The Heady Heights of Hugo...

[Liam =D]

Congrats on Champions League sherm

Seems like you have put together a top quality team to match your top quality story

[sherm]

Cheers Liam, glad to know you're enjoying the tale

---

The opening game of the festive period saw us return to Champions League action, as Lyon entertained us. The trip to France was made more pleasurable by the fact I won the card school whihc had become a regular occurence, but when we landed I was full focused on business. They were an excellent side, and their home record was better than anybodies in Europe, as they had avoided defeat in France for the last 6 years. I felt we could maybe snatch a draw out of the game, if not a win, and as we approached half time in the game we had been the better side, with Saivet, Murphy and Sneijder all missing good chances, but we did pay the price for missing these chances as Karim Benzema picked up the ball and fired the ball hard and low past Kuszczak. The heads went down after that, and the second half saw the French champions control the game, and they scored two more unanswered goal in the half, with Benzema grabbing his second and captain Jay DeMerit turning the ball into his own net a minute from time to send us crashing to a 3-0 defeat

---

The defeat in France really hit the boys hard, and their spirits were still down as we headed into our next game, which saw Blackburn make the trip to Vicarage Road. Murphy picked up an injury, so Pekhart came into the team, and he certainly paid me back with a fabulous header after 6 minutes to put us ahead. This should have been the signal to push on, and usually we would have done, but with the confidence levels at an all time low, we couldn't do it. The visitors didn't really provide much throughout the match, but the game changed in the 76th minute with the introduction of Matt Derbyshore, who had been a constant thorn in our side in recent times. He was up and down like a madman, and it was his right foot that turned home the equaliser deep into stoppage time to deny us the points

---

To try and get the confidence levels back up, I took the team on a day out, as we went paintballing. It seemed to do the trick, as the lads had a good time and really seemed to bond again. Some nasty bruises were formed but nothing too serious, and I was just hoping that it would carry on into the next match. I had a relaxed drink the same day, as I met up with Shaun in the pub and discussed our lives. We hadn't had a talk like this, as best mates, in ages, and it was nice to sit down and get back to being best mates. If truth be told, I missed his company, and although I was happy that he had found himself a girlfriend and got settled down, I still wanted the same best mate relationship that we used to have

[sherm]

The quarter finals of the League cup provided us with our next port of call, as Tottenham made the short journey. We had done well to get this far in the competition, and being at home in the quarters, I wanted us to advance. With Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool out of the competition, only Arsenal could provide the tough test. Still, I was focused on getting past Spurs first, and when Lee Martin curled in a free-kick after 39 seconds, it looked like we were well on our way, but once again we let the lead slip, as Younes Kaboul rose highest and headed home after 16 minutes. The game petered out after that, and in the remaining 74 minutes, plus the thirty minutes of extra time, the score remained level, and it was left to penalties to decide the match. Both sides scored their opening four, before misses from Bent and Sneijer sent it into sudden death. A miss from Kaboul left the door open, and it was firmly shut when DeMerit powered home his penalty and sent us into the semis

I was desperate for the side to pick up a win and get back on track, and with a league game against Reading at the Madejski the perfect opportunity was provided. Henri Saivet got us off to an excellent start, volleying home in the fifth minute, before our advantage was doubled by Rhys Murphy in the 25th minute. The home side got right back into it through Shane Long, but we ran riot in the remainder of the half, as Saivet and Murphy both netted again and an own goal from Caldwell gave us a convincing 5-1 win and sent us top of the table

The win against Reading had really set the tone for the rest of the month, and the lads had to take advantage of that. All the squad was virtually fully fit, and when they were all performing at their best we were as good as anyone in the league. The only disappointing thing so far had been our European form, which had left us in jeopardy of crashing out of the competition, and it was something that I would be looking to address in the future

[sherm]

Talking of European football, that saw us faced with our next test, this time Italian side Roma making the trip to our place. It was a game we desperately needed to win if we were to have any chance of qualifying, so it saw my strongest possible side put out onto the pitch. We started well too, as Saivet, Riki and Aaritalo all tested the Roma 'keeper, and we could count ourselves highly unfortunate to go in at half time goalless. This soon changed in the second period though, as Henri Saivet side footed us ahead after a stunning pass from Seitaridis, and we should have gone on and been ruthless enough to seal the win. As it happened, we were outplayed from there, as the experience of the Italian side shone through, and goals from Vantaggiato and Perrotta sent us to a 2-1 defeat and out of the competition, aswell as out of Europe altogether, as we finished bottom of the group

---

The European exit of the team hit us all hard, but no-one felt it more than me. I knew we had the players capable, and we should have at least finished second in the group, but our early exit could teach us a valuable lesson in the future, and we could learn from our mistakes. The board didn't seem to upset though, and urged me to concentrate on ensuring our qualification to the competition again, something I was intent on doing.

The next match in our quest to do this saw us travel to Elland Road to face a Leeds side that had recovered from heavy debts and relegation to the third tier to bounce back into the Premiership. Despite their battling hard however they were no match for us, and we came away with a comfortable 3-1 win. Henri Saivet put us in the lead inside of the opening ten minutes, as he played a lovely one-two with Vayrynen and fired home, before Alex's first goal for the club, a stunning left footed strike from 35 yards, and Yoann Gouffran's volley sent us into a 3 goal lead. Jamie Mole pulled one back, but it was too little too late and we kept our place at the head of the Premiership table

[Spav]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by sherm:

Thanks a lot Spav. You're constant support has really encouraged me to keep writing on this

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

No problems, mate. Always happy to read a good story and give it some praise.

[sherm]

Cheers once again Spav

---

Christmas day went in the usual subdued fashion, and a home game with Liverpool was the port of call for boxing day. They had been in a bit of a resurgence of late, and sat in third place in the table, so I fully expected a tough test through the 90 minutes. This was a cause for surprise when we dominated the match and came away with a victory. What was all the more suprising was the fact we played 67 minutes of the game with ten men, with Mo Shawky receiving his marching orders for a shocking two-footed lunge on Torres. It didn't seem to boost the visitors up though, and Henri Saivet's strike sent us into a 38th minute lead. The second half was much more of the same, and a brace from Mika Vayrynen was enough to fire us into a 3-0 lead. Fernando Torress pulled one back into stoppage time, but it made no difference as we carried on what had been a relatively good month thus far

---

The final game of December and of 2010 saw a visit to the Midlands to face Martin O'Neill's Aston Villa side. They had always been a team who had caused us the odd problem or two, and this game was no different, as Shaun Maloney sent them into a fourth minute lead with a deflected free-kick. We soon got ourselves back into it though, as Rhys Murphy headed the equaliser four minutes later. The game was back and forth, with both sides creating chances, and both Kuszczak and Sorensen were forced into making good saves. It was us that penetrated first though, as Gouffran connected with Hoyte's cross and the ball flew into the net, but the final goal of the game came right on the half time interval, as Maloney headed home to secure his side a point. The second half could have seen either side win the match, but it wasn't to be and the point was a fair result for both managers

