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Watford F.C.

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Watford
Watford badge
Full nameWatford Football Club
Nickname(s)The Hornets, The Golden Boys, Yellow Army, The Horns
Founded1881
GroundVicarage Road
Watford
England
Capacity17,504[1] (expanding to 23,500)
ChairmanGraham Taylor[2]
ManagerMalky Mackay
LeagueThe Championship
2009–1016th
Websitehttp://www.watfordfc.com/
Current season

Watford Football Club (often referred to simply as Watford or Watford F.C. and nicknamed The Hornets) is an English professional association football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. They play in the Championship. The club was founded in 1881, and played at several grounds before moving to a permanent location at Vicarage Road in 1922, where they remain to this day.[3]

The club is best known for two spells under the management of former England manager Graham Taylor. The first lasted from 1977 to 1987, when the club rose to the old First Division from the Fourth Division. Once in the highest division of English football, Watford finished second in the league in 1983, reached the FA Cup final in 1984,[4] and competed in the UEFA Cup in the 1983–84 season. The second period spanned from 1997 to 2001, when Taylor took the club from the renamed Second Division to the Premier League in successive seasons. Taylor is currently non-executive Chairman of the club's holding company, and an honorary life president alongside Sir Elton John, who owned Watford F.C. during both of these eras and has continued a long association with the club.[5] Watford are competitive in the Football League Championship, following relegation from the Premier League in 2006–07. Their current manager is former Watford and Scotland central defender Malky Mackay, who was appointed on 15 June 2009.[6]

History

For more information, see History of Watford F.C.

Watford Football Club were formed in 1881 as Watford Rovers, who played their first home games at a pitch in Cassiobury Park, before moving to Vicarage Meadow and later Market Street in Watford. They first competed in the FA Cup in the 1886–87 season, and in 1889 they won the County Cup for the first time. In 1893, Watford Rovers became West Hertfordshire and joined the Southern Football League in 1896, becoming professional a year later. West Hertfordshire merged with Watford St Mary's in 1898 to become Watford Football Club. In the same year the club moved to a ground in Cassio Road. Pressure from the owner to move eventually forced the manager, Harry Kent, to look for a new permanent ground which he found in 1914 at Vicarage Road, which remains the club's home today. They did not however move in until 1922.[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.

They remained in the Southern League until 1920, when they became founder members of the southern section of the Football League Third Division. 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 hard-won league status. 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 in favour of the champions of the Northern League and Southern League. Watford finished 21st in 1926–27, but were unanimously re-elected to the league after a ballot of the 44 Third Division clubs.[8] Watford's results improved in the years immediately preceding the Second World War; they finished in the top six for five consecutive seasons between 1934–35 and 1938–39, while the club also won the Football League Third Division South Cup in 1937.[9][10] Following the resumption of league football after the war, Watford remained in the Third Division South. A 23rd placed finish in 1950–51 meant that Watford had to apply for re-election once more, but again they were unanimously re-elected with all 48 clubs voting to retain them in the league.[11]

The club remained in the Third Division South until its dissolution in 1958. When the league was restructured into four national divisions for 1958–59, Watford were placed in the new Fourth Division. Watford spent two seasons there before they gained promotion to the Third Division in 1960. Ron Burgess, the former Tottenham Hotspur player was manager during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and promotion was gained with help from Division 4 top scorer Cliff Holton, who scored a club record 42 league goals in the season.[12] Holton was sold to Northampton the following year after another 34 goals, and this along with other departures caused enormous unrest among supporters. Burgess was succeeded by Bill McGarry, who bought new players such as Charlie Livesey, Ron Saunders and Jimmy McAnearney. Northern Irish goalkeeper Pat Jennings was signed from Newry Town in 1963, and he made his international debut despite playing in the Third Division at the time. His performances earned him a transfer to Tottenham after less than one season.[13]

McGarry joined Ipswich in 1964, and was replaced by player-manager Ken Furphy from Workington Town. 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 Spurs. Furphy's re-building came to fruition in 1969 with the signing of Barry Endean, who kicked off an unbeaten run after Christmas to secure the league title in the April home match against Plymouth. A year later Watford reached the FA Cup semi-final for the first time, beating First Division teams Stoke City and Liverpool, building up hopes that they could soon be playing First Division football. But Watford struggled to compete in the higher division and Ken Furphy was poached by Blackburn Rovers, to be succeeded by the late George Kirby. Hampered by a lack of funds and forced to sell players to survive, they fell back into the Third Division in 1972.[14] Watford failed to make an impact in the Third Division, and in 1975 were relegated to the Fourth Division. However, they were adopted by pop star Elton John in 1973 first as president and from 1976 as chairman. The singer declared an ambition to take Watford into the First Division. He sacked manager Mike Keen in April 1977.[14]

The head and torso of a man with light hair. He is wearing purple glasses, a black blazer, red shirt, and has a gold crucifix around his neck
Lifelong Watford fan Elton John has been involved with Watford since the 1970s, and is currently one of the club's life presidents.

