Watford F.C.

Watford badge
Full name	Watford Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Hornets, The Golden Boys, Yellow Army, The 'Orns
Founded	1881
Ground	Vicarage Road Watford Hertfordshire England (Capacity: 17,477[1])
Owner	Laurence Bassini[2]
Chairman	Laurence Bassini[3]
Manager	Sean Dyche
League	The Championship
2011–12	The Championship, 11th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets. Founded in 1881 as Watford Rovers, the club entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade later. After finishing the 1914–15 season as Southern League champions under the management of Harry Kent, Watford joined The Football League in 1920. The club played at several grounds in its early history, before moving to a permanent location at Vicarage Road in 1922, where it remains to this day.^[4] Watford spent most of the following half century in the lower divisions of The Football League, changing colours and crest on multiple occasions.^[5]

A period under the leadership of former England manager Graham Taylor saw Watford scale new heights. Between Taylor's appointment in 1977 and departure in 1987, Watford rose from the Fourth Division to the First Division. The team finished second in the First Division in the 1982–83 season, competed in the UEFA Cup in 1983–84, and also reached the 1984 FA Cup Final.^[6][7] Watford experienced a decade of decline between 1987 and 1997, before Taylor returned as full-time manager, leading the team to successive promotions from the renamed Second Division^[a] to the Premier League. The club's most recent stint in the top division of English football came in the 2006–07 season, when Watford competed in the Premier League under Aidy Boothroyd's management.^[8] In the 2011–12 season, Watford competed in the Football League Championship – the second highest level of English football.^[9]

Sir Elton John, who owned Watford during both of Taylor's successful periods as manager, serves alongside Taylor as the club's joint Honorary Life President,^[10] while owner Laurence Bassini is the club's interim chairman, following Taylor's decision to relinquish the role in May 2012.^[3] The current first-team manager is Sean Dyche, who was appointed in June 2011 having previously served the club as a player, coach and assistant manager.^[11] Watford's captain is central midfielder John Eustace.^[12]

History[link]

Watford Rovers was formed in 1881 by Henry Grover, who went on to play for the club as a full-back.^[10][13] Rovers, originally composed entirely of amateur players, held home games at several locations in the town of Watford.^[13][14] The team first competed in the FA Cup in the 1886–87 season, and in 1889 Watford won the County Cup for the first time. The team became the football section of West Hertfordshire Sports Club in 1890, and consequently moved to a ground on Cassio Road. Renamed as West Hertfordshire in 1893, Rovers joined the Southern Football League in 1896, and started to pay professional footballers in 1897. West Hertfordshire merged with local rivals Watford St Mary's in 1898; the merged team was named Watford Football Club.^[14]

Long-serving Skilly Williams was Watford's first choice goalkeeper between 1914 and 1926.

Following relegation to the Southern League Second Division in 1903, Watford appointed its first manager – former England international and First Division top scorer John Goodall. He led Watford to promotion, and kept the team in the division until his departure in 1910.^[15] Despite financial constraints, Watford won the Southern League title in the 1914–15 season under his successor, Harry Kent. Watford held the title for five years following the suspension of the Southern League during the First World War – after finishing the 1919–20 season runners-up on goal average, the club resigned from the Southern League to join the new Football League Third Division.^[16]

From 1921–22, the third tier of The Football League consisted of two parallel sections of 22 clubs, fighting both for promotion to the Second Division and also battling to hold on to their league status.^[17] There was a re-election system in place which meant the bottom two teams in each of the two divisions had to apply for re-election to the league.^[18] Watford finished outside the top six league positions in every season between 1922 and 1934. Following Kent's departure in 1926, they finished 21st out of 22 clubs in 1926–27, but were unanimously re-elected to the league after a ballot of clubs in the top two divisions of The Football League.^[19] By contrast, under Neil McBain and subsequently Bill Findlay, the team recorded five consecutive top six finishes between 1934–35 and 1938–39, and won the Football League Third Division South Cup in 1937.^[20]

The Football League was suspended in 1939 due to the Second World War. It resumed in 1946, with Watford still in the Third Division South. A 23rd-placed finish in 1950–51 meant that the club had to apply for re-election to the league once more, but again teams in the First and Second Divisions unanimously voted for Watford to stay in the league.^[21] McBain returned in 1956,^[15] and the team remained in the division until 1958; the league was restructured into four national divisions for the 1958–59 season, and Watford were placed in the Fourth Division. Ron Burgess replaced McBain during that season, and in the following campaign Burgess presided over Watford's first Football League promotion. This team included Fourth Division top scorer Cliff Holton,^[22] who scored a club record 42 league goals in the season.^[23] Holton was sold to Northampton the following year after another 34 goals, to the anger of supporters.^[24] Burgess was succeeded by Bill McGarry, who bought new players such as Charlie Livesey and Ron Saunders, and in his only season at the club led the club to what was at the time its highest ever league position: third in the Third Division.^[25] 18-year old Northern Irish goalkeeper Pat Jennings also featured under McGarry, and made his international debut despite being a Third Division player.^[26]

