My Holiday on Woerthersee

Woerthersee Stadium

When the pre-season game in Klagenfurt was announced for 5^th July, I knew that a long anticipated trip to Garsington Opera on the Friday and tickets for the theatre on Saturday meant that my attendance was not possible.  Then, on Thursday, the venue and kick-off time were announced and the temptation was too much to bear.  After all, I’d be home from the opera before midnight and the play will be on until the end of August and there were plenty of tickets left.  When I found there were still seats available on the weekend flights to Klagenfurt, my decision was made.  So Saturday morning, at the crack of dawn, I was at Heathrow waiting for Don Fraser to appear for the trip to Klagenfurt.  Don was somewhat elusive due to a couple of dramas with the assistance at Heathrow, but he eventually appeared and we arrived in Klagenfurt on schedule.

We are in the right place

There were no taxis available outside the airport so, when one finally turned up, the driver asked the others in the queue where they were going.  One young man was also heading to our hotel, so he shared the cab and told us that he was travelling with AS Monaco who were coming to the area for a training camp.  Needless to say, these were not the footballers that interested us.

After a lovely lunch and a relaxing afternoon, Don and I headed for the Wörthersee Stadium.  The stadium was very impressive indeed but, on arrival, the only footballers in evidence were the Monaco team having a practice game on the training pitch.  A few minutes later we saw a couple of familiar faces.  I must say that I am always greatly relieved to see someone with a Watford crest on his shirt when arriving at a pre-season venue just in case I have turned up at the wrong place.  In proper football saddo style, we positioned ourselves outside the players’ entrance and, very soon after, the coach appeared and the players piled off.  There were smiles and greetings from those who recognized us.  When Lloydy appeared, he just shook his head when he saw us, then came over and gave me a kiss.  He’d enjoyed his Summer, but wanted to forget the France game.  Then GianLuca Nani appeared and greeted us like old friends.

Don ready to report on the game

Once our guard of honour duties were complete, we enquired about the location of the supporters’ entrance to the stadium.  A steward, who clearly spoke no English and was taking no chances with my terrible German, directed us through the maze of corridors by means of smiles and pointing and, after taking a lift up, we emerged onto the concourse inside the beautiful arena and, as there was no obvious wheelchair area, took a place at one of the tables in the press area.  As Beppe came out onto the pitch for the warm-up, GianLuca pointed us out in the stand and we were treated to a wave and a greeting.  We’d positioned ourselves by the half-way line, so were soon joined by the players who were not taking part and the coaching staff.  Troy, Ikechi, Bernard Mensah and George Byers were the first to come up and they sat just in front of us, so we were treated to Troy’s opinions throughout the game which added greatly to the entertainment.

Gomes and Gartside warming up

The Klagenfurt announcer, who was wearing a shirt with no 12 on the back (as were all the fans in replica shirts), went through a detailed description of the Klagenfurt players but did not deign to inform us of the Watford line-up, so it was the usual pre-season practice of trying to recognise these young footballers who all look the same to me.  I did pretty well as there have been no new hair cuts this Summer to fool me but, by the end of the first half, I had still not identified the no. 4.  I was embarrassed to have to ask who he was and was quite pleased to be told it was Tamas, so I had an excuse for not recognising him.

The starting line-up was Gomes, Brown, Cathcart, Tamas,  Pudil, Battocchio, Murray, McGugan, Dyer, Ranegie and Vydra.  I was a little surprised, but also gratified, to see that Murray was captain for the day. The first real attack of the game came from the home side and was thwarted by a wonderful saving tackle from Brown.  From the throw-in, the ball

