Everton (0-3) 3-10-14 19 pts.

Richard Lee was the victim in at goal as Everton administered a 3-0 spanking at Vicarage Road today. Fernandes lit up the scoreboard first (asst Cahill) at minute 23 on a shot from inside the penalty box on what would have been a foul had he not scored. Andy Johnson followed a minute later drawing a foul from Malkay MacKay and earning Jay DeMerit a yellow card. Johnson converted the opportunity with a penalty shot up the center to run the score to 2-0. There it stood until salt was rubbed in the wounds as Osman (asst Beattie) scored the final 2 minutes into penalty time.

Other notables: Tommy Smith earned a yellow card at the end of the first half and Tamas Priskin played well, coming on for Henderson after the half and getting 4 shots in.

We held steady with Shefield United (lost), Wigan (play tomorrow), and West Ham but lost three points to Charlton is they trounced West Ham 4-0. We'll get a chance to make up those points next Saturday as we host Charlton. Game time is 9:00 St. Louis time. I don't think it's on FSC but I'll check later in the week to see if it is on Setanta.

Game Day - Everton

The Toffees visit Vicarage Road as favorites today as the Hornets make their last gasp run at preservation. This game was already tagged as a 'must win' before the draw against Wigan, but with that failure to gain Wednesday, this game may just be another nail in our relegation coffin.

Foster is doubtful after a first half knock against Wigan. Much criticism has been aimed at Boothroyd for his failure to carry a backup goalkeeper Wednesday, but our problems Wednesday were at the other end of the pitch. Ben finished the match with 9 saves; I doubt Richard Lee could have done better.

Kickoff is later than usual today, 11:15 St. Louis time, and the match is being carried on Fox Soccer Channel. BHA & I are going down to Barrister's where we hope to be joined by a few more of the faithful so no halftime report. Go 'Orns!

Wigan Athletic (1-1) 3-10-14 19 pts.

We're done.

Despite heroics from Foster (9 saves), tough play by Bouazza (yellow card in the 77th minute) and Hendo, we could generate no offense to speak of. Filan only needed 3 saves to shut down the Hornets in the second half and remain out of the relegation zone.

The scenarios that would keep us up are such longshots that only the most die-hard optimist is expecting us in the Premier League next year. Focus now on the FA Cup where we've drawn Plymouth Argyle (away) in the sixth round.

Next match: Vicarage Road plays host Everton. Kickoff is 11:15 am St. Louis time and the match is being televised in the U.S. on the Fox Soccer Channel. We'll be at Barrister's. Come join us.

1-1 at the half

Virtually even at the half with the exception of shots taken - Wigan has the lead here and Foster's had to manage a half-dozen saves.

Henderson left-footed a shot in (asst. Stewart) to give Watford the lead in the 24th minute, but an equalizer from Folan (asst. McCulloch) in minute 40 took the wind out of the Hornets' sails.

Fitz Hall was shown the red card in the first half, but there have been no bookings for Watford yet.

Game Day - Wigan Athletic

Another must win for both squads as the battle to avoid relegation continues. The Latics come to Vicarage Road only 7 pts. ahead of Watford. A win here would put the Hornets clear of last, but a loss (and probably a draw) would leave Watford needing to defeat a much stronger team than Wigan to stay up next year.

For Watford, Foster, Stewart, & MacKay are coming off injuries but should be fit to play. Star striker Camara returns for Wigan and John Filan fills the net as two of their keepers, Chris Kirkland and Mike Pollitt, are sidelined.

Watford is a slight favorite according to the bookies. Kick-off is 1:45 St. Louis time. Go 'Orns!

FA Cup: Ipswich Town (1-0)

Watford lands in the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup on an 88th minute goal by Damien Francis (assist by Tommy Smith). Draws for opponents are Monday, February 19th. Chelsea and Plymouth Argyle have advanced as well, but a number of replays will be needed to fill out the round, thus we may not know who the Hornet's opponents will be on Monday.

Nil - Nil at the Half

The Hornets controlled the pitch in the early going but Ispwich battled back, evening up the time of possession and leading Watford on goal attempts. Two bookings for Ispwich came late in the half with Harding fouling Tommy Smith in the 42nd minute and George O'Callaghan being sent off in injury time for intentionally catching Danny Shittu with his leg after they clashed on an air ball. With luck the 'orns can capitalize on this advantage.

In other FA Cup action today: Arsenal and Blackburn played to a 0-0 draw. The home squads in Chelsea, M'Boro, and Plymouth all lead at the half and Reading and Manchester United clash at Old Trafford later today.

Game Day - Ipswich Town

Some changes in the line-up as Watford hosts Ipswich in the 5th round of the FA cup. In addition to the usual trio of Chambers, Carlisle & King on the injury list, we can add Malkay McKay for this match. Also Williamson, Hoskins & Williams are cup-tied and Foster and Stewart are out - giving Lee a chance in goal against the Championship League squad. Watford finds themselves in the unusual role of favorites. Starting lineup:

Lee

Mariappa DeMerit Shittu Powell

Smith Francis Mahon Cavalli

Henderson Kabba

Go 'Orns!

