Totals
Pos |
Player |
Points |
1 |
Gavin Mahon |
269 |
2 |
Heidar Helguson |
202 |
3 |
Lee Cook |
196 |
What a season for Gavin Mahon. While not even those of us who defended him from his critics towards the end
of last season could've seen it coming, it's just a triumph of self-belief, hard work, professionalism, doing the
right things. No miracle, really. The player who started as a scapegoat and ended as a hero deserves all
of the credit himself, and is finally getting it. Sometimes, the overall totals from monthly votes throw up
very odd results, but there's no arguing this time. "Player of the Season", by any criteria.
It's been a more mixed year for Heidar Helguson, missing for patches through injury and (largely
self-inflicted) suspension. But, particularly after the departure of Paul Robinson, he remains the supporters'
champion, the player who'll always try to translate our feelings into deeds...even if that's not necessarily
a good idea. Perhaps in different circumstances, with more dependable supply and more consistent performances
from his partners, this would've been Heidar's defining year. Then again, perhaps that astonishing ninety minutes against
Chelsea was enough to be going on with in the meantime.
For Lee Cook, a mixed year too. A somewhat controversial figure, his numerous admirers have rarely
agreed with a manager who's used him sparingly, and mainly at Vicarage Road. But he ends the season as a
far better, more complete, more imposing player than he began it, capable of being absolutely breathtaking
and much less likely to cancel out those moments of magic with a very ordinary lapse of concentration. He's
special, is Lee Cook. But 2003/04, and particularly the latter part of it, has seen him making it count.
And two honourable mentions too. For Scott Fitzgerald, edged out of third place by just eight votes after
Cook's late surge, who should surely be very proud indeed of his first full season in professional football,
and damn eager to continue his extraordinary progress. And for Paul Devlin too, a regular feature of these
awards due to a band of loyal devotees, and the only other player to make it into three figures overall.
April/May
Pos |
Player |
Votes |
1 |
Lee Cook |
61 |
2 |
Bruce Dyer |
42 |
3 |
Alec Chamberlain |
36 |
The rest:
4: Gavin Mahon; 5: Micah Hyde; 6: Sean Dyche; 7: Heidar Helguson; 8=: Chris Baird, Lloyd Doyley; 10: Paul Mayo
Also votes for:
Paul Furlong, Xavier Gravelaine, Willie Falconer, "The whole team for surviving relegation", "Ray (for keeping Sean!)" (aw), "Not Gavin Mahon - he's crap. Deserves to have his contract cancelled and be sent back to Brentford (what do u mean he's good now?)", "Pope Pius III - arguably the most underrated of all the 15th Century popes" (well, quite)
Votes cast:
185
One last "Player of the Month" award for Lee Cook, or just another to add to a list that'll grow
still further in the future? Time will tell, but anyone who saw him play during April and May will be
desperately wishing that it's the latter. Here, at last, we saw Lee Cook fulfilling his true, massive
potential. The headlines were his, courtesy of a couple of absolutely wonderful and vital goals at
Burnley and Millwall...but, perhaps more significantly, much of the copy was his too, for performances
that saw him reinforce his obvious talent with hard work and awareness. Put simply, it'd be a bloody shame if he
left now. For him too, in my humble opinion.
In second, a rather less familiar name in this context. Prior to this vote, Bruce Dyer had picked
up just three votes in the entire season, reflecting form that dipped, struggled, dipped again, and never
approached what we'd expected back in August. At last, then, a glimpse of the real Bruce Dyer, of a
player who can be a handful for defences as well as a positive influence for the rest of his own team. And
a real cause for optimism during the summer....
And finally, Alec Chamberlain. It would be tempting to suggest that many of these votes came from
sentiment, as the keeper said his farewells after the Reading game before an unexpected contract offer
promised to extend his Watford career by another year. Tempting, but probably wrong. In truth, his
near-departure simply made us remember that we can't take him for granted, and his performances during
April and May served to sharpen that realisation. When we needed him, he was there yet again...and, while turning a
seven or eight-nil defeat into a four-nil defeat (and nearly a two-nil defeat) won't rank among his greatest
achievements, that display at West Ham really was quite something.
