Association football club in England

football club
Watford Football Club is an english professional football clubhouse based in Watford, Hertfordshire. They play in the Premier League, the peak tier of English football, having been promoted in 2021.

The club recognises its foundation as 1881, aligned with that of its antecedent, Watford Rovers, and was established as Watford Football Club in 1898. After finishing the 1914–15 season as Southern League champions under the management of Harry Kent, Watford joined the Football League in 1920. The team played at several grounds in their early history, including what is immediately west Herts Sports Club, [ 3 ] before moving to Vicarage Road in 1922. They have a long-standing competition with nearby cabaret Luton Town. Graham Taylor ‘s tenure as director at the club between 1977 and 1987 see Watford lift from the fourth tier to the first. The team finished second in the First Division in 1982–83, competed in the UEFA Cup in 1983–84, and reached the 1984 FA Cup Final. Watford declined between 1987 and 1997, before Taylor returned as coach, leading the team to successive promotions from the renamed Second Division [ a ] to the Premier League for one season in 1999–2000. The club played again in the highest tier in 2006–07 under Aidy Boothroyd ‘s management, and then again from 2015 to 2020, reaching the 2019 FA Cup Final, their second FA Cup Final. In April 2021, Watford were promoted bet on into the Premier League having spent barely one season in the Championship .

history [edit ]

early on years [edit ]

The origins of the cabaret can be traced second to 1881 when Watford Rovers were formed by Henry Grover, who went on to play for the club as a full back. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] Rovers, originally composed entirely of amateurish players, held home games at several locations in the town of Watford. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] The team inaugural competed in the FA Cup in the 1886–87 season, and in 1889 Watford won the County Cup for the first meter. The team became the football part of “ West Hertfordshire Club and Ground ” in 1891, and consequently moved to a prime on Cassio Road. In 1893 Watford Rovers changed their name to “ West Herts ” and in 1896 they joined the Southern Football League. West Herts fortunes slumped at the beginning of the 1897–98 season and attendances were less than 200. They took the bold step of turning professional and their fortunes revived. Watford St. Mary ‘s were runners up in the Hertfordshire Senior Cup of 1894–95 and attracted crowd of 400 to 500 even when West Herts were at home. The two clubs talked of an amalgamation, which ultimately occurred on 15 April 1898. This was reported by the Watford Observer of 7 May 1898. It was agreed that the two clubs should complete their leftover fixtures for the season. The modern club was named Watford Football Club. [ 7 ]
The head and shoulders of a man, wearing a hat and coat. 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 beginning coach – early England external and first gear Division top scorer John Goodall. He led Watford to promotion, and kept the team in the division until his departure in 1910. [ 8 ] Despite fiscal constraints, Watford won the Southern League title in the 1914–15 season under his successor, Harry Kent. Watford held the claim for five years following the suspension of the Southern League during the First World War – after finishing the 1919–20 season runner-up on finish average, the clubhouse resigned from the Southern League to join the new Football League Third Division. [ 9 ] From 1921–22, the third base tier of The Football League consisted of two analogue sections of 22 clubs, fighting both for promotion to the Second Division and besides battling to hold on to their league condition. [ 4 ] 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. [ 10 ] 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 peak two divisions of The Football League. [ 11 ] By contrast, under Neil McBain and subsequently Bill Findlay, the team recorded five straight top six finishes between 1934–35 and 1938–39, and won the Football League Third Division South Cup in 1937. [ 12 ] The Football League was suspended in 1939 due to the irregular World War .

Post-war era [edit ]

