More New Hornets

As the transfer window closes, Aidy has picked up three more additions to the Watford roster, two midfielders and a defender. Given the need we had for strikers going into the month, this strikes me (no pun intended) as an odd choice. Joining the team are:

Douglas Rinaldi, midfielder from Veranopolis EC

Johan Cavelli, midfielder from FC Istres

Cedric Avinel, defender from FC Creteil

Welcome to the Yellow Army!

Manchester United (0-4) 2-9-13 15 pts.

Ugly.

United continued their dominance in the second half, managing an additional 11 goal attempts to Watford's pair. They dominated corner kicks and possession as well. The teams did manage to even things out on fouls with 11 each and United drew even on yellow cards with Heinze earning his in the 87th minute.

Lloyd Doyley was credited with an own goal in minute 61, followed by a pair ten minutes later, the first by Larsson (Rooney assist), the second by Rooney himself (assist Ronaldo) to put United ahead 4-0 for the rest of the match.

New Hornets Kabba, Hoskins & Williamson all got playing time in a spate of second half substitutions by both sides.

Next match is this Saturday, February 3 against Bolton at home. Kickoff is 9:00 am St. Louis time. Not on FSC or Setanta.

0 - 1 at the Half

All Man U in the first half.

United has had possession roughly 30 of the 45 minutes and managed 11 goal attempts, four on target, to the Hornet's zero - that's right zero. Fortunately three saves by Lee has kept the score close, only letting in the ball off Ronaldo's penalty kick, earned off a foul by Jay DeMerit.

Jay also picked up a yellow card in the last few minutes of the half, as did Darius Henderson and United's Vidic - all for unsporting behaviour.

Game Day - Manchester United

The Hornets are (justifiably) 16-1 underdogs against the home squad of 1st place Manchester United. 1 point would be a gift today but not out of the realm of possibility. Danny Shittu & Gavin Mahon are doubtful for today's match and Richard Lee is in the net as Foster, on loan from Man U, is ineligible to play against his team.

Starting line-up:

Lee

Mariappa Doyley DeMerit Stewart

Smith Bangura Francis Powell

Bouazza Henderson

For United, Louis Saha is likely to miss - replaced by Wayne Rooney - and Ronaldo is expected to return for the match. Poor timing to continue the streak, but that's life in the Premiership.

In other news, Watford signed midfielder Gareth Williams from Nottingham Forest.

Fifth Round FA Cup Tie at Home v Ipswitch Town

The Tractormen (honestly fellow Yanks, I could not make these names up) pay a visit to Vicarage Road the weekend of February 17th - 18th for the fifth round proper of the 2006-2007 F.A. Cup.

Sunday's results meant West Bromwich Albion, Chelsea, and Manchester City advanced to the fifth round - Arsenal & Bolton get to replay their 1-1 draw.

Don't forget - the Hornets travel to Old Trafford tomorrow to defend their two game winning streak against Manchester United (Man, that sounded pathetic). Kickoff at 1:45 pm St. Louis time. Go 'Orns!

FA Cup:West Ham United (1-0)

The Hornets move on to the Fifth Round Proper of the 2006-2007 FA Cup by holding on to their halftime lead. I counted 6 saves by Foster and Stewart, Demerit, and McNamee all looked like they were having great games (at least as seen from a PC half a world away and filtered through the BBC).

Joining Watford in the next round are:

Ipswitch Town (Championship)
Tottenham Hotspur (Premier)
Plymouth Argyle (Championship)
Reading (Premier)
Derby County (Championship)
Preston North End (Championship)
Manchester United (Premier)
Blackburn Rovers (Premier)
Fulham (Premier)

The remaining 6 spots will be determined with tomorrow's matches . . .:

Wolverhampton Wanderers * (Championship) v. West Bromwich Albion (Championship)
Chelsea (Premier) v. Nottingham Forest (League One)
Manchester City (Premier) v. Southampton (Championship)
Arsenal (Premier) v. Bolton Wanderers (Premier)

. . . or replays of earlier drawn ties:

Bristol City (League One) v. Middlesbrough (Premier)
Norwich City (Championship) v. Blackpool (League One)

* on a business trip to Madison, WI last week, my cabbie had a decidedly British accent. When I asked where he was from, he said " a little town called Wolverhampton; you've probably never heard of it." I think I hurt his brain when said, "Oh - the Wanderers". I may have hurt it worse when I told him I was a Watford fan.

League Cup

Since Watford bowed out, I've been bad about updating League Cup results but:

Chelsea is in the finals after defeating Wycombe in the second leg 4-0 -and-

Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal play Jan. 31 in their second leg after drawing the first.


Next Watford match is Wednesday against Fergie's Manchester United at Old Trafford. Kickoff is 1:45 pm St. Louis time.

Watford Up 1-0 at Half

Starting line-up:

Foster

Mariappa Mackay DeMerit Stewart

McNamee Bangura Francis Bouazza

Smith Henderson

Mahon did NOT travel with the squad.

