Richard Lee's BLog

Cup Win & Elton Visit

info@impaktmedia.co.uk — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Another eventful week and a good win over Scunthorpe to make for a good weekend for all Watford fans.

Although Scunthorpe are a League One team, it was only last season they were in the Championship and coming to Vicarage Road and turning us over, so I think it’s important not to underestimate yesterday's result.

The pitch was tricky and made a good passing game tough but once again there were periods of play where we strung a number of passes together and kept the ball with confidence. Although we didn’t always have an end result I think slowly but surely the new style is starting to sink in.

The day itself was freezing cold and I think we all enjoyed the part the band played in the day! It made me think whilst watching the game about the idea of playing football to music. I know the likes of Sheffield Wednesday had some form of band not so long ago but going on yesterday’s experience I think it really helped lift the crowd, and for the last 20 minutes in particular the atmosphere was great.

I know the lads really enjoyed playing in it too. In a funny kind of way I think the atmosphere that was created made for a far less tense last 20 minutes that could have been expected only being a single goal ahead. We held on very comfortably in the end.

The result has meant a tie at home to either Crystal Palace or Leicester later this month. A good draw I believe; a tough one no doubt but we’ll be approaching whoever we play with confidence that we can mount yet another cup run.

Earlier in the week we had a visit from Elton, in true Elton style he arrived next to our training pitch in a Harrods helicopter and spoke to us all about his decision to once again be part of the club he loves.

He made it clear how much it hurt him having to leave in the first place but he obviously felt it was necessary at the time. I’m sure all Watford fans will be delighted to once again have his name associated with the club...promising times ahead.

We also had the arrival of Gavin Hoyte and Jack Cork, both made promising debuts and seem like nice lads, I’m sure they’ll settle quickly and have a positive effect on the remainder of the season.

A big game to finish the week: Reading away live on sky, a big test for us and another indicator for the progress we’re making under Brendan.

And of course lastly, Happy new year! Let’s make ’09 the best yet.

A Footballer's Christmas

info@impaktmedia.co.uk — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Well firstly I hope you all had a great Christmas and all over-indulged!

Christmas is always a busy time for a footballer and this year has been no different - hence my weekly diary being written a couple of days late!

Firstly the game against Bristol City which was quite a disappointment for all involved. We never really got going until the second half when at times it looked like a come-back was possible but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be. As you could imagine it was a pretty sombre dressing-room after the game.

A definite improvement was seen against QPR; we defended resolutely and gained a clean sheet for our efforts. We didn’t have too many chances but it would only have taken Lee Williamson’s free-kick to go the other side of the post and it could well have been a memorable awayday. Unfortunately not this time.

For those who wonder what a footballers schedule consists of over the Christmas period: this year we were in on Christmas morning to train before having the day to ourselves and our family. We then reported again in the evening to spend Christmas night in a hotel so that we could go through our pre-match routine together.

It’s unusual staying in a hotel for a home game but with it being a midday kick off it was decided that was the best idea.

No game until Saturday meant a couple of days off before reporting Wednesday in preparation for the Scunthorpe game.

Brendan is very good in that he’ll give the players a diary for the month ahead which is quite rare in football clubs, many managers will base the amount of training on results but the new regime leaves you in no doubt as to what the month has in store.

Not much else to report this week. I personally had a good week, spent Christmas Day with family which was nice and watched ‘The Dark Knight’. For those who haven’t seen it, I’d highly recommend!

Have a great New Year.

Derby Disappointment But Big Week Ahead

info@impaktmedia.co.uk — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We knew that a win against Derby would put us right back in the pack and fighting for a Play-Off berth, unfortunately we couldn’t put in the performance or gain the result required on this occasion.

It took a late goal to defeat us which is always a disappointing way to go down but, if we're honest, we didn’t really deserve to take anything from this game.

There were again glimpses of what we're capable of and some good openings were created but on the whole we found it tough to get the ball down and keep possession of it. It's always a tough place to go, though, so we won’t be allowing ourselves to get down and I’m sure we’ll be back on track next week.

The week itself had been a good one for training; Brendan is very keen on short sharp drills with a lot of focus on keeping possession of the football. It normally means the keepers get a good amount of time to ourselves before we are called upon. This hasn’t always been the case but is vital for a keeper in terms of going through the different techniques required in a game and also for confidence-building.

The sessions then usually progress to some form of shooting drill and quite often a small-sided game to finish. Again this is different from times gone by and from a keeper's point of view the shooting and small-sided games are great for general sharpness and preparing for what you are set to face on a game day. So despite not playing of late I’m confident that I’m still improving which is very important.

For a change this has been quite a quiet week for all involved with WFC. We, as players, were all happy to hear that Brendan has now signed a contract but that and a few transfer rumours apart, it seems that things are beginning to settle down and the talk is once again concerning the football.

A couple of tough games ahead in close succession and a very important time of the season - we know a couple of good results and we can put any thoughts of a struggle at the wrong end of the table to rest.

I wish you all a merry Christmas and will be back next week.