Chart of annual table positions of Watford in the English football league. football resumed in 1946, with Watford hush in the Third Division South. A 23rd-placed stopping point in 1950–51 mean 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. [ 13 ] McBain returned in 1956, [ 8 ] 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 surveil campaign Burgess presided over Watford ‘s inaugural Football League forwarding. This team included Fourth Division top scorekeeper Cliff Holton, [ 14 ] who scored a golf club record 42 league goals in the season. [ 15 ] Holton was sold to Northampton the pursuit class after another 34 goals, to the anger of supporters. [ 16 ] Burgess was succeeded by Bill McGarry, who bought newfangled players such as Charlie Livesey and Ron Saunders, and in his entirely season at the cabaret led the club to what was at the time its highest ever league position : third gear in the Third Division. [ 17 ] Eighteen-year-old Northern Irish goalkeeper Pat Jennings besides featured under McGarry, and made his international debut despite being a Third Division actor. [ 18 ] McGarry joined Ipswich in 1964, and was replaced by player-manager Ken Furphy, from Workington [ 17 ] Furphy rebuilt the team around players such as Keith Eddy and Dennis Bond, but after holding Liverpool to a puff in the FA Cup and narrowly failing to win promotion in 1966–67, Bond was sold to Tottenham Hotspur for £ 30,000, Watford ‘s record transfer receipt at the time. [ 19 ] Furphy ‘s rebuild came to fruition in 1969 with the bless of Barry Endean, whose arrival marked the beginning of an unbeaten run after Christmas. [ 20 ] Watford secured the Third Division style in April, at dwelling to Plymouth Argyle. A year later Watford reached the FA Cup semi-final for the first meter, defeating First Division teams Stoke City and Liverpool along the way. [ 21 ] Hampered by a lack of funds, however, Furphy finally joined Blackburn Rovers, to be succeeded by George Kirby. Forced to sell players to survive, Watford fell spinal column into the Third Division in 1972. The team continued to struggle in the one-third tier, and despite a managerial change, Watford were relegated again in 1975. [ 8 ] [ 22 ]

Elton John era [edit ]

Lifelong Watford patron Elton John became club chair 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. [ 24 ] When Graham Taylor was named as Keen ‘s successor, the golf club was still in the Fourth Division. [ 25 ] Taylor achieved promotion in his first season ; Watford won the Fourth Division entitle, recording the most wins, fewest defeats, most goals scored and fewest goals conceded of any side in the division. [ 26 ] 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 stick to two seasons, and secured promotion to the First Division for the first time in 1981–82, finishing second behind rivals Luton Town. [ 25 ] [ 27 ] 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. [ 28 ] [ 29 ] Watford were unable to maintain a claim challenge, but finally finished the season second behind Liverpool, which ensured UEFA Cup reservation for the pursuit season. Luther Blissett finished the temper as the First Division top scorekeeper, before signing for italian Serie A side Milan for £1 million at the goal of the season. [ 30 ] An FA Cup Final appearance followed in the 1984 fixture, where they lost to Everton. [ 23 ] After guiding Watford to a ninth-place finish in 1986–87, Taylor left the clubhouse to manage Aston Villa. [ 25 ] Following Taylor ‘s deviation, Wimbledon director Dave Bassett was appointed as his surrogate, 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 bed of the First Division at the clock 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 frustration in the second Division play-offs. The under-18 team won the FA Youth Cup, beating Manchester City 2–1 after extra prison term, [ 31 ] with future England international David James in goal for the Hornets. Harrison departed in 1990, and over the following few years, the closest Watford came to promotion was a seventh-placed finish in Division One [ bacillus ] in the 1994–95 season. [ 33 ] however, in the play along temper – Glenn Roeder ‘s third base as coach – Watford struggled. Despite the reappearance of Graham Taylor as caretaker coach in February 1996, the club was relegated to Division Two. [ 8 ] [ 25 ] Following the delegating, Taylor became director of football, with former Watford midfielder Kenny Jackett as coach. After a mid-table end in Division Two in 1996–97, Jackett was demoted to the position of adjunct coach. taylor returned as director, and won the Second Division claim in 1997–98 – Watford ‘s second league deed under his management. A second consecutive promotion followed in 1998–99, thanks to a 2–0 play-off final victory over Bolton Wanderers. Watford ‘s first Premiership temper 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, [ 25 ] and was replaced by Gianluca Vialli. [ 34 ] Wage bills at the cabaret rose by £4 million during Vialli ‘s tenure, and the club finished 14th in the division in 2001–02. Vialli was sacked at the goal of the season, following a challenge with the cabaret ‘s board over the wage beak. [ 35 ] [ 36 ] He was replaced by Ray Lewington, who had joined the cabaret the previous summer as Vialli ‘s reserve team director. [ 37 ]

fiscal struggles [edit ]