[sherm]

December 2010 Summary

(Premiership unless stated)

(UEFA Champions League)

Lyon 3-0 Watford

Benzema (45,55) DeMerit (O.G 89)

Watford 1-1 Blackburn

Pekhart (6) : Derbyshire (90)

(League Cup Quarter Final)

Watford 1-1 Tottenham

Martin (1) : Kaboul (16)

(Watford won 5-4 on pens)

Reading 1-5 Watford

Long (51) : Saivet (5,53) Murphy (25,60) Caldwell (O.G 90)

(UEFA Champions League)

Watford 1-2 Roma

Saivet (52) : Vantaggiato (59) Perrotta (81)

Leeds 1-3 Watford

Mole (79) : Saivet (9) Alex (43) Gouffran (55)

Watford 3-1 Liverpool

Saivet (38) Vayrynen (58,81) : Torres (90)

Aston Villa 2-2 Watford

Maloney (4,45) : Murphy (8) Gouffran (39)

[sherm]

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

PL W D L GD PTS

1. WATFORD 18 11 6 1 +31 39

2. Man Utd 19 11 6 2 +20 39

3. Liverpool 19 10 6 3 +15 36

4. Arsenal 19 9 8 2 +15 35

5. Chelsea 19 9 6 4 +12 33

6. Newcastle 19 8 5 6 +3 29

7. Sunderland 19 7 7 4 +6 28

8. Everton 19 9 1 9 0 28

</pre>

Being top of the table was a nice feeling going into the new year, and if we kept up our current form then 2011 promised to be a good year for Watford. There was also the factor of how busy we were going to be in January, with a total of 9 games to be played in 31 days, which meant a rotation system and a hell of a lot of concentration, particularly as some of the games were tough ones to start any year with.

---

The tough ones started with an away trip to Old Trafford, to face the team in second place behind us. Man Utd were always a tough proposition at home, and this game proved to be no different, as a Wayne Rooney hat-trick was enough to send them to a victory. We did take the lead through the game though, as Rhys Murphy headed home after 25 minutes. I had to admit that we were beaten by a better team on the day and we had to focus on our next game

[sherm]

That next game saw us face our fellow Londoners Arsenal, as they made the trip to Vicarage Road. Once again, we were outplayed by a better team, as they won 2-1 thanks to their first half goals from Tomas Rosicky and Emmanuel Adebayor, while our latem consolation three minutes from time saw Henri Saivet rise highest and head home the cross, but our second successive defeat left me diappointed and left us in third place, albeit with a game in hand

---

After the Arsenal game, we had to pick ourselves up, and the F.A Cup 3rd round gave us the perfect chance to do that, as Fulham entertained us at Craven Cottage. The action didn't really pick up until the final ten minutes of the match, and the three goals all came within the last 8 minutes. The first of these came from Spanish striker Riki, as he picked up the ball and lobbed it over the onrushing 'keeper to send us in front. We secured the game 5 minutes later, when Henri Saivet volleyed home and sent us through into the 4th round. The home side did get back into it in the final minute of injury time, but it made no difference and we headed home with the win

After the F.A Cup, I knew our next game was the semi final of the League Cup, so I sat down with Jess that night and had a relaxing night discussing the wedding (although it certainly had its stressful moments aswell) I wanted to spend a night away from all things football for a couple of days, and let the team do their own thing until the next training session

[sherm]

That League Cup semi-final had handed us the advantage, as we had the away leg first. The trip to Everton saw the side in buoyant mood, as we were confident of progressing to the final. I knew we would as long as we did the business in this first leg of the competition, so I gave the boys my speech before the game. I had gone with the policy of resting regular first teamers for the League Cup, and had done throughout my tenure at the club so there was no danger of me changing that any time soon, so the same team that won the quarter final took to the field for the smi-final. It certainly proved to be a productive move on my part, as we had sealed the game and half our passage to the final by half time, after Tomas Pekhart put us in front on 16 minutes, before a brace from Yoann Gouffran sealed things, his second goal a stunning 30 yard strike, and with the three goals we were all but through to the final, although we still had a job to do

---

Our excellent win against Everton needed to be backed up, and the next league game was an ideal opportunity to do that as we travelled North to the JJB and a trip to face Wigan. They had picked their form up after struggling early on, but in this game we never needed to get out of second gear, and two goals from Henri Saivet, in the 2nd and 86th minutes, was enough to send us to three points. His first was a typical poachers goal, as he snuck in and tapped home the cross, but his second was a clearance by Seitaridis which fell over his shoulder and he volleyed it home past a helpless Chris Kirkland. We had secured two good wins in the last few days, and even though we still had at least 360 minutes of football left, I was sure we could finish the month well and start 2011 with a good sequence of results

[sherm]

The next game on our packed agenda was at Vicarage Road, and saw Roy Keane's Sunderland the visitors. They came to claim a point, that was apparent from the start, but they were not counting on a superb goal from Henri Saivet, which saw 12 first time passes before the Frenchman curled the ball into the corner past Craig Gordon. This was enough to win the game for us, although we did have several more chances after that, with Vayrynen rattling the bar, Nordtveit hitting the post and Craig Gordon pulling off a world class double save from Jurado and from Saivet on the follow up, but the visitors never created any real threat themselves and we held on for the three points

---

In preparation for the next game, I invited the senior players into my office for a team meeting to try and assertain which players they felt we needed to try and purchase to strengthen the squad enough to be a force in European competition. Jay DeMerit, Mika Vayrynen, Giourkas Seitaridis and Joe Hart attended, and voiced their opinions loudly in the meeting

"Need a top class centre back boss, definately"

"What about an all round midfielder? Soneone who can play all over the pitch"

"Possibly a top-class 'keeper?"