McNamee drilled in a goal at the 42nd minute off an assist by Hendo. There it stayed for the half in an otherwise even game (at least possession-wise, fouls, and corners - Watford only has one shot on goal, but it counted). I have Foster down for 2 saves, but I am without Matchcast or TV today, following only on BBC Sport. Lucas Neill was booked with a yellow card and pulled late in the half.

Other FA Cup news: L*t*n Town fell to the Blackburn Rovers 0-4.

Game Day - West Ham United

The Hornets take their game on the road to meet last year's runner-up in today's 4th round FA cup tie against West Ham United.

Gavin Mahon is expected to return today, but Danny Shittu is still doubtful. Recent acquisitions Hoskins and Williamson are cup-tied having begun the competition on Rotherham United's squad.

One player who is available is striker Steve Kabba, picked up from Sheffield United this week through the transfer window. Kabba seems eager to join the squad, not having seen a lot of time on the pitch with the Blades. Welcome aboard Steve.

Kickoff is at 9:00 am St. Louis time. Go 'Orns.

PS. To all the Monty Python fans, Coventry City did eventually win the FA Cup - in 1987 - ruining the World Forum skit. They did not escape the third round this year.

Blackburn Rovers (2-1) 2-9-12 15 pts.

The Hornets click on both ends of the field, play a full 90+ minutes, and walk away with 3 points and a bit of their pride regained. A tough match - both Stewart and Bouazza picked up their second yellows - with both terrific defense (Foster had no save opportunities except for the lone Blackburn goal) and scoring from an unexpected quarter as Green Bay's own Jay Demerit headed in the game winner in the 70th minute (assist Bouazza).

Next match is Saturday at 9:00 am, an FA Cup tie versus West Ham United at Boleyn Ground. No US television (though L*t*n Town will be on FSC - go figure)

1-1 at the half

A bit of excitement at the 12th minute as Emerton deflected a shot by Tommy Smith into his own goal to give Watford the lead. The half looked pretty tight and even on all fronts: possession, corners, shots, and, unfortunately, goals as Benedict McCarthy headed in a cross to even things up in injury time (maybe Watford thought it was the second half).

Shittu went off with an injury midway through the quarter, replaced by Jay DeMerit and Mahon is sitting out today with Stewart captaining the squad. No news on the seriousness of either injury.

In other action, Chelsea's up 2-0 over Wycombe at the half in League Cup action with a pair from Shevchenko and L*t*n Town/QPR are nil-nil at halftime.

Game Day - Blackburn Rovers

The Rovers march into Vicarage Road with three straight away wins under their belts while Watford is still smarting from Saturday's loss to Aston Villa.

Danny Shittu played well in his return from the injury list, but we are still without King, Carlisle, Chambers, and the newly-acquired Williamson. For the Rovers, Ooijer and Reid are out with injuries, but Todd is back as well as Mokoena who's coming off a yellow-card suspension.

Despite the home field, the Hornets are underdogs to the mid-table Rovers today. Kickoff is 1:45 pm St. Louis time.

Lineup:

26 Foster

23 Mariappa 04 Mackay 17 Shittu 03 Stewart

29 Smith 20 Bangura 07 Francis 18 Bouazza

10 Henderson 37 Hoskins

Aston Villa (0-2) 1-9-12 12 Pts.

Another 85 minute game as AV converted a corner kick in the 86th minute (credited as an own goal to Gavin Mahon) followed by coffin nail from Gabriel Agbonlahor in added time.

Mike & I both missed the game as Barristers was unable to find channel 670 for some reason. Instead we watched the West Ham - a good game and we learned a thing or two (for example, did you know it legal to pass the ball without kicking it 25' in the air? Someone needs to tell the Hornets).

The Watford game it turns out was closer than I'd predicted with Foster picking up 5 saves (what are we going do when he goes back to Man U?) and Hoskins making a good show up front with 3 shots. Villa picked up two yellows, but we lead the fouls. Corners were about even (excluding the goal) and it looks like we played a solid game - for 85 minutes. It's an old story but we need a new ending. I'm glad I got my Premiership kit & t-shirts this year!

Next match 1:45 pm St. Louis time Tuesday 23rd vs. Blackburn (not televised in the states). Go 'Orns!

Game Day - Aston Villa

The Hornets travel to Villa Park today with a new line-up thanks to their recent pickups from Rotherham and the departure of Spring and Young. This is a must-win for both teams (they all are for Watford now) as Aston Villa, at the top of the standings earlier this season, find themselves struggling to avoid relegation after a prolonged winless streak. Still, the Hornets are underdogs going into the match.

Watford truly has nothing to lose, unlike Villa; an attacking game can set the home team back on their heels if - IF - the Young-less, King-less, Shittu-less squad can play together for 90 minutes. I'll predict no nil-nil draw today - if Watford plays as a team, we'll take the 3 points, otherwise I fear a repeat of Liverpool.

Kickoff is 9:00 am St. Louis time. I'll be in training for at least part, perhaps all of the game. If I can get away for the second half, I'll be at Barristers as the match is on Setanta today.

Go 'Orns!