Watford ‘s fallible fiscal position was exposed in 2002–03, following the collapse of ITV Digital. [ 38 ] [ 39 ] The club was facing presidency, but an agreement by players and staff to a 12 % engage deferral helped the golf club ‘s cash stream, and a run to the FA Cup semi-final generated critical gross. [ 40 ] [ 41 ] Financial constraints saw a big number of players released that summer. After consolidating in 2003–04, the following season started well, with the club in the upper berth half of the Championship at the end of September. Poor form, however, saw the club drop curtain towards the relegation zone. Despite reaching the semi-final of the League Cup, Watford ‘s league kind did not improve, and Lewington was sacked in March 2005. [ 42 ] His successor, Aidy Boothroyd, [ 43 ] led the golf club to Championship survival. [ 33 ]

fall to the Premier League [edit ]

Watford finished third base in the league in Boothroyd ‘s first wide season, [ 33 ] and kill Leeds United 3–0 in the play-off final to gain promotion to the Premier League. [ 44 ] But the team did not record a Premier League acquire until November, and Ashley Young was sold to Aston Villa for a cabaret record fee of £9.65 million in January 2007. [ 15 ] [ 45 ] Watford finished bottom after alone winning five league games, [ 33 ] but did reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup. [ 46 ] Boothroyd continued as coach, and spent heavily on players, including a then-club record £3.25 million for Nathan Ellington. [ 47 ] Watford led the Championship by respective points early on in 2007–08, but only finished sixth ; [ 33 ] Boothroyd ‘s team were defeated 6–1 on aggregate by Hull City in the play-off semi-finals. [ 48 ] Boothroyd left the club by reciprocal consent three months into the 2008–09 season, with Watford 21st in the Championship table. [ 43 ] Under Boothroyd ‘s successor, Brendan Rodgers, Watford finished 13th. Rodgers left to manage Reading at the end of the season ; [ 49 ] Malky Mackay, who had previously served as caretaker coach, was his substitution. [ 50 ] Amid the departures of several key players during Mackay ‘s tenure, including Tommy Smith and Jay DeMerit, and the club coming cheeseparing to presidency, [ 51 ] Watford finished 16th in 2009–10 and 14th the succeed season. [ 52 ] Mackay left to manage Cardiff City in June 2011 and was replaced by Sean Dyche. [ 53 ] Despite presiding over Watford ‘s highest league position in four years, Dyche was dismissed as Watford coach in July 2012. [ 54 ]

Pozzo family era [edit ]

In June 2012, Laurence Bassini completed the sale of the club to the Pozzo kin ( Gino Pozzo and his father ). Following Dyche ‘s net, the new owners brought in former Italy international Gianfranco Zola to take commit. [ 55 ] In the 2012–13 season Watford finished third base in the Championship, and reached the play-off final where they were defeated in the final by Crystal Palace 1–0 via an extra-time penalty by Kevin Phillips. The following season, Giuseppe Sannino replaced Zola, as their new coach and the team finished the season in 13th locate. Sannino resigned at the startle of the 2014–15 season and was replaced by Óscar García, who left soon afterwards for “ health reasons. ” truncheon McKinlay replaced him and won his inaugural game in charge, 2–1 against Brentford F.C., before a 1–1 withdraw with Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. . Despite the team getting 4 points out of a possible 6 under his stewardship, the cabaret decided to replace McKinlay, fair eight days into his tenure, with Slaviša Jokanović. With Jokanović managing the team, Watford, on 25 April 2015, gained promotion to the Premier League after defeating Brighton 2–0 and other results going their room. [ 56 ] however, they failed to win their final examination game of the season against Sheffield Wednesday, thus allowing AFC Bournemouth to win the Championship entitle in the temper ‘s stopping point. [ 57 ] Jokanović and Watford did not renew his annual contract and the director was replaced in June 2015 by the Spaniard Quique Sánchez Flores. [ 58 ] Watford ‘s first fixture in their refund to the Premier League was a 2–2 away draw with Everton. [ 59 ] In the 2015–16 season, Watford reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup with a goal by midfielder Adlène Guedioura against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium, ending Arsenal ‘s wish to win the rival for three consecutive times, [ 60 ] and finished 13th in the Premier League. [ 61 ] Near the end of the season, in May 2016, Sánchez Flores and the club enacted a break clause in his contract, he and was replaced by italian coach Walter Mazzarri who signed a three-year contract. [ 62 ] At the end of the next season, in May 2017, Watford finished 17th and Mazzari resigned, [ 63 ] replaced by Marco Silva. [ 64 ] The fresh coach was sacked after approximately six months, in January 2018, and the club hired Javi Gracia. [ 65 ] After four games of being in charge in the 2019–20 season, Gracia was sacked due to poor kind in the league. 30 minutes after he was sacked, early Watford director Quique Sánchez Flores was however again appointed. He survived only until 1 December 2019 after getting only one win since his appointment in September. A caretaker coach was appointed for one game before Nigel Pearson came into management. He led the Hornets from out of the run to back in controversy, but was sacked with 2 games to play. [ 66 ] In April 2019 Watford came back from 2–0 down to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers to reach the FA Cup Final for the second time in their history, with Gerard Deulofeu scoring doubly and Troy Deeney scoring a penalty in the 94th minute to take it to extra clock. [ 67 ] After a 4–1 loss to West Ham on the last league crippled of the temper, Watford confirmed their highest ever points tally and finish in English Premier League football of 50 points and 11th place respectively, [ 68 ] although they did finish 2nd with 71 points in the 1982–83 season of the English Football League. In February 2020, Watford defeated Liverpool in a Premier League match, ending Liverpool ‘s unbeaten run of 44 top-flight games in a row and 18 victories in a row. [ 69 ] They were relegated to the championship at the end of the season, however, following a 19th-place finish good one point from guard. [ 70 ]