"A left back, a youngster, top notch though"

I took notes throughout the meeting, and I was pleased to hear my opinions being disagreed with. That is what these meetings were about and I was pleased the squad were taking them so seriously

The next game we had was at home again, this time the visitors were Portsmouth. We got off to a great start, as Wesley Sneijder curled home a free-kick after 3 minutes, but we had to wait until the final 8 minutes to seal the victory, as a brace from Henri Saivet, including a stunning bicycle kick from the edge of the area, sent us through to a 3-0 win. The visitors didn't help themselves when Glen Johnson got himself sent off right on half time, but I don;t think it would have mattered had they had all eleven on the field, as we won with ease and composure

[sherm]

The second leg of the League Cup semi-final was nothing more than a formality after our 3-0 win at Goodison Park, but Everton came down to Watford determined to show what they were made of. They certainly started better than us, as Yakubu sent them racing into a third minute lead, but we looked comfortbale after that, the defence didn't seem overly troubled, and the visitors could not find a second goal that would have made a real difference to the game, and Rhys Murphy scored in stoppage time at the end of the game to send us on our way to the League Cup final

January ended with an away trip to Derby in the fourth round of the F.A Cup, and with us already having got to one final, I was sure we could get to another one. Again though, this was a game where it seemed both sides were suffering from fatigue, as it saw very little created, and the one goal to win the game came from our star man Henri Saivet, as his 17th minute lob caught the Derby 'keeper unaware and lofted over his head to send us into the 5th round, meaning yet more games for the side, although this was one occasion that I didn't mind playing more games than normal

[sherm]

January 2011 Summary

(Premiership unless stated)

Man Utd 3-1 Watford

Rooney (45,50,89) : Murphy (23)

Watford 1-2 Arsenal

Saivet (82) : Rosicky (14) Adebayor (24)

(F.A Cup 3rd Round)

Fulham 1-2 Watford

Stancu (90) : Riki (82) Saivet (87)

(League Cup Semi-Final 1st Leg)

Everton 0-3 Watford

Pekhart (16) Gouffran (28,41)

Wigan 0-2 Watford

Saivet (2,86)

Watford 1-0 Sunderland

Saivet (12)

Watford 3-0 Portsmouth

Sneijder (3) Saivet (82,89)

(League Cup Semi-Final 2nd Leg)

Watford 1-1 Everton

Murphy (90) : Yakubu (3)

(F.A Cup 4th Round)

Derby 0-1 Watford

Saivet (17)

[sherm]

After 17 games in all competitions in December and January, February would prove to be a hell of a lot quieter for the team, with just an average number of 5 games. The first of these saw a trip to the newly revamped Stadium of Light to face a Sunderland side whom we had faced just a few days previously. They had come to Watford to get a point, but at home they were more of a threat, and this showed by the free-flowing, attacking football they were playing. However, they could not find the breakthrough, and they did not manage to beat Tomasz Kuszczak, at least until the 86th minute anyway, when Leroy Lita collected the ball and rammed it home past our Polish goalkeeper, and it looked like this would be enough to win the game for the wearsiders. Jose Manuel Jurado had other ideas though, and his solo effort in the second minute of injury time saved us the point

---

After the Sunderland game, I met up with Beefy and we headed to the golf course for 18 holes. He wanted to talk about the prospect of becoming England coach, a job he had been offered, and he just wanted to know my opinion on whether he should take it or not. I told him what I felt, that he should follow his heart and do what he felt was right. After saying this, I had a feeling that we would soon be seeing Ian Botham as the coach of the England cricket team, a job I know he had craved for a long time. He had the pedigree, and the credentials, an I was flattered he asked my opinion

I had my own thing to focus on though, as I prepared the team for the visit of League champions Chelsea, a side that were on an incredile run of form of late, having not lost since September, so I wasn't overly confident of picking up the points. I hadn't counted on how good the team would be though, and once Joe Cole curled home a free-kick for his side, we took contol of the game and outplayed the Londoners. We got back level thanks to an own goal from Mljaden Pjanic, as he diverted Sneijder's cross into his own net, and three minutes later we were in fron, as Henri Saivet picked up the ball and rammed it home past Petr Cech, as we went in at half time ahead. We sealed the game 11 minutes into the second period, as Saivet turned from scorer to provider and his cross was slotted into the empty net by the oncoming Yoann Gouffran, and that goal was enough to give us a 3-1 win and send us back to the top of the table

[sherm]

Another trip to the North East was next call for the team, only this time we had to face Newcastle. They were a side that had been on and off throughout the season, and they were capable of pulling off the right result if they wanted to. They started slowly, and paid for that when Yoann Gouffran volleyed us in front after 12 minutes. This seemed to pick up the home side, and they started to knock the ball around nicely, but it took them till the 52nd minute to get back into it, as Alan Smith broke clear and slotted the ball underneath the onrushing Kuszczak. Neither side could fins another breakthrough after that, and we had to settle for a point which I would have taken if offered before the game

A quirk in the fixture list meant we faced Chelsea again, but this time it was the fifth round of the F.A Cup, and it was in our favour due to the champions having to make the trip to Vicarage Road again. I opted to play a strong side, even with the League Cup final coming up, and that certainly paid dividends for me and the team, as Ever Banega's 59th minute goal was enough to send us through to the quarter finals. It was a solid performance from the side, one which I was proud of, and I was also pleased with the way we had played against the so called 'top four' throughout my tenure

The League Cup final would be the game to round off the month, and I knew it was the right game to have my closest friends and family with me. Jess came down, and she would be sitting with my parents (I hadn't spoken to them too much recently, but when I had phoned them to tell them about Jess and the wedding, they were delighted) Shaun and his girlfriend would be coming too, and I was pleased I would have these people with me. I wanted them there for the biggest day in my managerial career thus far. The League Cup Final, and my first ever trip to the 'new' Wembley. This is what the game is all about.

[sherm]

League Cup Final

Watford v Arsenal

February 26th, 2011

Wembley Stadium

Watford :

T.Kuszczak ; G.Seitaridis, S.Rajkovic, J.DeMerit ©, D.Shittu ; E.Banega, J.Pennant, W.Sneijder, M.Vayrynen ; T.Pekhart, R.Murphy

As the team prepared for the final, I was growing more and more nervous as kick-off approached, but my nerves were appeased when I looked at the Arsenal team-sheet and saw an unfamiliar name next to the goalkeeper's position. L.Bell. An injury to Lukasz Fabianski had seen Arsene Wenger have to put his faith in a 19 year old with just 4 senior appearances in his career thus far, so this certainly gave me a little more confidence.