So that’s Gabriel Tamas

reached Prawda who shot high and wide.  The home side had another attempt on goal but the shot flew wide of the near post.  Watford’s first corner was taken by Dyer and a number among our support will be unhappy to hear that he took it short.  However, when the cross came in, it was met with a decent header from Vydra, but a Klagenfurt defender’s head was there to clear.  On 20 minutes, Vydra fed Dyer, whose shot was blocked by the keeper, Vydra picked up the loose ball and passed to Pudil whose attempt was also blocked.  Deeney was giving McGugan some grief as he lined up a shot and his judgement was proved right as Lewis’s attempt flew high and wide.  At the other end, a cross from the right was straight into Gomes’s arms.  Battocchio, who had made a great start, played a lovely ball over the top to Vydra, but the attentions of a defender prevented him getting a decent shot in.  Another pin point long ball, this time from Pudil, reached

Battocchio on the attack

Battocchio but his cross was cut out before it reached Vydra.  On 26 minutes, we were a goal up as a lovely through ball from Murray found Dyer on the edge of the box.  He advanced and coolly slotted the ball past the Klagenfurt keeper.  A nice goal and the reaction of the players in the stands showed that Dyer is already a popular member of the playing staff.  The home side had a chance to strike back as a through ball found Zakany in the box, he tried a shot that was turned around the post by Gomes.  With 10 minutes to half time, the home side won a free kick in a dangerous position, it reached Prawda in the box but he headed wide of the near post.  Dyer nipped into the box, he was closed down so passed back to Ranegie, who decided to control the ball rather than just shooting and found himself with his back to goal so the chance was gone.  The home side tried to hit back just before half time with a free kick that was met with a strong headed clearance by Pudil.  On the stroke of half-time Klagenfurt won a corner, but it was coolly caught by Gomes.

Vydra on the attack

At half-time, a Klagenfurt supporter stopped to talk with us.  He asked what we thought of the stadium.  I said it was beautiful, he looked sad and said, “But we have no fans.”  I wondered how they had the money to build such a stadium.  He told me that it had been built for Euro 2008.  He said that they have a good young team, but there is no TV money, no sponsorship and small crowds so they struggle.

At the start of the second half, Ekstrand, Hoban and Doyley replaced Cathcart, Tamas and Brown in defence with Fabbrini coming on for Ranegie upfront.  There was a scare for the visitors early on as we failed to clear a corner and the ball bounced goalwards, but Gomes saved with his feet.  From the corner Gomes came and caught the ball.  On 53 minutes, Pudil was booked for a late tackle on Zakany.  It was just in front of us and we could hear the victim’s rather dramatic scream.

Challenging in the Klagenfurt box

Soon after, Murray played a one-two with Dyer and shot from a great position, but the ball curled high and wide.  On 57 minutes, Smith replaced McGugan.  The young Irishman was involved in the next move as he cut the ball back to Fabbrini who, if I’m being charitable, was fouled or, if I’m not, ran into the defender and collapsed.  Dyer then went off to be replaced by Jakubiak.  A shout of “Well played, Lloydy,” went up from Deeney and the new man looked up and smilingly acknowledged his teammate.  Then Doherty replaced Murray who gave the captain’s arm band to Pudil.  On 72 minutes a great run from Jakubiak appeared to have been stopped with a tackle that put the ball out for a corner, but it rebounded off the corner flag and stopped on the byeline, so Jakubiak retrieved it and hit a cross that just evaded Fabbrini and flew wide.  Then a decent shot from the home side was

The Klagenfurt keeper gathers

just tipped wide by Gomes.  There followed a sublime move down the pitch by Watford, which finished with Pudil putting Vydra through one-on-one with the keeper.  Deeney’s shout of ‘slot machine’ indicated that he also thought that a second goal was inevitable, but Matej’s shot was too close to the keeper who managed to save, leaving me with my head in my hands.  Soon after, Vydra received the ball again but a bit further up the field.  Don shouted “Give it to Lloydy” so he did, but Lloyd’s cross drifted wide and the chance was lost.  With 10 minutes remaining O’Nien came on for Vydra and Gomes was replaced by a young keeper who, Alec told me, is a 16 year-old scholar called Nathan Gartside.  At this point, Jakubiak went upfront.  With a couple of minutes to go, Hoban lost out on the left but battled back to retrieve the ball, it flew into the air and was gathered by Gartside.  On 90 minutes, there was great work from Pudil who controlled a long high ball to the left and skipped past a defender to unleash a shot that was cleared off the line.  The game finished with a deserved one goal win for the Hornets.

