Nottingham Forest returned to the top of the Championship despite a sweet strike by Watford’s Lewis McGugan denying his former side victory.
Both are little men with big ambitions but there the similarity ends. Gianfranco Zola is urbane and mild-mannered, Billy Davies fierce and feisty. And it remains true that teams naturally reflect their managers.
The curse of the ex-player came back to haunt Nottingham Forest at Watford, but it could not stop them reclaiming top spot.
Forest weathered the sort of second-half fightback that is becoming Watford’s custom and would have had maximum points again but for the high-class save, low to his right, with which Manuel Almunia kept out Ishmael Miller’s goalbound shot.
In my head, we always draw one-all with Forest. It’s kind of an unwritten rule. Not strictly true in reality of course; nonetheless a glimpse at the record books reveals ten such outcomes in the last 30 league encounters spanning almost 30 years. It feels as if I’ve seen at least that many.
Month: August 2013
Old Watford is a day by day scrapbook style history of Watford Football Club matches told through programmes, newspapers, books, fanzines, videos and weblinks.
Old Watford is a day by day scrapbook style history of Watford Football Club matches told through programmes, newspapers, books, fanzines, videos and weblinks.
Month: August 2013
Troy Deeney fired in a hat-trick as Watford thrashed newly promoted Bournemouth to go top of the table.
Troy Deeney hit a hat-trick as Watford hammered Bournemouth 6-1 in their Championship clash at Vicarage Road.
Troy Deeney scored a second-half hat-trick as Watford demolished Bournemouth at Vicarage Road and sent a strong message to their Championship promotion rivals.
Watford signalled their Premier League ambitions with five goals in a ruthless second half display to crush newly-promoted Bournemouth.
Even for world-weary types like your correspondent, who prefer their battles hard-fought and their victories without any sense of entitlement, this is terribly hard to resist. It almost feels as if the anticlimax at Wembley didn’t happen; perhaps it was such a non-event, swimming in the spring heat haze, that any memories have simply evaporated and left little trace. What might’ve been a watershed moment just passed quietly into history, and here we are: the old gang, back together for another shot at the big time. Even for world-weary types, it’s a tantalising prospect.