FA Cup Update

As Watford hopes to plow past Ipswitch Town in this weekend's FA Cup, the final piece of Round 5 fell into place as Arsenal defeated the Bolton Wanderers 3-1 aet. in their replay today. In yesterday's replays, the League One hopefuls were eliminated as Middlesbrough took out Bristol City 5-4 on penalty kicks and Norwich City offed Blackpool 3-2 aet.

West Ham United (1-0) 3-9-14 18 pts.

The miracle has begun!

OK - maybe a little too strong, but so far - so good. The Hornets hit relegation rivals West Ham with a six-point swing Saturday drawing to within 8 points of safety. Fellow tail-enders Charlton and Wigan Athletic left their respective pitches with nary a point between them as well.

Darius Henderson finally got his first Premiership goal of the season off a 12th minute penalty kick. There the score stood at the end of the day despite a wild 2nd half (5 yellows shown between the two squads including Mariappa and Ashikodi for Watford.)

Cavalli and Kabba both saw their first starts for the Hornets at Upton Park.

The next match is next Saturday's FA Cup match, February 17, when Ipswich Town comes to Vicarage Road. Kickoff is at 9:00 am St. Louis time. Go 'Orns!

"Must Win" vs. West Ham

If we do not win this game we will, barring divine intervention, be relegated. We may be anyhow, but I don't see any way clear without victories over fellow cellar dwellers Wigan, West Ham, & Charlton. Unfortunately, West Ham knows they cannot lose so it will be a battle. We are, needless to say, underdogs on the road.

On the injury front, we're in more or less the same spot we've been in for a while with no new injuries, but King is still on the mend.

I'll be on the road tomorrow morning and will not catch the game so no Game Day, no halftime report and a belated (probably Monday) look at the final. The game is not on Fox or Setanta.

Kickoff is 9:00 am St. Louis time. My butt will be on I-70 but my best wishes & hopes will be with the lads as they visit Upton Park. Go 'Orns!

As It Stands

We are currently 13 points from safety with 13 games left in the season. This means we have to gain a point a match on Wigan (and a little less on West Ham & Charlton). How will this be accomplished?

Assuming the worst for the three camped above us (lose to everyone but each other and draw those matches), Wigan would end the season with 27 pts. and we would would need two draws in addition to the three wins over our fellow cellar-dwellers for a record of 3-2-8 and 28 pts. - Not bloody likely.

A more reasonable scenario is that one of the other three clubs would win at least one more and draw about half of their remaining matches. Assuming that to be Wigan, they'd end up with 35 pts., meaning the Hornets would need a record of 6-3-4 for the rest of the season. This is consistent with the points needed to avoid relegation in the past. Since Watford last graced the big leagues, the points needed have been:

34 - twice
35 - three times
37 and
43 Yikes!

How do we get there?

Beating West Ham, Wigan, and Charlton are given - if we can't do that we deserve relegation. That leaves three wins and three draws:

West Ham (A) - 3-9-14 18 pts.
Wigan (H) - 4-9-14 21 pts.
Everton (H) - Probably the toughest home win but it's got to be done - 5-9-14 24 pts.
Charlton (H) - 6-9-14 27 pts.
Hotspur (A) - Probably not - 6-9-15 27 pts.
Chelsea (H) - Not even with home field advantage - 6-9-16 27 pts.
M'Boro (A) - Again, tough away - 6-9-17 27 pts.
Portsmouth (H) - Fight to a draw - 6-10-17 28 pts.
Blackburn (A) - Nope - 6-10-18 28 pts.
Man City (H) - Another must-win - 7-10-18 31 pts.
Sheffield United (A) - Tough draw - 7-11-18 32 pts.
Reading (A) - Tougher draw - 7-12-18 33 pts.
Newcastle (H) - Win to clinch survival, much drinking - 8-12-18 36 pts.

Doable, but tough. Also requires no heroics (or excessive ineptitude) on the parts of Wigan, West Ham, or Charlton.

Bolton Wanderers (0-1) 2-9-14 15 pts.

Bolton broke their month-long losing streak over the backs of the Hornets today in an ugly match. The Wanderers picked up three yellow cards in the second half in addition to a right-footed goal by Anelka (asst. Speed) in the 63rd minute.

Watford fought back for possession and Aidy brought fresh legs to the fray, including Gareth Williams's first half as a Hornet, but Bolton continued their domination of Watford for the season.

Next match is Saturday, February 10 at Upton Park in what is hopefully a replay of our FA Cup win over West Ham United. Kickoff is 9:00 am St. Louis time. I'll update on the TV schedule later this week.

Nil - Nil at the Half

It's been defense all the way with only one shot on target (Bolton) and no offsides for either team. Bolton has dominated possession, controlling the ball twice as much as Watford, but otherwise it's been fairly even - Foster's lone save keeping the match scoreless. Hopefully the defenders will not tire in the second half and we can work in a goal.

