Watford F.C.
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Template:Football club infobox Watford Football Club is an English Football League team located in Watford, Hertfordshire.
The team was formerly owned by Elton John, who is now honorary life president. Best known of the club's past managers is former England manager Graham Taylor. Under Taylor, the team rose from the Fourth Division to the old First Division (now the Premiership). In 1984 Watford reached the FA Cup final and finished second in that Division, but began a slow decline after that. Graham Taylor left the club in 1987, and they were relegated to the Second Division (now the Football League Championship) at the end of the 1987-1988 season. They remained there for six seasons, during which time the Second Division became the First Division, and in 1996 they were again relegated to the Second Division.
After his difficult years away at England and other clubs, fans' favourite Graham Taylor returned in 1997, and in his first season back led the team to an impressive Second Division championship, beating Bristol City into second place after a season-long struggle. Greater things were yet to come: the following season the team made it into the Play-offs, and beat Bolton Wanderers in the final at Wembley Stadium to gain promotion to the Premiership, the first club to get there from the Second Division in two straight seasons.
The Premiership season started brightly with an early surpising victory over Liverpool, but soon faded away, and Watford were relegated after finishing bottom. Since then, they have remained in the First Division/Championship. Graham Taylor retired at the end of the 2000-2001 season (although just months later he returned to football management at Aston Villa), and was replaced in a surprise move by Gianluca Vialli, who had recently been sacked by Chelsea FC.
Vialli's time at the club was short and unhappy. In an unpopular move he replaced long-time backroom staff such as Kenny Jackett and Luther Blissett. Vialli made several high-profile signings, and wage bills at the club soared, with Vialli himself earning almost a million pounds a year. However, the season was thoroughly mediocre, with the club finishing a lowly 14th in the division, and Vialli was sacked after refusing to resign. He was replaced by Ray Lewington, who had been at the club as part of Vialli's backroom staff.
The 2002-2003 season saw the club in severe financial difficulties, along with many League clubs, following the collapse of ITV Digital. Exacerbating the club's difficulties were the large payoffs they had had to make to Vialli and several players on terminating their contracts, and Vialli's decision to sue the club early in 2003. However, an unexpected run to the FA Cup semi-final generated vital cash and the club survived. The difficulties left their mark, though, and the team looked in danger of relegation for much of the 2003-2004 season, before a strong finish to the season saw them reach the safety of mid-table.
The 2004-2005 season saw a continuation of the good form of the end of the previous season, with the club well in the upper half of the Championship after the first few games. However, a long run of poor form subsequently saw the club drop steadily towards the relegation zone. Another good cup run further eased the club's financial position, with the team reaching the semi-final of the League Cup before losing narrowly to Liverpool, but the club's poor league form saw Lewington sacked in March 2005. The board appointed Adrian Boothroyd to replace him, a move that received a cool reception from fans. At 34 years old, Boothroyd is currently the youngest manager in the league.
The team plays at Vicarage Road, a stadium they share with Saracens Rugby Club. The team is known as the Hornets as a result of its yellow and black strip. The fans of the club maintain a rivalry with those of Luton Town F.C., which is generally good-natured but spilled over into violence in a cup tie between the clubs in 2002 ([1] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/2249877.stm)).
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1 The return of Graham Taylor |
The Graham Taylor Era
When 32-year-old Graham Taylor was named as Watford's new manager at the start of the 1976-77 season, the club had just been taken over by world famous pop star Elton John and were an ungainly Fourth Division side. But thanks to the efforts of chairman, manager and playing staff, Watford had reached the First Division by the start of the 1982-83 season. Players like John Barnes, Ross Jenkins and Luther Blissett were some of the most respected players in the English game during the 1980's. Watford finished their first top flight season in style, finishing league runners-up behind champions Liverpool. An F.A Cup final appearance followed in 1984, although Watford lost to Everton. After guiding Watford to a ninth-place finish in 1986-87, Taylor was lured away to Aston Villa and his successor Dave Bassett was dismissed after eight months in charge after a terrible start to the 1987-88 season.
Life outside the top division
Watford were relegated from the First Division at the end of the 1987-88 season, and lost in the following season's Second Division playoffs. Over the next few seasons, Watford never seriously challenged for promotion - their highest finish was seventh in Division One at the end of the 1994-95 season.
The return of Graham Taylor
Graham Taylor returned to Watford as Director of Football in February 1996, with former player Kenny Jackett as head coach, but was unable to stop the club from sliding into Division Two. After a mid-table finished in Division Two at the end of 1996-97, Jackett was demoted to the position of assistant manager and Taylor returned his old role as manager. The transition proved a success and Watford secured the Division Two championship in 1997-98. A second successive promotion followed in 1998-99, thanks to a playoff final victory which secured the club's promotion to the Premiership. Their stay lasted just one season, and Taylor retired at the end of the 2000-01 Division One campaign after failing to achieve promotion.
Gianluca Vialli: Money Can't Buy Success
Former Chelsea manager Gianluca Vialli was named as Watford's new manager in the summer of 2001. He was given large sums of money to take the club forward and spent it on wages rather than transfer fees. This contributed to the finacial problems of the next year. The new signings were unproductive and Vialli was sacked after just one season in which the club finished a disappointing 14th.
The Ray Lewington era: Triumph in the face of adversity
First-team coach Ray Lewington took charge of Watford for the 2002-03 season and brought in influential players such as Neal Ardley and Sean Dyche. He was dismissed after two-and-a-half years following a poor run of form which put the club into contention for relegation, although they did reach an F.A Cup and a League Cup semi-final under his management.
This does not tell the tale of Lewington's acheivements. Hugely popular with the fans for the common belief that he did things the "Watford way". He bought in honest pros who offered blood and guts and operated on a shoestring, neccessary thanks to the excesses of the Vialli era.
Lewington's sacking was controversial. The board, in keeping with Watford's history, took a lot of criticism. Club chairman Graham Simpson, directors the Russon Brothers and Chief Exec Mark Ashton have been on the receiving end of some stinging condemnation for sacking the man who has led the club to mid table safety and 2 domestic cup semi finals.
The Adrian Boothroyd era: A new beginning?
34-year-old Adrian Boothroyd was appointed manager after serving at Leeds United as a coach, and 70-year-old Keith Burkinshaw was recruited as his assistant. Boothroyd is aiming high for next season after securing the club's Championship status.
Famous past players
- John Barnes
- Luther Blissett
- Tony Coton
- Kenny Jackett
- David James
- Pat Jennings
- Tommy Mooney
- Kevin Phillips
- Pat Rice
- Ronny Rosenthal
- Wilf Rostron
- Steve Sherwood
- Gerry Armstrong (scorer of Northern Ireland goal against Spain in 1982 World Cup Finals, now European football guru)
- Nigel Callaghan
- Mo Johnston
External links
- Watford FC official homepage (http://www.watfordfc.com/)
- Blind, Stupid and Desperate - fan site (http://www.bsad.org/)
- The Cult of Lettuce - fan site (http://www.thelutherblissettexplosionexperiment.co.uk/)
- Glory Horns - fan site (http://www.gloryhorns.co.uk/)
- Watford FC latest news (http://www.watford.ws/)
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