Club identity [edit ]




Watford ‘s colours were blue and white from 1927 until 1959. Watford ‘s kit out has changed well over the course of the club ‘s history. The club ‘s kit featured diverse combinations of red, k and yellow stripes, before a new color scheme of black and ashen was adopted for the 1909–10 temper. These colours were retained until the 1920s, when the club introduced an all-blue shirt. After a transfer of colours to gold shirts and black shorts for 1959–60, the team ‘s dub 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 color scheme has continued into the twenty-first century. [ 71 ]




The club changed to a gold and blacken tinge dodge in 1959–60. Watford ‘s initial dub was The Brewers, in reference point to the Benskins Brewery, which owned the freehold of Vicarage Road. [ 72 ] This dub did not prove peculiarly popular, and upon the borrowing of a blue-and-white color outline in the 1920s, the baseball club became predominantly known as The Blues. When Watford changed kit color in 1959, supporters chose The Hornets as the team ‘s newfangled nickname, and the cabaret later introduced a cap depicting a hornet. [ 71 ] In 1974 the design was changed to depict Harry the Hornet, the clubhouse ‘s mascot. [ 71 ] [ 73 ] The cabaret ‘s nickname remains, but in 1978 the hornet crest was replaced by a word picture of a hart – a male loss fallow deer– on a yellow and black background. A hart represents the town ‘s localization in the county of Hertfordshire. Until Barnet [ c ] and, belated, Stevenage joined the Football League, Watford were Hertfordshire ‘s entirely league baseball club. [ 76 ] other nicknames have since been adopted, including Yellow Army [ 77 ] and The ‘Orns. [ 78 ] Until April 2019, when Watford played at Vicarage Road their players traditionally entered the pitch at the get down of the game to the Z-Cars theme tune. [ 79 ] however, in mid-april 2019 the team changed their entrance song to Elton John ‘s “ I ‘m still Standing “. [ 80 ] The club returned to Z Cars as the theme to welcome players to the lurch in August 2019 at the depart of the 2019–2020 Premier League season, following fan coerce and petitions. [ 81 ] [ 82 ] [ 83 ]

stadium [edit ]