There was no doubt that the Arsenal side was stronger than ours technically, but I felt we had the fighting spirit, and were a better team than our opponents. I didn't give the team a win one for the crowd speech, and I didn;t tell them to win it for me. All I told them was to win it for themselves. They ceratainly took heed of this, and started the game brilliantly, testing the young 'keeper three times in the first 12 minutes, but the young man held his own

The first half was 45 minutes of attacking football, with both sides creating chances, and it was a miracle to me how we went in goalless. It wasn't goalless too long into the second half, as it took us 46 seconds to get in front. Admittedly, it was a freak goal, as Pennant's cross beat everybody before hitting the post and bouncing into the goal of the back of the grounded Arsenal 'keeper. This sent us into a new level of confidence, and Arsenal heads dropped when we took the lead

We were the better side from that point, and tested the young goalie from all angles, but the young man was impressive, as he kept everything out that we threw at him, at least until the 71st minute, when the ball fell loose in the box and former Spurs' striker Tomas Pekhart found the bottom corner of the goal to put us 2-0 ahead. It was probably good enough to win us the game, but we made sure three minutes from time, when Wesley Sneijder drilled a low shot home from the corner of the box to seal the win and guarantee that the League Cup would be coming back to Vicarage Road

[sherm]

February 2011 Summary

(Premiership unless stated)

Sunderland 1-1 Watford

Lita (86) : Jurado (90)

Watford 3-1 Chelsea

Pjanic (O.G 26) Saivet (29) Gouffran (56) : J.Cole (12)

Newcastle 1-1 Watford

Smith (52) : Gouffran (12)

(F.A Cup 5th Round)

Watford 1-0 Chelsea

Banega (59)

(League Cup Final)

Watford 3-0 Arsenal

Bell (O.G 46) Pekhart (71) Sneijder (87)

Watford win League Cup

[sherm]

After the League Cup triumph, it would have been nice to celebrate heavily, but we still had work to do and games to play, so the celebrating was reduced to a few drinks in the club bar. The chairman and his associates joined in, and even legends of the club were there, and it was a fabulous day for the club. That night, I even allowed myself a few more drinks, as I celebrated what was my greates achievement as a manager with Jess in the house.

---

The next day, I recieved messages from many people, but the one I replied to first was from Beefy. He had taken the job as England head coach, and he wanted to be there to join in the triumph but he was preparing his side for a series against Sri Lanka. I hit play on the machine and listened to Ian's message ;

"Hugo, well done mate. Proud of you, and say well done to the lads for me. I wish I'd have been there but unfortunately I can't, so we'll have delayed celebrations when I'm back. Good on you son. Ian"

I still had a smile on my face as the team prepared for the visit of Everton, and everybody around the club was in a buoyant mood, as we were entitled to be. The only thing that worried me was that we might let our other form suffer, but I was determined for that not to happen. We seemed to be suffering from a Cup Final hangover though, as Everton started much the better and got their rewards after 15 minutes, when Yakubu headed the visitors in front. It took us until 13 minutes from the end to secure a point, as on-loan Chelsea defender Slobodan Rajkovic hit a shot from 30 yards which deflected off Lescott and wrong footed the 'keeper before trickling over the line to give us a point we probably didn't deserve

[sherm]

Another Premiership game was next, this time we travelled to St. Andrews to face managerless Birmingham. They were a side in decline, particularly since Steve Bruce left to join Manchester United, and I fully expected us to pick up all three points in the game. We dominated the match, and created chance after chance, and to be honest, we should have won by a much bigger margin than the 1-0 win we managed, and even that came from a stoppage time goal at the end of the match, when Henri Saivet broke free and slid the ball home to give us the win, but it worried me that we didn't take the chances that fell our way. That was not like us, and it seemed like we were still suffering from jetlag after the League Cup win

---

We certainly could not afford that jetlag in our next game, which saw Man Utd as our opponents in the quarter final of the F.A Cup. Thye were a side on good form, and they were overwhelming favourites despite us being the hosts, and I was determined to prove the so called 'pundits' wrong. The team set about doing this from the first whistle, and goals from Ever Banega, and a penalty from Yoann Gouffran were enough to win us the match and send us through to the semi-final of the competition. Di Maria did pull a goal back for the visitors, but it made no difference and we advanced into the semi-finals. I was delighted to be that far in the competition, and I was sure we could progress if we got the right draw

I had been keeping a close eye on the England team in Sri Lanka, as Ian was leading the team for the first time, and I was sure he could succeed in his new role. They had started off well over on the subcontinent, and seemed to be ready to prove Ian was right to take the job, and to have a good friend who was successful in his job, and I would be giving Ian all the support he needed

[sherm]

A trip to North London came next, as we faced Tottenham at the Lane. It would prove to be a hell of a game for the neutral to watch, as both teams battled hard to a 2-2 draw, but as a manager I can assure you I was tearing my hair out. Giles Barnes gave the home side the lead after 12 minutes, when he cut inside and drilled the ball low and hard into the corner of the net past Kuszczak. This woke us up, and yet again it was Henri Saivet who did the business, as he netted twice in the space of eleven minutes to send us in at half time ahead. We should have made the most of this in the second half, and gone on to seal the points, but again we had to settle for just the one point, as Dimitar Berbatov picked up the ball and rammed home a right footed shot to give his side a point and deny us the win

---

March would end with the second of the Manchester sides making the trip to Vicarage Road, as Man City came to provide the test for us. It proved to be our best performance in a while, as we totally dominated the visitors and ran out with a 4-1 win. The star man yet again was French striker Henri Saivet. as he grabbed a hat-trick to help us on our way. Rhys Murphy was our other goalscorer, while David Jones scored the lone reply for the blues half of Manchester, but it made no difference and we won, albeit with two goals in the final few minutes, and kept our place at the top of the Premiership table

[sherm]

March 2011 Summary

(Premiership unless stated)

Watford 1-1 Everton

Rajkovic (77) : Yakubu (15)

Birmingham 0-1 Watford

Saivet (90)

(F.A Cup Quarter-Final)

Watford 2-1 Man Utd

Banega (42) Gouffran (pen 72) : Di Maria (88)

Tottenham 2-2 Watford

Barnes (12) Berbatov (80) : Saivet (25,36)

Watford 4-1 Man City

Saivet (6,89,90) Murphy (31) : Jones (44)

[sherm]

In 1988 at the age of 13 I travelled to Aberdeen and signed for Jocky Scott as one of, if not his first signing at Pittodrie, signing as an apprentice professional.

We used to play five-a-sides in the car park behind the main stand every Monday morning as apprentices. The opposition was usually Steve Jackson, Ian O'Callaghan, Shawn Hunter, Terry Bennett and Trevor Warne, while our team consisted of Bobby Graham, Tommy Smith, Chris Lawler, Gordon Wallace and myself.

We never ever won these games because the opposition would have played until it got dark to ensure they got the result. In the next three years I progressed through the youth ranks and played in the FA Youth Cup Final against Rangers when we were beaten 3-2 on aggregate by the 'Gers who included a young Ally McCoist in their team.