McGarry joined Ipswich in 1964, and was replaced by player-manager Ken Furphy, from Workington^[25] Furphy rebuilt the team around players such as Keith Eddy and Dennis Bond, but after holding Liverpool to a draw in the FA Cup and narrowly failing to win promotion in 1966–67, Bond was sold to Tottenham for £30,000, Watford's record transfer receipt at the time.^[27] Furphy's re-building came to fruition in 1969 with the signing of Barry Endean, whose arrival marked the start of an unbeaten run after Christmas.^[28] Watford secured the league title in April, at home to Plymouth Argyle. A year later Watford reached the FA Cup semi-final for the first time, defeating First Division teams Stoke City and Liverpool along the way.^[29] However, hampered by a lack of funds, Furphy eventually joined Blackburn Rovers, to be succeeded by George Kirby. Forced to sell players to survive, Watford fell back into the Third Division in 1972. The team continued to struggle in the third tier, and despite a managerial change, Watford were relegated again in 1975.^[15][30]

Sherwood Bardsley Sinnott Terry Price Callaghan L Taylor Jackett Reilly Johnston Barnes

Watford's starting line-up for the 1984 FA Cup Final. Paul Atkinson came on as a substitute; Graham Taylor managed the team.[7]

Lifelong Watford supporter Elton John became club chairman in 1976. The singer declared an ambition to take the team into the First Division, and sacked Kirby's successor Mike Keen in April 1977.^[31] When Graham Taylor was named as Keen's successor, the club was still in the Fourth Division.^[32] Taylor achieved promotion in his first season; Watford won the Fourth Division title, recording the most wins, fewest defeats, most goals scored and fewest goals conceded of any side in the division.^[33] Promotion to the Second Division followed in 1978–79, and Ross Jenkins finished the season as the league's top scorer with 29 goals. Watford consolidated with 18th and 9th placed finishes over the following two seasons, and secured promotion to the First Division for the first time in 1981–82, finishing second behind rivals Luton Town.^[32][34]

Watford started the 1982–83 season with four league wins from the opening five fixtures; in the space of seven years, the club had climbed from bottom place in the lowest division of The Football League, to top position in the highest division.^[35][36] Watford were unable to maintain a title challenge, but eventually finished the season second behind Liverpool, which ensured UEFA Cup qualification for the following season. Luther Blissett finished the season as the First Division top scorer, before signing for Italian Serie A side A.C. Milan for £1 million at the end of the season.^[37] An FA Cup final appearance followed in 1984, although Watford lost to Everton.^[7] After guiding Watford to a ninth-place finish in 1986–87, Taylor left the club to manage Aston Villa.^[32]

Following Taylor's departure, Wimbledon manager Dave Bassett was appointed as his replacement, and England winger John Barnes was sold to Liverpool. After 4 wins from his opening 23 league fixtures, Bassett was sacked in January 1988. Watford were bottom of the First Division at the time of his departure, and Steve Harrison could not prevent relegation at the end of the season. In 1988–89, Harrison's Watford failed to return to the First Division, after defeat in the Second Division play-offs. The under-18 team won the FA Youth Cup, beating Manchester City 2–1 after extra time,^[38] with future England international David James in goal for the Hornets. Harrison departed in 1990, and over the next few years, the closest Watford came to promotion was a seventh-placed finish in Division One^[b] in the 1994–95 season.^[9] However, in the following season – Glenn Roeder's third as manager – Watford struggled. Despite the return of Graham Taylor as caretaker manager in February 1996, the club was relegated to Division Two.^[15][32]

Nyron Nosworthy and Troy Deeney celebrate a goal against Cardiff City in the 2011–12 season.

