A bit about you:
Name: Matt Rowson
Current home town: Sharnbrook, Beds
Birthplace: Aylesbury
How long have you supported your team? 35 yrs
Overview of your club:
Favourite thing about your home ground: When I answered this question for these pages three years ago I talked about Vicarage Road being "home", and that's still the long and short of it. And it's still set in a quarry, and it still sucks the darkness inwards when the floodlights are on.
Over the past few years however – and even since the Foxes' last visit two years ago – the ground has undergone a minor transformation. The derelict east side of the ground has been rebuilt, creating an enclosed four-sided arena for the first time. The atmosphere within the ground has improved dramatically thanks in part to the new stand and in part to organised supporter efforts to improve it and the club's support for it. Don't laugh, but it might soon come to pass that an overexcited journalist uses the word "intimidating" about Vicarage Road for the first time.
Favourite match played by your team & why: I think my favourite game is one that we lost, technically. We had won what is now League 1 in 1998 and came up with a bit of momentum. A good start in the second tier tailed off and we were slipping down into mid-table before a combustible game against Tranmere on the Easter Saturday. We won that one, and embarked upon an unlikely run of consecutive victories which culminated in smashing our way into the play-offs.
We won the first leg 1-0 at home to Birmingham; the second was the most intense game of football played out in front of an astonishing wall of Brummie noise. We lost our advantage to Dele Adebola inside two minutes; the rest of it was almost two hours of lunatic blocks, throwing bodies in front of the way… at one point Richard Johnson won the ball with a diving header at shin height in the middle of the park. We won 7-6 on penalties, and flattened Bolton in the final.
Favourite player of all time who played for your club: I grew up during the halcyon era of Taylor, Barnes and Blissett… i was spoilt, there are noticeably a large number of fans of my age with a fervent, romantic attachment to the club as a result. But my favourite player of all time was John McClelland, a centre back who looked like a wardrobe. He was an absolute colossus, and despite his shape and size incredibly, deceptively quick.
About our forthcoming match against you:
Your favourite current player in your squad and why? Four summers ago Troy Deeney's Watford career was in the balance; convicted of affray and sentenced to 10 months in prison, much moralising and hand-wringing took place over the rights and wrongs of giving the player another chance. He got that chance and repaid the club in spades.. the Hornets' season exploded on his return to the side, the season crowned with an ultimately doomed play-off campaign which is nonetheless remembered fondly but is perhaps best glossed over in present company. That season and for each of the subsequent campaigns he topped 20 goals attracting significant bids from the top flight (including, reportedly, from City) but his commitment to Watford never wavered. The goals have yet to flow this season, but don't be fooled into thinking that Troy is playing badly. He's the beating heart of the side, the leader on and off the pitch.
Player in your squad we should most fear and why? Two answers to this. Odion Ighalo is the obvious name… ostensibly signed as fourth-choice striker behind Deeney, Vydra and Forestieri at the start of last season he broke into the side about a year ago and as you've probably heard has 23 goals in 29 games during 2015. The increased attention and higher standard haven't slowed his progress… seemingly made of rubber he's a natural goalscorer.
The other name to mention is Valon Behrami, our midfield pitbull. Sent off against Swansea in September he served a three game ban and has since been unable to disrupt the Etienne Capoue/Ben Watson midfield pairing. Whether Valon starts or comes off the bench, he'll not be holding back after two months out of the starting lineup.
Player in our squad you most fear and why? There'll be a degree of pressure on Leicester given that this is a game that, despite our recent success, you'll expect to win. The other side of that coin is that if you fail to break us down or go behind, and despite your ability to keep going regardless, some nervousness might creep in. Jamie Vardy strikes me as too single-minded to be phased by that.
Up and coming prospect in your squad? How times have changed. With Tommie Hoban out injured and Lloyd Doyley out of contract there won't be any born-and-bred 'orns anywhere near the first team squad. There are a number of promising looking kids in the U21 side, but we've not seen enough of them to pass judgement. Nathan Aké is 20 and an absolute beast at left back, but he's not strictly OUR prospect…
How do you think you’ll do against us? With two wins on the hop and Leicester doing so well this is a free hit for us… we'd have taken four points from Stoke, West Ham, Leicester and have six already. So… the pressure is off for the moment, and we're well set up to play away from home. I've noticed that the Foxes aren't in the habit of keeping things cagey… it'll be a fine game, as so many between us have been in recent years.
General Questions:
What did you think of the summer transfer activity both in and out of your club?
It's easy to be smart with hindsight. We were promoted out of an extraordinarily strong Championship with a free-scoring side… and immediately replaced the head coach, changed playing style and brought in 15 new players. It felt bold, but it felt risky… and as we struggled for goals early on it was difficult not to get jumpy. As time has gone on, though, we look more and more assured.
It's worth noting that the new signings haven't all had an impact yet… they're being introduced slowly and carefully, seven of the starting eleven that beat West Ham were in last year's promoted squad. But nobody is questioning the transition any more. Of the departures, some much loved players including get-out-of-jail card Forestieri and the prolific Vydra were either sold or loaned out, but in most cases it seems evident that either the player wouldn't fit into the new system or wasn't inclined to try to. Most impressive has been the corrective surgery to the defence… even allowing for the change in style, a defence that was often pulled around in the Championship has conceded 10 goals in 11 top flight games.
Where do you think you’ll finish this season? Still early doors, but I think we'll stay up. Mid table is not impossible.
Which three teams do you think will go down? Difficult to look beyond the current bottom five. Sunderland and Bournemouth, plus one of the other three.
Who do you think will win the league? Manchester City