HAPPY WITH OUR LOT

WATFORD FAN JONNY BRICK IS QUITE CONTENT WITH HIS TEAM NEVER GOING UP AND NEVER GOING DOWN...

- JONNY BRICK

HEN Declan Rice scored the sixth Arsenal goal in the stadium where he made his name, thousands more West Ham United fans joined those who had departed at 4-0.

Despite a six-match winless run, they'd clung to their victory at the Emirates at the end of December as evidence that they could overturn conventional footballing wisdom. Wisdom won that February day.

But what did the Irons acolytes expect? Without the Christmas period to knacker them, Arsenal could be sharper, fitter and better at keeping the ball and scoring from set-pieces.

It is often said that the team with the highest wage bill win the league they compete in, unless they have a mercurial manager who can galvanise a team like Ted Lasso or, in real life, Sean Dyche.

Which brings me to Watford, who sacked Dyche in 2012 when the Pozzo family bought the club and saved it from a decade of ups, downs and Boothroyds.

For the next decade, there was a welcome stability in the boardroom which led to success on the pitch. Even with managers being discarded like bad poker hands, Watford spent six seasons in the Premier League. I have fond memories of a 4-1 victory over Chelsea and, naturally, the FA Cup semi-final win over Wolves, but I also loved the 2014-15 season which ended in a promotion party in Cassiobury Park.

The team which went up as champions that season were AFC Bournemouth, who trump Watford twice over because their stadium only sits 12,000 people and they nearly went out of business before new ownership and a steady hand took them up the leagues.

Oddly, both sides went down and up together in between 2020 and 2021, but Bournemouth thrived when Watford failed to survive the drop in 2021-22.

After an unsteady start to their 202324 season, the benefit of giving the manager Andoni Iraola time bore fruit and the club had a great autumn.