Watford fans at Vicarage Road, on the last day of the 1999–2000 season Watford Rovers played at several grounds in the late nineteenth hundred, including Cassiobury Park, Vicarage Meadow and Market Street, Watford. In 1890, the team moved to a locate on Cassio Road, and remained there for 32 years, before moving to Watford ‘s current stadium at nearby Vicarage Road in 1922. [ 7 ] The newfangled stadium was initially owned by Benskins Brewery ; the club rented the ground until 2001, when it purchased the freehold outright. however, the baseball club ‘s fiscal site worsened following the purchase, and in 2002 Watford sold the grind for £6 million in a deal which entitled Watford to buy the stadium back for £7 million in future. Watford took up this option in 2004 using a campaign backed and funded by the fans called “ Lets buy back the Vic ”. [ 84 ] parsonage Road is a quadrilateral ground with a capacity of 21,577. [ 85 ] The East Stand, separate of which was constructed in 1922, was closed to the general public in 2008 for health and safety reasons, although it hush hosted the stuffing rooms and the matchday press area. [ 86 ] In November 2013, the East Stand was demolished and in its place a newfangled steel-framed, 3,500-seater bandstand was constructed. The stand opened in full on Boxing Day 2014 and was named The Elton John Stand after the cabaret ‘s longstanding chair. [ 87 ] The Graham Taylor Stand [ 88 ] ( previously the Rous Stand ), built in 1986, has two tiers and runs the duration of the pitch, with the upper section containing the club ‘s bodied cordial reception. At either end of the cant, The Vicarage Stand is split between the cabaret ‘s family section and aside supporters, while the Rookery Stand is for dwelling supporters only. Both stands were built in the 1990s, financed by proceeds from musician sales. [ 89 ] [ 90 ] In the summer of 2015, The Elton John Stand was revamped in order to accommodate an extra 700 seats. [ 91 ] This phone number was revised a day late to around 1,000 extra seats following the announcement of an expansion in the northeast corner. [ 85 ]

between 1997 and early 2013, Watford shared Vicarage Road with rugby marriage side Saracens F.C. [ 92 ] [ 93 ] The stadium has hosted matches for the England under-21s, [ 94 ] and aged international football between abroad teams. [ 95 ] Elton John has besides used Vicarage Road as a venue for concerts : He foremost played at the stadium in 1974 and returned in 2005 and 2010 to stage fund-raise concerts for the club. [ 96 ] Former events include horse and carriage shows [ 6 ] and greyhound race. [ 97 ] The Watford Training Ground is located on the University College London Union ( UCLU ) Shenley Sports grounds in St Albans, Hertfordshire .

Luton competition [edit ]

Watford fans maintain a competition with those of Luton Town. The two sides met regularly in the Southern League between 1900 and 1920, [ 98 ] and continued to do so in The Football League until 1937, [ 99 ] when Luton gained forwarding from Division Three South. Luton remained in a higher division than Watford until 1963. [ 100 ] Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Watford and Luton met sporadically. Despite this, the competition grew in meaning, peculiarly following an crabbed match between the sides in 1969, in which three players were sent off. [ 100 ] Both sides won promotion to the First Division in the 1981–82 season, with Luton taking the championship ahead of Watford. [ 27 ] They were besides relegated together from the new Division 1 in 1995–96, with Watford finishing 23rd ahead of bottom-placed Luton. [ 101 ] [ b ] Watford ‘s promotion from Division 2 in 1997–98 think of that the two sides did not meet again until Luton won forwarding to the Championship for the 2005–06 season. [ boron ] The lone converge between those seasons – a League Cup tie in the 2002–03 temper – was marred by violence inside Vicarage Road. [ 102 ] On 2 January 2006, Watford won 2–1 at Kenilworth Road in the Championship, followed by a 1–1 draw between the sides, on 9 April 2006, a point that secured Watford ‘s place in the 2006 Championship play-offs, from which they finally won promotion to the Premier League for the second clock, beating Leeds United 3–0 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. [ 103 ] Over a fourteen-season couple, Watford have played in a higher division than Luton between 2006–07 and the 2019–20 season, with Luton dropping out of the football league wholly for six seasons between 2009–10 and 2014–15. [ 33 ] [ 104 ] The competition between the two clubs resumed in the 2020–21 temper. On 26 September 2020, Watford won the first league match of the temper between the two clubs 1–0 at Vicarage Road. [ 105 ] On 17 April 2021 in the turn back fastness at Kenilworth Road, Luton won 1–0, so the spoils for the season were shared, but with Watford ‘s promotion binding to the Premier League for season 2021–22 confirmed just days former, the competition will once again have to be put on deem. The neck and neck read between the clubs, in competitions which presently exist, stands at Luton 39 wins, Watford 27 wins, with 23 draws. [ vitamin d ] Watford have remained the higher ranked team at the end of every season since 1997 ( and for 28 of the stopping point 29 seasons, with only 1996–97 seeing Luton end higher in the league than Watford ) .