Dyer takes a corner

As the players left the stand at the end of the game, Angella, who I sponsored this season, spotted me and said hello.  I asked if he was resting.  He lifted the leg of his shorts to show the strapping on his thigh.  Fortunately, Don was on hand with the smelling salts.

We left the ground and took up stalking position at the players’ entrance again.  Don had brought a shirt that he wanted signed and handed it over to Richard Line, the Operations Manager, who promised to get it signed during the week so that Don could pick it up next weekend.  He said he wouldn’t bother the players now.  At that point, Troy came over to talk to us, he signed the shirt and took it onto the bus and then into the dressing room and Don soon had a shirt full of signatures.  We welcomed Vydra ‘home’.  Then Beppe came over and thanked us for our support and told us that they were working hard for the new season.  This was confirmed by Richard Line who said that they had been doing double sessions every day, which would explain the fatigue shown during the game.  To be honest, I hadn’t expected them to go all out in the first pre-season game, but that made me a little more sympathetic to any perceived lack of effort.

Vydra threatens

We waved the coach off and went looking for the taxi that we’d booked to take us back to the hotel.  It was nowhere to be seen, so we headed back towards the car park and asked one of the locals if they had a number for a cab.  There was a family there and one of the lads kindly called us a taxi and they waited with us until it arrived, calling to ask where it was when it didn’t arrive on schedule.  While we were waiting, they told us a bit more about the club.  When the stadium was built, the club was in the top division, but they got into financial difficulties and were wound up.  The new club had to start again in the 3^rd division.  They attract a very small crowd, c 1500, who rattle around in a stadium with a capacity of 30,000.  When our cab arrived, we said goodbye to our new friends and thanked them for their kindness.

When my alarm went at 4am on Saturday morning after 3.5 hours sleep, I wondered what the hell I was doing travelling to Austria for a football match.  But, as Don and I relaxed with a drink back at the hotel, we reflected on a cracking day out where we’d seen some football but also met some delightful people, many of them connected to our football club.  We both concluded that we couldn’t think of a better way to spend the weekend.

A Day at the Training Ground

Fitz Hall, Don and I

A major element of my sponsorship package this year was a trip to Watford’s training ground.  I was a little perturbed that it was scheduled for April Fool’s Day, but this was no prank. On arrival, Don and I were met by Martine and April from the Commercial department who took us to the canteen for a welcome cup of coffee and to meet up with Richard Walker, who was to be our guide for the day.  We were told that a friendly match against Northampton had been arranged for that afternoon, so the first team players would not be arriving until lunch time.

We started with a tour of the facilities.  When we reached the boot room we were handed a fluorescent orange monstrosity.  I had no idea that these new-fangled boots were so light, my ballerina pumps weigh more. While we were there, Fernando Forestieri appeared.  He stopped to have his photo taken with the only youngster in the group whose smile couldn’t have been wider.

Marco Cassetti with Luke O’Nien looking on

When we reached the training pitches, Glyn Evans was on hand to tell us about the new pitches that they are putting in, a project that will cost £500K.  The training ground only has natural drainage and, because some of it is clay based, that is not ideal.  The new pitches will follow the model of the pitch at Vicarage Road, apart from the Desso addition. On arrival, we had seen the piles of coiled tubing in the car park waiting to be laid to provide the drainage.  There was a question about the new East stand at Vicarage Road and it was stressed that this is a stand built for business reasons, rather than a vanity project as so many new grounds are. For that reason, it will be a simple “bums on seats” stand that has the possibility to increase in capacity if needed.  The figures that they have suggest that it should make back the cost of construction within three years.  They are also looking to make further improvements to the training ground.  The current changing block was described as being to the standard of “a good council facility”.  The physio area is an old changing room and the medical room is a converted shower.  So the club is planning to build a new changing block with bespoke medical facilities including a hydrotherapy pool.  They will also include a new gym block. This proposed investment in the training ground is impressive and indicates a long term commitment by the Pozzo family.