I eventually made 125 appearances in the reserve team at Pittodrie between 1988 and 1992 and scored 32 goals. After the 1992 season, where I made my debut, and played in the last 9 games of the season, I did not play in the reserves again, but played 198 games as part of the squad which became one of the best in the clubs history

I was in digs at the time 5 minutes from the ground, and when I managed to find time to myself it was spent watching the training of the team (when I was a reserve team player that is) I aspired to be successful in whatever endeavour I persued, and now I like to think that I have been, at least thus far anyway

I was devastated when I left the club, but my career was revitalised when I went to Watford. My life changed in 2002, when my career ended, but I never imagined then I would be managing the club of my dreams 9 years later, guiding them to the Premiership and to a League Cup triumph. I am proud to be a part of the clubs history, and I love being at this club. They mean everything to me, and without Watford I don't know what I'd have done with my life

---

Bolton provided the opening opposition of the month, and again it was a match that I fully expected three points from. We got off to an ideal start after 7 minutes, when Rhys Murphy picked up the loose ball from Henri Saivet and fired home past the stranded Jaaskelainen. Despite being much the better side, we had to wait until the final minute of added on time at the end of the game to seal the points for good, as Finnish midfielder Mika Vayrynen picked up the ball and slotted home beautifully to send the Lancashire side home on the wrong end of a 2-0 defeat and keeping us top of the table

[sherm]

The semi-final of the F.A Cup was next on our growing agenda, and seen as we had avoided Arsenal and Liverpool, who would contest the other semi, I was confident of progressing to our second domestic final of the season. Our opponents West Ham had other ideas though, as they played much the better for 90 minutes. They took a 33rd minute lead when Dean Ashton rose highest and powered his header past a stranded Kuszczak. I thought this might wake us up, but it didn't and to be fair to the Londoners, they should have settled it in the second half. I suppose we could have counted ourselves somewhat fortunate to be heading into an extra 30 minutes, thanks to Riki's 77th minute strike. The Spaniard struck again 6 minutes into additional time, and it looked like we would be heading for a win we did not deserve, but Clint Dempsey saved the day and volleyed home the equaliser after 118 minutes to take the game to penalties. The deciding two were when the score was deadlocked at 3-3, and when Dempsey slotted his home, it was left to Seitaridis to take the penalty he had to score. The Greek full-back ran up and pinged his penalty back off the post, to send West Ham into the final and break the hearts of our fans

---

Giourkas had let the penalty miss get to him, so for this reason Justin Hoyte came into the team for the next game, which was, strangely, against West Ham again, although this time it was in the league. This time, the result was much different, as we controlled the game with composed ease and won 1-0 thanks to Henri Saivet's 33rd Premiership goal of the season, which not only kept us top of the table, but stretched out lead to 5 points, thanks to Arsenal being held by Spurs. The title was getting closer and closer, and all we had to do was to win our games

[sherm]

Our next game was at Vicarage Road, and it saw the visit of Middlesbrough. They were battling to avoid relegation, and needed the points just as much as we did, so I didn't expect anything but a battle. That was exactly what we got, as the visitors defended like trojans in the first half, and deservedly went in goalless, despite all of our pressure. The second half was different, and our superior ability shone through, as goals from Saivet and Murphy gave us a 2-0 win, but I had to give credit to the Teesiders, they had battled hard, and they were unlucky to lose the game

---

Jess was getting more and more excited about the wedding, seen as it was less than two months away, and the fact that she was running around without my help suited her, because she knew I had the football side of things to focus on. I was also pleased to hear that Beefy would be attending, because I had been worried that he would be away with the England side, but on that particular day he would be at the biggest day in my life (well the second one anyway)

There was still a league title to win there though, and the next part of the quest to do this saw us visit Ewood Park, and a side that had never failed to cause us problems in Blackburn. They did exactly the same again in this game, and just as it looked like we would be going in level, Matt Derbyshire kept up his scoring record against us by heading home. We were back on level terms four minutes into the second half, as Rhys Murphy volleyed home from 12 yards, and there were no more goals in the match which meant we secured a good point and kept ourselves at the head of the table

[sherm]

Two home games finished off the penultimate month of the season, and the first of these saw relegation threatened Reading make the visit to Vicarage Road. They needed the points just as much as we did, although for very different reasons. It was a game that we were superb in, and had sealed all three points before 25 minutes had passed, thanks to a goal from Rhys Murphy and a brace from Franch striker Henri Saivet, who took his tally to 36 for the season, an incredible record by anyone's standards. It was a game that showed why both teams were in the positions they were in, and I knew that we were just two wins away from being crowned Premiership champions

---

I was pleased that Ian was making a success of his tebure as England coach, and with my Watford side having one hand on the Premiership trophy my life was really taking a turn for the better at the moment, and with the wedding rapidly approaching too, I knew I had everything to look forward to in my life. The next thing that was to look forward too was another home game, this time it was already relegated Leeds who made the trip. It turned out to be one of the strangest games of football I've ever been involved in, or seen for that matter, as 9 goals were shared between the sides. Once Saivet opened the scoring after 4 minutes, the floodgates opened, and Mika Vayrynen soon doubled the lead before a quarter of an hour had passed. The Yorkshire side seemed intent on putting up a fight though, and two goals in three minutes from Puri and Braulio got them back on level terms. This only seemed to make us pick up our game, and come half time there was three more goals to be scored, with a Wesley Sneijder penalty, a Rhys Murphy header and Saivet's second, aswell as Oswaldo scoring right on half time leaving the score at 5-3 in our favour. Only one more goal was to be scored in the second half, and that came from Henri Saivet, as he completed his hat-trick after 71 minutes, and sent us to a bizarre 6-3 win and just three points away from a Premiership winners medal

[sherm]

April 2011 Summary

(Premiership unless stated)

Watford 2-0 Bolton

Murphy (7) Vayrynen (90)

(F.A Cup Semi Final)

Watford 2-2 West Ham

Riki (77,96) : Ashton (33) Dempsey (118)

(West Ham won 4-3 on pens)

West Ham 0-1 Watford

Saivet (34)

Watford 2-0 Middlesbrough

Saivet (57) Murphy (71)

Blackburn 1-1 Watford

Derbyshire (45) : Murphy (49)

Watford 3-0 Reading

Murphy (16) Saivet (21,24)

Watford 6-3 Leeds

Saivet (4,39,71) Vayrynen (14) Sneijder (pen 34) Murphy (36) : Puri (27) Braulio (30) Oswaldo (45)

[Spav]

League Cup win -

Premiership title (nearly) -

[sherm]

Thanks Spav. I never expected things to go this well so soon but I can't say that I'm not happy

---

We needed one more win to secure ourselves the league, and it certainly wasn't going to be easy, as a trip to Anfield beckoned. Liverpool were looking to secure themselves a Champions league spot, and they needed a win to do that, but we started the better of the teams, and we got our rewards just before half an hour had passed, as Henri Saivet picked up the ball and beat three men before sliding past Reina. The next goal came seven minutes into the second half, and it was the equaliser, Andriy Voronin breaking free and dinking over Kuszczak, This certainly helped us to pick up our game, and when a 68th minute Rhys Murphy goal put us back in front, we were just 22 minutes away. It was secured just 8 minutes later, as Mika Vayrynen curled home from the edge of the area to seal the 3-1 win, and seal our first ever Premiership title

