Post by Golden_Boy™ on Mar 12, 2009 7:10:32 GMT -1
Watford FC: A Profile
The manager: Brendan Rodgers appointment was a brave one by the dying administration of Graham Simpson and Mark Ashton. It may however be even better than the appointment of Aidy Boothroyd. Initially insistent on turning Watford into some kind of passing machine a la Arsenal, pragmatism has begun to take hold. The footballing vision that Boothroyd had started to put in place before his departure has returned, but with the added bonus of a decent defence. Long gone are the days of hit hope which characterised the car crash season 2007/08 replaced by a direct, but far more entertaining brand of football. His transfer dealings so far have been impressive-Mike Williamson has added much needed steel to the defence, and Don Cowie has added ever more pace to the midfield. Whilst not everything he’s done so far has been perfect after a shaky start things are starting to really fall into place. The summers business will be key as to how Watford shape up to next season. Certainly the likes of Smith, Priskin, O’ Toole and Loach may well be catching the eye of teams with cash to spare, and the current financial state of the club means that substantial offers for most players will not turned down.
The home town hero: Tommy Smith’s return at the beginning of the 2006/7 season left many questioning Aidy Boothroyd’s wisdom. One player of the season award later, and this seasons leading scorer, Smith has silenced his critics. His direct running and eye for goal have made him one of the most wanted players in the division, and whilst the club were able to keep him in January, the chances are he will be off in the summer to help ease the clubs financial problems.
The cult hero: Lloyd Doyley is not the best player to come out of the Watford’s academy. He’s not the best right back the club has produced. But he is by far and away the best man marker at the club. His distribution is entirely random-whilst he is more than capable of producing moments of brilliance like his through ball for Tamas Priskin against Chelsea, he’s just as likely to skew it out of play. He never gives anything less than 100%, and the day he scores for Watford (over 200 games so far, and not a sniff of a chance), the roof will be blown off of the Rookery End in the celebration.
The future: Ross Jenkins is a name that has historical echoes at Watford. Unlike Jenkins Mk 1 this version is a tough tackling midfield water carrier. Only 18 years old, he is arguably the best player to come off of the clubs academy production line since Ashley Young. Whilst John-Joe O’ Toole grabs the headlines with his goals, Jenkins goes quietly about his job, and his effect is such that you don’t really notice him until he’s not playing. His ability to control the midfield, alongside the effervescent Jack Cork has been at the core of the Watford revival in 2009. Not that Jenkins remains the sole hope. With both the current and previous management teams committed to using the Harefield youth academy already Jordan Parkes, Rob Kiernan, Theo Robinson and Lewis Young have made first team appearances this season, and the Academy team has made its way into the quarter finals of the Youth Cup with Marvin Sordell’s goals in particular catching the eye.
The manager: Brendan Rodgers appointment was a brave one by the dying administration of Graham Simpson and Mark Ashton. It may however be even better than the appointment of Aidy Boothroyd. Initially insistent on turning Watford into some kind of passing machine a la Arsenal, pragmatism has begun to take hold. The footballing vision that Boothroyd had started to put in place before his departure has returned, but with the added bonus of a decent defence. Long gone are the days of hit hope which characterised the car crash season 2007/08 replaced by a direct, but far more entertaining brand of football. His transfer dealings so far have been impressive-Mike Williamson has added much needed steel to the defence, and Don Cowie has added ever more pace to the midfield. Whilst not everything he’s done so far has been perfect after a shaky start things are starting to really fall into place. The summers business will be key as to how Watford shape up to next season. Certainly the likes of Smith, Priskin, O’ Toole and Loach may well be catching the eye of teams with cash to spare, and the current financial state of the club means that substantial offers for most players will not turned down.
The home town hero: Tommy Smith’s return at the beginning of the 2006/7 season left many questioning Aidy Boothroyd’s wisdom. One player of the season award later, and this seasons leading scorer, Smith has silenced his critics. His direct running and eye for goal have made him one of the most wanted players in the division, and whilst the club were able to keep him in January, the chances are he will be off in the summer to help ease the clubs financial problems.
The cult hero: Lloyd Doyley is not the best player to come out of the Watford’s academy. He’s not the best right back the club has produced. But he is by far and away the best man marker at the club. His distribution is entirely random-whilst he is more than capable of producing moments of brilliance like his through ball for Tamas Priskin against Chelsea, he’s just as likely to skew it out of play. He never gives anything less than 100%, and the day he scores for Watford (over 200 games so far, and not a sniff of a chance), the roof will be blown off of the Rookery End in the celebration.
The future: Ross Jenkins is a name that has historical echoes at Watford. Unlike Jenkins Mk 1 this version is a tough tackling midfield water carrier. Only 18 years old, he is arguably the best player to come off of the clubs academy production line since Ashley Young. Whilst John-Joe O’ Toole grabs the headlines with his goals, Jenkins goes quietly about his job, and his effect is such that you don’t really notice him until he’s not playing. His ability to control the midfield, alongside the effervescent Jack Cork has been at the core of the Watford revival in 2009. Not that Jenkins remains the sole hope. With both the current and previous management teams committed to using the Harefield youth academy already Jordan Parkes, Rob Kiernan, Theo Robinson and Lewis Young have made first team appearances this season, and the Academy team has made its way into the quarter finals of the Youth Cup with Marvin Sordell’s goals in particular catching the eye.