Game Day - Bolton

One of the nice things about the league system of promotion and relegation is that the battles on both ends of the standings make for some exciting games. Sadly, Watford is fighting the battle for survival, but the Wanderers, guests at Vicarage Road today, find themselves in fifth place with a shot at European play next year. 'Must win' is over-used but this is a 'damn-well-better-win' match for both sides.

The Hornets are a little healthier as Shittu, Mahon, and Mackay are expected to be fit to play. King, Carlisle, and Chambers remain sidelined however. Bolton is not without their bumps & bruises: Kevin Davies, Nicholas Anelka, & Abdoulaye Faye are all unlikely to play though El Hadji Diouf returns after a two-match suspension.

The Hornets are (surprise) underdogs despite the home-field advantage. This should be a good solid game. Go 'Orns!

Starting line-up:

Foster

Mariappa DeMerit Mackay Stewart

Williamson Mahon Francis Bouazza

Henderson Hoskins

Shittu is not on the sub list.

Aidy's email

This week's message from the Skip to the fans:

The Difference Between Manchester United and Us...

Hi everyone.

So, the end of the transfer window has arrived, thank God!

As you know, we've brought in eight new players but, no doubt, there are many amongst you who might be wondering why we didn't push the boat out to bring in a player for 3 or 4 million, particularly after selling Ashley Young.

I'd like to talk you through the thinking behind each of the new faces we've brought in this month, starting with Gareth Williams. He's a central midfielder from Leicester City and I'd describe him as a footballer in every sense - he can pass the ball and create things. I think his arrival states my intentions for the direction of both the team and the club. His quality on the ball will provide a different aspect to our play.

Steve Kabba from Sheffield United is a player with enormous potential, who is extremely quick, and threatened to become a consistent player at Crystal Palace and Sheffield United but never found his true potential. That's what we hope to get out of him here. I'm sure that, if he fits into our system and does what?s expected, then he'll do well for us.

Similarly, Lee Williamson is a quick athletic player who has developed into someone who can do a job for us straight away.

Will Hoskins, Moses Ashikodi and Cedric Avinel from France are all young players, around the age of 21, who I believe will be pushing to be regular starters in the first team next season after working in the coaching environment we have here.

Having said that, everyone knows that if a player is good enough, I?ll consider him old enough and Will has shown that by getting into the team already.

Johan Cavalli is a French left sided player who reminds me very much of Andy Reid at Charlton. He has a terrific left foot, is not particularly quick but is able to manipulate the ball to create both for himself and others. At 25, he's lost his way a little but is one of the trialists who I liked and decided to take on.

Finally, Douglas Rinaldi is a player we've taken on loan until end of season. A Brazilian from Veranopolis, he's technically very gifted and did enough for me to want a longer look at him.

As I found last year with Sietes, it's not always easy for players to settle in a foreign country. I wanted him on a short-term contract to allow me to see more of him and to judge how he copes with our game.

Overall, am I pleased? Yes, I am. Did we try for the 3 or 4 million players? Yes, we did, but in our situation at the bottom of the league, some people will only look at the short term.

This nicely leads me on to last night's game at Manchester United. Before the game, I walked out of the tunnel at Old Trafford and noticed a plaque recognising a man called James Gibson.

The writing on it explained how in 1931 this guy saved United from bankruptcy. Last night, we saw what a fantastic club they now are ? no doubt the biggest in the world with a stadium to match.

It all made me think about us and where we are. It took 75 years for them to get to where they currently stand so us getting beaten 4-0 is not what this story is all about. The real tale is about Watford FC almost going to the wall six years ago but being saved by another group of people, led by Graham Simpson.

Now we build and look to be not another Manchester United but the best that we can possibly be. That means a top ten club, on and off the pitch.

I don?t think that'll take us 75 years, indeed I think we can do it in less than five but what I do strongly believe is that the foundations are in place to:

1) Maintain our push for survival in Premier League
2) Push on in future years with a far stronger squad and backroom team than that which we had in 2005/06 when we achieved what many thought was impossible

So my message is simple really. We're building.

I'm delighted January has now gone and we can get down to the next 14 games with 8 at home, starting with the tough one against Bolton on Saturday.

Like us, not so long ago they were fighting for their lives. Now, not many years later they are thriving in the Premiership.

We are a club with a plan, a club that learns lessons and a club which is willing to take things from others to get to where we want to be.

A final word for all of you who made the trip last night. You know how I feel about not waving during the match, I believe it shows a lack of respect for our opponents.

However, last night, we were 4-0 down and there you all were, singing my name, totally outshouting the United fans, totally winning the supporters? battle of wills.

It will live with me for a very, very long time which is why I broke my rule on this one occasion. So thank you very much for that. Rest assured we?re doing all we can to stay in this league and move forward.

It may have taken Manchester United 75 years to get there but I believe we can reach our goal in less than five.

Come On!