|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
05/06: Player of the Month
The rest: April/May
All of themThe run-in to the end of the season, the build-up to, and then the play-offs themselves left an end of season vote for players of the month largely superfluous. How could you vote for Marlon above Gav? Ashley above Lloyd? Malky above Jay? Matthew above James? Ben above Darius? Al above Jordan? Chris above Anthony? Every single Watford player has been magnificent throughout the closing weeks of this astonishing season, so what else can we do than award the Player of the Month to 'All of Them'... As for the rest of the season, several players consistently did well in the monthly polls. Ashley Young took most of the early season plaudits amid a flood of goals before injury and suspension slowed him down a bit. He came back well though, and now looks pretty close to the finished article. Marlon King finished the season as the Championship's leading scorer, and one of only a few 'twenty a season' players since the halcyon days of a certain Luther Blissett. I see a lot of Luther in Marlon, and can't wait to see him pit his wits against the Premiership's finest. Matthew Spring has become a crowd favourite - scoring and creating goals, as well as being a very capable defensive midfielder when the heat is on.A number of players have also emerged whose votes don't necessarily reflect their importance to the Watford cause. Lloyd Doyley has finally established himself as Watford's first choice right back. A product of Watford's youth policy, he is a fine example of what hard work, dedication and determination can achieve. Darius Henderson spent the first half of the season struggling with injury. Now fully fit, his fourteen league goals, and a perfect penalty in Cardiff played a big part in the team's success. Clarke Carlisle began the season as first choice in the heart of defence and for a while looked unbeatable. However, Malky Mackay and Jay DeMerit have formed a superb partnership at the back and poor old Clarke spent much of the season on the bench. How the USA have overlooked Jay for this Summer's World Cup, but have found a place for Leeds' Eddie Lewis is beyond me.... Ben Foster deserves a mention too. Whilst rarely being the outstanding player on the pitch he has marshalled his troops well, and one or two little errors aside, has been solid and looked every inch a team man despite only being on loan. If he does go back to Manchester this summer there will be a very big hole for Aidy to fill. Finally, the club captain Gavin Mahon. He has worked tirelessly this season in the engine room of midfield. A player who is not blessed with the finest technique, he has taken on all-comers, and very rarely been found wanting. Of all the Watford players, I am especially pleased for Gav. He has been a credit to the club during the past four years, and will surely be a key figure in the team next season. So there we have it. A superb season, with every player to pull on the shirt contributing to the cause. All that's left for me to do now is wish you all well, and 'contract re-negotiations' permitting, I'll see you next season.
Matt Lovett
March
The rest: ExpectationsFor the first time this season, it has taken me longer to sort through the 'comedy' votes than it has the genuine ones. That it has taken until March for this to happen is somewhat of a miracle, bearing in mind the turbulent summer months, and the low expectations of most supporters at the beginning of the season. March was not a good month in the context of the season so far, but a few individuals did still manage to shine through.Lloyd Doyley takes top spot this month - his fifth podium finish of the season, but the first time he's topped the poll. I've been saying all season that Lloyd has stood out as a model of solidity and consistency, and his performances in March have underlined these qualities. Goalscorer extrordinaire Marlon King takes second place. His goal against Derby was an absolute beauty, and certainly lit up a drab affair. He also creates plenty of opportunities too, switching to either wing to exploit defensive weaknesses with his lightning pace. Shame none of our other players can keep up with him and get in the middle quickly enough! Jay Demerit continues to churn out consistent performances in the heart of defence. His partnership with Big Malky (who finished not far behind in fourth incidentally) looks very good, and has kept Clarke Carlisle on the bench for most of the season. Surely he'll get the call to join up with the USA squad for the World Cup this summer.... Hopefully, April will see a return to the form of early 2006, a bit of momentum being built up in time for the play-offs, and some of those high expectations being fulfilled. See you next month.
