Watford 1 Hull City 0 (20/10/2007) 21/10/2007
Posted by Matt Rowson in Match reports.trackback
Five thunks from Hull…
1- Another game where there wasn’t much to choose between the two sides. But another game when we had just about enough.
2- Each substitution in the game made us weaker.
3- Dean Windass still looks like an extra cast as “angry man in pub” in an episode of The Bill.
4- With Graeme Souness out of work, Phil Brown is unchallenged as the angriest manager in football.
5- Wayne Brown continues to be the Pascal Cygan of the Championship. A very competent defender for 85 minutes in every 90… a pile of cabbage for the other five.
BHaPPY (not BSaD) 
O’Toole = better than we/I thought!!
Jordan Stewart – MOTM if you ask me. Covered every inch of grass up and down the left and came in central when necessary.
Was it just me, or did Nathan Ellington look like he’d just woken up? In his previous substitute appearances he’s looked like a man determined to grab the game by the scruff of its neck, but on Saturday he looked completely off the pace.
Another not so great performance, another 3 points. I’m not one for complaining, especially when we’re top of the league by 6 points, but if Aidy believed that we’ll be firing on all cilinders by Christmas, why didn’t we get back into training a little bit earlier. Then it maybe we could be firing by November! And agreement about O’Toole, great game.
Only 1-0 but did not feel anxious – defence looks pretty solid.
Jordan becoming a bit of a star with his fancy footwork – trapped ball with right foot and cleared with left without said ball touching the ground – fabulous.
Richard Lee/Matt Poon – discuss?
It’s weird about O’Toole’s performance. So far I’ve heard him rated from Man of the Match to a 4 out of 10, with the rest of the bunch getting sixes and better.
A great win against a side that can be tricky.
To be 6 points clear after 11 matches and still not have hit form is either amazing or worrying. Amazing because we can get better and get better results or worrying because the football we’ve seen so far is what were capable of – we ARE playing as well as we can.
Agree about Stewart – terrific.
O’Toole didn’t have a great first half but improved considerably. He’s certainly got something, and did fine overall particularly as he’s no better than sixth in line for a starting spot in centre mid in the normal way. But it did seem to be passing him by at times.
Lee vs Poom is an interesting one John. We certainly gain from Lee’s throwing, which is much better than Poom’s, but you do worry that there might be no going back if Poom is dropped.
On the Lee vs. Poom situation, I see either as being good enough for this season and neither good enough for next (should we win promotion).
Between the two I’d go for Rich. He’s Watford through and through and has done well whenever he’s been called upon. Imagine what he’d be able to do when he’s had a number of games getting to know the defense.
That said – Poom has not done anything to warrant him being dropped (other than tweaking his back).
Parallels,
I missed the game against Hull and being a natural pessimist (Watford supporter for 40 years so it goes with the territory) there are certain worrying parallels between this season and the 2000/01 season the year after our last relegation from Div 1 (Premiership whatever).
That season by the end of October we were flying high and vieing with Fulham for the leadership. We had broken our transfer record by signing Alan Neilsen and Espen Baardsen from Spurs. Neilsen was an OK signing but Baardsen disapeared without trace, became a hippy or something. Compare with Mcanuff and Ellington.
We extended are superb start to that season by tonking Grimsby at the end of October, another game I missed and by golly by gosh both Hull and Grimsby are from the same neck of the woods.
But then it all went to rats**t. We went on a losing run and come December 26th I was watching the Golden Boys being beaten 5-0 by a rampant Fulham at Craven Cottage on a freezing cold afternoon with a performance from Darren Ward making me think that if he can play for Watford so can I.
I also think of Cardiff’s start to last season and their gradual demise to mid-table more or less where we ended up in 2001
So it’s a great start to the season but there is a long way to go and football, like life, has a habit of turning round and biting you on the bum.
Still it’s all dahn the Palace Monday week just to cheer you all up
Best quip of the day came from somewhere near me in the main stand, directed at Phil Brown: “Sit down and change your shoes!” Black suit with brown shoes, what a fashion faux pas, and on the telly as well…….
I can get eleven words of four or more letters from MART POOM.
The positives from Saturday :
We won without playing particularly well – unlike last season when we were losing games despite playing well.
Jordan Stewart was man of the match by a long shot.
J-J O’Toole was far more comfortable in this game than in his previous outings.
Marlon was sharper than he’s been all season.
Shittu won everything in the air.
