ALTHOUGH not one for having an inclination for putting pen to paper, several letters in your column have urged me to reply regarding Watford FC.

A supporter for over 34 years, I am now wondering what all the fuss is about.

Don't these people who have sent in their critical letters realise that Graham Taylor has gone.

We have entered a new era, it's now Luca Vialli's time to take Watford up to a higher status.

At the risk of incurring the wrath of some supporters, I would suggest that Luca has done now what GT should have done last Christmas by selling Page, Palmer, Mooney, Kennedy etc because his team and football style had reached an optimum and was going nowhere in the First Division.

In fact, if it was not for the unbeaten run at the start of last season, we would have been struggling to stay in the division at the end, when we were in free fall to Division Two (and there we would be settling for Peter Taylor as manager).

Luca, Ray Wilkins and his back room staff have instilled their beliefs and style of football on the players, and given time and encouragement, the team will be playing Premiership football in the next two years.

As for the person suggesting that he gets a one way ticket to Genoa, what utter rubbish!

The technical ability of the current team has been transformed, Gifton Noel-Williams and Tommy Smith's control is unrecognisable from last year. Robbo and Neil Cox are actually passing the ball out of defence, not hitting aimless balls down the channels.

As for Mr Goodman, of Croxley Green, suggesting that there are more negatives than positives, I would suggest he should sit in the North Stand not the South, so he gets his polarity round the right way.

The appointment of Luca and his staff was a great coup for Watford, of which many Premiership clubs were envious.

He will surely bring success to the club both for himself and for the supporters. So get down to Vicarage Road and cheer those Hornets on!

October 30, 2001 15:30