Matt Lovett February
The rest: World Cup claimsSadly Jamaica haven't qualified for the 2006 World Cup Finals - a bit of a shame, as it would have been very interesting indeed to have watched Marlon King on the world stage. Another fine month, where he scored four goals in five games, sees Marlon take top spot for the third time this season. His stunning contribution against Sheffield United got the month under way in spectacular style, and culminated in a late winner against Cardiff. For him to achieve so much without his regular strike partner Darius Henderson speaks volumes about his skill, work rate and attitude. I can't wait to see the two reunited up front. Reading beware...A genuine World Cup contender takes second place - the first time Jay Demerit has figured in the Player of the Month shake-up this season. A string of solid defensive displays, with the odd goal thrown in, has prompted Aidy Boothroyd to call for his defender to be picked by the USA for this summer's tournament. In an era where most club managers cringe at the very mention of their players turning out for their country, bravo to Aidy for his endorsement, and for wanting his players to go on and play at the highest level possible. Third place is taken by the scorer of the goal of the season (the Premiership included), Chris Eagles. His strike at Brighton was a thing of pure beauty, and shows what a talent he possesses. But there's more to him than being able to score from fifty-odd yards! He runs at defenders, delivers quality crosses, and isn't afraid to put himself about a bit. He's recently signed a four year deal at Old Trafford, but has publicly said that he's loving every minute of playing for Watford, and even mooted the possibility of another loan spell next season in a recent interview. That would be good, very good. Nothing really stands out in the comedy votes department this month, although Heidar gets a first mention of the season. Nine goals in the twenty-one appearances he's made this season for Fulham (nine as sub) has proven his ability at the highest level. Hopefully he won't come back to haunt us if we get the chance to play his current employers next season... See you next month.
Matt Lovett
January
The rest: He's all right nowLast ditch goal line clearances, goals, assists, tackles. You name it, Matthew Spring did it in January, capping off a fine month for Watford with a superb display in the carnival atmosphere of the Crewe match. Matthew seems to be turning into a sort of cult hero in the mould, dare I say, of Richard Johnson. He's certainly the first midfielder we've had in a long time who's prepared to have a shot from outside the penalty area anyway! Great to hear his name being chanted by the Rookery, but I do wonder what he makes of 'used to be a scummer but...'.The King of the Vic continues to impress. Just a solitary goal in January, but his overall play - strength, pace, positioning, passing - had every defence he faced running scared and double or triple teaming to try and nullify his presence. Half a million quid seems like an incredibly small amount of money for a fine footballer. If Marlon King leads us to the Premiership, he'll have repaid his fee a hundred times over. The return to fitness and form of Darius Henderson has helped the Watford cause no end. He scores goals, he wins headers, he bullies opposition defences. To my shame, when I first saw him this season, coming on as a sub for the King against Sheffield Wednesday, I thought we'd re-signed Steve Butler...he was obviously unfit, lumbered around like a carthorse and was even jeered by those sitting around me. Gradually though, his match fitness has returned, and he looks the business in his old fashioned centre forward role. If only Steve Butler had turned out like that. Plenty of 'comedy' votes among the spoils this month, including a marriage proposal. I think this is a first for the Player of the Month 'forum', and I'm look forward to 'Dave' letting us know next month what 'Tracy's' response was. We'd (Speak for yerself! - Ed) also appreciate a picture of 'Graham Last', and a copy of 'Assault that Ass'...! See you next month.
