HarryfromBath assesses the mood in the Watford and Crystal Palace camps ahead of Monday's Championship play-off final at Wembley.

“Stop getting all jittery you liver lilies!”

Watford fans sincerely believe that they have the stronger team. “Palace are a good team, they play attacking football not spoiling, have you forgotten our games against them this season? Also our performances ALL season against the top teams have been excellent”.

“We've got a lot to be optimistic about. Our top goalscorer just broke his goal drought in amazing style. Theirs is out along with one of their more creative midfielders.

"I think our main issue this season has been overconfidence. I think we've struggled against the lower teams because some of the team turned up expecting to win easily, and those teams fought tooth and nail”.

“We've got a lot of players who have the ability to create something out of nothing: Vydra, Deeney, Abdi, Chalobah, Cassetti, Battochio, Forestieri are all capable of pulling something out of a hat in seconds. Most teams in this division would be happy to have one player who can do that, and we've got seven”.

“I certainly don't think Palace will be a walkover at Wembley (unless they do a Brighton and don't turn up), but I do believe our team is, overall, stronger this season. If we perform on the day I believe we'll win, but it's certainly not a foregone conclusion and I think everyone realises a win will need to be worked for”.

“I hope to God that class tells but I've still got that sneaking doubt”

But there is always room for doubt. “Phillips makes me nervous”. “I just have a nagging feeling about Palace at times”. “The more I think about this game the more concerned I get. All season we have played well against teams that have come out and played against us but struggled against teams which have set out to spoil and frustrate us as Palace did to Brighton”.

“I am really surprised by how confident some people are”. “I am actually more worried with Murray out. Zaha looks better in a more central role. Do worry too about their wing play but Vydra is our very own RVP and we have shown it only takes 20 seconds to score a goal after starting from our own goal line”.

“Very, very few Watford fans think the match is a foregone conclusion, many quite the opposite in fact. I remember clearly the fact that Palace fans were booking trains and coaches to Cardiff in 2006 before the first leg semi-final at Vicarage Road, and I, and many others have never forgotten this, hence why most won't ever act like that”.

“Did I want this game? No, because I fear Palace. The way they overran us in the second half of that home game should strike fear and does. Yes they don't have Murray but they have other sources of quality”. “Palace this year they are a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde team - they certainly shouldn’t be underestimated”.

“Bolasie can strike when he wants to, Williams will want to pull off a performance and perhaps steal the limelight from Zaha, Dobbie will want to sign off from Palace with a win and his second play-off final win, and we all know about Super Kev”. “If we were to think this was a foregone conclusion then we have already lost the battle. If I heard anyone near me being too cocky and arrogant, I'll slap them all the way to L*ton”.

In a poll on the Watford website, 91% expected the Hornets to prevail. The corresponding Palace poll has 80% of Eagles expecting Palace to win.

“We'll be fine”

Meanwhile, over at Palace, Eagles have their own reasons to be confident. “Anyone with any doubt, just watch the game at Vicarage Road this season from about 30 minutes onwards. Absolutely battered them - luckiest point they got all season”.

“Watford are a brittle side, much like Brighton really. If you allow them to play they will cause you problems - if you get into them and impose your own game then they retreat into their shells”.

“Essentially we should all just adopt this attitude. It's been half my lifetime since I last saw Palace at Wembley. I'm damn well going to enjoy it! As for our chances, I think they are good. Looking at us, I think the main thing I noticed for at least two halves versus Brighton was our work rate off the ball - it makes it very hard for the opposition to play”.

“As for the head to heads, I think that first 20 minutes at VR aside, we looked the better team and comfortably, whilst the first game was too earlier to judge, well certainly us. Both head and heart say YES, it just seems right that we do this. However if we don't I will still be immensely proud of this group of players and what the owners have brought to Palace”.

“I'm banking on Holloway’s experience of this occasion being the difference. OK, so his Blackpool side lost last year but surely, he will be as prepared as you can be for such an occasion and won't want to experience the pain of losing two years running! My heart will always say Palace but my head is telling me that Ollie will want to win more than anyone”!

“Warning signs are there with lower placed team winning the other two finals”

“This has come a bit early in the plan I think for Palace. We're not ready but as long as we don't think we can really compete with the big boys and try to match them with spending then there is no harm in it”.

“We're no QPR, and who knows with our youth set-up and good team spirit and (as much as you hate him, he is an experienced manager) we could spring a few surprises”. Most Palace supporters think that Watford are favourites. The Eagles usual fatalism has conversely been replaced with a more upbeat mood.