---

The team were still on a high from our incredible win, and the board were on cloud nine. The fans, and former players were praising me all over the place, but I was playing it down. It was a team effort to achieve what we had done, and it was a superb team effort. I wanted us to end the season on a high, but I was worried that we would suffer a title hangover in our next match against Aston Villa. We went behind after 3 minutes, as Cani volleyed home from Barry's cross, but we secured a point after ten minutes, as Pekhart rose highest and headed home. No more goals were imminent in the game, and we continued our unbeaten run. Not only that, but we were Premiership champions

[sherm]

May 2005 Summary

(Premiership unless stated)

Liverpool 1-3 Watford

Voronin (52) : Saivet (29) Murphy (68) Vayrynen (76)

Watford 1-1 Aston Villa

Pekhart (10) : Cani (3)

--

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

PL W D L GD PTS

1. WATFORD 38 23 12 3 +53 81

2. Arsenal 38 20 13 5 +34 73

3. Man Utd 38 21 10 7 +29 73

4. Liverpool 38 19 12 7 +21 69

5. Chelsea 38 18 11 9 +28 65

6. Everton 38 18 9 11 +19 63

7. Tottenham 38 16 12 10 +17 60

8. Aston Villa 38 16 10 12 -1 58

</pre>

[sherm]

The end of season awards were a success for us, and to add to the League Cup and Premiership title we had won throughout the season, we picked up a total of four awards at the ceremony. I earned the vote for manager of the year, and Rhys Murphy capped his terrific first season with 1st place in the young player of the season award. Without a shadow of a doubt though, the undoubted star of our season was French striker Henri Saivet. The under-21 international had scored 40 goals in the Premiership alone, and 48 throughout the other competitions, which was a record for the club, and for the Premiership. He was an absolute assassin in front of goal, and his value had sky-rocketed in the season. I would be fighting hard to keep Henri, and he was going nowhere. He is an absolute star in the making, and I know he will be a future international

---

The board had approached me about a new contract, but as I had two years left on my current one I said that I didn't need to sign another one just yet. I was still focusing on the footballing issues, such as transfers and defending our Premiership title, but there was one major event in the summer, as I prepared to marry the love of my life. The wedding was drawing closer all the time, and I had Ian and Shaun always supporting me. It was three days before the wedding when my parents arrived, and they were delighted that I had got myself settled down again. They only ever wanted the best for me, and they knew I was in love with Jess. My mum in particular was being a typical mother, asking how I was. if I was sure I was doing the right thing, basically just giving me the Spanish inquisition, but she seemed satisfied after a few minutes

[sherm]

"Yes, yes I do. So how much are we talking about?"

"..."

"It's a little too much for me I'm afraid Arsene. I was looking more in the region of £5 million"

"..."

"OK. So £5 million and 50% of next sale clause? That sounds OK to me. When will you be available for a meeting?"

"..."

"Excellent. I will see you then. Thanks Arsene"

I had managed to secure a fee for Arsenal defender Michele Rigione, who was a top class centre back, and for £5million I was delighted to be on the verge of getting the Italian to sign for us. I hadn't known that my dad had been stood in the doorway listening in

"What are you doing son?"

"Dad. I didn't know you were there. I was just sorting out some transfer dealings"

"Why? You do know what today is don't you?"

"Of course I know what it is, I'm getting married"

"And you're doing work?"

"Don't worry about it, it's just a little bit of business. I'm not going to run off or anything"

"No. Well as long as you know what it is today"

---

Despite my dads concerns, there were no hitches, and the day went off well. By ten o'clock that night, we were sat at home as a married couple, and I was more happy than I had ever been in my life. Jess made me happy, and I wanted to do the same to her. She meant everything to me, and without her in my life I wouldn't know what to do. We didn't have time for a honeymoon, due to my obvious commitments, but I had promised her a holiday either over christmas or the next summer, and she understood that my work was important to me. I was pleased that all my friends were there, and that the day went off well. I was just hoping my good fortune off the field could be transferred onto it

[sherm]

The rest of the summer was quiet, nothing notable of note happened, and I took the opportunity to watch any game of football that came on the television, something which Jess didn't mind as it gave her the chance to go out shopping. In a way, I wanted pre-season to come, as it would give me somehting to do. I was bored without football, although there was no way I would admit that to Jess. I also had plenty of business to try and conclude before the opening of the transfer window, and ideally I wanted to have the signings secured before we returned for pre-season.

--

The date that the rest of the squad met up was 28th June, just three days before the opening of the window, and I had managed to seal three transfers. Manuel Redondo was a Spanish under 21 international, and he was a left back, which was the 'problem position' for myself and the team, so to seal the undeniable talents of the Spaniard for £1.4 million was a real coup in my eyes. Another centre back joined from Arsenal too, as Johan Djourou signed a four year contract, and I was happy to pay £3.3 million for the Swiss defenders services. An English striker joined the ranks at Vicarage Road too, as Daniel Sturridge made an £8.75 million pound move for Spurs. He was a player that had impressed me immensely when he came on loan two seasons before, and I had been tracking him since then. He could not get a decent run in the side at White Hart Lane, and I was more than happy to take him on board

--

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

www.bbc.co.uk/football

Can McAllister do it again?

Hugo McAllister has only been in football management for four seasons, but he has already accomplished some incredible things. To go through a 46 game season unbeaten was a hell of a feat, but to win a League Cup and a Premiership title with Watford is possibly the best feat by any young manager. People forget that he is only 36, and still has many years left in front of him.

To win the title was an achievement, but any manager will tell you it is much harder to defend a title. Very few sides have won the Premiership, and even less have defended it successfully, so it will be interesting to see if McAllister can do that very thing. Even if he doesn't, the Watford fans still have an awful lot to thank him for

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[sherm]

Watford Press Conference

Vicarage Road

August 5th, 2011

"Hugo, Andrew Orton from the Watford Daily Mail. How did you rate last season's achievements in your career?"

"Well obviously winning the Premiership was incredible, and it was brilliant effort by the team, but to win the League Cup too was brilliant"

"So do you believe you and your team have what it takes to be successful again this season?"

"Absolutely. They say defending a title is harder than winning one, but I have faith in my players"

"What about the Champions League? You must have been disappointed to have been out of Europe before christmas last season?"

"Yes, both myself and my team were disappointed, but we feel we have learnt from that experience and can give a much better account of ourselves in the coming season"

"You don't appear to have made many signings. Is this because you are happy with the size of your team?"

"Yes, plus the fact I believe these signings cover the necessary positions. I am looking to finalise the signing of one more player before the start of the season and that should complete my transfer dealings"

"There are rumours that the Scottish FA are interested in securing you as their manager. Would you be interested?"

