Watford vs Bournemouth Match Preview

Only 3 months ago Watford were 90 minutes away from reaching the Premier League, but due to an unfortunate 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace The Hornets are welcoming Bournemouth, Doncaster and Yeovil to Vicarage Road and not Manchester United or Chelsea. However, despite the clubs spending most of their recent history in different leagues, Watford and Bournemouth actually have more in common than one would think.Both clubs are owned by wealthy foreign owners who have significantly boosted the fortunes of their respective clubs. Watford's owners are The Pozzo's, whom are also involved at Udinese and Granada, while Bournemouth are owned by the Russian Maxim Demin, with fellow Russian directions who have business at Fortuna Dusseldorf. In addition, both teams have arguably two of the brightest young managers in English football right now in Gianfranco Zola and Eddie Howe respectively.

Vicarage Road: Home of Watford FC

All the ingredients are there for this match to be an exciting and dynamic affair. Bournemouth are still riding high off their promotion and have won their first two matches this season against Charlton and Portsmouth., The Cherries have not actually lost a competitive match since the 9th of March, with their win over Pompey on Tuesday extending that run to an impressive eleven matches. The main worries for Bournemouth continue to be injuries, with the fitness of stars Matt Ritchie, Mohamed Coulibaly and Brett Pitman still unknown, although the latter looks set to be involved on Saturday.

Their opponents, Watford, have opened their campaign with wins over Birmingham and Bristol Rovers, and The Hornets looked set to be once again involved in the race for promotion. With a sell-out home crowd and confidence flowing through the home team, this looks set to one of the toughest matches Bournemouth will have all season. While long term absentees Nyron Nosworthy and Tommy Hoban will miss out, winger Ikechi Anya is set to return in time for the match.

Watford beat Leicester to reach the play-off final last season

Two Watford fans, James (@JamesxStelzer) and Richard (@truehornet) , were kind enough to answer some questions for me about their club so Bournemouth fans could gain some insight into their opponents. 

Although it ended in heartbreak, Watford had a brilliant season last year. What was it like for Watford fans?

J: We as fans referred to the experience as a 'Zolacoaster' (in reference to our fantastic manager). We suddenly found ourselves to be one of the bigger clubs in the division with some of the most talented players we'd ever had. However, as this whole experience was new we had no idea what to expect and we were as disappointed with every bad result as we were ecstatic with every good result.Hopefully, as this season we know what to expect from the club and the players, we may have a much smoother ride as fans

R: It was a poor division last season in reality & there's no doubt we missed a real chance to go up but, despite that, it was a fantastic season - one of my best ever supporting Watford. We played some great football (us Hornets are not used to playing such stylish football you know!), scored a ton of goals and had an absolute ball! It was definitely a 'Zolacoaster' of a season (sorry, couldn't resist it!). We didn't turn up for the play-off final but it was still a great season, one that will live long in the memory.

The Pozzo's ownership and Watford's links with Udinese and Granada have been criticized by many. Do you think this criticism is unfair, given what the club achieved last season?

J: While I can understand where the criticism stems from, no rules have been broken by the club. I feel the criticism of the club and its ownership, especially from other managers, is more of a way to cover up or excuse another clubs short comings and poor results.

R:  It's fair to say that many of us were unsure how the new ownership would pan out this time last season. A year on & we certainly believe - there is little doubt that the Pozzo's have football at heart. You won't see us being called Watford Hornets any time soon! ;-) The criticism we received was, in many instances, unresearched and ill-informed and that was, and still is, frustrating. We broke no rules with the loans last season - any club in the FL could have loaned players like we did. It was easier for us of course with the links with Udinese and Granada, but nothing stopped any other club doing the same. And it was never a long-term strategy, it was always our intention to buy players permanently as we have done this summer. Many clubs have invested silly money to try to progress & move forward. This feels like a much more sensible strategy to try to achieve the same thing. I'd rather be us than see what's happened to the likes of Pompey, Coventry, Leeds, QPR & more...

Are you satisfied with your club's summer transfers?

J: Very very satisfied. All of our important loans have been tied down to permanent contracts. We've also cleared out all of the clutter to lower league clubs with many players who were obviously not good enough for ambitions moving on with their careers. We've also managed to bring in McGugan from Forest on a free transfer, along with a few more players from Udinese and Grenada giving us fantastic squad depth.The only disappointment from the transfer window is the loss of Hogg (to Huddersfield) and Britt Assombolonga (to Peterborough). While neither of these players were vital to our success next season, it was disappointing to see us lose Assombolonga who had been very promising in the preseason, and Hogg who was fantastic

R: Without a doubt. Obviously it remains to be seen how the new players gel but there seems little doubt we've brought some real quality in. We have competition in every position and a very strong team spirit. We're certainly hopeful of a good season!