Players [edit ]

current squad [edit ]

As of 10 October 2021[107]

notice : Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality .

Out on loanword [edit ]

The following players have previously made a league or cup appearance for Watford and are presently on lend at other teams :
note : Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality .

early players with first-team appearances

[edit ]

note : Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality .

former players [edit ]

managerial history [edit ]

Graham Taylor took Watford from the Fourth Division to the First, between 1977 and 1982. Watford ‘s team was selected by committee until 1903, when former England international John Goodall was appointed player-manager. The shock was immediate, as Watford secured forwarding to the Southern League First Division in 1903–04. Goodall retired as a actor in 1907, and left the baseball club in 1910. He was replaced by his former captain, Harry Kent, who become known for his fiscal management of the club ; under Kent, Watford frequently made a net income in the transfer grocery store. [ 108 ] Kent led the club to the Southern League entitle in 1914–15, and missed out on a irregular title in 1919–20 on finish 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 forwarding from the Third Division South, although Findlay did lead Watford to a Third Division South Cup gain in 1937. up until Findlay ‘s passing 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. [ 8 ] After a far three years under McBain between 1956 and 1959, Watford ‘s following three managers presided over better teams. Ron Burgess led Watford to promotion from the Fourth Division in 1959–60. Bill McGarry was merely in charge for one full temper ( 1963–64 ), but Watford recorded a finish of one-third in the Third Division, the club ‘s highest Football League end until that point. His successor Ken Furphy matched that accomplishment in 1966–67, and led Watford to the Third Division style in 1969, before taking the club to its first gear FA Cup semi-final in 1970. Following Furphy ‘s passing in 1971, Watford entered a period of decline, experiencing relegation under subsequent managers George Kirby and Mike Keen. [ 8 ] Graham Taylor took charge of Watford in 1977. He led the baseball club to promotion to the Third Division in 1978, the Second Division in 1979, and the First Division for the first clock time in Watford ‘s history in 1982. After a second-placed finish up in the First Division in 1983, Watford competed in european competition for the first prison term in 1983–84, angstrom well as reaching the 1984 FA Cup final. taylor left the golf 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 circus tent grade in 1987, to 13th in the third tier in 1997. taylor returned as director for the begin of the 1997–98 temper. He led the baseball club to back-to-back promotions, but could not prevent delegating from the Premier League in 1999–2000. Since Taylor ‘s retirement in 2001, Watford have had twelve managers. Of these, Aidy Boothroyd took Watford back to the Premier League in 2006, but Watford were relegated in 2007, and Boothroyd departed in 2008. [ 109 ] Following Watford ‘s takeover by the Pozzo family, Gianfranco Zola was appointed head coach, replacing erstwhile center back Sean Dyche in July 2012 ,. [ 52 ] Zola took Watford to third position in the Championship in 2012–13 but resigned on 16 December 2013. He was replaced by colleague italian Beppe Sannino in December 2013. Sannino guided the team to a concluding league status of 13th. Despite winning four of the first five league matches of the 2014/15 season, and with Watford sitting in 2nd place, Sannino ‘s position had become the discipline of much speculation following rumours of dressing-room unrest and some players taking a dislike to his expressive style of management. Sannino resigned from his place as head coach on 31 August 2014 after just over eight months in charge. His concluding plot in charge was a 4–2 win at home to Huddersfield Town the day before. Sannino ‘s passing initiated a bizarre succession of events which led to Watford having three far head coaches in short more than a calendar month. On 2 September, Watford confirmed the appointment of former Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Óscar García as the successor to Sannino, beating off rival from companion Championship side Leeds United for his services. García, however, resigned from his placement on 29 September 2014 for health reasons, having been admitted to hospital with thorax pains a pair of weeks anterior. Billy McKinlay, who had only been appointed first team coach on 26 September 2014, was appointed as his immediate successor on the same day – his foremost position in management. [ 110 ] A week late, McKinlay was released by common accept and early Partizan coach Slaviša Jokanović appointed in his place, obviously because the club favoured a head coach with greater experience. [ 111 ] On 4 June 2015, Quique Sánchez Flores was announced as the new steer coach as the successor to Jokanović, [ 112 ] who had failed to agree contract terms. Despite going on to lead the newly promoted Watford to a comfortable mid-table military position in the Premier League and the semi-final of the FA Cup, it was announced on 13 May 2016 that Sánchez Flores would be leaving the golf club at the end of the temper. [ 113 ] Following Sánchez Flores ‘s departure, Walter Mazzarri was announced as Watford ‘s head coach starting on 1 July 2016. [ 114 ] Mazzari ‘s tenure as director was terminated at the end of the season. On 27 May 2017 Marco Silva was appointed head coach. [ 115 ] On 21 January 2018, Javi Gracia was appointed as heading coach following Silva ‘s departure. [ 116 ] Gracia has been met with far-flung praise since his date after a successful 2018–19 Premier League campaign which saw Watford finish with their highest points run ever in English Premier League football. After a disappointing start to the 2019–20 season, Javi Gracia was sacked and replaced by previous director Quique Sánchez Flores. then Quique Sánchez Flores was fired again after a 2–1 loss to Southampton on 1 December. On 6 December 2019, Nigel Pearson agreed to take director ‘s job, with Craig Shakespeare as his assistant, on a short-run sign to the end of the season. [ 117 ] He was sacked on 19 July 2020 with two games to go with Hayden Mullins appointed as interim coach until the end of the temper. [ 118 ]