When Graham Taylor was named as Watford's new manager in June 1977, the club were an unremarkable Fourth Division side.[15] In 1977 the greyhound track that encircled the pitch was removed as it was seen by Graham Taylor to lower the club's professional reputation.[7] His first success followed in 1977–78; Watford won the Fourth Division title whilst also recording the most wins, fewest defeats, most goals scored and fewest goals conceded of any side in the division.[16] Promotion to the Second Division came in 1978–79, with Ross Jenkins the league's top scorer with 29 goals. Watford consolidated with 18th and 9th placed finishes in the subsequent seasons, and secured promotion to the First Division for the first time in their history in 1981–82, finishing second behind rivals Luton.[15][17]

Watford started the 1982–83 season with wins over Everton and Southampton.[18] In the space of seven years, the club had climbed from the bottom place of the lowest division in the Football League, to the top position in the highest division.[19] Watford were unable to mount a successful title challenge, but eventually finished the season in second, which secured UEFA cup qualification for the following season. Luther Blissett finished the season as the First Division top scorer, before signing for Italian giants A.C. Milan for £1m at the end of the season.[20] An FA Cup final appearance followed in 1984, although Watford lost to Everton.[4] After guiding Watford to a ninth-place finish in 1986–87, Taylor was lured away to Aston Villa.[15]

After Graham Taylor left, Dave Bassett was placed in charge. Having lost John Barnes in the summer, the Hornets suffered a terrible start to the 1987–88 season, and Dave Bassett was sacked in January 1988. Watford were relegated from the First Division at the end of that season. The next season, 1988–89, Watford failed to return to the First Division after they lost Second Division playoffs. They did however win the FA Youth Cup, beating Man City 2–1 after extra time,[21] with future England international David James in goal for the Hornets. Over the next few seasons, Watford never seriously challenged for promotion. Their highest finish was a Craig Ramage-inspired seventh in Division One at the end of the 1994–95 season. However, in the following season Watford struggled, and were relegated to the Second Division following a 23rd place finish.

Graham Taylor returned to Watford as Director of Football in February 1996,[15] with former player Kenny Jackett as head coach, but was unable to stop the club from sliding into Division Two. After a mid-table finish 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, beating Bristol City into second place after a season-long struggle. A second successive promotion followed in 1998–99, thanks to a play-off Final victory over Bolton which secured the club's promotion to the Premiership. The Premiership season started brightly with an early victory over Liverpool, but soon faded away, and Watford were relegated after finishing bottom. Graham Taylor retired at the end of the 2000–01 season,[15] and was replaced by Gianluca Vialli.[22] 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 club finished 14th in the division, and Vialli was sacked after refusing to resign.[23] He was replaced by Ray Lewington, who had joined the club the previous summer as Vialli's reserve team manager.

Watford's weak financial position was exposed in 2002–03, following the collapse of ITV Digital. It was exacerbated by payoffs made to players following the termination of their contracts, as well as to Vialli.[24][25] 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 in 2003 generated vital revenue.[26][27] The financial difficulties 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.

34-year-old Aidy Boothroyd joined the club in his first managerial role, with Keith Burkinshaw joining as his assistant. Boothroyd led the team to survival in 2005, and in his first full season Watford generally sustained 3rd position all year, with Marlon King being the division's top scorer. A draw at home against rivals Luton Town secured Watford a play-off spot. Watford beat Leeds 3–0 in the play-off final to gain promotion to the Premier League. The team had to wait until November to record their first Premier League win. Two months later, Ashley Young was sold to Aston Villa for a club record fee rising to £9.65 million.[12][28] Watford finished bottom after only winning five league games, but did reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup.[29] Boothroyd continued as manager, and spent heavily on players, including Nathan Ellington for an initial £3.25million.[30] Although Watford led the Championship by several points early in 2007–08, they endured a poor run of form and only reached the play-offs on the final day of the season, where they were defeated by Hull City in the semi finals. Boothroyd left the club by mutual consent in November 2008, with Watford 21st in the Championship table.[31]