March
Pos |
Player |
Votes |
1 |
Gavin Mahon |
65 |
2 |
Sean Dyche |
25 |
3 |
Heidar Helguson |
15 |
The rest:
4: Lee Cook; 5: Paul Mayo; 6=: Alec Chamberlain, Micah Hyde; 8=: Paul Devlin, Scott Fitzgerald; 10: Lenny Pidgeley; 11=: Neal Ardley, Chris Baird, Bruce Dyer, Jamie Hand, Jerel Ifil
Also votes for:
None (x3), "None - could a team ever be more unloveable?" (you've got a very short memory, Rupe...), Alan Devonshire, Jan Lohman, Steve Harmison, "Lenny Pidgeley's right boot", "Bring back Mooney!! I miss you", "Kenny Jackett - Super Swan", "Anchovy - the hidden ingredient in so many Mediterranean dishes"
Votes cast:
147
Gavin Mahon again, then. Player of the season. The number's 09010 199212. Do the right thing, eh?
Moving on, Sean Dyche's remarkable revival continues, and he finds himself in the top three for the
first time in his Watford career. Although his future remains uncertain, his defending has been anything
but - an increasingly confident and dominant figure, it's extraordinary to think that a series of distinctly
flat-footed performances had shoved him far from the first team frame not so very long ago. Whether he
stays or goes, we've seen the player that we signed, at last.
In third, narrowly ahead of Lee Cook and Paul Mayo, Heidar Helguson has found the goal-scoring knack
again after returning from suspension. The team found the net just five times during an often unhappy and
occasionally rather fraught month, and the Icelander scored three of those goals, including vital strikes
against Derby and Wigan.
February
Pos |
Player |
Votes |
1 |
Lee Cook |
50 |
2 |
Gavin Mahon |
35 |
3 |
Paul Devlin |
23 |
The rest:
4: Jerel Ifil; 5: Sean Dyche; 6=: Micah Hyde, Lenny Pidgeley; 8=: Scott Fitzgerald, Jack Smith; 10: Neal Ardley; 11=: Hameur Bouazza, Bruce Dyer
Also votes for:
"Can't single anyone out, the whole team" (which is something of a change from the twelve votes for "nobody" last month), "The computer who (sic) made the February fixture list", "Baby Ibrahim - who arrived Feb 6th", Alex Bonnot, Gifton Noel-Williams, Hather, Liburd Henry
Votes cast:
173
Thank gawd for that, frankly. An unbeaten February to follow a very beaten January, with the
inevitable increase in votes and general enthusiasm. Not a single vote for "nobody", for a start....
And lots of votes for Lee Cook, one of several stars of this mini-revival after his manager shunted
him forward to play as part of the front three during Heidar Helguson's suspension. It's suited him, giving
him much greater freedom to flit around into spaces and, indeed, to track back without necessarily having to
track back. A couple of goals too, even if one of them was grotesquely deflected, and an eye-catching,
match-winning contribution to the otherwise rather limp victory over Franchise FC. Keep it up, young man.
Somewhat in contrast, a clear second place is occupied by that model of quiet consistency, Gavin Mahon.
It's hard to find new things to say about the midfielder, simply because his performance varies so little
from week to week. Instead, it's just a regular, steady trawl through the various assets required for the
role, from beefy tackling to endless ground coverage to intelligent passing to the occasional foray into the
opposition penalty area. Perhaps one of those fiercely-struck drives will whistle in some day, just for
novelty value. Whatever, there are no other candidates for "Player of the Season", to my mind.
For all that the cult following commanded by Paul Devlin's energetic, committed performances has pushed
him into third place, we'll force him to share that honour with those just - and it really was just - below
him. For Jerel Ifil (22 votes) and Sean Dyche (21 votes) would otherwise be well justified in
feeling hard done by, given that much of the month's success was down to our sudden ability to stop the opposition
from scoring. We didn't stop them from scoring by much on occasions, sure...but that was lots better than not
stopping them from scoring at all. Or helping them to score.
