ONCE again our Rookery Blogger Lee Coan returns to www.watfordfc.com to cover the Hornets on the road during the 2008/09 season.

Lee was there in south London on Saturday and brings you the view from the away end.

WITH our East Stand leaking, crumbling and waiting to be torn to shreds by bulldozers, it's perhaps a bit cheeky to moan about other people's grounds.

But Selhurst Park - what an unfortunate corner of Croydon to watch football in. Having shelled out a Chelseaesque £30 on a ticket, and made the four hour journey to the other side of London, I was greeted by angry stewards who didn't want me to take my rusty wooden seat.

Apparently I wasn't permitted to sit on my seat (which had been condemned for "health and safety" reasons) but I wasn't allowed to sit anywhere else, because my "death seat" was the one I had been allocated.

Nobody in a fluorescent jacket seemed to know what to do with me, and many felt it best just to shout and point in my general direction. Not the ideal start to the season.

So with nobody prepared to let me sit down, I escaped out back… to calm down with the first pre-match beer of the season.

'Two Carlsbergs please," I grizzled, still unsure from what leaky corner of Selhurst Park I was going to be able to watch the Hornets from. "Carlsbergs?" responded the confused man behind the kiosk, who clearly hadn't been around for Palace's 2007/08 hot dog selling campaign.

The utterly baffled look on his face couldn't have been more perplexed if I had just asked him for the arc of the covenant, a baby unicorn and a snickers. "What is Carlsbergs?" By now I'm shouting. BEER! BEEEEEEER! Please.

After a short trip to his supervisor, he was told what "beer" is and happily handed over two warm green bottles. By now my mind had been made up - this was going to be the worst season ever.

I was probably best off just going home, not even watching the Hornets - we'd no doubt lose 5-0, Neil Warnock would undoubtedly streak with delight, and nine of our first XI would get injured in the resulting melee.

But I'd come too far to go home. As I found an empty seat in the furthest corner of the away end (right where the 14-year-old Palace boys spend the entire game swearing at you) I braced myself for the worst.

Luckily Aidy had other plans for my afternoon - I wasn't going to be allowed to wallow in self pity for long. His Hornets played so fluidly, and put in such effort as they created opening after opening, I couldn't help but beam from ear to ear.

There wasn't a corner of the earth where I'd have rather been on Saturday, than my smelly slice of Selhurst.

The noise the travelling 'Orns generated was reminiscent of that 0-3 play-off win, and the football, despite it ending 0-0, was almost as electric.

At the end of the day, I didn't even need a seat, as the performance kept must of us Hertfordshire fans on our toes throughout the 90 minutes anyway.

I just can't wait to be able to watch such stuff from the comfort of The (partially crumbling) Vic…

Season Ticket holder Lee Coan will be bringing you regular updates on life as a Hornet and following the team on the road throughout the season. To see past articles click here.

The views in this blog are not necessarily the views of Watford Football Club.

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