please log in to view this image Watford v Sheffield Wednesday please log in to view this image Venue : Vicarage Road Date : 2nd May 2015 Kick Off : 12.15 BST please log in to view this image From this to this. please log in to view this image Thinking back over the many years I have been supporting Watford, I cannot think of a better season. Yes there have been very good times in the past. Holton and Uphill scoring goals for fun, Elton John and Graham Taylor transforming a club that had lost its way, promotion year on year until we finished as runners up in the top division. Cup successes, players such as John Barnes and Luther Blisset all gave us times to remember. Yet I rate this season so highly not only because of the success we have achieved in gaining promotion, but because of the way that the owners, players and staff and especially the fans have come together. please log in to view this image ] please log in to view this image The season started with a coach respected by the fans, a thoroughly decent person, who when he felt that the players didn’t have the same regard for him departed. I think it quite possible that the work he did pre-season has helped us get where we are today. After a period of unfortunate appointments our current coach arrived, and although he has not yet been to the top league he has the most successful record of anyone to date. please log in to view this image The club acknowledging the past, how easy it would have been to have swept our history away, named two stands after the people who did so much to make our club what it is today. If they had not kept their promise to build the new East Stand, then we would not buy tickets for the GT and SEJ stands. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image With the full support of the club the 1881 movement produce that stunning display to remember the fallen in the Great War. A special program was produced by the club, all together a sign that club and fans were working together. please log in to view this image Shock and disgust for the goings on at Wolverhampton really did bring everyone together. A huge banner was provided for the Rookery, paid for by supporters, players wearing special shirts and parading signs, and the club making the family of Nic Cruyws special guests at a game. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Of course any brief review of the season would not be complete without thinking about the tremendous way that clubs have been battling to win promotion. I lost track of the number of different teams that headed the table. The Championship has it all, but a win this Saturday will see the little club from Hertfordshire sitting proudly at its head after a very special time in our lives. Looking ahead to the game, Slavisa Jokanovic is his usual steady self. “We are obligated to start the celebration shortly after two o’clock,” he said. “We must be concentrated, it is not yet time to celebrate. We would be very silly if we celebrate something in the morning. It is an important day for us and we have the chance to lift silverware. You may only have that chance once in one, five or ten years. Or never for some people. So we must focus on what is in front of us, and Sheffield Wednesday are in front of us.” “When Stuart Gray took over last year, he got the lads playing unbelievably and got them away from the bottom of the table. “We finished strongly and he has progressed it this year. “We were free from relegation a long time ago. We are comfortably in mid-table. “With a little bit more luck this year, maybe we could have finished higher. Chris Maguire Current Form: Watford last 10 games: W 7 D 2 L 1 Wednesday last 10 games : W 3 D 4 L 3 Current Championship Table 1 Watford 45 41 88 2 Bournemouth 45 50 87 3 Middlesbrough 45 31 84 4 Norwich 45 38 83 5 Ipswich 45 19 78 6 Derby 45 32 77 7 Brentford 45 16 75 8 Wolves 45 12 75 14 Sheff Wed 45 -6 59 Team News: Lloyd Doyley has been ruled out with a neck injury and joins fellow defender Joel Ekstrand and midfielder Sean Murray (both knee) on the sidelines. Adlene Guedioura, who started the 2-0 win at Brighton last weekend which secured promotion, is also missing as his loan from Crystal Palace has expired. Sheffield Wednesday head coach Stuart Gray will select his starting XI from an unchanged squad. Striker Will Keane (ankle), who will return to parent club Manchester United next week, is pushing for a start after stepping off the bench in last week's home defeat to Leeds. Midfielder Jose Semedo played the full 90 minutes last week following a foot problem and is likely to continue. But skipper Glenn Loovens (hamstring), fellow defender Kamil Zayatte (fractured cheekbone) and midfielder Filipe Melo (foot) remain sidelined. Wherever You Are In The World Enjoy The Game #fornicforpromotion
Saved the best till last Thanks OFH not just for this one but all the match threads this season - they've been excellent. Following last weeks as the different scores were coming through was fantastic! It would be nice to see some of the less well utilised players (especially Pudil who has epitmoised the great attitude and togrtherness that Slav has created) get a run out of course but there's no room for sentiment as we really do need to kick on and win the league now. It really now feels like the torch has finally passed from Sir Elton to owners that are going to give us the same security and stability as he did and it would be great to put some silverware in the cabinet to reflect that. Wednesday have a very good defensive record so it's not going to be easy but if we show the same commitment and discipline tomorrow as in the last 6 or 7 matches hopefully it should carry us over the line. As someone lucky enough to have a ticket i cannot wait!
Stunning thread as usual Frenchie. This must have been a lovely one to prepare. I personally can't wait for tomorrow. Excitement, butterflies, the lot. I'm also really pleased for Mini Bloother as it's his first real promotion. He was 6 the last time and although he had already been to a few games, was not a regular. He admitted a few nerves this morning as well. I hope and pray the team stay focussed one more time and we celebrate the Championship with a victory and we get to see the old first division trophy being paraded around the ground. Wow...what a thing to even be contemplating.
Thanks guys. I think that this one should be the last as someone else might like to have a shot at putting their ideas forward next season.
Fantastic thread OFH Really cannot wait for tomorrow. Hopefully end the season on the high of winning the title.... Then onto the pitch, and into town for a whole day of celebrations
1881 already at work preparing for another foil display in the Rookery. please log in to view this image
Next season will be a big task for everyone at the club ,But a bigger task would be to try and match the level that you have set .I understand if you need to take a sidewards step as the amount of time you have put in for us is unfair of us to expect you to carry on doing . would you not like carry on with a partner to help you they could contact you direct to offer to help .I for one would hate to see you go .
The referee for our game is Lee Probert who sent off Gabriele Angella and awarded a penalty against the Hornets last time we met him, at Bournemouth. He is from Wiltshire, not one million miles from Dorsetshire and Bournemouth, if that has any bearing on anything. On the other hand Charlton and Bournemouth have Neil Swarbrick who sent off Jason Pearce in the Bournemouth - Huddersfield play off match in 2011.
