Month: January 2001

20th January 2001- New Division One, Watford 1 Fulham 3

GT on passing the landmark of 1000 games as a manager.

BSAD imageThink back to the start of the season, when we could look at our forthcoming opponents without fear, when even our fellow Premiership casualties didn’t appear to offer a serious challenge. Our squad was as strong as any in the division, more complete and more experienced than the one that had been promoted. All we needed were performances to match.  On Saturday morning, those thoughts were finally laid to rest. Fulham are better than us, better than everyone else. Of course, the league table already provides a fairly clear indication of that…but it’s beyond doubt now.

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2nd January 2001- New Division One, Watford 3 Wimbledon 1

At first glance, you could reasonably say that we’ve waited for two miserable months for a performance like this. Personally, I’d argue that we’ve been waiting for it all season.

So, back to basics – a cold January evening, a 36-year-old goalkeeper who cost one-squillionth as much as his deputy, and some changes in personnel since I last watched the Horns. Steve Palmer and Michel Ngonge have been Frankensteinly morphed together to produce Carlton Palmer, whose all-round Mr Tickle aspects were at their very best last night. 

We had shape. And purpose. The central midfield of Carlton Palmer and Allan Nielsen scrapped away tirelessly and destructively, and when they got the ball they fed the wings or the the forwards rather than just passing the ball to them.

More games from 2nd January at https://oldwatford.com/tag/jan2