Dave Hughes drilling the youth players

We then watched the youth team training under the guidance of Dave Hughes who, we were told, used to be a defender so gives fulsome praise for good defensive play in the drills and ignores the players who break through to score!  The second year scholars have been told which of them will be given professional contracts, so it is a difficult time for those who are being released.  Dave stressed that these lads were still working hard in training and that they would be helped, as far as possible, to find a new club. He pointed out that, during a footballer’s career, they have the prospect of facing decisions about their future almost every year, so this is an early introduction to a difficult part of a footballer’s life. Rich Walker said that the primary consideration when deciding whether to offer a scholar a professional contract was whether they were likely to play in the first team the next season. If they were not, then they would not be kept on.

The lovely Beppe

Beppe then came to talk to us. He was determined to respond to us in English, bless him. He was asked what the difference had been on Saturday (at Sheffield Wednesday) that allowed us to win. He said that a lot of the problems were mental and that finally getting a win would really help the team. He reiterated that the win was for the fans who travel week in, week out. He was asked what surprised him about the Championship. He said the money in this division was a surprise to him and, consequently, the quality of players is much higher than you would see in Serie B in Italy. He also said how amazing the fans are. In Italy you don’t see people following their club around the country in the same way.  Serie B clubs will have fans turn up if they are doing well, but you don’t see the same degree of loyalty and passion that he has seen at Watford. He was asked his opinion on referees. He said that the fourth official follows him everywhere telling him about the lines he should not cross. His next comment was really interesting. He said that he likes referees in England, because they are ordinary men doing a job, whereas in Italy they are all actors. He said that, since football began, people have made mistakes, whether they were referees, players or managers and he felt that mistakes made honestly should be forgiven. He then did his amazing impression of a referee’s whistle which is, apparently, how he finishes his press conferences.  When the questions were over, he thanked us for our support. He really is a sweetheart.

Youth players practising skills

We then visited the analyst’s room where we were told about this role and were shown an example of one of the packages that they use.  It had the game playing live on one side of the screen, while a schematic of the moves taking place were shown on the other side so that you could see formations and how the players were moving.  You could also superimpose lines joining up the defenders/midfielders/forwards to see how each of the areas were set up and the distances between the players at any time.  He showed a graphic summary of the game that indicated successful and unsuccessful passes.  At first look, it appeared to be a bit of a mess, as it was just a bunch of lines.  But, when I looked again understanding what it was representing, you could see the areas of the ground where the home and away teams had success. There were statistics about passing success, interceptions etc.  I asked whether they do any statistical modelling to predict the probability of success based upon various scenarios.  I was saddened to be told that this is not part of their remit, so my follow-up questions about data input and logistic regression went begging.

Almen Abdi fit and well

While we were in the analyst’s room, Gian Luca Nani and Scott Duxbury came in and made themselves available for questions.  Gian Luca was asked about his role and why they were using the European model of a Head Coach and Technical Director at the club.  He described the split between the two roles. He said that the head coach works long hours and does not have time to be travelling around looking at players. The most telling point that he made was that, in the English model, the manager’s focus is the team and that they will be looking at what they need to succeed in the present season.  In his role, he is looking at what is best for the club as a business in the long term.  Both Gian Luca and Scott spoke about the ultimate aim, which is to be in the Premier League, but that there is no timescale on when that should happen.  We had been told about the players’ routine at the training ground which includes breakfast, lunch, training and then yoga and pilates.  Gian Luca was asked whether he does yoga or pilates.  “I do breakfast and lunch.” J