"Not at this moment in time no. My future lies here with Watford for the near future, and I don't believe a manager should split his duties. I am Watford manager, and that is how it is going to stay for the moment"

"Ok. Well finally, I was just wondering if you had a message for the rest of the Watford fans?"

"All I want to say is that I can assure them that we will be trying our utmost to try and ensure as successful a campaign as last season. All I ask from the supporters is that they get behind the team 100% and give them the support they need to gain success in the coming season"

[sherm]

Before the start of the season, I managed to complete one more transfer, as Manchester United winger Nani joined for £6.25 million. He joined in time to be registered for the opening game of the season, which, for the first time since I took charge, would see us compete in the Community Shield. Our fans travelled out in force, they hadn't had a big day out at Wembley in years, and I was determined to start the season with a bang. Our opponents were F.A Cup winners West Ham, who had beaten us en-route to the trophy, so I wanted revenge

The game started in a typical opening day fashion, as neither side seemed ready to go forward and make the first move, but just before half time that chance was taken, as Mika Vayrynen's through ball was latched onto by Henri Saivet and the French striker opened the scoring. The game, and first trophy of the season, was sealed in the second half, when the provider of the first goal curled home the second from the edge of the area after 63 minutes. There should have been many more, and I was in no doubt on of that, but we won the game at a canter, and I could even cope with Lucas Neill beating Kuszczak in stoppage time, but we hung on for the win and claimed our fourth trophy under my management

---

The players I had bought were all players I felt would add strength in depth to the squad, and I was more than happy with the squad I had at my disposal. The mixture of youth and experience was healthy, and I had always been a manager who liked to back youth. I also felt that the team I had would perform in the Champions League, especially after the first round exit the season before, and once I had spoken to supporter spokesperson Louis Leary, I felt that the fans were as happy as me. All in all, my tenure at Watford had been a happy time so far, and I loved being here at the club. My salary, although not as large as other managers, was one that had allowed me to put enough away for my future, one with which I wanted a family. I had discussed the idea of having a family with Jess, and she seemed keen, so we would be starting with that soon. Yes, I think I can safely say that I am as happy as I can be at this moment in time

[Spav]

Good luck defending the title, sherm.

[sherm]

Thanks muchly Spav

---

The opening league game of the season saw myself and the side travel to Lancashire, to face a tough test against Bolton. We got off to an absolutely perfect start after less than four minutes, as Rhys Murphy converted from Saivet's cross, before the Frenchman turned from provider to scorer just before the half time break when he latched onto a long clearance and rounded Jaaskelainen before calmly slotting home. The second half should have seen us score many more, with Sturridge, Saivet, and an absolute sitter from Vayrynen all being wasted, but in the end I was more than happy to settle for a 2-0 win. We had got off to a good start to the season, and I was confident we could continue that excellent form in our quest to defend the title

---

I was unavailable to go to the Champions League draw, due to a game we had that day against Everton, but the Chairman was certainly going to go. The group we had been in the previous year was not as difficult as first thought, and I was disappointed we didn't get through, but I felt we had learnt from the experience and would be much better for it in the coming season's Champions League

Before that though, we had Premiership games to focus on, and the next of these saw Fulham visit Vicarage Road, another game I fully expected a full quota of points from. We started like a house on fire, and by the end of the first half we racked up an incredible 13 shots on goal, with 9 on target. It was a mystery to me then, how we had gone in goalless. The main reason was thanks to Fulham's experienced 'keeper Antti Niemi having quite possibly the game of his life. It continued in much the same way in the second half, and it wasn't until our French striker provided a piece of utter brilliance to beat the Fin that we were set on our way, as he curled home from 30 yards. After that, goals from Daniel Sturridge and Jose Jurado were enought to seal the win, but I felt sorry for Niemi and offered him a pat on the back for his heroic efforts in the game

[sherm]

We made the trip to Merseyside on the same morning as the chairman flew to Lucerne, and with the draw scheduled for 7.30 British time, he was going to keep me updated after the game. Everton were not a bad side at home, and I wasn't too confident, although I wasn't worried that much either, and when Mika Aaritalo gave us a 15th minute lead, it all looked good. Five minutes from half time though, and the scores were back on level terms, as Tim Cahill headed home Yakubu's cross. In the second half, there was only one team in the game, and our reward eventually came in the 62nd minute, as Rhys Murphy cut inside and lashed the ball into the net to seal a third straight win in the League

--

"Graham, what news?"

"You want the good or the bad?"

"Good first"

"OK. Porto again"

"Right, that's pretty good. Now what's the bad news?"

"Juventus and Real Madrid"

"****. That's not too good"

--

After finding out the news from the chairman that we had almost no chance of going through the group, I conveyed the news to the tea. They surprised me though, as they were confident of springing a surprise and qualifying, which did bring a smile to my face. Before we could even think about qualifying though, we had a final League game to worry about, as Tottenham came to visit us. Striker Daniel Sturridge was up for the game, and begged to start against his former employees, and he paid me back in fine style with the 20th minute opener. I was disappointed that we only came away with a point then, due to Berbatov's 77th minute goal, but a point is always better than none

[sherm]

August 2011 Summary

(Premiership unless stated)

(Community Shield)

Watford 2-1 West Ham

Saivet (45) Vayrynen (63) : Neill (90)

Bolton 0-2 Watford

Murphy (4) Saivet (45)

Watford 3-0 Fulham

Saivet (79) Sturridge (81) Jurado (85)

Everton 1-2 Watford

Cahill (40) : Aaritalo (15) Murphy (62)

Watford 1-1 Tottenham

Sturridge (20) : Berbatov (77)

[Liam =D]

Great story Sherm

My friend doesnt believe that this is an actual FM game so could you post a screenie of your team please?

Thanks sherm

[sherm]

Liam - seen as you asked so kindly, and I'm such a nice person, this next couple of posts are for you

