I See Dead People

Joss has kept me up date with our home games, texting me about our 3-2 home defeat to Wolves and I picked up on our 2-0 defeat at Preston after reading Aidy’s latest email. By the time we started our home game against Blackpool on Saturday 1^st November, I had trooped round the Forbidden City with Jun, Mum and Brian (nominally). That was closer to the end than the beginning of their trip: they have already been treated fantastically in Xian, with Jun’s family and friends showering my mum with gifts, taking us around in a hired van (to the Terracotta Army amongst other things) and buying us massive meals. Then we flew to Guilin and took a cruise down the River Li to Yangshuo before returning to Beijing and the “must-sees” there.

We woke up just after five for the Great Wall & Ming Tomb tour, and Joss’s text told me that we’d been defeated at home again. “Rasiak is back and scored” his succinct message related. I’d texted him earlier thanking him for keeping me up to date and asking who he was going with but without direct response. Anyway, the 4-3 defeat left the Hornets fourth from bottom. Surely Aidy was already a dead man walking?

The section of the wall we climbed was very different from that I had scaled thirteen years previously. Badaling is so full of tourists that Mum and Brian decided that the jostling was too much for them to continue. Fortunately almost everyone went one way so they were able to ascend a different way at their own pace.

Since then we have been to a Lama Temple and Mao’s mausoleum. I tried to sneak a video (using my phone) of the body but couldn’t look at the mobile for fear of being detected and didn’t realise it had auto-locked. Mao is as gold as the Watford strip. “Too much make-up” said Jun.

Joss’ most recent text informed me of the mutual decision by club and manager to terminate Aidy’s contract. I don’t think anyone will be wholly surprised: after last season’s disappointing end, he was going to have to improve and he has not done so. I’d like Alan Curbishley to take the job but it doesn’t feel possible. No doubt it’ll be someone I’ve never heard of; still, as long as there’s a beneficial bounce, I’ll take him.

Another year of the Championship

Hull City v Watford

Wednesday 14^th May

I arrived at work to find all systems down and classes cancelled as a consequence. The guy who bid me leave said I’d be able to watch the Rangers game but I corrected him. Jun and I went to a pub near Mornington Crescent that I’d phoned to check would show it having been turned away from the local earlier. It was a dream start for us. After eleven minutes, good work by Jobi McAnuff led to Darius Henderson pulling off a one-two with Nathan Ellington in the box and slotting us in front. We stayed on the front foot and dominated without really looking like adding to the total until a couple of minutes before half-time when a Hull cross that didn’t look dangerous saw Richard Lee stranded and a ridiculously high header go over him and in.

We never looked like we’d score again after the break and with half an hour left Betty gambled by bringing on striker Tamas Priskin and taking off defender Adrian Mariappa, who’d made a terrible back pass in the first half and had been lucky not to give away a penalty in the second. The Hungarian smashed another shot at the keeper soon after coming on (as he had Sunday) but crossing the ball would probably have meant a goal. Hull took off Windass and brought on Folan, who made an immediate impact. It was downhill from there. They scored a second, meaning we needed three more (haven’t scored four all season), and in the final two minutes they added two more. The fans invaded the pitch twice and Mexican waves rocked the KC stadium. 6-1 on aggregate and yet we played better passing football than I’ve seen us do for ages. We need strikers, a midfielder, a right back and perhaps a keeper. As for the manager, that debate will rage but I’m prepared to stand by him if the dressing room are.

Daylight

Scunthorpe v Watford

Saturday 6^th October

To my shame, it wasn’t until last night that I even knew where Scunthorpe was: I’d told Joss it was up north on the east coast (I think I was thinking of Scarborough). While we were kicking off, I was heading to watch the second-half of the rugby quarter final between England and Australia with Rod and Jan, while Jun and Ying were literally left holding the baby. England won and we assumed that would mean a defeat to New Zealand in the semis but the All Blacks’ defeat to France later has left room for more optimism.

After we’d returned to the restaurant we’d had lunch at from the pub we’d watched victory at, we headed back to Jan & Ying’s in time for the final score and for me to see that Watford had won 3-1 while our closest rivals, Charlton, had drawn and West Brom had lost. Goals from Johnson, Henderson and King have put four points between us and second.

Catching complacency

Watford v Blackpool

Saturday 29^th September

Nobody was in when I rolled up to Kerry’s but a quick phone-call to Joss reassured me that he was just round the corner after catching a bus back from ‘town’ with a new pair of shoes and a bag of cat litter for their new kitten, Ollie. Dex died a month or so back and is buried under a new flowerbed in the back garden.

We walked to the ground predicting victory and sat down earlier than we have at home this season. So early, in fact, that we were able to see a section for wheelchairs very close to us that is either new or usually hidden by fans. It was the same starting line-up as last week and we were hoping that Marlon King would score his first home goal of the season. While he worked hard, he didn’t get many chances to shoot.

Like last week, there were elements of our opponents just trying to stop us playing, which is a compliment but one we have to learn to overcome if we are going to return to the Premiership. Blackpool played five in midfield and smothered us effectively. Nevertheless, a free-kick just before half-time gave the impressive Adam Johnson, who’d been booked for diving earlier, the chance to show he could curl a ball over a wall as well as he could go past defenders and we went into the break one up, like last week.

Ten minutes into the second half Betty took off Darius Henderson and Johnson, who’d gone down very easily right in front of us, for Nathan Ellington and Jobi McAnuff to boos from the home supporters. It didn’t do the trick and the Duke was poor while McAnuff’s failure to challenge for a ball is said to have led to the penalty Blackpool were awarded with twenty minutes left, which they converted.

The level of possession they’d had meant they deserved the draw they got but Watford, despite hitting the bar twice, seemed…what? Complacent? Passionless? For much of the game until the final minutes brought a desire to keep the one hundred percent home record. We walked back more interested by the Portsmouth v Reading score (7-4) than by any football we’d witnessed, though admittedly pleased to see we were still top despite two lacklustre displays.

It’s Joss birthday tomorrow and I’d been told there’d be a little party for him but Trevor and Sarah weren’t coming round and Kerry was still up the “town” when I rang her. Joss and I had a couple of games of chess and the younger Watford Boy won his first ever victory. Maybe complacency is contagious?