh looked up at his assistant with a grin on his face "My dear Ivan, you really do not know?" "No boss. What is it?" "Well, I have erased the debt that Graham Simpson owed me. That, I have no worries over. He is a reputable businessman. However, Fairhurst is worrying me" "Why?" "I took his wife and daughter, that was almost five years ago. He has been in my debt ever since. Not once has he tried to kill me" "I don't understand? Is it not a good thing that he hasn't tried to kill you?" "Ah my dear Ivan. I fear you will never understand the ways of a businessman" And with that, Lakshi Singh left the room chuckling to himself -- Paul Fairhurst sat in his living room, tears rolling down his cheeks. He had a shoebox and a photo album scattered across the dining table, photos of his late wife Michelle and daughter Theresa staring back at him. Their beautiful smiling faces. He shouldn't look at them, they always got him in this state, but he just couldn't help it The day they were taken away from him still haunted him. He was being held down while they were shot in cold blood. He knew who it was, and why he did it. He had begged Lakshi Singh to take his life and spare his family, but the cold blooded bastard had laughed, an evil, cruel and twisted laugh, before shooting them, his daughter cradled in his wife's arms. Since then, he had been, for want of a better phrase, in Singh's pocket. For five years, Singh had been the puppet master. But not anymore. Paul Fairhurst had planned revenge, and he knew when he was going to get it. The man who ruined his life was not going to get away with it - he would pay, and in a big way -- The second pre-season game of the campaign saw Watford travel to face Non-League Boreham Wood. Hosain Kaebi started on the bench, while Matt Jansen started alongside Tamas Priskin upfront. The home side obviously had a point to prove, and they started far better, testing Richard Lee on three occasions in the opening ten minutes, but the 'keeper was equal to each opportunity. What he wasn't equal to though, was the opening goal after 24 minutes. A long ball from the back by Tommy Meldrew found Shaun Molyneux, who somehow skipped between his markers, and lashed the ball into the roof of the net to put his side 1-0 ahead. If anything, this was an almighty wake-up call, and within a quarter of an hour, Fairhurst saw his side level things up, Lloyd Doyley tidying up at the back, before John Eustace and Omar Koroma linked up to allow Tommy Smith to smash his way through and delicately slide the ball underneath Michael Morrison. The second half was all Watford, and if it hadn't been for a man of the match showing from Morrison, and some better finishing from Nathan Ellington then it would have been very different. The speedy forward could have had four goals, but he came away with none, and the Non-League side gained a very creditable 1-1 draw Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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