Information
With FM2015 only just round the corner, I would like to bring out one more story that hopefully takes me until Christmas. This story will be my last on FM2014. Unfortunately, my last few stories have been deleted due to my database playing up. So, here goes the last journey, what it could lead to in unknown.

The Club
Watford Football Club are a club with quite some history. They were last in the Premier League in the 2006/07 Season. The Hornets play at Vicarage Road which holds 17,477. They play their club football in the Championship, the colours of Yellow and Black. Last season, they finished 13th in the Championship but this time, they want to go one better.

The Manager
Slavisa Jokanovic
The Serbian manager is the fourth manager at Watford in a month and hopes to be able to last until the very end. He has recently managed clubs such as Partizan, Maungthong United, Lefski Sofia and Hercules. Jokanovic spent most of his playing career at Tenerife in which he made 123 appearances for. He also had a spell at Chelsea, in which he played 39 appearances without scoring. He played 8 times for Yugoslavia before then playing 54 times for FR Yugoslavia, scoring 10 goals.

The Aims
Jokanovic has been set some tough tasks but will he be able to complete them all.
1. Gain promotion from the Championship (whether through the automatics or the play offs.
2. Win a domestic cup
3. Consolidate in the Premier League.
4. Top half in the Premier League.
5. Challenge for a European place (either Champions League or Europa League.)

Jokanovic meets the media
BBC: Congratulations on becoming the new Watford manager, how do you feel?
Jokanovic: It is a wonderful opportunity for me and I am positive that I can prove myself as a great manager.
SKY SPORTS: Does it worry you that Watford have gone through four managers in a month?
Jokanovic: Not at all, I am not here to look at the past, I am here for the future and I think I can bring glory back to this football club.
BT SPORT: Watford didn't have a very successful last season finishing 13th after the play-off final defeat. Do you feel that you have the ability to change that?
Jokanovic: Ofcourse I do, my aim is to gain promotion straight away and with the players we have got at this club, I am positive that we will be able to do it.
ITV: Will you make the Championship your main aim this year?
Jokanovic: Definately, the Championship is our main focus but we would also like a nice cup run.
BBC: Gianfranco Zola was the manager that took Watford to the play off final, do you want to do the same of him?
Jokanovic: My aim is to get promotion and we didn't get it two seasons ago. I will aim for the automatics but a play off victory wouldn't be the worst thing in the world!!!
SKY SPORTS: Well, we wish you good luck with your new job.
Jokanovic: Thank you, I hope make Watford successful again and prove everyone that this appointment was correct.

Good luck with this, Watford are one of those sides that always seem to underachieve in my eyes so hopefully you can take them to the next level with the right management.

2014-10-21 14:03#196719 Ziechael : Good luck with this, Watford are one of those sides that always seem to underachieve in my eyes so hopefully you can take them to the next level with the right management.

Cheers mate, I'm pretty confident about this one!

Lloyd Doyley sad to leave Watford
Watford full back Lloyd Doyley has joined Celtic on a two year deal after a £250,000 move. Doyley announced to the press that he loved his time at Watford but it was the right time to move on as he had become third choice right back at the club. He wishes the club all the best for the future and hopes that he has a successful spell at Celtic to cap off a great career which saw him play most of his football in the Championship but he did have spells in the Premier League.

Doyley scored two goals as a full back for Watford playing for over 10 years for the club.

His testimonial will be held on the 28th of July, 5 days before the season starts.

Three Join the Hornets
Marco Amelia
The Italian goalkeeper joined on a free transfer. This is his first venture in English football and he wants to take Watford back in to the Premier League.
"I am pleased to have joined such an ambitious club in Watford. I aim to take then back to the Premier League and have a successful spell with the club." Amelia quoted
Amelia will become Watfords first choice keeper and will hope to start their first league game of the season against Reading.
Matthew Briggs
Briggs, the England U20 international joined on a free as part of one of the trialist clubs. Briggs has had many loan spells and hopes to break stright in to the first team.
"I am so glad to be here and I can see my career lasting here. I want to become the main left back at the club and I have many great influences around me."
Briggs is rated 3 and a half star but has a potential of five and a half star. This could be the year that Briggs proves his quality. Briggs hopes to become and England international.
Mahamadou Diarra
Diarra is a Malian international who had spells at Lyon, Real Madrid, AS Monaco and Fulham. He is clearly Watfords biggest signing of the season and he believes that his quality can be very useful in the centre of the park.
"This is a massive club who have Premier League ambitions and I hope that my experience can help us gain promotion."
Diarra will be a big influence to everyone around him and will allow his experience to bring glory to the Hornets.

