After the disastrous performance against Hull last week which ended in a 3.0 defeat, leaving us in 5th, and which caused the pessimism of the Hornets faithful to reach new highs we needed to see a reaction. It was crucial that against Coventry we got an early goal to settle the nerves, ideally that we had a good performance but crucially that we got 3 points. As Friday progressed I was trying desperately not to think about the 41st ‘massive’/‘difficult’ game of the season such is the competitive nature and unpredictability of the league. I was briefly able to take my mind off the football by finding out betting tips from colleagues for the ‘Grand National’. In the end I decided that Saturday morning I would put £1 each way on 3 choices – King Johns Castle, Baily Breeze and Butlers Cabin. By Friday evening I knew only one thing would take my mind off the impending match and potential gloom I envisaged experiencing at 4.50. However even at the pub I still couldn’t escape the football because I bumped into Matt from the football fancast team. I doubt the last thing either of us probably wanted to do was to discuss how crucial Saturday would be, but of course that’s exactly what we did. If any of them are reading, keep up the good work lads. I watched the first half of the F.A Cup Semi between Portsmouth and West Brom and whilst I was supporting the Baggies, I was still envious at the way they made the Premiership club look nothing more than average. At half time it was 0-0 and they’d failed to take advantage of huge amounts of possession and some quality football. By the time Chris and I arrived at the Vic the match had already ended and without the volume it was impossible to tell who had won. I still haven’t seen the winning goal properly but it sounds as though West Brom were unlucky. It will be interesting to see how much of an effect it will have on the home crowd when we play them next Saturday, and whether Barnsley’s defeat to Cardiff will have an impact Wednesday night. Taking our seats we saw the club had managed to come up with a campaign to encourage the fans to get behind the team. Whilst I’m not denying that it’s good to see an attempt by the club to jeer up the crowd who honestly thought of the slogan ‘Who Are We?’ It was impossible not to make jokes about it…we both questioned whether ‘we were’ the Hornets or Wasps (maybe playing Saracens). At least Graham Simpson didn’t go onto the pitch because knowing the way our season has been, he’d only have fallen over mid-speech! The match started brightly and as usual we dominated the start. This time however we eventually and actually took advantage, a neat passing move resulted in Ellington having space on the edge of the box. He took his time but fired a low shot into the bottom corner. It was just the tonic to forget the misery of the previous weekend. Initially it all continued to go well, we looked solid, we kept pressing, kept passing and actually looked dangerous from open play. It was for 25 minutes the best performance of the season. So why couldn’t it continue? Why did those players in the yellow shirt completely change their mentality? The crowd were remaining supportive but as half time approached the game had gone flat. Despite our lead and the news Bristol were losing, the ominous feeling yet again descended on the Vic. The effort shown in the opening minutes of the second half was nothing short of woeful. There seemed a sudden lack of effort, players backing off and allowing Coventry players time to get crosses, passes and shots in. We committed stupid, needless fouls and it was us making life difficult for ourselves not Coventry suddenly sparking into life. We were showing the complacent attitude which has occasionally dogged us. When we get a corner we should play to our strengths – hit the ball into the box and hope Danny heads it in. So why do we sometimes try and be clever? From a corner the predictable is the way to score, there should be no reason to ‘mix it up’ – it is the rest of our play which should be unpredictable. When we try short corners we never seem to gain an advantage and – so just why did we try that neat little ‘training’ move that saw Smith volley well over and wide? It was a wasted opportunity in my opinion and left defensive players needlessly out of position. I was still in the process of seething about it when from the resultant goal kick I realised Coventry were hitting us on the break. All I remember is the ball being crossed in and a roar from the away end. It was predictable that we’d concede but unbelievable that we still hadn’t learnt crucial lessons. A draw would not be good enough and with the inept performance from the players it should be no surprise to Aidy at the way most fans were feeling, especially as there was a lack of evidence that he was going to change things. Credit to those at the back that tried to create an atmosphere, but ‘play your hearts out for the fans’ was the only song that had any meaning to me. Ironically it was just as this chant began that Tommy Smith found himself free in the box one-on-one with Kasper Schmeichel. He slid it under the keeper at a slow speed and I feared it would get stuck in the mud…it was painfully slow but eventually there was a burst of relief. Aidy then set out our stool for the remaining 10 minutes by bringing on Mariappa, Stewart and Demerit. It was obvious the mentality was going to be to soak up pressure. It worked on this occasion, but isn’t a tactic that is enjoyable for the fans to watch – Coventry are not a particularly good side and we did not have to experience the nervy finish we did. His substitutions created divisions in the crowd and it is worrying just how quickly our fans are turning on each other when something goes wrong. Yes it was wrong for those that did to boo Stewart when he came on but that Watford team is not ‘Who I thought they were’ and appear to be overrated, whilst also lacking the spirit and guts of two years ago. We haven’t experienced that winning feel for over a month and maybe most have forgotten how it feels and just couldn’t embrace it properly? 3 points was obviously the only thing that mattered and results went our way, but those players will have to perform better soon because it seems many feel alienated from the club and the players at the moment. Maybe that slogan was appropriate after all…
Very good write up as usual Aber and I agree with your sentiments, particularly regarding the feeling of alienation from the club and players. It is strange to think how 'the vibe' in the space of two years has changed completely with essentially the same bunch of staff and players. I felt the whole 'who are we' thing incredibly laboured and superficial. I dont know about the rest of the ground but around me in the Rookery it only created a sense of bemusement rather than an excited frenzy.
That just makes the whole routine even worse imo...though i have heard he's good from free kicks. Just seemed such a waste...no idea why i thought it was Tommy, cant even blame my position because it happened at the Rookery end :dismay:
most of the time we complain about our simplistic and predictable tactics but the moment we try something a little different you complain. your reports are always incisive but this is typical of the mind set at the moment.:dismay:
To be honest, even though Sadler shanked it high and wide it was a good idea just a shame it didn't come off. We are very predictable and if we have the ability to try something different then we should.
I agree it's good to try something new, and we don't want to be predictable, but it's open play that needs to change - not the set plays imo. I also feel Sadler (or Smith as i thought it was) are the wrong players to try this type of shot, maybe with more practice though... I probably am being unfair, but i just felt that the routine left key defensive players out of position which contributed to the goal.
I don't think it was from the training ground. Sadler just found himself in loads of space on the edge of the D and was franticly trying to get Jobi's attention. Credit to them for trying something different, but it would have been one hell of a goal for it to have come off.