“We have Mile Jedinak in midfield, a dominant Australian brick wall who I'm sure will enjoy playing against their 'cultured' loanees. Odds are that after the first 10 minutes, their precious little players will be moaning at the referee due to Mile embarrassing him time after time”.

“All I know is it'll be a very, very close game. Watford scraped past Leicester, who are an average team, while we pretty comfortably beat Brighton, who are a good team, albeit one which had an off day second leg. However, Watford have some very good players who can turn a game, as do we, and chances are it'll rest on which of these players turns up as to who will go through”.

“I mean, look at the two games we've played this season. First game where we were lacking many of the players who have steered us to the play-offs, they nicked a win off us in the last few minutes. At their place they could've scored six in the first half, and we could've done likewise in the second.

It's too close to call. I hope Holloway pulls something out the bag as he has done at times this season”.

Matej Vydra versus Wilfried Zaha

“This match is a very weird (for want of a better word) match and the media hype will rightly focus it on Holloway vs Watford and Vydra vs Zaha. The first battle has been much publicised but the second I think is very important”.

“The difference is that we (Watford) do score more frequently and have the forwards to take this to them. Being the League's top goalscorers on 85 goals scored we are not going to stop now. If we compare ourselves to Brighton (69 scored), we are the next level to the attacking threat that Brighton were.

“With our strikers back in form, I think we will score on the day but really depends on the Palace team that turns up, will it be the same team of a few weeks back that was leaking goals by the number or the same Palace we saw this week against Brighton?”

“However, they are lacking the firepower options at present and just at the wrong time. I can see their game plan being defensively minded, compact the midfield and put pressure on the ball to frustrate us with a hope of a Zaha breakaway goal. They did this to good effect against Brighton and will be confident they can do it again to us”.

“Palace have a threat of scoring against most teams, but as a few have stated before me, it seems to come from the same players/attacks. Personally, I'm more worried about what Bolasie can do, rather than Zaha. And I'd never write off Super Kev”.

“Defenders win you league position and it’s your forwards that win you cups. Well our league is now our cup, and I think that of the two teams Watford should be slight favourites”.

Nerves in Defence

“There are a lot of similarities with our clubs and I think similar fans expectations, makes it even tighter and indeed interesting. Our [Palace’s] central defence is slow”. “I'm confident Watford have what it takes, we are a menace going forward but equally know we are well capable of defensive errors”.

“I think we [Watford] will need to make defensive plans for the flanks, as we play wing-backs. I think Palace may adopt the same approach as at Brighton, except we have much more of a cutting edge than they do. It will be an interesting game”.

"That Attention Seeking Moron”

“I don't think I could live with a smug Holloway thinking he's got the better of us and doing that ridiculous dance in the dressing room”. “Holloway is a loathsome little oik. The man makes me cringe, and it he ever was the manager of my club, I think I'd die of embarrassment”.

Hornets really cannot stand the Palace boss, but they are very nervous of him. “I'd have preferred Brighton to avoid Holloway's involvement”. “My only doubt is the fact that Holloway is their manager. I couldn't stand it if he won, Zola would be gracious in defeat”.

“Knowing how much Watford fans hate Ian Holloway, my group will all be wearing Ian Holloway masks. It would be a funny site to see 33,000 Ian Holloways in the stands”.

Fatigue

“Hopefully, the larger pitch at Wembley will suit our [Watford’s] style of play and make it easier to find space for ourselves since Palace are sure to work hard putting pressure on players”. “Pitch sizes: Wembley 105 x 69 metres, Vicarage Road 105 x 68.5 metres, Selhurst Park 100.5 x 67.6 metres”.

“I've just been listening to the Leicester assistant manager who said they really tired in the second half after we kept the ball for a sustained amount of time. They put on another midfielder to combat it but he said our quality shone through. Keep the ball against Palace and they should tire, just make sure we're not losing before then.”

Counter-Attacking and Set Pieces

“My only worry is that Palace are clearly going to play similarly to how they played Brighton, and we may be more susceptible to a counter-attack with three at the back, but I'm sure Zola and the coaches are looking at this.”

“I think it could be a slow game where both teams are looking to counter. Zaha and Williams's pace is hard to match for any defenders, while Vydra will be trying to exploit the lack of pace in Gabbidon and Delaney”.

“Gollum will be trying to use set pieces as weapons given our frailty all season with them. That is something Zola and company will be working on. If Hall is fully fit then I would throw him in. It is unfortunate we have lost Nosworthy who is aerially capable”.