Watford enjoy a successful pre season.
Watford 1-0 Anderlecht
A great start for Watford as they beat Belgian Pro League side Anderlecht at Vicarage Road. The game was tight with both sides having decent chances, the best of which fell to Vydra who blazed over from 6 yards. The only goal of the game came through Abdi who stabbed home a lovely Matthew Briggs cross.
Boreham Wood 0-5 Watford
A good victory for Watford saw them see of Conference South opposition. Vydra got the first after a poor clearance fell to him to slot home from 18 yards. Deeney then made it two as he scored from the penalty spot. Vydra added his second with a curling shot from the edge of the area. Centre back Angella made it four from a corner and Abdi made it five with a sweet strike from 18 yards.
Gateshead 1-3 Watford
A decent result for Watford but their was some defencive errors. Gateshead were handed the lead but Watford levelled quickly through Diarra on his first start for the club. Deeney made it two from the penalty spot and then he again finished the scoring from 25 yards. Nobody closed him down so he took on the shot and saw it fly into the bottom right corner.
Southampton 1-1 Watford
A great result for Watford saw them draw away at Premier League, Southampton. The home team took the lead through Tadic as he found space in the box before slotting home from ten yards. It took until the 82nd minute for Watford to level and it came through a Lloyd Dier free-kick. He curled it home from 20 yards out. Watford went home the happier of the two teams.

Not the wanted start
Reading 2-0 Watford
After a promising pre-season, Watford were brought back to Earth after a poor display saw them demolished by promotion hopefuls Reading. Things started well for Watford as both Michael Ranegie and Matej Vydra had two shots well saved by Alex McCarthy in the Reading goal. Watford almost took the lead after 28 minutes but Keith Andrews shot crashed off the underside of the bar before being cleared. The hosts then showed their talent when Glenn Murray smashed his shot, after a beautiful flowing move, of the right hand post. The half time score was 0-0 and Watford were by far the better team. The second half started the same as the first, without the injured Diarra, Almen Abdi saw himself in the starting line up but his shot whizzed past the post. Watford dominated until the 71st minute, when Hal Robson-Kanu found space in the centre of the box to head home from 8 yards. Watford were pushing men forward, so it was no surprise when they were caught on the counter in the very last minute. Murray crossed a delightful ball to the end of the box for Royston Drenthe to smash home from the edge of the box. A wonder strike. This was how it stayed and Watford went home empty handed.

Jokanovic: "This was not the start we had planned, it was the worst result possible. I thought the lads played well, but we need to work on finding the back of the net. We now know what we have to work on before we visit Southend in the cup on Tuesday. I want to boys to bounce back straight away, it is the first game of the season, so our season is not settled yet. Drenthe's goal was unstoppable, but now we have to start finishing like that if we want to go up."

Sky Sports Presenter Jeff Stelling was reporting on the game along with Jamie Carragher on the Saturday early kick off and he quoted:"If Watford play like that more often, the score would have been the opposite way round. Abdi can count himself unlucky along with the rest of the squad. Jokanovic has now found out how good the Championship is and he will have to get his men fired up again quickly, otherwise Watford could be looking at a poor start. Next up for Watford in the league is Birmingham at home, so they must be looking at three points from that."

Deeney wants to leave
Troy Deeney today announced that he wants to leave Watford as they are not playing at the level that he feels he should be playing at. After talking to the boss, Jokanovic today, he publicy announced that is was time for a change.
Deeney: "It is true that I have handed in a transfer request as I feel I need to be playing at a higher level to help my career progress. I have loved my spell at Watford and I hope that there is no friction between me and the fans now after this incident."
Jokanovic: "The rumours are true, Deeney wants to leave. He has been a major contributor to how Watford have played over the last few years and his goals prove his quality. Clubs have already announced their interest in signing the player but we will only accept when our demands are met. Me and Deeney had a private meeting last night to discuss his future but after long hours trying to persuade him that his career would progress here, we had to give up and let the player move on. It would only upset morale if things didn't go to plan."

Watford now have to plan their future without Deeney, but with the player still out for until a month, a deal might not be able to be confirmed. Watford would still have Michael Ranagie, Ighalo and Matej Vydra.