Troy, Don and I

At lunchtime, we ate in the canteen and the food choices were extensive and very tasty.  As the first team players arrived for lunch, a number of them were invited over to talk to us.  They were all delightful.  I asked Anya whether he was going to appear in any more rap videos and he thanked me for watching his brother’s work (even though, as a woman almost as elderly as his mother, I don’t think that I am in their target audience).  I told Troy that he nearly gave me a heart attack with his first goal at Sheffield Wednesday as it looked as though the ball wasn’t going to reach the goal line. He laughed, ‘Did I look worried?’ ‘I wasn’t looking at you.  I was looking at the ball!’  Sean Murray and Luke O’Nien both had huge smiles on their faces.  I also took the time to thank Nani and Duxbury for coming to the City Orns meeting, which was a fantastic event.  Gian Luca went all “Italian” on me, recklessly inviting me to contact him any time I wanted to chat.  Scott wasn’t quite as effusive, but he did say that he’d thoroughly enjoyed talking to us all in a relaxed environment as the fans’ forums are too much like press conferences.

Belkalem taking a throw-in

After lunch, we watched the friendly game. These are practice matches, so you don’t learn a lot from them, but it did confirm what a great touch Riera has.  Gary Woods played in goal and I was interested to hear how shouty he was, constantly making his defenders aware of the proximity of the opposition players.  Cassetti was captain and was a joy.  He executed one beautiful move when he twisted away from a couple of defenders before playing an exquisite pass that had the fans applauding.  He also proved to be shouty in two languages including asking a rogue midfielder, who will remain nameless, if he wanted to play in his position.  The first half featured pretty much a first team.  There were a couple of substitutions at half time and the game finished with a number of the Academy boys on the pitch, including Tom Rosenthal whose father was on the sidelines watching him. The game was short on goal attempts, with Watford’s best chance being a shot from Abdi that came back off the post. When the full time whistle went, the game was goalless and it was time for us all to leave.

Rocket Ronnie watching his lad

Anyone who knows me will be well aware that I am one of those fanatics who attends as many of the off field activities as my day job allows, so I felt like I knew quite a lot about the running of the club.  But this day at the training ground was a tremendous experience.  While being respectful to the day-to-day running of the club, we were given access to all aspects of the management and I learned a lot.  I came away, as I usually do, with a renewed affection for the club but also with an assurance that my beloved club appears to be in very good hands.

 

An Evening with Beppe and Friends

Beppe Sannino and Marco Cesarini

City Orns is a group of Watford fans living or working in London who meet for dinner once a month.  The evenings are always good fun, but last month’s meeting was a bit different as it was an At Your Place type event.  We’d had a dry run in February when Alan McTavish and Richard Walker joined us in a pub in East London for a few bevvies and to have their ears bent.  Thankfully, this didn’t put them off and last month Richard had Beppe Sannino, Marco Cesarini, Scott Duxbury and Gian Luca Nani in tow.  It was billed as an informal evening.  The room was set up with the fans in attendance sitting around three tables which were visited in turn by each of the guests for a drink-fuelled natter.  One of our number described it as akin to speed dating.  As it was such an informal occasion, no subject was off-limits and the guests were remarkably open and honest.  For that reason, and the fact that the Malbec was flowing, I did not take notes and this will not be a Q&A type report more an impression of the evening with a few insights thrown in.

First to visit our table were Scott Duxbury and Gian Luca Nani.  Gian Luca has come in for a lot of criticism on WFC social media recently, so I was impressed that he was willing to attend for questioning, especially as we weren’t expecting him.