Reserve team manager Malky Mackay took temporary charge of the club,[32] with 35 year old Chelsea reserve team manager Brendan Rodgers confirmed as Watford's new manager on 24 November 2008.[33] Watford recorded their first win under Rodgers against Norwich City in December, and eventually secured safety with one game to go, finishing 13th. At the end of the season, Rodgers replaced Steve Coppell as manager of Reading.[34] Former coach and caretaker manager Malky Mackay was appointed as his replacement. Amid the multi-million pound sales of Tommy Smith, Jobi McAnuff, Tamas Priskin and Mike Williamson, and the threat of administration in December 2009, Watford finished the 2009–10 season 16th in the Championship.[6]

Club identity

Watford's kit and badge have changed considerably over the course of their history. In their early 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. Up until 1959 the team was known as "The Blues".[7][14] After a change of colours to gold shirts & black shorts, the teams nickname was changed to The Hornets, after a popular vote via the supporters club. The next major change came in 1976, when the colour was changed from gold to yellow, and the first of several kits featuring yellow, black and red was introduced, a colour scheme which has continued to the present day.[35] The appearance of a hart (a male deer) on the club's current crest represents the club's location in Hertfordshire, a county in which, for a long time, Watford F.C. were the only league club.[36]

The club's initial nickname was The Brewers, in reference to the Benskins Brewery, which owned the freehold of Vicarage Road.[37] 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. Watford changed its colour scheme in 1959, and supporters chose to adopt the new nickname The Hornets, along with a new club crest depicting a hornet. Other nicknames have since been adopted, including The Golden Boys and The Yellow Army, the latter being the name of a popular chant at Vicarage Road.

Stadium

Watford v Coventry City at Vicarage Road, on the last day of the Football League season, 14 May 2000

Watford Rovers and its successor West Hertfordshire played at several grounds in their early history, including Cassiobury Park, Vicarage Meadow, and the Rose and Crown pitch on Market Street, Watford. In 1898, the newly merged Watford F.C. moved to a site on Cassio Road. However, the landlady was keen for the club to find a new permanent home, and in 1922 the club moved to its current stadium at Vicarage Road. The site was owned by Benskins Brewery, and 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.[38] From the start of the 1997–98 season, Watford have shared Vicarage Road with rugby union side Saracens F.C.

Rivalry

Graph of Watford's historical Football League placing, represented by the yellow line, in comparison with Luton Town's, represented by the orange line.
Horizontal black lines represent league divisions.

Watford fans maintain a rivalry with those of Luton Town. The two sides met regularly in the Southern Leagues and Football League from 1900 to 1937 when Luton gained promotion from Div 3 (S). Aside from a Southern Cup meeting the two sides did not meet again until 1964. Throughout the 60s and 70s the two sides met sporadically, and the rivalry gradually grew in significance, bringing with it trouble in the ground and outside it. The two sides were promoted to the First Division in the 1981–82 season, with Luton taking the championship ahead of Watford. The two sides were also relegated together from the new Division 1 in 1995–96. Watford's promotion from Division 2 in 1997–98 meant that the two sides did not meet again in the League until the 2005–06 season, when Luton were promoted into the Championship. Clashes in the 90s had seen a decrease in violence, but a one-off League Cup tie in the 2002–03 season was marred by violence inside Vicarage Road.[39] The clubs' first league meeting in eight years, on 2 January 2006, passed largely without incident. The all time head to head record between the clubs stands at Luton 53 wins, Watford 36 wins, with 29 draws. Some Watford fans class Reading as rivals, after former manager Brendan Rodgers left to join them, although Rodgers has since been sacked as Reading manager, and after Reading were awarded a controversial goal against Watford at Vicarage Road during the 2008–09 season, despite the ball clearly not going in the net. At the same fixture the following season, Watford beat Reading 3–0, ensuring Watford's survival in the Football League Championship. Other rivals include QPR, Crystal Palace and MK Dons.

Players

For more information on this season's squad, see 2010–11 Watford F.C. season#Players. Lineup correct as of 24 February 2011.[40][41]

Current squad

Midfielder Stephen McGinn has played for Scotland under-21s.
A man wearing black shirt and shorts, with yellow collar and trim, standing on a grass field
Lee Hodson progressed from the club's youth system to the first team in 2009.
The head and upper torso of a young man, wearing a black and red top. The logo on his top is coloured red, black and yellow, and reads "WATFORD"
Danny Graham was Watford's top scorer in the 2009–10 season.

Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth.

Key: GK: Goalkeeper DF: Defender MF: Midfielder FW: Forward

No. Position Player Nation
1 GK Scott Loach  England
2 DF Lee Hodson  Northern Ireland
4 MF John Eustace (captain)  England
5 DF Martin Taylor  England
6 DF Adrian Mariappa (vice-captain)  England
7 MF Don Cowie  Scotland
9 FW Troy Deeney  England
10 FW Danny Graham  England
11 FW Will Buckley  England
12 DF Lloyd Doyley  England
13 GK Rene Gilmartin  Republic of Ireland
14 MF Ross Jenkins  England
15 MF Stephen McGinn  Scotland
16 MF Michael Bryan  Northern Ireland
17 DF Dale Bennett  England
20 FW Marvin Sordell  England
22 FW Andreas Weimann  Austria
23 MF Piero Mingoia  England
24 MF Matthew Whichelow  England
26 MF Sean Murray  Republic of Ireland
27 FW Gavin Massey  England
28 DF Tom Aldred  Scotland
29 DF Adam Thompson  Northern Ireland
30 GK Jonathan Bond  Wales
32 MF Danny Drinkwater  England

Out on loan

No. Position Player Nation
8 MF Josh Walker (at Northampton Town)  England
19 FW Liam Henderson (at Rotherham United)  England
21 DF Rob Kiernan (at Wycombe Wanderers)  Republic of Ireland
25 DF Eddie Oshodi (at Rushden & Diamonds)  England
DF Mat Sadler (at Shrewsbury Town)  England
FW Nathan Ellington (at Preston North End)  England

Coaching staff

Former players

Watford's starting lineup for the 1984 FA Cup Final.
Watford Football Club Hall of fame
Name Year inducted Position Watford appearances Watford goals
Luther Blissett 2003 Striker 503 186
Tony Coton 2004 Goalkeeper 291 0
John McClelland 2005 Defender 234 3
Tommy Mooney 2006 Striker 287 64
Les Taylor 2007 Midfielder 211 20
David James 2008 Goalkeeper 98 0
Ian Bolton 2009 Defender 287 36
Nigel Gibbs 2010 Defender 491 7

Managers

Statistics given are for league games only. Only managers in charge for 100 games or more are included.

A middle-aged man, wearing a black tracksuit top. A grass field is visible in the background.
Ray Lewington managed Watford from 2002 until 2005.
The head and shoulders of a man in his thirties. He has short hair and is wearing a black tracksuit top. A grass field and two sides of a sports stadium are visible in the background.
Aidy Boothroyd is one of two managers to have taken Watford from the Football League into the Premier League. The other was Graham Taylor.
Name From To P W D L F A Win % Notes
John Goodall May 1903 May 1910 246 90 63 93 347 358 36.59% Player-manager
Harry Kent May 1910 May 1926 484 187 121 176 661 663 38.64% Player-manager until 1913
Fred Pagnam May 1926 May 1929 126 45 28 53 204 239 35.71% Player-manager until 1927
Neil McBain May 1929 August 1937 336 137 71 128 591 516 40.77% Player-manager
Bill Findlay August 1937 February 1947 114 50 25 39 179 152 43.86% Player-manager until 1944
Len Goulden November 1952 October 1955 136 52 39 45 210 198 38.24%
Len Goulden February 1956 July 1956 16 6 3 7 17 23 37.50%
Neil McBain August 1956 February 1959 122 42 33 47 187 203 34.43%
Ron Burgess February 1959 May 1963 200 80 45 75 347 326 40.00%
Ken Furphy November 1964 July 1971 295 115 79 101 388 331 38.98% Player-manager until 1968
Mike Keen June 1973 April 1977 178 67 48 63 237 236 37.64% Player-manager until 1975
Graham Taylor June 1977 May 1987 428 191 105 132 692 544 44.63%
Steve Perryman November 1990 July 1993 121 42 35 44 140 151 34.71%
Glenn Roeder July 1993 February 1996 120 39 32 49 148 166 32.50%
Graham Taylor February 1996 June 1996 18 5 8 5 31 30 27.78%
Graham Taylor June 1997 May 2001 176 71 45 60 243 241 40.34%
Ray Lewington June 2002 March 2005 131 42 37 52 155 189 32.06%
Aidy Boothroyd[42] March 2005 November 2008 176 65 51 60 200 206 36.93%

