Now you see him…

So farewell then, Marvin Sordell (that ‘Scoredell’ nickname never really took off, did it?). He was here, and now he’s gone. Mind you, we may well see him again next season, the way Bolton are going.

The sale of Marvin is further proof that the Watford Academy system is working, if any were needed. That’s what it’s there for, after all; to produce players who can perform in the shop window of the first team and earn a big-money move to a club a bit higher up the pecking order. I just wish they’d spend a bit longer at Watford first. We got a season and a half out of Marvin, basically, and I can’t help feeling short-changed, whatever the harsh economic realities of the situation.

At least Marvin performed fairly consistently during that time, for all that his talent is still raw. All too often with attacking players in particular, we have to endure a couple of seasons of frustrating performances before they start to approach their potential – at which point another club makes them an offer they can’t refuse. Take Lee Cook, Hameur Bouazza and Tamas Priskin; all of them tormented us with glimpses of talent interspersed with longer periods of being a bit rubbish, and we never got to see them fulfil their potential. Mind you, nor has anyone else, which is some consolation.

Ultimately, we all know that really good players aren’t going to scrabble around in the bottom half of the Championship indefinitely. I think three years is a reasonable time to expect to be able to watch a decent footballer at Vicarage Road, though – long enough for anyone who’s had their name printed on the back of a replica shirt to get some wear out of it. On that basis, Marvin has left at least a season too early – and that’s without going into the argument that his long-term career might benefit from spending a bit longer away from the spotlight of the Premiership.

Still, at least the promising Sean Murray is finally getting his chance in the first team. Let’s enjoy it while we can. On current form, I wouldn’t bet on him still being a Watford player in three years’ time.