Category Archives: January

4th January 2025- Championship, Watford 1 Sheffield United 2

WFC.Net goal commentary: 1

Report: Watford 1-2 Sheffield United – Watford FC Download

BBC: Sheffield United ended a run of three Championship games without a win by triumphing at out-of-form Watford.

Sky: The home side almost went behind just after the half-hour when Bachmann received a back pass, attempted a Cruyff turn under pressure from O’Hare and was extremely fortunate to see the United player’s tackle roll inches wide of his post.

Watford Observer: RECAP: Watford 1 Sheff Utd 2

Five talking points: Lacking a cutting edge and a new keeper needed?

Watford 1 Sheff Utd 2 minute-by-minute report

‘We were more than good value for a point’ says Cleverley

Decision was taken to go direct from back after loss of confidence

Don’t let the current poor run define the season so far as a whole

BHappy: Back at Vicarage Road, the prospect of more football is rendered attractive by the Graham Taylor matchday even if I do rather wish that the presentation of it could be rather less earnest, rather less forced. But the scarves are great and the old clips are great and seeing old faces again is great too. Ross Jenkins, Steve Terry, Steve Sherwood, Gary Porter and Ian Bolton have been relatively frequent visitors over the years; applauding them won’t ever get old but it’s not new. Brian Pollard and Trevor How haven’t been presented for a while though, ditto Keith Cassells whose kit Mum’s Aunt used to sponsor back when that was a thing. Paul Franklin, entertainingly, proves to be as awkward and ungainly an interviewee as he was a centre-back.

Fran’s Watford Blog: The final action of the game was a powerful shot from McCallum that was blocked by Bachmann who landed awkwardly and was clearly in a lot of pain. He was down being treated for some time and the referee made the sensible decision to blow the final whistle without restarting play. There wasn’t much of a lap of honour as the players crowded around the goal to check on their teammate. When Dan was finally stretchered off, I was quite moved to see the Sheffield United players, who had been celebrating in front of their fans, turn as one to applaud him off the pitch.

From the Rookery End: Watford slumped to a third straight defeat at Vicarage Road, as Chris Wilder’s depleted Blades took all three points in our first home game of 2025. Much like the game, this is a pod of two halves, with Colin and DCW joining Jon pre-match, leaving Mike, Jas and Kieran to talk through the game at the final whistle.

1st January 2025- Championship, Queens Park Rangers 3 Watford 1

WFC.Net goal commentary: 1

Report: QPR 3-1 Watford – Watford FC Download

BBC: Fit-again Michael Frey marked his first start since October with a goal to set rejuvenated QPR on their way to an impressive Championship win against play-off chasing Watford at Loftus Road.

Sky: Kwadwo Baah struck to briefly restore the visitors’ prospects early in the second half, but less than 60 seconds later Cifuentes’ side picked them off again, Sam Field nodding in Paul Smyth’s cross to seal a deserved victory in west London.

Watford Observer: RECAP: QPR 3 Watford 1

QPR 3 Watford 1 minute-by-minute report

Simply not good enough in either penalty area

Third goal at QPR made Cleverley most angry

The signposts are clear, but what direction will the owner take Watford in?

‘We need people who know the league inside out’

Cleverley acknowledges Sissoko’s dip in form but recognises his leadership

Fran’s Watford Blog: It was another poor performance. We missed Louza again, his control of the midfield brings a calm to proceedings that wasn’t in evidence as we constantly gave the ball away. On the positive side, Baah was excellent, constantly running at the QPR defence, putting in dangerous crosses and taking the chance to shoot. Sadly, having looked solid earlier in the season, the defence was completely porous, conceding goals that they really should have stopped. I think a Robbo masterclass is needed.

From the Rookery End: It was a wet and drab start to Watford’s 2025, but Colin, DCW and Mike made the trip to Loftus Road to see the Hornets go behind early (yes, that’s not going away) and they stay there. With the enforced changes to Tom Cleverly’s starting XI, how did the guys think the team put up with another physical side and another heavy away defeat!

31 January 2024- Championship, Sheffield Wednesday 0 Watford 0

https://www.skysports.com/football/sheffield-wednesday-vs-watford/teams/485047

Sky: Sheffield Wednesday’s winless run extended to three matches as they recorded a 0-0 draw at home to Watford in the Championship.

BBC: Ike Ugbo, making his first start for the Owls, and Watford’s Matheus Martins both hit the post, while the latter also missed the best chance of the first half when he shot wide with the goal gaping.

Watford Observer: RECAP: Sheffield Wednesday 0 Watford 0

The pitch beat both teams on a night of little quality

Ismael felt players tried to adapt to ‘awful’ pitch and deserved rare clean sheet

BHappy: Ben Hamer, most significantly, looks pretty good at pretty much everything you’d want him to – calm, confident with both feet, decent decision making. Oh, and a good shot stopper obviously, evidenced by twice punching goal-bound shots out of the top corner, by a reflex save to deny our closest call at the end of the first half and by somehow – goodness knows how – sufficiently obstructing an effort that the opposite stand behind the goal believed had crossed the line conveying despair across the pitch by their reaction until the sight of our own midfielders trying to engineer a quick break amid the confusion confirmed otherwise to a relieved away end. Quite how Hamer has spent so much of his career as a backup is a little difficult to understand.