And we’ve got two keepers who are top-championship standard(although I’m not quite so nervous when Lee’s in the team – he does come off his line when necessary )
Also,
Why does the bloke on the mike get so excited when the two-minute bell sounds? Does anyone else find him irritating??
Colin,
Poor effort, old boy;
Ramp
Tramp
Troop
Poor
Room
Moor
Pram
Moat
Atom
Roam
Motor
Rota
Part
Port
How many can we get from RICHARD LEE? Surely this is the only way for gentlemen to settle the debate.
But seriously…
Kris is probably right, Richard Lee is currently not a Prem quality keeper. But he’s not likely to become one if he doesn’t get the games under his belt. He’s had a few poor games for us, but quite a lot of very good ones too; the occasional errors may well be cut out with the security of a consistent run in the team.
Second fiddle to Foster is one thing; Poom is not Foster. Richard Lee every time for me.
(Speaking of Foster… ah, fond memories of our last trip to the Ricoh!)
Sequel – get with it.
Brown shoes are in.
Black shoes are for funerals- ask any Italian.
Hats off to you Mike. I logged off and went home last night after finding eleven but woke up in the night thinking of more. (I’ve been under a lot of stress recently)
There’s also prom, romp and trap. That’s seventeen. And if we wish to become vulgar, prat makes eighteen.
Fascinating……
RICHARD LEE
rich
hard
lard
lerch
lerched
ride
card
reach
reached
rare
leer
liar
reel
rail
deer
dear
read
reed
lead
rear
reared
railed
held
raced
race
dice
I think the list continues but, as a busy student i must get on with some more reading. or something like that. I just wanted to prove once and for all the Lee deserves his starting position. Now, who’s going to get going with Alec… 🙂
I’d pick Richard Lee above Mart Poom….only just mind you. Lee’s profile states he is 6 foot but he looks a couple of inches shy of that when he’s out there (even less when he’s stood next to Shitts). There was an occasion when he was blocked off when he came for a cross in the second half on Saturday and was left on his knees applealing to the Ref. It probably was a foul but you tend to think not many of our erstwhile first choice ‘keepers would have suffered the same indignity.
You’re right Tapps… Poom wouldn’t be seen dead coming for a cross…
lerched?
That’s a new one for me, Adam. Can you provide a definition?
For some reason this odd-looking word, that I cannot find in my dictionary, evokes Ramon Vega.
No debate, Richard Lee every time. Give him a decent run of games and he will soon become close to NotNot standard.
Never agreed with signing Poom – not only is he getting a bit long in the tooth, but he had hardly played for 2 years. The only time he seems to communicate with the back 4 at all is to give them a b***ocking after he didn’t bother to command his area…
East Stand Man : Do you still think the same after our 3-0 away win tonight putting us 9 points, I repeat nine points clear!?
Richard Lee is not a worse keeper than Mart Poom and there seem to have been fewer instances of a glaring failure to communicate at the back in the last couple of games.
Is signing this Ian Joyce is another factor in the equation?
Good to see that Marlon King’s back to his form of 2 seasons ago, tonight’s goal at the Ricoh being another cracker. Now we just need Nathan Ellington to trouble the scorers.
Dear Mr Wiggins,
My deepest apologies, I was obviously thinking of lurched. I blame my dyslexia (i had to look that one up just so i wouldnt suffer your spelling wrath again!). also, i blame the lowering of standard of public examinations.
Great results tonight though for the boys, 9 points! must be dreaming…
MART POOM
How intellectually challenged are you all?
Can any of you not think of a word longer than 4 or 5 letters, like MATRON!
Loving my new brown shoes. Ciao!
Jimbo
XYLOPHONE is longer than MATRON. But the whole idea was to use letters from Mart Poom’s name. Sorry if this concept was too complicated for you.
MarkyMark,
I concede that relegation is unlikely now.
MART POOM – MOTORAMP.
oops!
Spending to much time admiring my shoes, rather than concentrating on the matter in hand.
do feel kinda dumb now
I would like to close this silly thread by enrolling Adam and Colin in AA which as everybody knows is for Anagramaholics Anonymous – I hope you two get treatment for your serious affliction straight away. Now – back to the football postings!!
An earlier posting of mine that didn’t get through said “Can I wear brown shoes to Gian Luca Vialli’s funeral?” – There Mr Rowson, silliness, continuation of a theme and football related in the one post. Do I win an editor’s prize?