Finally, it's worth highlighting the frantic push-and-shove going on in the race for first place in the
overall totals, with Scott Fitzgerald, Heidar Helguson and Gavin Mahon separated by virtually nothing. All
to play for.
January
Pos |
Player |
Votes |
1 |
Gavin Mahon |
47 |
2 |
Heidar Helguson |
31 |
3 |
Jack Smith |
30 |
The rest:
4: Scott Fitzgerald; 5: Paul Devlin; 6: Sean Dyche; 7=: Lee Cook, Jamie Hand; 9=: Neal Ardley, Hameur Bouazza, Alec Chamberlain, Neil Cox, Micah Hyde, Jerel Ifil
Also votes for (deep breath):
"None of them" and variations thereon (x 12), "The linesman against Chelsea" (x 3), "Umin Wehadone?" (don't ask us!), "A tin of baked beans", "Chelsea (for the extra tickets)", "All the Watford fans who stayed til the final whistle against Palarse", "Dave Cuthbert for going up to Birmingham on the 31st on my eighteenth birthday" (from Dave Cuthbert, natch), "Graham Simpson- who's been having a mare of late", Harold Shipman, "Hutton Whitewashed my house", "John Lydon (the only thing to have made me smile after recent results)", Rosa Luxemburg, "The lead singer from Athlete", "Myself - as being at university prevented me from seeing the crap that resulted from this month's matches", the Russo Brothers, Allan Nielsen, Dominic Ludden
Votes cast:
134
Least said, soonest mended...?
December
Pos |
Player |
Votes |
1 |
Heidar Helguson |
83 |
2 |
Paul Devlin |
34 |
3 |
Lee Cook |
27 |
The rest:
4: Jack Smith; 5: Marcus Gayle; 6: Lenny Pidgeley; 7=: Neil Cox, Gavin Mahon; 9: Scott Fitzgerald; 10: Alec Chamberlain; 11=: Neal Ardley, Lloyd Doyley, Paolo Vernazza
Also votes for:
Dean Lewington, Gifton Noel-Williams, Derek Payne, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Oliver Tobias, "Whoever drew us to play Chelsea in the cup", "The brave few who went down to Gillingham"
Votes cast:
212
Look who's back. In truth, the December vote was probably a foregone conclusion from the moment that Heidar
Helguson took the field against Nottingham Forest at the start of the month. It was never likely to be a
particularly restrained return, after all. To seal the deal, the increasingly iconic forward went on to
score a few vital goals, to throw himself around as if he'd never felt pain in his entire life, and to
avoid being sent off despite committing at least one ferocious foul in each game. Absolutely inspiring stuff, and
long may he stampede around the Vicarage Road turf. (Sorry, mud.)
In second and third, two wingers, perhaps reflecting the desire of fans to see a return to straightforward
4-4-2, a desire eventually satisfied and rewarded with 2003's last fixture. Paul Devlin continues to
build something of a personal fan club, and you suspect that he'll be appearing in the top three or so for as
long as he's here. Not his best month, perhaps, as teams have tended to assign two players to looking after
him...but still, a continuing source of creativity, ambition, and plain old up-and-at-'em spirit.
Finally, Lee Cook played only a sporadic role in proceedings, but his part in the crucial victory over
Cardiff deserved to win him a few extra votes. He seems perpetually on the verge of getting his chance to be more
than just a regular substitute/substitutee, something that many fans have been demanding for some time. It'll
be interesting to see whether he takes it, and where he ends up in January's poll.
And one honourable mention too, for Jack Smith, whose performances, especially at Sheffield United, surely
warranted better than fourth place. An impressively tenacious little player, his time will no doubt come.
