Being a Watford fan doesn’t make for a calm life.

For many of our supporters, the last year has taken them from fearing that the last owner would take the club out of business, via worrying that the “heart and soul” would be ripped from the club under the new owners, to nervousness and excitement at the possibility that we will get promoted to the Premier League.  Allied to this, there is an increasing sense of annoyance at the amount of comment that has been made about the multitude of players we have on loan, and the apparent unfairness of being owned by the same family as Udinese and Granada.

This annoyance is made even greater by the simple fact that these loans do not break any rules, and neither does the ownership of the club.  Also, the likelihood is that a lot of the comment is fuelled by jealousy.  As recently as November, we were 16th in the Championship, after a draw at Millwall, and there was certainly little outside criticism of what we were doing back then.  In fact, at that stage, you were more likely to hear comments about the club’s identity being lost because of the new owners and the influx of foreign players.

The run of 46 points from 21 games since then has certainly changed the tone of the comments.  Along with praise for our style of play, Watford are now allegedly guilty of crimes ranging from preventing the progress of youth players into the first team, to not complying with the ”spirit” of the Football League’s rules, as well as stopping investment into the Academy.

It’s difficult to start to answer much of this criticism without quoting statistics on the number of former youth and Academy players still in and around the squad, and therefore sounding defensive.  The bottom line is that we have not broken any rules, and that we made a proactive decision to not apply for a higher status for the Academy - we now attract young players based on the quality of the training and educational experience at the club and the possibility of progress rather than trying to compete with larger clubs who are in a position to hoover up talent.  We no longer have former Academy players in the first team because we have no choice but to play them – they are now there purely on merit and with quality, not quantity.

But fans will need to get used to this criticism, because it won’t go away while Watford are so high in the table, and the level of scrutiny will only increase if we are promoted.

Promotion is looking more likely after Tuesday’s excellent second-half comeback. Sheffield Wednesday took the lead in the first half after Jonathan Hogg gave the ball away, leading to a number of further defensive errors and Michail Antonio scoring.  The game changed after the half-time introduction of Nathaniel Chalobah and Fernando Forestieri, neither of whom are on loan from Udinese.  Forestieri’s two goals turned the game on its head, but Jonathan Bond also made a number of important saves to ensure the win.

So this season’s rollercoaster ride continues, and who’s to say it will be any different next season, or indeed ever?  I’m not sure that it’s possible for Watford fans, or any football fans, to stay calm when there’s always so much going on...