We talked about recruits good and bad and about his best friend, Zola.  We also talked at length about John Eustace, who was clearly being missed by those at our table.  Gian Luca and Scott really wanted Eustace to stay but saw him more in a coaching role than as a player due to his injury record.  John wanted to continue playing, so chose to make the move to Derby.  Scott said that the decision was made on medical advice and that we should ask

Gian Luca and Toddy

Marco about it.  They said that John’s leadership was greatly missed at the training ground and that was a key reason why Lucas Neill had been brought in as, even if he didn’t get much playing time, it was felt that the players would benefit from his experience.  “Most of the work is done at the training ground.”

Gian Luca also talked about the scouting network that they have and how, through their contacts, they hear about players who are unsettled at their clubs and that can give them a head start in getting players in.  Tözsér was mentioned in this regard.

Scott was then treated, as was Alan last month, to my rant about the demise of the kit sponsorship scheme, which I feel very strongly about.  When Scott came to the club, he talked about how impressed he was by the Open Day.  I argued that the kit sponsors’ evening is like the open day for adults in the way that it generates good will and some revenue.  Scott listened patiently to my arguments and it seemed to give him food for thought.  I’ve done everything I can on that matter, so now it is over to the club.

Our next date was with Beppe Sannino, accompanied by fitness coach, Marco Cesarini, who was acting as his translator as well as being available for questions related to the fitness of the squad.  Poor Marco was greeted by a fierce woman barking, “I’m told that it is your fault that John Eustace left.”  His response was utterly charming as well as being logical.  Since John only played a handful of times in the previous season and the medical assessment was that that scenario was unlikely to change, it was felt that they couldn’t risk signing John to a playing contract.

Jacque, Beppe and I

Regarding his translation role, having listened to interviews on Watford World I have found that the translation of questions and answers makes them very difficult to follow, which made me wonder how it would work in person.  But Beppe’s charm and enthusiasm ensured that even if he didn’t understand my questions or I didn’t understand his answers I still felt as though I was having a conversation with him.

Important questions included whether Beppe was as fluent in English as I am in German when the drink flows.  It seems not.  Beppe rejected our offer of a glass of Argentinian wine, but that led us on to a discussion of which team Forestieri supported.  Since neither Beppe nor Marco knew, the lovely Marco offered to call Fernando and find out.  Sadly he didn’t answer his phone as he was out on a date with Beyonce.  I blow hot and cold with Forestieri, but he was spoken of very fondly by all present who all said that he really is in love with Watford.

We found out that Beppe runs 10K as day and is much fitter now than he was when he played.  When we asked what he was like as a player, he was quite scathing about his contributions, said he didn’t work hard enough and drove his team mates mad.  He said that the player Sannino would not get into manager Sannino’s team.

He made a point of saying how impressed he is by the passion of the Watford fans at games.  He said that he has searched YouTube to watch videos of Watford fans at games and has always been impressed by the noise <this came as a surprise to many of us who think we have rather quiet fans>.

Beppe was asked whether he would ever stay in his technical area.  “No.”  He was then asked about referees.  He said that he likes English referees as they let the game flow much more than the referees in Italy do.  At one of the other tables Beppe was asked how he could play Deeney, Ranegie and Forestieri in the same team and pint glasses were used to demonstrate the formation.

Our last guest was Richard Walker.  Many of those in attendance have known Rich for longer than we care to remember and all know that he is a great bloke and a bone fide Watford fan.  He was happy to answer questions, but also used the opportunity to do a bit of market research on season ticket pricing which impressed me.

The lovely Marco

At the end of the evening, there were a few photos and then our guests left.  Even Marco smiled as we had a photo taken together, so I can’t have upset him too much.  It was only as I was on the train home that it hit me what a privilege this evening had been and how special Watford FC is.  When the Pozzos took over many, including myself, feared that, as a foreign owned club run by people with no history with Watford, the connection with the fans would no longer be there.  But on that Thursday evening, Watford FC’s Head Coach, CEO, Technical Director, Head of Medical and Head of Communications came along to a pub in London in response to an invitation to meet with a group of 20-30 fans.  Even better, they appeared to enjoy the evening as much as we did.  Wow, just wow!