Posted by: Richard Lee 25/10/2008
Outside Influences
A disappointing end to what has been quite an eventful week but, unfortunately, without too much to show for our efforts.
The week began with a thrilling game against Cardiff; after going two up we were pegged back and had to settle for the point. Yesterday we left empty-handed after facing Wolves in another action-packed game at The Vic.
The game on Tuesday was one of the best I’ve had in my years at Watford. It was certainly one of the toughest - I had much more to do than most games I’ve played but thankfully most of my contributions were positive, including three saves that I was particularly proud of.
It is an overused cliché that football is a funny old game but that’s all I can help thinking about as I write this. Some days things click and breaks go your way and ultimately you get the desired result. I don’t believe Wolves were better than us but in my opinion the main breaks went their way. Over the course of a season these will more often than not even themselves out and the teams that consistently play well should finish at the top end of the table.
The same can be said about players to some extent. The way I view it is that I prepare myself to the best of my ability every game. I train well, eat well, sleep well and focus my mind ready for the job ahead and then all you can do is have faith that things will go your way on a matchday.
This isn’t to say that every game is going to be a blinder because that isn’t how life works, we all have days we’d rather forget but, over the course of a season, if you continually do this to the best of your ability then you will get positive results and rewards for your actions.
It makes me think of a famous quote I often refer to that says "there isn’t much difference between winning and losing, except how the outside world treats you". I think of this because to me this is very true in many instances; you give everything every time you play yet some days it just isn’t meant to be and other days it is and you get all the plaudits.
It was a case of back down to earth with the defeat against Wolves. I never like to concede goals and although I didn’t feel there was much I could do about the first or third one I was slightly disappointed that the second goal that snuck in yesterday. I actually thought I had saved it at first, only to turn round and see it in the corner of the net.
As with every goal I concede, I will evaluate it and learn from it. What could I have done differently? Or would I have done the same again? In fairness to their lad, it was a very good free-kick, by moving the ball to the side they eliminated the wall which meant I couldn’t see the ball until the last minute. I covered the ground well but by getting a full hand to it I could only jam it into the post and ultimately the back of the net.
It really can be a fine line sometimes. Once again there’s no time for feeling sorry for ourselves though, we’ll pick ourselves up and move forward, keep learning and keep improving.
Away from football there hasn’t been much to report this week, when you find yourself playing two games a week, you seem to spend your free time resting in preparation for the next one.
Another busy week ahead with two more games, both tough but games we’ll be going into with high hopes. The league is still very tight and we know a couple of good results will mean us being in and around the Play-Off places. The Wolves result was a blow but it’s still early days.