Southend 0-3 Watford
Goals from Matej Vydra and Ighalo saw Watford defeat League 2 Southend in the Capital One Cup First Round. Watford took the lead in the 18th minute through Matej Vydra when he found space in the box to slot home from 10 yards. Ighalo then made it two just before half time when Sean Murray whipped in a beautiful cross for the striker to head home from 4 yards. Watford dominated the second half whilst having 71% possession throughout the game. Ighalo doubled his tally with a sweetly struck shot from the edge of the area that crashed into the bottom corner, almost breaking the net. The game finished 3-0, a good win for Watford, but could they build on this.

Jokanovic:"That was a great victory, we dominated every area on the pitch. 71% possession and 21 shots just shows how dominant we are. A clean sheet will do the defence no harm and for both the strikers (Vydra and Ighalo), there confidence will have rocketed after those goals. Now we have to focus on Birmingham, which we need to get three points from."

Ighalo:"I am buzzing with my two goals, but what is more important is that we got the victory. We played very well and we probably should have scored more, but that doesn't put a downer on today's performance. We now want to take this momentum in to the league and pick up a much needed victory."

The Second round draw for the cup was made after the game and Watford were drawn away to Premier League Newcastle. Could Watford upset the apple cart with a victory over Newcastle?

Deeney stays
Troy Deeney looks like he might stay at Watford until January now after the striker fails a medical at Stoke City. Watford received three bids from three different clubs for the striker, but only Stoke offered an acceptable amount of money. Burnley offered £5,000,000 which was way to low for Watford. A day later and Sunderland offered £7,000,000 for the striker, which proved to be just to little for Watford. Finally, Stoke came in for the striker with £8,500,000 on the table, which was accepted straight away from Watford. After going through personal terms, the medical stopped Deeney in his tracks.
Deeney is going to be out for another 2 weeks, so maybe a deal might be made on Deadline Day.

Jokanovic:"I am pleased that Deeney will be staying as he is a great player, but we don't want to stop him from making his move. The player is in high demand and it is hard to keep a striker that is in as high demand as him."

August Review

Watford 4-2 Brimingham
Goals from Vydra, Ighalo and Sean Murray saw Watford defeat Birmingham City. Vydra opened the scoring before Ighalo grabbed two goals, both headers in the 6 yard box. Watford were 3-0 up before Nabi pulled one back for the visitors in the 36th minute. Murray then added the fourth before Harding made it 4-2,
Odion Ighalo
Blackpool 2-1 Watford
Steven Davies grabbed two as Blackpool sunk Watford to their second defeat of the season.Davies made it one from the penalty spot before he smashed home from 10 yards to make it two. Joel Ekstand pulled one back for the visitors with a close range header.
Steven Davies
Sheffield Wednesday 0-4 Watford
Watford smashed four past a sorry Sheffield Wednesday side on a wet Saturday afternoon. Ekstrand opened the scoring with a close range header before Andrews made it two from the penalty spot. Vydra added a thrid before Angella made it four from a close range volley.
Keith Andrews
Watford 2-1 Huddersfield
A poor Watford display ended in a lucky victory over Huddersfield Town. Pudil made it one from the spot before Murray made it two from the edge of the box late on in the game. Nakhi Wells then pulled on back for the visitors with a header from 9 yards out.
Sean Murray
Newcastle 4-2 Watford
Newcastle are through to the third round after a second round win against Watford. Goals from Zaha, Taylor, Sammi Ameobi and Gouffran saw Newcastle smash sorry Watford. Vydra did make the tie interesting when he equalised with a quality strike from 25 yards. Pudil scored a late penalty for Watford but it was to little to late.
Cheik Tiote

Player of the month

Keith Andrew dominated the midfield from game one and got his deserved goal. He had a passing accuracy of 78%.

Goal of the Month

Matej Vydra for his strike against Newcastle United, it proved not to be enough but it was a great strike


Troy Deeney is out for another 3 days.

Tommy Smith rejoins Watford

Tommy Smith has decided to reunite with his old club Watford on a three year deal as a player/ coach. He will be taking charge of the Under 18's team who are currently playing in Group 8 of the Under 18's Leagues. Smith had a three year spell at Watford before making a move away. He recently became available for free after being released by Cardiff City. Smith did also start his career at Watford where he played for six years. He played 273 games for Watford, scoring 60 goals. Smith has also had spells with Cardiff City, Queens Park Rangers, Portsmouth, Sunderland and Derby County. He made 1 appearance for England Under 21's, in which he scored. Smith has pledged that he would love to become a manager after his two year contract runs out with Watford.