 Which players should Bournemouth fans be worried about on Saturday?

J: Acuna and Deeney are a lethal strike force, while Foresteiri (if he starts) has thousands of tricks up his sleeve.
Anya's pace is frightening, while Abdi is a midfield maestro. Last year we had a habit of leaking goals, however the acquisition of Angella and Irriney should ensure that we're solid at the back

R: Where do I start?! ;-) If he's fit, Anya has pace to burn & was improving with every single game last season. He's my early bet for player of the season this year. Deeney is always a threat, he's a real handful for any defender. Then there's Forestieri, who has a bag full of tricks, things always seem to happen when he's on the pitch. The fans love Forestieri, he's fast becoming a legend already! And I haven't yet mentioned our player of the season from last season, Almen Abdi, a regular goal scorer and creator from midfield. I could go on I promise but I'll stop there!

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 Where do you hope Watford will finish this season?

J: I'd like to hope we finish in the top 2, or finish comfortably in the play off places as promotion is definitely the goal this season, however the championship is a  tough and unforgiving league so there will be no room for cockiness and consistency is the key

R: There's a danger that last season has driven expectations too high for this season. I think top 6 is a realistic target and once we're there, we can see where in that top 6 we might be able to get to.

Thanks for reading! A reminder to follow the blog on twitter @EastStandViews

The Wrongs of English Coaching

1966. A year that stands out for many English football fans because it was the last year our country won the world cup. Yes, a country of around 50 million people, with some of the world's best facilities, and an undeniable love of football hasn't won a major tournament for 46 years. Countries such as France, Italy, Spain and others have all won World Cups recently, and that's because they are making the correct decisions from the national team to the 10 year old's.

Every person that has played football in England will often hear three phrases repeatedly while playing, or watching a football match; "get stuck in", "get into 'em" or "whack it" are consistently yelled by coaches across the country, the same coaches that likely believe a good footballer has to be above six feet tall. Our national team's failure over the past three or four decades has become almost laughable, the 4-1 defeat to a youthful German side in 2010 highlighted how far behind English football was from the rest of the world.

It is expected of English footballers of all ages to be physical, to love leg-crunching tackles and hoofing the ball up the pitch on a muddy, rainy day. Throughout history the English have been an aggressive race, the power and rapid speed at which the British Empire expanded demonstrated the skill and determination we have when it comes to an aggressive pursuit of something. However, as a country, we cannot let our naturally forceful mindset translate to the football pitch. When players are 16, physicality obviously makes a huge difference and will likely produce a winning team because it is so easy at that age to simply hoof the ball up the pitch to a massive, strong striker who can force the ball into the net. But the problems come when we try to do this at a professional level. Teams such as Argentina and Spain are not comprised entirely of physical specimens, they are balanced, but each and every player is technically gifted. Take Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi, who both stand at 5 foot seven inches tall. Neither is going to become a dominant centre-back, but they are both two of the most talented players in the world. In a match, John Terry wouldn't be able to touch Messi or Iniesta when they have the ball at the feet. From when children first begin football, a technical approach to coaching must be applied, implementing this style of the game from a very young age, as our current system is severely outdated.

At Euro 2012, Italy found it so easily to completely outplay England because they played with a far more intelligent, and technically superior mindset. Even at his age, Andrea Pirlo was able to control the game, spraying passes all over the pitch, splitting apart an England defence that was barely given a moment's rest. Italy's team was built from the foundations at the back. Buffon, an extremely smart goalkeeper had total vision of the pitch, leaving him able to direct his stout, but more than capable defence. The two full-backs consistently got up the pitch, but were always there to defend when needed. The midfield found success playing neat, interchangeable passes all around the pitch, resulting in chance, after chance, after chance. In contrast, the English team simply played a counter-attacking system, hoping that pure speed on the break would result in a lucky goal that they could try and defend for the rest of the match- a terrible plan.

In summary, it is important for everyone involved in English football to eat a large portion of humble pie, admit defeat and start fresh. The country consistently produces very talented football who go to waste because people automatically assume that only the physically strong can make good footballers. Truthfully, coaches must teach the 6 foot centre back how to play with the ball at his feet, and also teach the stepover-loving winger how to put in a ball-winning tackle. With this approach, who knows, maybe in ten years we will see the next Lionel Messi wearing the England shirt at the 2022 World Cup.