Following the relegation, Taylor became Director of Football, with former Watford midfielder Kenny Jackett as manager. After a mid-table finish in Division Two in 1996–97, Jackett was demoted to the position of assistant manager. Taylor returned as manager, and won the Second Division title in 1997–98 – Watford's second league title under his management. A second successive promotion followed in 1998–99, thanks to a 2–0 play-off final victory over Bolton Wanderers. Watford's first Premiership season started with an early victory over Liverpool, but Watford's form soon faded, and the club was relegated after finishing bottom. Graham Taylor retired at the end of the 2000–01 season,^[32] and was replaced by Gianluca Vialli.^[39] Wage bills at the club rose by £4 million during Vialli's tenure, and the club finished 14th in the division in 2001–02. Vialli was sacked at the end of the season, following a dispute with the club's board over the wage bill.^[40][41] He was replaced by Ray Lewington, who had joined the club the previous summer as Vialli's reserve team manager.^[42]

Watford's weak financial position was exposed in 2002–03, following the collapse of ITV Digital.^[43][44] The club was facing administration, but an agreement by players and staff to a 12% wage deferral helped the club's cash flow, and a run to the FA Cup semi-final generated vital revenue.^[45][46] Financial constraints saw a large number of players released that summer. After consolidating in 2003–04, the following season started well, with the club in the upper half of the Championship at the end of September. However, poor form saw the club drop towards the relegation zone. Despite reaching the semi-final of the League Cup, Watford's league form did not improve, and Lewington was sacked in March 2005.^[47] His successor, Aidy Boothroyd,^[48] led the club to Championship survival.^[9]

Watford finished third in the league in Boothroyd's first full season,^[9] and defeated Leeds United 3–0 in the play-off final to gain promotion to the Premier League.^[49] But the team did not record a Premier League win until November, and Ashley Young was sold to Aston Villa for a club record fee of £9.65 million in January 2007.^[23][50] Watford finished bottom after only winning five league games,^[9] but did reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup.^[51] Boothroyd continued as manager, and spent heavily on players, including a club record £3.25 million for Nathan Ellington.^[52] Watford led the Championship by several points early in 2007–08, but only finished 6th;^[9] Boothroyd's team were defeated 6–1 on aggregate by Hull City in the play-off semi-finals.^[53] Boothroyd left the club by mutual consent three months into the 2008–09 season, with Watford 21st in the Championship table.^[48]

Under Boothroyd's successor, Brendan Rodgers, Watford secured Championship safety with one game to go. Rodgers left to manage Reading at the end of the season;^[54] Malky Mackay, who had previously served as caretaker manager, was his replacement.^[55] Amid the departures of several key players during Mackay's tenure, including Tommy Smith and Jay DeMerit, and the club coming close to administration,^[56] Watford finished 16th in 2009–10 and 14th the following season.^[57] Mackay left to manage Cardiff City in June 2011, and was replaced by Sean Dyche.^[58]

Club identity[link]

Watford's colours were blue and white from 1927 until 1959.

The club changed to a gold and black colour scheme in 1959–60.

Watford's kit has changed considerably over the course of the club's history. The club's kit featured various combinations of red, green and yellow stripes, before a new colour scheme of black and white was adopted for the 1909–10 season. These colours were retained until the 1920s, when the club introduced an all-blue shirt. After a change of colours to gold shirts and black shorts, the team's nickname was changed to The Hornets, after a popular vote via the supporters club. These colours remained until 1976, when Watford's kits started featuring red, and the gold was changed to yellow. That colour scheme that has continued into the 21st century.^[5]

Watford's initial nickname was The Brewers, in reference to the Benskins Brewery, which owned the freehold of Vicarage Road.^[59] This nickname did not prove particularly popular, and upon the adoption of a blue-and-white colour scheme in the 1920s, the club became predominantly known as The Blues. When Watford changed kit colours in 1959, supporters chose The Hornets as the team's new nickname, and the club later introduced a crest depicting a hornet.^[5] In 1974 the design was changed to depict Harry the Hornet, the club's mascot.^[5][60] The club's nickname remains, but in 1978 the hornet crest was replaced by a depiction of a hart – a male red deer – on a yellow and black background. A hart represents the town's location in the county of Hertfordshire. Until Barnet^[c] joined the Football League, Watford were Hertfordshire's only league club.^[63] Other nicknames have since been adopted, including The Golden Boys,^[64] Yellow Army^[65] and The 'Orns.^[66]

On home matchdays, Watford's players traditionally enter the pitch to the Z-Cars theme tune before the start of a game – when attempts were made to change this tradition in the 2004–05 season, fans successfully campaigned for the song's return.^[67] Chants include Yellow Army and Come on you 'Orns,^[68][69] whilst songs for current players include That boy Sean Murray, he's one of our own.^[70]

Stadia[link]

Watford fans at Vicarage Road, on the last day of the 1999–2000 season

Watford Rovers played at several grounds in the late 19th century, including Cassiobury Park, Vicarage Meadow, and Market Street, Watford. In 1890, the team moved to a site on Cassio Road, and remained there for 32 years, before moving to Watford's current stadium at nearby Vicarage Road.^[14] The new stadium was initially owned by Benskins Brewery; the club rented the ground until 2001, when it purchased the freehold outright. However, the club's financial situation worsened following the purchase, and in 2002 Watford sold the ground for £6m, in a deal which entitled Watford to buy the stadium back for £7m in future. Watford took up this option in 2004.^[71]

