WHEN times are as good as they get, you'll be in a throng of 40,000 Hornets at Wembley, flags flapping, streamers raining and children screaming as Lloyd Doyley careers through the air to score a 40 yard bicycle kick.

It'll be glorious, but there will inevitably still be one bloke… moaning. "Yeah but where were all this lot at Morecambe away in 1997?" he'll without doubt whinge at his fellow 'Orns.

And no matter what official match programme you can provide as evidence that you are the truest of loyal Watford fans, he'll inevitably be able to trump it. "But were you there in Carlisle on a snowy night in '73 when we lost 9-0, the coach home caught fire and all the supporters had to make igloos on the M6?" No. No I was not. Which is why I got Tuesday's game in the bag.

Swansea, away, on a nasty Tuesday, a freezing November night, in the Carling Cup, with no permanent manager, and a team on the most sticky of runs? It's not a pretty thought.

There's the toll road to consider, the credit crunch, and the frankly foul fact that there's not a Swansea pub within five miles of the stadium where an English man can safely enjoy an over priced beer in a plastic cup.

What's more we'd played the Welsh (well Spanish) swines just 50 odd hours earlier and been beaten 3-1.

On paper this had to be one of the most unattractive games of all time, which oddly was why it suddenly seemed so appealing to me. If I could survive this, it'd make future glories at Old Trafford, Anfield and Dubaibury all the more magnificent.

Luckily Malky's men had adopted the same kind of fighting spirit as the stressed out Hornet supporters in the Swansea stands.

Battling for every ball, chasing it from beginning to end - it was the kind of battling display that can turn the potentially worst game of the decade into one of the most heart warming moments of the season. It was great, but it was also a disaster.

We're a round closer to a trip to Wembley, and now when that inevitable moaner crows at me, "Yeah, but where were you when we were rubbish?" I can't say, "I was at Swansea, on that Tuesday in November."

Sadly he'll be able to reply, "Oh yeah, it was rather good that one wasn't it." Nuts to it.

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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