"Although Palace defended well against Brighton, I really can’t see Watford not scoring at Wembley. I think the game will get stretched towards the end of normal time and Watford will win it 2-1 (10.09/1)."
- Nick Wright
It's Watford v Crystal Palace in the Championship Playoff Final. Callum Davis spoke to Shaun Derry and Nick Wright, two men who know what it's like to reach the Premier League through the playoffs with Crystal Palace (in 2004) and Watford (in 1999) respectively, about their memories of the showpiece occasion and who they fancy for promotion this time round...
What are your memories of the game?
Shaun Derry (SD): My main memory of the game is that it was incredibly tight. We were coming into the game as underdogs while West Ham had been relegated the previous season and everyone fancied them to go back up. We didn't let any of that talk faze us at all in the build up to the game and our preparation couldn't have been better. The manager, Iain Dowie, kept drilling into us that we were more prepared than them and he turned out to be completely right. They were probably more nervous than us as the pressure was all on them to get promoted and as a result they didn't really threaten us. Despite the significance of the game, we were all very relaxed as a team and I think that helped us to play to our fullest potential on the day.
Nick, what are your memories of your spectacular goal?
Nick Wright (NW): I get asked this a lot and I honestly remember it all perfectly! As the ball came over I was in my usual position on the edge of the six yards box and I remember Andy Todd was defending under the bar. Andy headed the ball out to me with more of a looping header rather than a proper clearance. It all happened very quickly but as the ball came over my shoulder I just focused on getting as good a contact on it as it I could. I had to look through a pair of legs to see where the ball had gone but as soon as I saw the net move I knew I'd scored it. From then I remember I ran as fast as I could up the other end of the pitch towards the Watford fans where I was pole axed by Paul Robinson from behind with a rugby tackle that could have genuinely ended my career!
Was it the highlight of your career?
SD: Oh of course yes. Obviously it gave me my first taste of the Premier League and I was incredibly relieved and thankful to be given the opportunity to play at the top level with Palace. But more than that I was proud of the way we went about it. Iain Dowie had taken over near the beginning of the season when we were second from bottom of the Championship and at that stage we weren't thinking about the playoffs at all, it was more about making sure that we were going to stay up.
To go from that position to ending up in the Playoff Final and then getting promoted was an incredible experience. Iain Dowie managed to create a real close knit group of a team with a great team spirit and I see a lot of that team spirit in this season's Palace side.
NW: Oh definitely, people always say that their dream as a boy was to score in an FA Cup Final, and that was certainly mine too, but let me tell you the feeling of scoring that goal was even better. To score the best goal of my career in the biggest game in the club's history to take them to the Premier League was unreal.
What do you make of the current side?
SD: I always keep an eye out for how Palace do because it's still a club which means an awful lot to me. Just over two years ago they were close to going out of business and to see where they are now is a real pleasure for me to watch. They've taken huge steps since those dark days and I really hope they can go one step further and make the Premier League.
For me the core of their side is the back four and the two holding players in front. Everything they do is based around that stability which they have at the back, and in Miles Jedinak they have a real leader who has stepped up to the plate as captain without Paddy McCarthy in the side. I wasn't surprised at all to see how well they played against Brighton and that performance was all down to the back six making themselves so difficult to break down. It allowed Palace to soak up the pressure from Brighton and gave players like Wilfried Zaha and Yannick Bolasie the room to break on the counter.
NW: I do a lot work for Watford Radio so I've been fortunate enough to watch them a lot this season so I've been able to keep good track of them. I have to say that they're an exceptionally talented side. Their quality of movement, passing ability and creativity has been fantastic to watch.
My only concern is that they have relied on a handful of key players to get the job done this season and when those players don't perform the team tend not to function either.
Can your team win?
SD: I've got a sneaky feeling that Palace can do it. In many ways Watford and Brighton are very similar sides, they both like to keep possession and attack as much as possible and, as they proved at the Amex, Palace are well suited to play against a team like that. If the Palace back six can keep Watford's front three of Vydra, Anya and Deeney quiet then I think they'll will nick a win just like we did in 2004.
NW: Yeah of course they can and I'm fully expecting them to. I was at the game on Friday against Leicester and the atmosphere at the end after that finish to the game was unbelievable. The town and the team are on a massive high and I'd even go as far to say that the momentum is more with Watford than it is with Palace. There are also some good omens on our side as well, it's seven years since Watford were promoted in 2006 and it was seven years before that when we won the Play-Off Final against Bolton. I'm just praying that the seven year rule continues to be true for us!
Your recommended bet?
SD: Like I said I think Palace will try to make it a tight game and will try and soak up all the pressure from Watford. I have a funny feeling that it could be a repeat of the 2004 final so I'll go for Palace to shave it 1-0 (9.08/1) . Saying that I can see it being incredibly close! To a certain extent Watford are an unknown quantity with the amount of foreign players they have in the team so Palace will need to do their homework.
NW: Although Palace defended well against Brighton, I really can't see Watford not scoring at Wembley. I think the game will get stretched towards the end of normal time and Watford will win it 2-1 (10.09/1).
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