At present, only three sides of Vicarage Road stadium are open to spectators. The East Stand, part of which was contructed in 1922, was closed to the general public in 2008 for health and safety reasons, although it still hosts the dressing rooms and the matchday press area.^[72] The Rous Stand, built in 1986, has two tiers and runs the length of the pitch, with the upper section containing the club's corporate hospitality. At either end of the pitch, The Vicarage Stand is split between the club's family section and away supporters, while the Rookery Stand is for home supporters only. Both stands were built in the 1990s, financed by proceeds from player sales.^[73][74]

Since 1997, Watford have shared Vicarage Road with rugby union side Saracens F.C.^[75] The stadium has hosted matches for the England under-21s,^[76] and senior international football between overseas teams.^[77] Elton John has also used Vicarage Road as a venue for concerts. He first played at the stadium in 1974, and returned in 2005 and 2010 to stage fundraising concerts for the club.^[78] Former events include horse and carriage shows^[13] and greyhound racing.^[79]

Rivalry[link]

Watford fans maintain a rivalry with those of Luton Town. The two sides met regularly in the Southern League between 1900 and 1920,^[80] and continued to do so in The Football League until 1937,^[81] when Luton gained promotion from Division Three South. Luton remained in a higher division than Watford until 1963.^[82]

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Watford and Luton met sporadically. Despite this, the rivalry grew in significance, particularly following an ill-tempered match between the sides in 1969, in which three players were sent off.^[82] Both sides won promotion to the First Division in the 1981–82 season, with Luton taking the championship ahead of Watford.^[34] They were also relegated together from the new Division 1 in 1995–96, with Watford finishing 23rd ahead of bottom-placed Luton.^[83][b] Watford's promotion from Division 2 in 1997–98 meant that the two sides did not meet again until Luton won promotion to the Championship for the 2005–06 season.^[b] The only meeting between those seasons – a League Cup tie in the 2002–03 season – was marred by violence inside Vicarage Road.^[84] A 1–1 draw in the most recent match between the sides, on 9 April 2006, secured Watford's place in the 2006 Championship play-offs, whilst ending Luton's chances of reaching them.^[85] Watford have played in a higher division than Luton in every season since 2006–07.^[9][86] The head-to-head record between the clubs in competitions which currently exist stands at Luton 39 wins, Watford 27 wins, with 23 draws.^[d]

Players[link]

For more information on this season's squad, see 2011–12 Watford F.C. squad.

Current squad[link]

Current Watford club captain, John Eustace.^[88]

Adrian Mariappa graduated from Watford's academy, and has captained the team.^[89]

Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth.
Squad correct as of 6 May 2012.^[90]

No.	Position	Player	Nation
1	Goalkeeper	Loach, ScottScott Loach	England
2	Defender	Hodson, LeeLee Hodson	Northern Ireland
3	Defender	Dickinson, CarlCarl Dickinson	England
4	Midfielder	Eustace, JohnJohn Eustace (captain)	England
5	Defender	Taylor, MartinMartin Taylor	England
6	Defender	Mariappa, AdrianAdrian Mariappa (vice captain)	Jamaica
7	Midfielder	Yeates, MarkMark Yeates	Ireland
9	Forward	Deeney, TroyTroy Deeney	England
10	Forward	Iwelumo, ChrisChris Iwelumo	Scotland
11	Midfielder	Forsyth, CraigCraig Forsyth	Scotland
12	Defender	Doyley, LloydLloyd Doyley	Jamaica
14	Midfielder	Jenkins, RossRoss Jenkins	England
15	Midfielder	McGinn, StephenStephen McGinn	Scotland
17	Defender	Bennett, DaleDale Bennett	England
19	Midfielder	Buaben, PrincePrince Buaben	Ghana
21	Defender	Mirfin, DavidDavid Mirfin	England
22	Midfielder	Murray, SeanSean Murray	Ireland
23	Midfielder	Mingoia, PieroPiero Mingoia	England
24	Midfielder	Whichelow, MatthewMatthew Whichelow	England
25	Forward	Garner, JoeJoe Garner	England
26	Midfielder	Assombalonga, BrittBritt Assombalonga	Democratic Republic of the Congo
27	Forward	Massey, GavinGavin Massey	England
29	Defender	Thompson, AdamAdam Thompson	Northern Ireland
30	Goalkeeper	Bond, JonathanJonathan Bond	Wales
32	Midfielder	Hogg, JonathanJonathan Hogg	England
33	Defender	Nosworthy, NyronNyron Nosworthy	Jamaica
34	Goalkeeper	Bonham, JackJack Bonham	Ireland