---

Watford Squad

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

| Pkd | Inf | Name | Position | Morale | Form | Con | Apps | Gls | Av Rat |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Req | Joe Hart | GK | Poor | - | 94% | - | - | - |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | | Tomasz Kuszczak | GK | Very Good | 7-8-7-7-8 | 100% | 28 | - | 7.21 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Req | Miguel Ãngel Moyá | GK | Okay | 6-8-8-8-8 | 96% | 5 | - | 7.60 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Slt | Brahim Hemdani | SW, D C, DM | Okay | 7-6-8-6-7 | 95% | 2 (1) | - | 7.00 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | | Justin Hoyte | D R | Very Good | 8-8-7-7-7 | 93% | 16 | - | 7.13 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | | Manuel Redondo | D LC, WB L | Very Good | 7-7-7-7-7 | 92% | 27 | - | 7.15 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | | Jay DeMerit | D C | Very Good | 7-7-7-7-7 | 96% | 22 | - | 7.18 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | | Johan Djourou | D C | Very Poor | 7-7-7-7-6 | 100% | 10 (1) | - | 6.82 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | | Michele Rigione | D C | Poor | 7-7-7-7-7 | 95% | 29 (1) | - | 7.27 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | | Danny Shittu | D C | Good | 7-7-7-7-7 | 92% | 2 (2) | - | 7.00 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | | HÃ¥vard Nordtveit | D C, DM | Good | 7-8-6-7-8 | 100% | 11 (4) | 1 | 7.33 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | | Ãlex | D/WB L | Good | 8-7-7-7-7 | 96% | 5 | - | 7.20 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Inj | Giourkas Seitaridis | D/WB/M R | Okay | 7-7-7-7-7 | 66% | 17 | - | 7.24 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Wnt | Ever Banega | DM | Okay | 8-8-8-8-7 | 91% | 21 | - | 7.33 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | | Nani | AM RLC | Good | 7-7-7-7-7 | 90% | 22 (2) | 2 | 7.17 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | | Jermaine Pennant | AM R | Okay | 7-7-7-7-7 | 100% | 15 (6) | - | 7.19 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | | Wesley Sneijder | AM RLC | Very Good | 7-8-7-7-7 | 87% | 25 | 6 | 7.36 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | | Henri Saivet | AM RL, F C | Very Good | 8-8-7-8-6 | 92% | 29 (1) | 31 | 7.57 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Slt | Mika Ääritalo | AM RL, ST | Good | 7-7-8-8-7 | 92% | 15 (10)| 2 | 7.12 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unh | Lee Martin | AM L | Very Poor | 8-7-8-7-8 | 95% | 6 | - | 7.67 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Slt | José Manuel Jurado | AM C | Very Poor | 8-6-6-7-7 | 91% | 3 (2) | 1 | 6.80 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | | Mika Väyrynen | AM C | Okay | 7-6-8-7-8 | 99% | 16 (7) | 2 | 7.04 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | | Rhys Murphy | ST | Okay | 7-6-8-6-7 | 99% | 20 (4) | 9 | 7.04 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | | Tomás Pekhart | ST | Okay | 8-7-6-7-7 | 94% | 3 | - | 6.67 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Slt | Daniel Sturridge | ST | Poor | 8-6-6-7-6 | 96% | 9 (9) | 7 | 7.00 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[sherm]

Premiership Table (January 2012)

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Holders - Watford

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Chelsea | | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 38 | 17 | +21 | 45 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Watford | | 21 | 11 | 10 | 0 | 37 | 15 | +22 | 43 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Man Utd | | 21 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 37 | 28 | +9 | 40 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Tottenham | | 21 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 35 | 19 | +16 | 37 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Arsenal | | 21 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 30 | 17 | +13 | 37 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Blackburn | | 21 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 30 | 19 | +11 | 35 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Liverpool | | 21 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 40 | 25 | +15 | 34 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Newcastle | | 21 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 23 | 17 | +6 | 32 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Sunderland | | 21 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 27 | 19 | +8 | 31 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Birmingham | | 21 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 27 | 24 | +3 | 31 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Man City | | 21 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 31 | 28 | +3 | 30 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | West Ham | | 21 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 20 | 25 | -5 | 27 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Aston Villa | | 21 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 24 | 33 | -9 | 23 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Bolton | | 21 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 30 | 40 | -10 | 22 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Wigan | | 21 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 24 | 38 | -14 | 21 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Sheff Utd | | 21 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 32 | -11 | 20 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Portsmouth | | 21 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 24 | 35 | -11 | 19 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Everton | | 21 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 21 | 37 | -16 | 18 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Derby | | 21 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 15 | 40 | -25 | 15 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Fulham | | 21 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 22 | 48 | -26 | 12 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[sherm]

September started with a trip to the North East to face Roy Keane's mid-table Sunderland side. They were a side that had talent in the ranks, and could cause any side problems on their best day, particularly with the goal-scoring prowess of Billy Sharp up-front, so I was fully aware of what they could do. We started as well as we could do, as a one-two combination between our two strikers resulted in Rhys Murphy firing the ball into the top corner of Craig Gordon's goal. This should have been our sign to push on, but we didn't, and I was disappointed that we only went in at half-time one goal to the good. This changed just seven minutes into the second period, as Murphy's strike partner Henri Saivet broke clear and rounded Gordon before slotting into the empty net. This should have signalled game over for us, but the resilience of the home side shone through, and Leroy Lita gave them hope on 72 minutes. We still looked in control, and should have won the game, but three minutes into injury time they got themselves a point, as Billy Sharp volleyed home a left-footed shot and clawed two points away from us

---

Life as a married man was strange. It probably shouldn't have been, seen as I had been married before, but it was strange trying to adapt again. I was willing to try, because I love Jess, but I've sat her down and explained why it's strange. I have many things that I love in my life, Jess being the main one, but I just want to be the man who makes her happy. Watford gave me the chance to get back into football, and I will always remember that. Graham Simpson has been a friedn of mine for the last few years, and I owe him so much for what he has done for me. He gave me the chance to manage the club I love, and I am so happy he did that. I love Watford, and I want to make them the most successful side they have ever had at Vicarage Road

[Liam =D]

Thanks for that sherm

KUTGW and KUTGStory

[sherm]

Cheers Liam

---

Another North East suide provided us the next test, although this time it was the black and white stripes of Newcastle. They were, like their neighbours, nothing better than average, and I fully expected three points from the game. We got off to a shocking start when Havard Nordtveit's wreckless challenge sent us a man down, but surprisingly we were still the better side. The away team probably should have dominated, but the best chances of the first half came from us, as Murphy, Banega, Saivet and Sneijder all missed good efforts. The second half was much the same, with us creating the better chances of the game, and although the visitors did get back into the game, creating chances of their own, it made no difference to how we played. We could not find the opening, and a super performance from the ageing Shay Given kept us at bay and kept the result at 0-0

--

I was severly dissapointed with the Newcastle result, and wanted to pick up the performance in out next game, but I wasn't overly confident, seen as we had a trip to Spain to face Real Madrid, but stranger things have happened. Our last foray into the realms of Europe had been a disaster to say the least, and when Robinho gave the home side a fourth minute lead I wasn't all that confident of this one being so successful, but Frenchman Henri Saivet gave me hope, with a tenth minute equaliser. Fromm then on in, there was one team in it, and goals in the second half from Antonio Cassano and Ricardo Montolivo gave them the points. We looked like we might get back into it when Mika Vayrynen converted a penalty 9 minutes from time, but it meant nothing and we started our campaign with a bad defeat, albeit to a very good side and former European Cup winners

[pr1celess]

where has sherm gone? was really enjoying this story!