Fran’s Watford Blog: While a point away from home should not be dismissed, it was disappointing not to have seen a more impressive performance against a poor Wednesday team. The Hornets may have hit the post and missed an open goal, but they didn’t test the young keeper and Hamer was the busier of the two. He pulled off a couple of excellent saves, so should be pleased to have kept a clean sheet, which was the first since mid-November. There were a lot of complaints about the pitch, which was in a terrible condition and made me think that maybe Gino should instal one dreadful pitch at the training ground for the lads to train on before games like this.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/championship/table

28th January 2024- FA Cup Fourth Round, Watford 1 Southampton 1

WFC.Net Jon Marks Goal Commentary: 1

Watford Observer: RECAP: Watford 1 Southampton 1

Hornets taken to cup replay after late Saints equaliser

Lack of composure in possession cost Watford says head coach

Sky: Watford and Southampton face a replay for a place in the FA Cup fifth round and a trip to Liverpool, following a 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road.

BBC: Substitute Stuart Armstrong struck late to earn Southampton an FA Cup fourth-round replay with a draw at Championship rivals Watford. Matheus Martins’ early free-kick had looked like being enough for the home side until the Scotland international levelled in the 89th minute.

Fran’s Watford Blog: While it was disappointing to concede so late in the game, the draw was a fair result. The Hornets had dominated the first hour of the game and had enough chances to ensure the win. But, once the visitors strengthened on the hour mark, they were much the stronger of the two teams and could have won it in time added on. The late equaliser meant a check of my calendar to see what I will miss in order to go to Southampton (likely Belinda O’Hooley at the Green Note), although the prospect of a fifth round at Anfield is not filling me with excitement. The positive on the day was all the young fans around us enjoying supporting their team from the middle of the Rookery. I hope that they enjoyed the day despite the late opposition goal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023–24_FA_Cup

20th January 2024- Championship, Bristol City 1 Watford 1

Bristol City no longer produce a match day programme.

https://www.skysports.com/football/bristol-city-vs-watford/report/485027

WFC.Net Jon Marks Goal Commentary: 1

Sky: The visitors grabbed a 13th-minute lead when referee Andrew Kitchen spotted a handball by centre-back Rob Dickie after a free-kick had been played into City’s box and Tom Dele-Bashiru fired a right-footed penalty beyond Max O’Leary’s despairing dive.

BBC: Scott Twine marked his Bristol City debut with a goal as they shared the points with Watford at Ashton Gate. Midfielder Twine, signed on loan from Burnley earlier in the week, headed in the equaliser to cancel out Tom Dele-Bashiru’s penalty.

Watford Observer: RECAP: Bristol City 1 Watford 1

Until they stop gifting goals, who Watford sign this month is academic

A good away point but lack of maturity cost Watford chance of more

Fran’s Watford Blog: A draw was a fair result based on the balance of play, it had been a very even game. The fans that I spoke to on the way out were all quite happy with an away point. It was certainly a much better showing than against the same opposition on Boxing Day. I would say that nobody played brilliantly, but nobody played badly. City defended resolutely which meant that the Hornets were restricted to hopeful efforts from distance that usually had a body in the way. But, after some horror shows on the road, we have now gone six away games unbeaten with the result that the numbers travelling to support the lads are increasing, there were 2621 at Ashton Gate, and the mood among the travelling fans is positive. Long may that last.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/championship/table

14th January 2024- Championship, Queens Park Rangers 1 Watford 2

https://www.skysports.com/football/queens-park-rangers-vs-watford/teams/484708

WFC.net Jon Marks Goal Commentary: 1 2

Sky: Jake Livermore scored twice from outside of the area as Watford came from under the cosh to dash QPR’s hopes of easing their relegation fears with a 2-1 win at Loftus Road.

BBC: Sinclair Armstrong carried the main threat for Rangers but it was Lyndon Dykes who reduced the deficit when he poked in substitute Paul Smyth’s cross from close range. They could not, though, find an equaliser – as Ben Hamer brilliantly denied Jimmy Dunne – and remain next to bottom of the table, while Watford climb five places to eighth, just one point short of the play-off spots.

Watford Observer: RECAP: QPR 1 Watford 2

Jake’s match-winning double leaves Watford fans wanting Liver-more

It wasn’t just Watford fans who wanted to see more goal attempts at QPR . . .

Livermore is a ‘great example to our young players’ says Ismael

Bhappy: The game, the ball, the noise…. all of the second half’s madness was blown around the interior of the stadium’s cramped, enclosed space like a carrier bag in a gale. Fitting, then, that the calmest head in this and so many other matches produced the one clear, true note above the carnage. The ball came to Jake Livermore twenty-five yards out… in all honesty he should have been closed down, Rangers had gotten bodies in the way of so much else but if you’re going to give anyone a free hit Livermore’s not a bad pick on previous evidence. Here, instead, his clipped stroke was that of an artist, a flourish of the right foot reminiscent of Marco Cassetti’s poised ball for Matej Vydra in the Leicester play off eleven years ago except that this one required no further contribution, curling across the face of goal and bending inside the post past a helpless Begović. The goalscorer’s reaction was almost comically relaxed, theatrical, raising his arms aloft in sanguine fashion as the yellow shirts converged. Behind the goal there was pandemonium which had scarcely abated five minutes later, despite a wasted QPR chance in the interim, when on receiving the ball in a similar position Livermore dispatched again in a more brutal, industrial manner, hard and low, to sweep up the remains of the match that had been going on and replace it with a brand new one.