Hall of fame[link]

Goalkeeper David James started his career at Watford, and went on to play for England.^[91]

Management[link]

Managerial history[link]

Watford's team was selected by committee until 1903, when former England international John Goodall was appointed player-manager. The impact was immediate, as Watford secured promotion to the Southern League First Division in 1903–04. Goodall retired as a player in 1907, and left the club in 1910. He was replaced by his former captain, Harry Kent, who become known for his financial management of the club; under Kent, Watford frequently made a profit in the transfer market.^[105] Kent led the club to the Southern League title in 1914–15, and missed out on a second title in 1919–20 on goal average, before resigning in 1926. His three immediate successors – Fred Pagnam, Neil McBain and Bill Findlay – all played for Watford before and during the early part of their managerial tenures. None were able to lead the team to promotion from the Third Division South, although Findlay did lead Watford to a Third Division South Cup win in 1937.

Up until Findlay's departure in 1947, Watford had been managed by five managers in 44 years, all of whom played for the team. By contrast, six men managed the club between 1947 and 1956, only two of whom were former Watford players.^[15] After a further three years under McBain between 1956 and 1959, Watford's following three managers presided over improved teams. Ron Burgess led Watford to promotion from the Fourth Division in 1959–60. Bill McGarry was only in charge for one full season (1963–64), but Watford recorded a finish of third in the Third Division, the club's highest Football League finish until that point. His successor Ken Furphy matched that achievement in 1966–67, and led Watford to the Third Division title in 1969, before taking the club to its first FA Cup semi-final in 1970. Following Furphy's departure in 1971, Watford entered a period of decline, experiencing relegation under subsequent managers George Kirby and Mike Keen.^[15]

Graham Taylor took charge of Watford in 1977. He led the club to promotion to the Third Division in 1978, the Second Division in 1979, and the First Division for the first time in Watford's history in 1982. After a second-placed finish in the First Division in 1983, Watford competed in European competition for the first time in 1983–84, as well as reaching the 1984 FA Cup final. Taylor left the club at the end of 1986–87. Under the six subsequent permanent managers (Dave Bassett, Steve Harrison, Colin Lee, Steve Perryman, Glenn Roeder and Kenny Jackett), Watford slid from 9th in the top tier in 1987, to 13th in the third tier in 1997. Taylor returned as manager for the start of the 1997–98 season. He led the club to consecutive promotions, but could not prevent relegation from the Premier League in 1999–2000. Since Taylor's retirement in 2001, Watford have had six managers. Aidy Boothroyd took Watford back to the Premier League in 2006, but Watford were relegated in 2007, and Boothroyd departed in 2008. Malky Mackay took charge at the start of the 2009–10 season, and left in June 2011.^[57][58]

Current management team[link]

Honours[link]

For a complete record of the club's achievements, see List of Watford F.C. seasons.

Victory in the 2006 Football League Championship play-off Final against Leeds United gained Watford promotion to the Premier League.^[49]

Records[link]

Striker Luther Blissett holds the record for Watford appearances, having played 503 matches in all competitions between 1976 and 1992, and his 415 appearances in The Football League during the same period is also a club record. Blissett holds the corresponding goalscoring records, with 186 career Watford goals, 148 of which were in the league. The records for the most league goals in a season is held by Cliff Holton, having scored 42 goals in the 1959–60 season. The highest number of goals scored by a player in a single game at a professional level is the six registered by Harry Barton against Wycombe Wanderers in September 1903.^[23]

Watford's biggest ever competitive win came in 1900, when the team defeated Maidenhead 11–0 in the Southern League Second Division.^[23] The team's biggest Football League winning margin is 8–0; this first occurred in a Third Division South match against Newport County in 1924, and was repeated in a First Division match against Sunderland in 1982. Both of these matches were at home – Watford have won an away league match by five goals on six occasions, most recently in the 6–1 win against Millwall at The New Den in 2010. The most goals scored in a Football League game involving Watford is 11, in Watford's 7–4 victories against Swindon Town, Torquay United and Burnley in 1934, 1937 and 2003 respectively.^[112]

The club's highest home attendance is 34,099, for a 4th round FA Cup match against Manchester United on 3 February 1969; the record home league attendance is 27,968 against Queens Park Rangers in August of the same year.^[23] Watford's home capacity has since been reduced; it currently stands at 17,477.^[1]

Footnotes[link]

Further reading[link]

References[link]