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BLIND, STUPID AND DESPERATE
 
Articles:
Told you so!
By Colin Wiggins
 
We were right. We knew this would happen. So many of us said that Graham Simpson would make a complete idiot of himself. And so he has. His ridiculous antics were beyond belief. What a wally. The Chairman of Watford FC has acted like a prize buffoon and those thousands of us that predicted this sad outcome were proved absolutely right.

To see a grown man, in his advancing middle years, grey haired and besuited, dancing uncoordinated jigs and performing bizarre parodies of Nijinsky and Nureyev, in front of more than twenty thousand similarly uninhibited mad people, brought a knowing 'I told you so' to my lips.

This is because I am just one of those countless Watford fans who were struck dumb slightly more than a year ago, as we foresaw a terrible replaying of the Vialli fiasco. We wrote to the Club, we whinged to the Watford Observer, we called the phone-ins, we crammed the message boards. Ray Lewington had brought the spirit back to a club that had been bled dry. But after taking us to two semi-finals and with the majority of supporters fully behind him, Graham Simpson sacked him! Sheer reckless idiocy.

When Nigel Gibbs was shown to the door, shortly after being publicly feted by Sir Elton, we knew it would end in tears. And how right we were! But as to the nature of those tears, as I now joyously admit, we were a tiny bit wide of the mark.

Graham Simpson was slaughtered mercilessly just a year ago because he sacked a popular manager and replaced him with a lunatic who said he would get Watford promoted. And I am delighted to confess that on the BSaD preview of last August, I was one of the many who nominated Graham Simpson as the Club's Weakest Link. A lot of us did. Go and have a look, it's there! We did it because Graham Simpson, by appointing Aidy Boothroyd, was taking Watford on a downward slide to oblivion! And when the clear-out of popular senior players was followed by the bizarre signing of a jailbird failure (E-I-E-I-E-I-O!), I remember loudly proclaiming that Watford would be relegated by Christmas.

So, as one of that considerable number who grumbled, moaned and condemned, it gives me enormous pleasure to say that perhaps we were a little bit premature in our judgement. Stand up if you thought Graham Simpson didn't know his arse from his elbow! Or anybody else's elbow!

Yes, it was us! We're so thick it's unbelievable! And now it's time to let the guy know how we feel. There will be plenty of tributes paid to Aidy Boothroyd and his wonderful players. So here's one to Graham Simpson.

Graham Simpson is a Watford hero. Beyond doubt! And gracious with it. Not once has he referred to those misdirected rants that must have been so hurtful. Not once has he said 'I told you so' to that substantial crowd who were so ready to condemn him. We apologise unreservedly and thank you so much for your hard work, dedication and brilliant judgement. And we rejoice in how brilliant it feels to have been so hopelessly and spectacularly wrong.

But Graham, there is one thing you really do need to learn. You ain't no dancer!

(25/05/06)