“God bless the Pozzos”

“They saved us from relegation and gave us some of the best football ever seen at Watford and for that, and now, we are grateful”. “For us its win - win. The Pozzo player conveyor belt of talent will just keep on chugging along whichever league we end up in, and we will get there this year or the next. I'm very mellow about the whole thing”.

“Pozzo clubs play in Serie A and La Liga. Soon they will also play in the Premiership. Pozzo clubs play European football year after year. Pozzo clubs produce, play and trade in some of the world's top players. Pozzo clubs have returned a player trading SURPLUS of over £500 million in the last 12 years”.

Hornets have acquired a taste for their owner’s ambition. “Name one single football club that has created that much profit! So the real question is, are the Pozzo's ready for the Premier League? You *****ing bet they are”.

This ambition can tip over into arrogance: “The truth is Palace are not ready for the Premier League, they have three or four interesting players and the rest are forgettable mid-Championship mediocrity. Next season it would end in tears: relegation with low points, confidence shot, big wage bill, Zaha long over the horizon, Bolasie gone, managerless with Gollum having legged it to another club. It's a lose-lose situation for them”.

Eagles are more modest in their aspirations. “I don't think we would, I also hope we don't (and I am led to believe from the board that we won't) overspend on players to keep us there. We have maybe five or six players that could represent us in the Premier League. But hey, it would be fun trying and at the end of the day it is £120 million which would really help us sort out Selhurst”.

“The amount of money involved and the potential for taking the club to a new level is unparallelled in our history. We could rebuild Selhurst or build a new stadium and create a squad capable, at the very least, of making a swift return to the Premiership if we were to go straight back down”.

“Rarely are our meetings uneventful”

“Don't have anything against Palace at all. Holloway is a nauseating cretin, though”. There is little hostility between the two clubs. “I quite like Watford - yes, more so than Leicester who I have no feeling for either way. I like to root for the underdog on the whole and Watford seem to be like us in that regard. And let’s face it who doesn't love Zola!”

“Palace aren't a bad team and in no way are we rivals. Some Watford fans seem to think you can pick and choose rivalries but Holloway spouting off seems to have made the team a target, when really, it’s just him”. “We've never been rivals and rarely come to blows in many big games”.

“For a while I hated Palace, then I realised it was just Holloway I hated. I'd say we're kind of distant rivals”. “I've said this in other threads but there is only one rival and it’s not Palace. Have no feelings against Palace apart from Holloway who I thought was a tw4t before he went to Palace and that view certainly hasn't changed”.

One gets a sense of old aristocracy playing new money, reading between the lines. “Watford are similar to Palace, but Palace fans seem to have a huge unsubstantiated arrogance about themselves and their club, that always comes out when we play them. There seems to be a general lack of humour and consensus that Palace should be beating ‘tin pot Watford’”.

“I’d take a point at Wembley, take them back to the Vic and beat them under the lights!”

“As a little bit of a superstitious person, I have looked at a few omens and it does look good”. “There's also the thing that Dortmund (black and yellow, just like us) fans are located in the East end of the stadium as well (this will only be a good omen if they win). However, omens mean jack ****e for the outcome of the match”.

“Will we be wearing red shorts? Just like we did on the opening day as our shorts and socks apparently ‘clashed’?” “Hopefully not. How anyone can think bright yellow and bright red look good together I have no idea. Looks like a team of Ronald McDonalds running around”. “Got to be red for me. Looks much more colourful and distinctive. It worked out well for us in 99 and 06”.

“Is this the biggest game in the club's history?”

“Financially yes, this will be the biggest game we have ever played in as a football club”.

Palace are more interested in setting the game into historical perspective. “I'd argue that Hillsborough [on the final day of 2009/10 when they drew 2-2 to stay in the Championship] was because there's a good chance we wouldn't be in the position to play for this prize”.

“Sheffield Wednesday was worse on many levels, because the club's future was literally at stake”. “That's why the Hillsborough heroes will always have a special place in my heart”. “The importance though, I cannot see anything outdoing the day at the Hillsborough. As others have said, we literally could have lost the club if we had lost and gone down that day”.

“Since when do 'foam hands' make it a 'party atmosphere'?"

“I have no problem with people enjoying their day, but a bit of self-respect and some dignity is equally important”. “I have bought a Holloway mask. I know I will look like a prat but I don't care!”