November
Pos |
Player |
Votes |
1 |
Neil Cox |
52 |
2 |
Lenny Pidgeley |
40 |
3 |
Paul Devlin |
38 |
The rest:
4: Scott Fitzgerald; 5: Lee Cook; 6: Marcus Gayle; 7: Paolo Vernazza; 8: Jack Smith; 9: Danny Webber
Also votes for:
"The Stop Bush Coalition", "W4BS (for not scoring)", Carl Leaburn, "Chipmunks - fascinating creatures", "Hanna for coming to games despite being very heavily pregnant, baby due Dec 8th !" (Well? - Ed), Steve Bennett (Norwich referee)
Votes cast:
194
A familiar name. But not that familiar, not recently. Neil Cox, overall runner-up in last
season's poll, hasn't been here so far in this campaign...which tells several stories, really. But he's
back, leading November's poll from start to finish after some vintage, comic book hero performances alongside
the similarly-resurrected Marcus Gayle. Indeed, his insane diving header around the post in the second half at
Reading - which would've been a decent enough save by someone with hands - probably goes down as BSaD's Moment
of the Month. Even if Lenny Pidgeley probably would've saved it anyway.
Speaking of Lenny Pidgeley, the on-loan keeper moves up from fourth in the October poll to second
in this...which, even allowing for the fact that he hasn't been entirely blameless on a couple of occasions
during the month, speaks volumes about his increasing confidence, presence and other -ence words. The effect
on Cox and Gayle has been marked, their effect on Pidgeley has been just as significant...and that's exactly
as it should be. And he's made some very fine saves along the way too, of course, particularly in securing
valuable points on the road.
In third, Paul Devlin and his box-of-tricks are rapidly picking up a significant and devoted
following at Vicarage Road. For all that his creativity and verve have been incredibly valuable, it's the
personality that he's brought to the attack that's been most joyous, particularly in the absence of Heidar
Helguson. Fun to watch, above all else. And not much fun to play against, you'd imagine.
These are the top three, but others - Scott Fitzgerald (21 votes, another with an increasingly devoted following),
Lee Cook (19, following his first two goals), Marcus Gayle (in Neil Cox's shadow with 12, but a significant
improvement nonetheless) - also managed very respectable totals. Which is a good sign, surely. A sign of
a general trend, somewhat overdue but not yet too late.
October
Pos |
Player |
Votes |
1 |
Scott Fitzgerald |
65 |
2 |
Paul Devlin |
60 |
3 |
Paolo Vernazza |
45 |
The rest:
4: Lenny Pidgeley; 5=: Paul Robinson, Danny Webber; 7=: Neal Ardley, Lee Cook, Richard Johnson; 10=: Bruce Dyer, Marcus Gayle, Stephen Kelly, Jack Smith, Ashley Young
Also votes for:
Radagast the Brown, "Some sort of Frankenstein's monster made up of Cox, Devlin, Fitzgerald, Pidgeley and Vernazza...", AFC Wimbledon team and fans, Carl Leaburn (eh?)
Votes cast:
204
Ah, that's more like it. Much more like it. A month in which the Hornets, still a little hesitant and nervous,
began to pick up points and slowly climb the table, with a consequent increase in "Player of the Month"
votes...and a significant decrease in the number of "comedy" nominations....
And it's Scott Fitzgerald again. Something of a fairytale for our goal-hanger supreme, winner of the
September award and scorer of another three goals during October, all of them from well inside the six
yard box. The exciting thing for Watford fans is that just as Andy Hessenthaler relied on his work-rate as
he made the adjustment from non-league, so Fitzgerald's poaching is buying him time to build the rest of his
game. There's a great deal more to come, you suspect....
In second, Paul Devlin is now showing us what he's all about. Match fit, he's full of energy, ideas,
intelligence, playing with feet and brain. While he's only found the net once thus far, he's made a
significant difference to our goal potential, and the growing understanding with the other strikers is bringing
us much closer to where we hoped that we'd be.
Oh, and mustn't forget Paolo Vernazza either. Perhaps unfortunate to be third, the midfielder has
unexpectedly recaptured his finest form since his arrival at the club, just as many - myself included - were
ready to write him off. Always creative and clever, he seems to have a real appetite for work and
responsibility at present, becoming a committed presence rather than a talented bystander. Long may that
continue.