clubhouse officials [edit ]

Position Name
Head coach Claudio Ranieri
Assistant coach Paolo Benetti
Assistant coach Carlo Cornacchi
Fitness coach Carlo Spignoli
Goalkeeping coach Antonello Brambilla
Performance coordinator Álvaro Reina
Sporting director Cristiano Giaretta
Head of injury prevention & rehabilitation Alberto León Herranz
Under-23s lead coach Omer Riza
Under-23s assistant coach Richard Shaw
Academy director Richard Johnson
Head of technical development Jimmy Gilligan
Head of academy goalkeeping Graham Stack
Under-18s lead coach Tom Hart
Kit manager David Walter
Football secretary Gayle Vowels
Global strategy & partnerships director Spencer Field
Commercial director Paul O’Brien
Operations director Glyn Evans
Head of facilities Ian Pope
Head of HR Gayle Clarke
Community director Rob Smith
Finance director Emiliano Russo
Head of communications & media relations Richard Walker

Honours [edit ]

For a arrant commemorate of the club ‘s achievements, see List of Watford F.C. seasons

Records [edit ]

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 lapp time period is besides a club criminal record. Blissett holds the match 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 musician in a single plot at a professional level is the six registered by Harry Barton against Wycombe Wanderers in September 1903. [ 15 ] Watford ‘s biggest ever competitive win came in 1900, when the team defeated Maidenhead 11–0 in the Southern League Second Division. [ 15 ] 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 inaugural Division peer 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 gain against Leeds United at Elland Road in 2012. 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. [ 119 ] The club ‘s highest home attendance is 34,099, for a fourth round FA Cup match against Manchester United on 3 February 1969. The criminal record home league attendance is 27,968 against Queens Park Rangers in August of the lapp class. [ 15 ] Watford ‘s family capacity has since been reduced ascribable to all-seater requirements ; it presently stands at 21,577. [ 120 ]

Affiliated clubs [edit ]

promote reading [edit ]

  • Birnie, Lionel (2012). Tales from the Vicarage, volume one. Peloton Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9567814-2-0.
  • Birnie, Lionel (2011). The 100 Greatest Watford Wins. Peloton Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9567814-1-3.
  • Birnie, Lionel (2010). Enjoy the Game – Watford FC, The Story of the Eighties. Peloton Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9567814-0-6.
  • Birnie, Lionel & Cozzi, Alan (2001). Four Seasons – Watford FC 1997–2001. lionelbirnie.com. ISBN 0-9541757-0-0.
  • Phillips, Oliver (2001). The Golden Boys: A Study of Watford’s Cult Heroes. Alpine Press Ltd. ISBN 0-9528631-6-2.
  • Jones, Trefor (1998). Watford Season by Season. T.G. Jones. ISBN 0-9527458-1-X.
  • Jones, Trefor (1996). Watford Football Club Illustrated Who’s Who. T.G. Jones. ISBN 0-9527458-0-1.
  • Phillips, Oliver (1991). The Official Centenary History of Watford FC 1881–1991. Watford Football Club. ISBN 0-9509601-6-0.

References [edit ]