“Why would anyone buy foam hands when you can get a jester hat for a similar price?”

This became a heated topic on a Palace forum, with some Eagles wanting to take a hard line: “List of banned objects on the day for anyone over the age of 16 includes: “Jester hat. Face paint. Foam hands, 'Wacky' fancy dress or indeed any form of fancy dress. Horns, and blubbing if we lose”. “B*llocks. That's my outfit for the day ruined”.

“Balloons, balloons and more balloons people!!”

“As we all know it is a Palace tradition to release thousands of red and blue balloons before our big games. The most notable examples are Villa Park and 2004 in Cardiff. If we all contribute it will be a spectacular sight come the big day and a chance to really unite us all and show off our support to the world”.

“Can someone inflate them also with helium? Imagine 30,000 Palace fans singing 'Pride of South London' with our squeaky voices!” “Just ordered 1200....”.

There is a 14-page thread on this, and the plan is to inflate the balloons after they arrive into the stadium. They will be exhausted before the game starts.

“I remember this happening at an away game in the past. There was someone with bin liners full of balloons handing them to everyone at the turnstiles. Think it might have been Ipswich away and it was the yellow balloons. It worked anyway”. “If you ask me, ticker tape and bog roll looks much better”.

In conclusion

One Hornet most accurately summed up the mood when answering the ‘will we win?’ question: “My head says no. My heart says maybe. My arse says 'Be glad when it's over all with this work I'm doing!'”.

The best websites to view are www.wfcforums.com for the Hornets, and the www.holmesdale.net and www.cpfc.org for the Eagles.

BillBlue added 11:12 - May 23 Usual excellent Blog, thanks Harry. What struck me most of all was the absolute dearth of English or British names among the players. One Scottish name, Murray, was mentioned but apparently he isn't playing. I have been aware of what has happened to the old first division - misnamed The Premiership - but had not realised the extent of that carrying through to the second tier. This is quite apart from, I believe, the whole of the Watford team being foreign loans. If anyone can understand this, or the FA justify it, then will they please explain it to me. When will the FA get some balls and start rebuilding English Football with English players?

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Edmunds5 added 13:43 - May 23 Great stuff Harry, cheers for this a very good read. I can't help but feel the opening statements from Watford fans where they say how they have 7 match-winners are the most emotive. I think this will be the difference, I just feel Watford have more variation and a number of players who can provide some inspiration and that will most probably be Vydra or Deeney but Chalobah, Forristieri and Abdi have all proved they are capable. I can't help but think Palace's fortunes will rely on Zaha and Bolasie, I think Watford may keep the ball, and make the pitch big and so Zaha and Bolasie may struggle to make an impact. The flip side is that they exploit Watford's attacking wing-backs and can use that space to their advantage. Watford to steal it 2-1, Deeney and Abdi to score, they just have too much for me.

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HarryfromBath added 17:58 - May 23 Billblue, as I have been looking through the threads, my sympathies have been growing more and more for Palace. Their youth system has brought through a good number of kids from the South London area, and the funding they could get from being promoted would underwrite this for years. I have been reading 'Tor, a history of German Football', by Ulrich Hesse-Lichtenberger this week. A key moment discussed was the crisis in the national team at the turn of the century, and the preponderance of average foreign players who were preventing talented young German players breaking through to the Bundesliga. I think that there is a parallel with what is happening over here, and it may take the failure to make it to Brazil in 2014 to prompt action. It is doubtful if even this would change anything. German clubs are largely controlled by their supporters, whereas ours are controlled by foreign entrepreneurs.

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BucksHornet added 17:59 - May 23 Bill Blue please check before making foolish statements. In the semi Final Almunia, Doyley, and Deeney all started Hogg and Foresteri came on as subs. All these players belong to Watford and are NOT foreign loans. Chalobah and Briggs who started are on loan from those well known foreign clubs Chelsea and Fulham. Doyley, Deeney Hogg, Chlobah and Briggs are all English! Do your homework before repeating the words of Mr Hollowhead of Crystal Palace

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HarryfromBath added 18:04 - May 23 Edmunds5, there is no question that Watford have the most creatively destructive players, and they really should win. I think that this is why Holloway is getting such negative comment. His play off experience is the one thing the Hornets are lacking. I didn't include them for space reasons, but there were a good number of comments from Watford supporters highlighting their squad's 'big game' - Champions League, Foreign and International - experience. They are frightened that Ollie will pull some tactical rabbit out of the hat and wreck everything, especially given that Murray is injured.

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