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Long live the King
By Marlon King. Friday, 10 August 2007.
With the big kick-off just hours away, TheFA.com is delighted to introduce our newest columnist - Marlon King.
The Watford striker endured a tough season last time out, injury reducing him to a virtual spectator as the Hornets slipped back into the Championship.
But King is back, fit and raring to go, and his goals will be key if Watford are to realise their promotion dream.
Hi everyone.
My summer was really hectic - I got married and moved house. I might have got away from football but I was really busy.
I married Julie on 9 June. I met her back in 1999 by pure coincidence. I saw her in a shop and thought I would try my luck. I tried to give it the 'where have I seen you before?' line, but she did not buy it!
The wedding was beautiful. The gaffer was there wearing a dodgy suit. He had a few drinks and started breakdancing - he was woeful. I'm surprised he did not hurt himself.
Big Danny ****************tu was there too. He could not find a tailor who would make a suit big enough for him though. He had to wear one with velcro.
A few of the other lads were there too and some from other clubs, like Kevin Lisbie.
We had a week in Dubai for our honeymoon before I went back into training two weeks early. I missed a large chunk of last season through injury so I needed to get in before the other boys just to catch up.
Pre-season training has got better as I have got older. In my younger days there would be a lot of running and physical work. It's more intense now but we use the ball more. The work is related to what you might do in a game.
The gaffer is not big on long distance running so we do more ball work. We do a lot of small-sided games at a high pace. The hardest thing we do is the fitness testing, like the bleep test.
I have played six pre-season friendlies. They have been good for my fitness and I've got on the scoresheet a few times - that's a confidence booster. It's hard to measure your performances in pre-season matches to League games though. They are totally different.
It's important to stay injury-free during those games. When you are playing against a non-League team, they are desperate to impress but sometimes their enthusiasm can get the better of them.
I can't wait for the season to start. The gaffer has to drag me off the training ground at the moment. I missed a lot of last season and it's only when you lose something like that do you realise how much you like it.
We have a tough first game away at Wolves. I'm sure they will be up for it as much as we will be. The atmosphere will be great. Their fans always make a lot of noise and we will take a lot of fans. Our away support is excellent.
There is no let up in this league, or any league, we have to do our job. We will work hard in training, then rest properly to get ready for Saturday.
The game is on Sky, but I'm sure most of my friends and family will want to go to the game rather than watching it on TV. The game being on TV is not a distraction. Once the whistle goes for the kick-off you don't even think about the cameras being there.
We are playing my old team Gillingham in the League Cup on Tuesday at Vicarage Road. I was excited when I saw the draw - I'd love to play against them. I'm not sure what the gaffer's plans are though. The league is our priority but I want to play every game.
We sold Hameur Bouazza to Fulham on Wednesday. You never want your best players to leave, but he's ambitious and it's good business for the club. Life goes on. We have players who can play in his position. I hope it goes well for him.
People have been tipping us to do well this year, but for us it's just one step at a time. Football is a strange game - look what happened to Forest and Leeds - so we will not take anything for granted.
I was in training the other day when I got dragged off to do a campaign for the new balls that we will be using. I did not mind at all.
As it went along, it was broken down to me that it was taking the mick out of the Wayne Rooney ad, the one where he hits the camera with the ball. I just went along with it - it was all good natured stuff.
Speak to you next week.
By Marlon King. Friday, 10 August 2007.
With the big kick-off just hours away, TheFA.com is delighted to introduce our newest columnist - Marlon King.
The Watford striker endured a tough season last time out, injury reducing him to a virtual spectator as the Hornets slipped back into the Championship.
But King is back, fit and raring to go, and his goals will be key if Watford are to realise their promotion dream.
Hi everyone.
My summer was really hectic - I got married and moved house. I might have got away from football but I was really busy.
I married Julie on 9 June. I met her back in 1999 by pure coincidence. I saw her in a shop and thought I would try my luck. I tried to give it the 'where have I seen you before?' line, but she did not buy it!The wedding was beautiful. The gaffer was there wearing a dodgy suit. He had a few drinks and started breakdancing - he was woeful. I'm surprised he did not hurt himself.
Big Danny ****************tu was there too. He could not find a tailor who would make a suit big enough for him though. He had to wear one with velcro.
A few of the other lads were there too and some from other clubs, like Kevin Lisbie.
We had a week in Dubai for our honeymoon before I went back into training two weeks early. I missed a large chunk of last season through injury so I needed to get in before the other boys just to catch up.
Pre-season training has got better as I have got older. In my younger days there would be a lot of running and physical work. It's more intense now but we use the ball more. The work is related to what you might do in a game. The gaffer is not big on long distance running so we do more ball work. We do a lot of small-sided games at a high pace. The hardest thing we do is the fitness testing, like the bleep test.
I have played six pre-season friendlies. They have been good for my fitness and I've got on the scoresheet a few times - that's a confidence booster. It's hard to measure your performances in pre-season matches to League games though. They are totally different.
It's important to stay injury-free during those games. When you are playing against a non-League team, they are desperate to impress but sometimes their enthusiasm can get the better of them.
I can't wait for the season to start. The gaffer has to drag me off the training ground at the moment. I missed a lot of last season and it's only when you lose something like that do you realise how much you like it.
We have a tough first game away at Wolves. I'm sure they will be up for it as much as we will be. The atmosphere will be great. Their fans always make a lot of noise and we will take a lot of fans. Our away support is excellent.There is no let up in this league, or any league, we have to do our job. We will work hard in training, then rest properly to get ready for Saturday.
The game is on Sky, but I'm sure most of my friends and family will want to go to the game rather than watching it on TV. The game being on TV is not a distraction. Once the whistle goes for the kick-off you don't even think about the cameras being there.
We are playing my old team Gillingham in the League Cup on Tuesday at Vicarage Road. I was excited when I saw the draw - I'd love to play against them. I'm not sure what the gaffer's plans are though. The league is our priority but I want to play every game.
We sold Hameur Bouazza to Fulham on Wednesday. You never want your best players to leave, but he's ambitious and it's good business for the club. Life goes on. We have players who can play in his position. I hope it goes well for him.
People have been tipping us to do well this year, but for us it's just one step at a time. Football is a strange game - look what happened to Forest and Leeds - so we will not take anything for granted.I was in training the other day when I got dragged off to do a campaign for the new balls that we will be using. I did not mind at all.
As it went along, it was broken down to me that it was taking the mick out of the Wayne Rooney ad, the one where he hits the camera with the ball. I just went along with it - it was all good natured stuff.
Speak to you next week.
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