“From New York to Cardiff”
“Winning is believing”
“Disconnected”
“Trouble!”
“From Blooms Bar, Tel Aviv”
“View from afar”
“Childhood memories”
“Bermuda black-out”
“Bloody hell”
“We always win three-nil”
“Good omen, bad omen”
“The red car”
“Three-nil on an L-shaped pitch”
“On seeing a miracle in Brussels”
“An early taste of champagne and glory”
“Magic carpet”
“The Horn treatment”
“Safe again”
“Hahnemann was there”
“Hat korso es két palinka”
“Confessions of a recent convert”
“What it’s really all about”
“Oh baby!”
“Hell freezing over”
“Parallel universes”
“The long road to Cardiff”
“Fireworks”
“Very superstitious”
“Waving the flag”
“Dear Diary”
“Hornets on top down under”
Manchester City sealed their place in next season’s Champions League by crushing Watford to finish third in Pep Guardiola’s debut season.
Pep Guardiola’s first season at Manchester City ended with a flourish as a 5-0 thrashing of Watford secured third place and Champions League football on Sunday.
To their credit, Watford’s supporters stuck around to applaud their team during the lap of honour after the final whistle. “You give us a bit of shit from time to time,” Deeney said. “But we deserve it.”
Mazzarri has often cited injuries as the reason for his team’s indifferent performances and the situation was so bad here that he was forced to select two goalkeepers among the substitutes. But there was no excuse for continuing his perverse insistence on beginning with club captain and leader Troy Deeney on the bench. That left his team short of heart and spirit and it showed.
Our leader, in a final peevish move by his manager, was on the bench (and it’s arguable that in the admittedly ring-rusty Ben Watson, another to have been discarded cheaply by Mazzarri, we had another wise head underemployed). And, of course, we named two goalkeepers… much as we all love Rene Gilmartin this was no tribute to a departing hero (notably, no fawning 26th minute intro/outro for Rene who isn’t nearly a vain enough peacock to have suggested one) but a pathetically self-indulgent sulky statement by the outgoing coach. “Look what I’m left with”. A Charlie Rowan, a Carl Stewart or an Ogo Obi could have filled that space and garnered Mazzarri more sympathy and options.
Gomes denied Agüero again dropping to block and getting injured in the process. What a relief that there were two goalkeepers on the bench.
Mazzarri surprised everyone by naming two goalkeepers on the bench, something which I have never ever seen done before. It was as baffling as it was disrespectful to those young players trying to break into the first team. 
BSAD reports:
Watford booked their place in the Premiership with a convincing victory over Leeds in a frantic play-off final.
Kevin Blackwell could never have imagined the implications of his coach Adrian Boothroyd joining Watford last year. After little more than 14 months in charge the man whose appointment was greeted by supporters at Vicarage Road with concern, bewilderment and general unease yesterday etched his name in the club’s history and confirmed his status as one of the brightest young managers in English football when he secured promotion to the Premiership at the expense of his former mentor.
