Having watched NBC’s ‘Behind the Badge’ I thought I would share with you some of the best moments of the series so far. I know many fans cannot watch the show but it has given a nice insight into how the club operates behind the scenes.

facilities at the club

Thanks to Adrian Mariappa’s guided tour we were given a look around the training and catering facilities as well as the physiotherapy area. From this, you can really see how much the Pozzos have invested into the club. There are a number of physios all working with state of the art rehabilitation equipment to aid players in their recovery after injuries and games. Catering work with a nutritionist to provide the best food possible for the players and have been sent on a catering course in Italy. The gym once again has state of the art equipment and this was put into perspective well by Adrian Mariappa. He said on the programme:

 when I was first at Watford we didn’t have this gym… it was a portacabin in the car park.

The influence of Troy Deeney

Deeney is interviewed quite a lot on the show due to being captain and an English speaker. His ambassadorial duties seem quite extensive and include working with the club’s media, physios, pre-match duties and of course interacting with the fans. However, he shows that he goes beyond these duties through frequently working with the under 23’s at Watford to give them a bit of advice.

Characters in the dressing room

For me ‘Behind the Badge’ has been very funny to watch. To see the players off the pitch interacting with the camera and one another has been comical. We were told that Etienne Capoue is the only player to insist on using his own boots, which isn’t usually the way things operate. Gary Lineker as commentator spoke about how many of the players have quite fancy cars parked at the training ground. However, Adlene Guedioura prefers to drive around in his electric powered BMW, which he gets a few comments about.

Of course, with a group of guys in a football team, there is always going to be a bit of banter. There is regular jeering when one player is on camera and a bit of stick for wanting air time. The best example is a little argument between Behrami and Okaka about their fashion sense. Okaka has a go at Behrami about wearing too much black but then gets a talking to after coming to training in a black hoodie.

work that goes on behind the scenes

One thing ‘Behind the Badge’ does very well is giving an insight to viewers into the work that goes on behind the scenes. Regular interviews with different members of staff present how much actually goes on that we take for granted. Photographers, members of the media, physios, caterers and the Vicarage Roadies are all spoken to during the show about what their role involves.