Can Saints put their Watford Hoodoo behind them.

When Saints played watford in April 2003 in the FA Cup Semi Final there was the feeling that Watford were far & away the underdogs, that day their supporters seemed content to be in the Semi Final and just enjoy the occasion, yet how things have turned full circle since then.

Eighteen months later we travelled to Vicarage Road for a Carling Cup tie, but how things had changed, the Hornets stung us 5-2, we were headed to join them the following season in the Championship.

Since then we have met them four times in the league and each time we have conceded three goals, twice without reply, with the only time we looked like getting anything being the away game last season, then we lead 2-1 with nine minutes left before conceding an equaliser and an injury time winner, the truth is Watford have wreaked their revenge for their semi defeat and then some, 17 goals scored since in the five games, whilst we have only managed a meagre 5 in reply.

How things have changed since their visit on January 1st of this year, back then 23,008 were in SMS, thie weekend there is likely to be 7-8000 less in the crowd, on the field its all change as well, of the 16 on duty, 8 have departed including Rasiak on loan to the visitors, 2 are long term injured in Euell and Thomas, but both are seen as surplus to requirements anyway, and Skacel is frozen out, leaving only five likely to play any part in Saturday's game and of those only Davis & Surman are likely to start with Bialkowski, John and BWP perhaps on the bench.

But enough of the past, we have to look to the future and the only good thing about a losing run is that the last defeat was one step nearer the end of it and its time that we truly broke our run of bad luck against Watford. last season they reached the play offs on the back of the best away record in the division, winning 10, drawing 9 and losing only 4 of their games on the road, far better than their home form, this season they have already matched their losses and have only a solitary point to show for their travels.

So the game is their for the taking for Saints, Jan Poortvliet has set a target of 18 points from the next 10 games, Im a little more cautious, I would be happy with 12 and I feel that Watford is a game that we have to get 3 of them in, if we do so we leapfrog above the Hornets and into mid table.

But the problem with Saints is that with a young an inexperienced side you just cannot predict the result, the last two games saw Saints beat Norwich 2-0 and lose to Coventry 4-1, however in both games saints created a lot more chances than they had against them, the difference however is how they defend at crucial moments and the luck of the day, to be blunt Norwich could easily have been a defeat and coventry a win, until we get more experience in we are going to get this roller coaster of results, it will be thrilling to watch but hard on the nerves, the trick will be for saints to keep winning more points than games played, if they do the confidence will improve as the experience comes along and relegation wont threaten, but we have to learn fast.

Hopefully Jan Poortvliet will have more options this week with a few returning injured players as well as Ryan Smith available and with a couple of weeks in the squad behind him, the rest will have done the squad good.

So Im going for a home win, it will be tight in the way all Saints games are tight, even when we are two goals up in the last few minutes, but Im confident that we can tighten up at the back and that with a few players back we can revert to th formation and players that have got us points in four of the last five league games, our poor form was in the first weeks of the season and we can banish those Watford hoodoos to where they belong         

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