Matt Lovett
December
The rest: "The new Bobby Charlton"I remember a few years back watching a late night BBC TV series called 'Match of the Seventies'. One of the footballers who featured prominently in the first couple of episodes was Manchester United's World Cup winner Bobby Charlton (not knighted at that time, of course). Of the various descriptions that were made of him as a player - you know, the usual 'great', 'legend', etc - there was one that stuck in my mind. I forget now who it was that said 'He's not a great goal scorer - he scores great goals', but it seemed to me to be the perfect way to describe him. Now, I'm not going to compare Marlon King to Bobby Charlton per se, but this description seems to me a perfect way to talk about the December Player of the Month. The goals he scores are rarely straightforward, and never anything less than memorable. His exquisite strike in injury time against Plymouth left me feeling like we'd won, rather than scrambling a draw that we had little right to claim. I suppose you could argue that he misses chances that are more 'straightforward', but for now, we should enjoy our very own 'scorer of great goals'.I've waited a long time to see Darius Henderson in action. He was injured very early in the season, and has taken a long time to recover. Even now he seems only to be 80-90% fit. However, his return to the first team has paid dividends. The big forward causes defences plenty of problems in the air, takes the heat off his strike partner King, and has scored a few goals of own. If he can stay fit for the rest of the season, I'm sure I'll be writing much more about him over the coming months. Four consecutive podium finishes now for Mr Dependable, Lloyd Doyley. An extended run in the first team has seen a number of assured defensive displays from Lloyd, and he's even trying to get forward a bit more down the right flank. A bit of work is needed on his crossing, but he's definitely blossoming into a very good right-sided full back. Of the spoilt papers, one in particular caught my eye: Jamie Moralee. He wasn't much cop as a footballer, but you've got to admire him for having a go with Daniella Westbrook before her nose fell off. He also had the most optimistic agent of all time. I used to work with Stuart Murdoch's missus, round about the time Stuart was coaching Watford's reserve team. Of the many amusing tales that Stuart related to me about life at Watford FC, one of the funniest was Jamie Moralee's agent's reaction to his client not having his contract renewed towards the end of the 95-96 season....
Moralee: "They're not going to renew. What am I going to do?" Priceless. See you next month.
Matt Lovett November
The rest: Goals and assistsMatthew Spring's arrival at Vicarage Road wasn't greeted with universal joy amongst the supporters. Anyone with Bedfordshire connections has a hell of a lot more to do than most to win over the average Watford fan. However, four months into his first season at the club and after a string of excellent performances in November, he's running away with the Player of the Month vote. Goals and assists - these are why the manager brought him to the club, and these are what he is now delivering.The increasingly reliable Lloyd Doyley takes second place for the second consecutive month, and keeps him in the top three for the third time running. While he never takes centre stage, his absence from the team makes him more than conspicuous. For my money, he's one of the best four defenders at the club and should be starting every game. The Ashley Young/Marlon King strike partnership shares third place, the first time Marlon has figured since winning August's vote, and keeping alive Ashley's bid to appear in the top three every month this season. Marlon's been finding the net again recently after a relatively quiet time following his blistering start to the campaign. If he still wants a permanent move to Watford in January, he's certainly doing himself no harm with his performances on the pitch. Very little to add about Ashley, other than to reflect on how Sheffield Wednesday had to resort to kicking him out of the game a few weeks back. This will no doubt happen again to him, but it speaks volumes about the problems Ashley Young poses to opposition defenders. Quite a few spoilt papers this month, including six former players, and one currently out on loan. The vote for Richard Lee had a footnote something like this - "technically he's still a Watford player". This got me thinking about the status of the player: is he a Watford player? Is he a Blackburn player? Is he neither? Answers via email to Ig please, and make sure to include examples of case law to back up your argument. I was also unaware that Mr Miyagi had died. I assume this refers to the 'rax on, rax off' old boy from the Karate Kid films, who was heavily into Bonsai. Seeing him beat the crap out of that 'yes sensei' bloke in one or other of the films was almost as laughable as Stallone's ruck with Tommy Morrison in Rocky V.... See you next year Matt Lovett October
The rest:
A foregone conclusion...A bit of a landslide this month, and judging by the number of votes that were accompanied with comments such as 'obviously', 'of course', 'as if we couldn't guess' etc, I don't really need to elaborate on Ashley Young's increasingly impressive contributions to the Watford cause. Had he not been rested against Wigan, the outcome would surely not have been a 3-0 defeat. His early November form suggests the bubble is nowhere near bursting point, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if I was sitting here next month trying to think up yet more superlatives to describe this young star in the making.Lloyd Doyley takes second place this month, after another string of consistent performances. Most successful teams have a solid defence underpinning them, and Lloyd is certainly contributing to the Hornets'. Ben Foster and Matt Spring tie for third with just five votes apiece. Both players seem to have settled in well since their summer arrivals, with Spring both making and scoring goals, and Foster showing glimpses of why Manchester United rate him so highly. Perhaps Fergie will let us keep him for next season so that he can get some valuable Premiership experience behind him!!! Again, very few spoilt papers this month - just ten. Poor old Trevor Benjamin. Just when I thought he'd landed the first and only vote of his short Watford career, the meanie who voted for him changed his mind. Still, It was good to see one of Watford's finest ever overseas players - Jan Lohman - getting a mention. I remember him turning up at the Vic a couple of seasons back and doing the half-time 50-50 draw. He didn't pick my ticket, but I've never held it against him. See you next month. Matt Lovett
September
The rest:
Whatever happened to John Barnes?I spoke last month of not knowing a great deal about the player who finished third in the player of the month vote. That hasn’t changed after a cowardly piece of transfer chicanery on Leeds United’s behalf resulted in Clarke Carlisle not appearing in Watford colours against his former employers, which also happened to coincide with my first visit to the Vic this season. The first thing my mate Gordon (who I sit with at home games) said to me when we met up for the Leeds game was, “You won’t see our best player today – Leeds had a clause in the transfer to stop him playing against them”. My heart sank because I knew immediately to whom he was referring. However, I’m hopeful that on October 15th I will finally get a chance to see, at first hand, the player who ran away with the September vote.Ashley Young continues to impress, again taking second place, and establishing himself at the top of the cumulative table. Six goals so far this season have seen him become the club’s current highest goal scorer, albeit with a career total of nine! Put in context, though, two thirds of his total career goals have come this season in just thirteen appearances. Let’s hope his rich vein of form continues long into the winter. The often over-looked, and, in my opinion, highly under-rated, Lloyd Doyley makes it into the top three. He seems to have been around for ever (he actually made his debut in 2001), but has rarely been spoken of as an ‘achiever’ in the Watford teams of the past four years. He’s always appeared to me to be a solid, if unspectacular, defender, and I’m pleased to see him being selected on a regular basis. Again this month there were very few spoilt papers – just seven out of two hundred and eighty seven. It was particularly interesting to see a vote being cast for Worrell Sterling. I remember a young Worrell Sterling terrorising full backs in the early to mid-eighties in the GT glory days. Me and my old dad thought he would end up on the right wing, with John Barnes on the left wing for England.... Whatever happened to Worrell Sterling? Answers on a postcard please, marked for the attention of IG (Yeah, thanks! - Ed), at the usual address. See you next month. Matt Lovett August
The rest:
Heidar Who?Well, what can I say? 360 votes cast and not a single one for last season's overwhelming Player of the Season. In just two short months since he left for Fulham, it seems that H has been completely forgotten, and the new guard has won over the Watford faithful.I'm sure there were many eyebrows raised when Marlon King arrived at the Vic, his reputation tarnished by a poor spell at Forest, and well publicised brushes with the law. However, he's been an instant hit, finding the back of the net regularly and looking genuinely useful. Long may it continue. In second spot, one of the relatively few players to survive the summer; Ashley Young. Ashley has been on the periphery for a couple of years now, and, having been given his chance by Mr Boothroyd, seems to be grabbing it with both hands. An extended run in the first team beckons, and I fully expect to see Ashley become the finished article this season. Another newcomer takes third place, albeit quite a distance behind the first two. I don't actually know a great deal about Clarke Carlisle, but, having seen him on the telly for Watford, he appears to be a very proficient defender, and a good choice to lead the team. In a month when virtually all the votes went to attacking players, for a defender to pick up as many votes as Clarke did this month indicates that he was the outstanding defensive player in the team. As for the rest, Macca wasn't too far behind in fourth, but fifth to tenth took a negligible share of the vote. Only twelve 'spoils' this month, which speaks volumes about the positive atmosphere among the faithful. It also makes my life easier, especially as this is the first time I've looked after Player of the Month on BSaD. Finally, a note to the person who keeps voting for 'Wilf Ronstron'. If you're voting for the chap who captained Watford for much of the mid to late 1980's, his name is 'Wilf Rostron' - only one 'n' you see. If not, I apologise for bringing this to your attention. See you next month. Matt Lovett | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||