The Hornets - Path to Success

So I've decided to start my career in Football Manager 2015 with my beloved Watford FC. I have supported them for a good 5-6 years now. One of the biggest factors in me deciding to follow them religiously was when I was at school, way back in Year 7 (5-6 years ago) - I was part of a programme called Sky Sports Living for Sport and we got the chance to go to Vicarage Road one day during the week. I arrived there, not knowing much about Watford - I did know that back in the day they had been in the Premier League but I wasn't aware of the history the club had until we went onto a stadium tour - and what a facility it is! We got to see Elton John's memorabilia in the hospitality, walk down the tunnel that some of the most famous names in world football have walked out of (Beckham, Henry, Ronaldo and Rooney just to name a few) - it really was a great experience!
Now I am going back 5-6 years ago, and obviously, if you've been to Vicarage Road lately you would have seen that the club have had a whole new East Stand built so it actually looks like a finished stadium.. rather than a 10 minute job. The changing rooms were immaculate, they really were top draw, so I can only imagine what facilities clubs like Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal have just to name a few.
After the stadium tour, we were given free tickets for a game that night against Sheffield United. Me and my dad went that night, it was bitter, but I think Watford ran out 3-1 winners (don't quote me on that) and ever since then I've fallen in love with them. I have had a season ticket since last season and I have carried it on over to this season, and I'm glad I did, my Saturday's are never boring!
__________________________________________________________________________________
The Squad

So onto my career with The Hornets, I know what a great squad we have to work with here. The likes of Angella, Deeney, Forestieri, Vydra, Toszer and Anya just to name a few are some players that have joined the club and become favourites of mine. Not to mention the fantastic youth with have coming through: Alex Jakubiak, currently on loan at Oxford United a lad who shows a lot of promise from what I saw of his debut game at the back end of last season. Luke O'Nien, currently on loan at Wealdstone I've not seen much of this guy (apart from when he's warming up at half-time but from social media everyone seems to rate this man very highly). Sean Murray, I'm hoping to intergrate him slowly into the first team as I feel he can be hot and cold sometimes, sometimes he plays out of his skin, other times he can barely string a pass together. Jonathan Bond, England U21 goalkeeper, very fortunate to have such a talented young keeper along side an experienced one in Heuruehlo Gomes. Jorrel Johnson, he has showed promise in the youth team and in a couple of season's I think he may be ready for regular first-team football. Tommie Hoban, Irish international, he will be a squad rotation player for me, don't get me wrong he is by far one of the best young centre-halfs in the Championship but I can't see him getting a start ahead of Angella, Bassong and Ekstrand. And last but not least Uche Ikepeazu, he was on loan at Crewe last year and from what I heard he was very decent for them, hopefully I can bring him into the first-team for cup matches and see how he does.

Now I'm going to talk about some of our star players. Our captain Troy Deeney had to come up first and foremost, in real life we were at risk of losing him to teams like Aston Villa and QPR during the summer, but he's signed a brand new contract with us for 4 years so he isn't going nowhere anytime soon(thank god!). Just to give you an idea of what he’s capable of, have a look at this MOTM performance from him against Huddersfield earlier this season. Matej Vydra, Troy's partner in crime back in the 2012/2013 season, they both netted 42 goals between them and I'm hoping for more of the same. Matej is here on a 2 year loan from Udinese. Just to give you an idea of what Matej is capable of, have a look at this stunning half volley against Brentford. Fernando Forestieri, he has been riddled with injuries in his career at Watford, but when he plays, boy does he play. He is one of the most gifted footballers in the Championship, his work rates are unreal, he's up and down the field for the full 90 minutes, he's very skillful, he likes to take on his man and run at him. Have a look at this MOTM performance v Leeds United earlier this season. These 3 will likely be the 3 strikers I play for the majority of the season. Sebastain Bassong will be first choice since arriving on loan from Norwich City, for us to get hold of someone of Bassong's calibre I think that is an amazing piece of business. Gabriel Angella, in my opinion is an amazing centre-half, he's so relaxed on the ball and knows how to deal with pretty much any situation that is put infront of him, not to mention he can score, have a look at the goal he scored against Nottingham Forest last season - not bad for a centre-half, eh? Daniel Toszer has also been a favourite of mine since joining the club and like Vydra is here on a 2 year loan deal from FC Genk, he's a dead-ball specialist and can spray the ball around as some of the best midfielders in the Premier League, he will defintely be starting in my midfield. Almen 'the professor' Abdi, what is there to say about this man? An instant fan favourite after joining the club on a permanent deal in 2012, he too is a dead ball specialist and will partner Daniel Toszer in my midfield. Ikechi Anya, a rapid winger who is capable of scoring goals as you can see here against Doncaster last season. He's a Scotland international a few months back scored against Manuel Neur (how many people can say they've done that? Not many). Depending on what formation I play, he will be a first team regular.

The next post you see will be a review of all the pre-season games I have played with the club so far, and some transfer business.

Also, I am going to be playing this save on the new Football Manager 2015 game, I just wanted to post this to give you guys a taster of what is it come when the final game launches fully, thanks!