Changes and Injuries

Figures I would be gone during:

1. The busiest weeks of the season -and-
2. The transfer window

So I've had a little catching up to do - here goes:

The biggest news is the loss of Ashley Young to Aston Villa. We'll get a reported ₤ 10 mil. of Randy Lerner's cash, but we lose our leading scorer and probably reduce our chances of avoiding relegation from slim to none. Young will be playing for neither team tomorrow.

Matthew Spring returned to his first club, L*t*n Town.

Who else doesn't want to play for Watford? How about Fulham Striker Collins John. He nixed a transfer to Vicarage Road and despite all the moaning on the message boards about how he's only in it for the money, it seems he'd rather stay up and play Premiership football.

The coaching staff was shaken up as well with the dismissal of assistant Huckaday and Academy coach Cumming.

We did pick up a duo from Rotherham, midfielder Lee Williamson and striker Will Hoskins. Most likely Williamson will start tomorrow and Hoskins will probably travel with the squad and be available for substitution.

Finally, King, Carlisle, & Chambers are still injured and most likely Danny Shittu will be sitting out tomorrow as well.

Thanks BHA!

I'm back! We took the redeye back from Hawaii and I can't sleep on planes so I'm down a night's sleep but here goes:

Thanks to Mike (BHA) for keeping the site going. I was jonesing for results (little cable and no internet) and scoured the town for a London Times but to no avail. One fellow vacationer who lived 5 miles from Watford saw my Watford shirt and stopped me but had no news. Looks like business as usual while I was away.

I'll have a look at the transfer pickups and see what there is to see. The big news on this side of the pond of course is Becks coming to LA for a stinking pile of money. We'll see if he has any game left in him.

I stupidly scheduled some kind of a training class Saturday and may miss the telecast (if the training is early enough though I may be able to do both). At any rate I'll weigh in with results but hopefully BHA will continue to contribute as well.

Until then: Go 'Orns!

Liverpool at Watford (3-0)

Today 3rd place Liverpool played Watford at Vicarage Road. Prior to today's game Watford had won one out of three Premier League meetings with Liverpool, and today makes it one out of four as Watford loses to Liverpool 3-0. In recent play for each team, Watford comes off a victory against Stockport in the FA Cup and Liverpool is recovering from losing twice against Arsenal in the FA Cup and the Carling Cup.

The first goal occurred during the 33rd minute by Craig Bellamy. Fifteen minutes later Peter Crouch scored a second goal with a header. Then about ten minutes later and shortly after the start of the second half Crouch scored again to make it 3-0 Liverpool.

Liverpool dominated the game with 27 shots compared to Watford's 11 and a ball possession time of 64% compared to Watford's 36%. Liverpool's aggressivenes was evident too by the fact they had four times as many corner kicks during the game.

Watford's next game will be Saturday, 13 January, against Aston Villa.

Stockport at Watford (1-4)

Today, Watford took on Stockport at Vicarage Road in the third round FA Cup. In their last nine FA Cup appearances, Watford has advanced beyond the third round only once, during the 2002-2003 season. Stockport advanced beyond the third round during the 2001-2002 season. The last time Stockport beat Watford away from home was in 1968. That record continues as Watford avoids an FA Cup upset to beat Stockport today 4-1.

Stockport scored first when David Poole kicked a goal in the 22nd minute of the game. About seven minutes later, Mackay scored for Watford to tie the game. After that it was all Watford, with Tommy Smith scoring in the 47th minute, Mackay scored again in the 74th minute, and Moses Ashikodi scored in the 81st minute. After a two-week trial with Watford for 19 year old Moses, Watford signed him to a two and a half year contract just this week. Congratulations Moses!

Watford dominated today's game with nineteen shots compared to Stockport's six and a total possession time of 65% compared to 35%. Also, unlike last week's game in which Watford drew many fouls, today they had only 8 compared to Stockport's 16. Watford was plagued by injuries and a suspension today, including the loss of their top scorer Ashley Young and of Tamas Priskin due to a game suspension, but played very well regardless.

In other news, Watford added Will Hoskins, a striker, and Lee Williamson, a midfielder, to their roster this week. Though neither played in today's game, they are expected to play next week when Watford hosts Liverpool on Saturday, 13 January.

Watford at Fulham (0-0)

Today Watford took on 12th place Fulham at Craven Cottage. Unlike Saturday, the rain deluge stayed away so the game was played in its entirety. Like Saturday, the game ended in a draw. This time neither team scored. The last time these two teams met was also a draw, with the final score 3-3.

Fulham had 16 shots compared to Watford's 13, and while ball possession was equally shared, Watford drew nearly three times as many fouls as Fulham. Fulham is unbeaten in their last four games. Watford played the final seconds of the game with only ten men since Priskin was sent off with a red card.

A dangerous injury to Fulhams's goalkeeper, Niemi, resulted in 9 minutes of stoppage during the second half. Niemi was taken to the hospital for treatment and x-rays after falling on his head while racing to clear the ball.

The next game is Saturday, 6 January, when Watford takes on Stockport as part of the FA Cup at Vicarage Road.