Talking to ESPN, Smith explained his decision to join Watford.
Smith:"I started my career of here so this is where I want to finish it. Even if I am not playing often, it feels special to be back where it all began. After my spell with the club, I would like to take up management, but I don't want to take Jokanovic's spot. I aim to help Watford fulfil there dreams and get back into the Premier League, where a club of this size deserves to be."


Elsewhere on Deadline Day, Luis Suarez joined Barcelona for a reported £75 million. Edison Cavani, rejected Manchester United ahead of a £30 million move as they could not agree personal terms. In the final minutes, John Obi Mikel joined Southampton for £5 million. Lucas Lieva and David Luiz were two players on the move, as they went to Sevilla and PSG respectively. Lieva went for £8 million with Luiz going for £40 million.

September Review

Watford find early form

Watford 2-0 Cardiff City
Watford started the month with a comfortable win over Cradiff City. Joel Ekstrand opened the scoring with a close range header before Ranégie closed the scoring late on in the game with a beautiful curling effort which crept in at the far corner.
Jokanovic:
That was a good display and a good victory but we now have to gain momentum and build on this result.
Joel Ekstrand

Middlesbrough 2-0 Watford
A poor display from Watford saw them punished by Middlesbrough. Lee Tomlin opened the scoring when he was sent free by Adomah before he slotted home past Amelia. Ayala made it two before half time with a powerful header from 12 yards out.
Jokanovic: I am very disappointed with that defeat as I thought we could come here and get something but we have to move on and forget this result.
Lee Tomlin

Watford 2-1 Leeds United
Leeds finished the game with 10 men which put more pressure on the manager after another poor defeat. Watford opened the scoring when Ranégie slotted home from 6 yards. Ranégie them double his teams and his tally from the penalty spot. He later picked up an injury in the game which sees him out until January. Norris did pull one back for the visitors with a calmly taken free kick.
Jokanovic: That was a good victory but now we have to build on it. Middlesbrough is now back out of our heads.
Ranégie

Forest 0-3 Watford
Nottingham Forest couldn't deal with the strength and pace of this Watford line up. Diarra opened the scoring when his 30 yard attempt found the top corner. The lead was doubled when Vydra popped in too score from 5 yards. Pupil then finished Forest off after just 35 minutes when his shot was deflected past the onlooking Darlow.
Jokanovic: What a display from the lads. They looked like a Premier League side out there today, I'm so proud.
Mahamadou Diarra

Charlton 0-3 Watford
watford scored three for the second game in a row, this time there victim was Charlton Athletic. Deeney, on his return, opened the scoring with a great strike from 18 yards. Briggs made it two when his shot went through the keepers legs. Pudil made it three late on with a smashing strike from 20 yards.
Jokanovic: What a great victory. Two away wins in a row is special but against good opponents like Charlton and Forest it makes it even more enjoyable.
Matthew Briggs

Semptember Awards

Player of the Month
Joel Ekstrand was named Watfords player of the year as he scored one and managed to keep three clean sheets. The vote was made by the fans and 63% of the fans voted for him.
Ekstrand: I am very happy to be named Watford player of the month and I hope I can carry on to help Watford improve in the future and get back to where we believe we deserve to be, in the Premier League.

Goal of the Month
There were many good goals scored this month by Watford players but the one that stood out the most was from Mahamadou Diarra. Diarra scored a great goal from thirty yards out against Nottingham Forest. This goal was also voted as the overall winner of goal of the Month for the whole division.
Diarra: I am delighted to have won both of these awards but what means more to me is how we are doing in the league and I want to help us to improve over the coming season. If we carry on, we may well be playing Premier League football next August.

League Table
Watford lie in 2nd place at the minute, one point behind leaders Brighton and Hove Albion. Sheffield Wednesday lie bottom of the table, still without a point.

Manager of the Month
Jokanovic won this months manager of the month award for his great display as Watford manager. They managed four victories out of the five games they played this month.
Jokanovic: I am very happy with this award but I feel that it deserves to go to the players as I wouldn't have got it if it wasn't for there performances this month. I hope we can build on it next month so that I can win the award again.