September
Pos |
Player |
Votes |
1 |
Scott Fitzgerald |
81 |
2 |
Gavin Mahon |
21 |
3 |
Lee Cook |
16 |
The rest:
4: Neil Cox; 5=: Lloyd Doyley, Richard Johnson, Paul Robinson, Paolo Vernazza, Ashley Young; 10: Paul Devlin; 11=: Neal Ardley, Jerel Ifil
Also votes for:
None, "A.N.Other", "Nobody again - even more of a disgrace than August" (hi, Rupe), Steve Sherwood, "Accommodation", "Gary Penrice's moustache", "Ruud van Noddlehorse", "Hang on in there, Ray", "That thuggish Milwall player for giving us our 1st win", and "The bloke on the Banbury to Birmingham train who gave us complimentary first class tickets for the Wigan away day as a result of the trains f***ing up at Euston!"
Votes cast:
152
A curious month, from the voting point of view...and a fairly appalling one, from every other point of view. In
the end, Scott Fitzgerald easily wins his second "Player of the Month" award, following on from his victory at the
end of last season. An obvious choice and a deserved accolade, for the former Northwood man has been an extraordinarily
positive and aggressive presence amid some increasingly desperate performances. And he's scored a couple of
predatory goals too, which is what he's there for...and what, on the evidence so far, he'll be doing for the rest of
his career.
The rest really depends on timing as much as anything else. Had the voting taken place a couple of weeks earlier,
then you'd have expected Ashley Young - scorer of two goals in his first two appearances - and Paul Devlin -
a new signing making an impact - to have featured much more heavily. Now, we find Paolo Vernazza - newly recalled
and impressing, despite a harsh red card - and Richard Johnson - for understandably sentimental reasons as he
leaves the club after twelve years - appearing among the runners-up.
All of which leaves another three players to contest the remaining two podium places. Last month's winner,
Gavin Mahon had a less spectacular September, yet continued to fight for everything that could be
fought for, a quality that does him great credit. Lee Cook, in third, is a very different kind of
player and has spent much of the month shouldering the entire attacking burden in the absence of significant
contributions from elsewhere. Finally, and just one vote behind Cook, Neil Cox has captained a side - not always with
success, but always with considerable commitment - that has badly needed direction from within.
Not an easy month. Not an easy season, so far. And onwards to October, to see what it brings....
August
Pos |
Player |
Votes |
1 |
Gavin Mahon |
71 |
2 |
Heidar Helguson |
68 |
3 |
Lloyd Doyley |
9 |
The rest:
4=: Lee Cook, Danny Webber; 6: Scott Fitzgerald; 7: Paul Robinson; 8=: Neal Ardley, Marcus Gayle
Also votes for:
Jimmy Davis, Gifton Noel-Williams, Tommy Mooney, Stephen Glass, Allan Nielsen, Cliff Holton, "Vialli (for not taking it to court)", "None - disgraceful start to the season" (thanks, Rupe)
Votes cast:
173
Crikey, that was close. Throughout a week of voting, it's been pretty much impossible to pick a
winner, although Gavin Mahon has just about held onto a slender, slender lead. And deservedly so,
in your correspondent's opinion, as the midfielder has returned to his natural position and emphatically
answered his numerous critics. Hard to believe, perhaps, but not at all hard to appreciate, for these have
been performances full of tenacity and bite, whether controlling the midfield or denying that same control
to the opposition. Well played, sir.
Just three votes behind in second, a much more familiar name round these parts. Heidar Helguson has
attacked the season in much the same way as he seems to attack everything else. Despite being asked to
play on the left of midfield, he's given absolutely everything to the role, and was ultimately rewarded with
a recall to the forward line and the club's first league goal of the campaign.
A long way behind, Lloyd Doyley sneaks ahead of Lee Cook and Danny Webber to grab the final spot on
the podium, courtesy of some characteristically determined and capable defensive performances. A player who'll
need to move forward (literally) to retain his place, perhaps, but also a player with much to base that
development upon.
Really, though, August 2003 will be remembered for the first name in the list of alternative votes. We can
only wonder how many times Jimmy Davis' name would've come up on this page over the coming months, and we can
only contine to keep him and those closest to him in our thoughts. Here's to a much happier September.