Hope yet for Hornets (From Watford Observer)

Hope yet for Hornets

1:17pm Tuesday 6th May 2008 in

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After all the despair surrounding Vicarage Road Watford are in the play-offs. The strangest of seasons has often felt like a depressing relegation yet, incredibly, the Hornets are still in with a chance of promotion to the Premiership.

Watford started the season on fire but their early results clouded indifferent performances and were largely orchestrated by the excellent Adam Johnson and Marlon King. Both of them were long gone after January and so was Watford's form.

Their record of one win in the last 14 games is dire and form fit for League One. The quality of football has also been hard to stomach. Watching players lump the ball aimlessly in the air is just not entertaining and the way it has got worse as the season has dragged on has been desperate.

From a nine-point lead at the top of the Championship to the brink of missing out on the top-six altogether has been a train wreck with the wheels coming off the rails. But the recovery is underway, and the team showed character to rescue a crucial point at Blackpool, after being reduced to ten men. After all the negativity around the club, it would have been easy for them to have finished seventh with nothing to show from their campaign.

Many will say the team don't deserve to go up and the forecast for next season looks Derby-esque if they do manage to upset the formbook this month.

But the money for promotion is invaluable to the club and another shot at the big boys remains faintly attractive. Surely losing to the big boys is preferable to dispiriting defeats to Championship no-hopers?

THE battle for the Premiership title has gone to the wire and only goal difference separates Chelsea and Manchester United. It could not be tighter and the race deserves to have a photo finish. The Blues have shown remarkable resilience in recent weeks after being written off after their draw with Wigan. Avram Grant's side don't know when they're beaten and they have the momentum which could propel them to the double.

My money is staying in the pocket but I would still favour United to get the job done at Wigan on Sunday.

It is guaranteed to be a brilliant end to the Premier League season and totally contradicts Kevin Keegan's claim that the league is in danger of becoming one of the most boring but great leagues in the world.

The Newcastle manager was talking about his belief that the the gap between the rest and Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and United is unbridgeable. I take the point about the inevitability of the top-four staying the same but this climax, both at the top and bottom, could not be closer.

Money has made it almost impossible for sides to break into the big four and that is a shame. But Sunday's last day will be hard to rival in terms of excitement. Anything but boring.