Honours

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.
Honour Year(s)
Football League First Division Runners-up 1982–83
Football League Second Division[nb 1] Runners-up 1981–82
Play-off winners 1998–99, 2005–06
Football League Third Division[nb 2] Champions 1968–69, 1997–98
Runners-up 1978–79
Football League Fourth Division Champions 1977–78
Southern Football League Champions 1914–15
Runners-up 1919–20
FA Cup Runners-up 1983–84
Semi-finalists 1969–70, 1986–87, 2002–03, 2006–07
League Cup Semi-finalists 1978–79, 2004–05

Records

Striker Luther Blissett holds the record for Watford appearances, having played 503 matches in all competitions between 1976 and 1992, and his 415 Football League appearances during the same period is also a club record. Blissett also 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.

The team's biggest ever competitive win was an 11–0 defeat of Maidenhead F.C. in the Southern Football League in 1900, a match which shares the record for the highest scoring game involving Watford with the club's victories over Torquay United and Burnley F.C. in 1937 and 2003 respectively. The club's record home attendance is 34,099, for an FA Cup match against Manchester United on 3 February 1969, while their highest home league attendance is 27,968 against Q.P.R. in August of the same year. Watford's home capacity has since been reduced as a result of the Taylor report, and the closure of the Main stand at Vicarage Road due to health and safety concerns. The capacity currently stands at 17,504.

Watford's biggest ever away win (in terms of winning margin) in the history of their club came on 18 September 2010 in a league clash against Millwall, who were unbeaten at home for 10 months. The Hornets won 6–1.

Footnotes

  1. ^ The second division was renamed Division 1 upon the inception of the Premier League in 1992–93, and rebranded as the Football League Championship in 2004–05.
  2. ^ The third division was renamed Division 2 upon the inception of the Premier League in 1992–93.

Further reading

  • Phillips, Oliver (1991). The Official Centenary History of Watford FC 1881–1991. Watford Football Club. ISBN 0-9509601-6-0.
  • Jones, Trefor (1996). Watford Football Club Illustrated Who's Who. T.G. Jones. ISBN 0-9527458-0-1.
  • Jones, Trefor (1998). Watford Season by Season. T.G. Jones. ISBN 0-9527458-1-X.
  • Phillips, Oliver (2001). The Golden Boys: A Study of Watford's Cult Heroes. Alpine Press Ltd. ISBN 0-9528631-6-2.

References

  1. ^ "Watford Football Club". The Football League. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  2. ^ BBC News – Watford close to administration; BBC News. Retrieved 16 December 2009
  3. ^ "History of Watford FC – Grounds". Watford F.C. 9 September 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  4. ^ a b "Classic Cup Finals: 1984". The Football Association. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  5. ^ "History of Watford FC – Notable people". Watford F.C. 29 May 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  6. ^ a b "Mackay named Watford boss". Sky Sports. BSkyB. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  7. ^ a b c Notes from a lecture on the clubs history given by Edmund Coan, former club press officer, to the Kings Langley Historical Society on 21 January 2009. Reported in the Hemel Gazette 25 February 2009.
  8. ^ "Football League Division 3 (South) table 1926/27". footballsite.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
  9. ^ "English Division Three South Cup : Honours". Statto.com. Statto Organisation Limited. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
  10. ^ "Watford: Record while in the Football League". footballsite.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
  11. ^ "Football League Division 3 (South) table 1950/51". footballsite.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
  12. ^ a b "History of Watford FC – Club Records". Watford F.C. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  13. ^ "Pat Jennings". Irish Football Association. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  14. ^ a b c Hornet History :A History of Watford FC
  15. ^ a b c d e "Graham Taylor profile". BBC Sport. 5 February 2002. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  16. ^ "English Division Four (old) 1977–1978 : Table". Statto.com. Statto Organisation Limited. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  17. ^ "English Division Two (old) 1981–1982 : Table". Statto.com. Statto Organisation Limited. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  18. ^ "Watford are top of the bill" (PDF). The Mirror Sport. 1 September 1982. Retrieved 27 October 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ "Watford 1975–1976 : English Division Four (old) Table". Statto.com. Statto Organisation Limited. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  20. ^ "Star striker Blissett heads for new life at Italy's AC Milan". Watford Observer. Newsquest Media Group. 6 July 1983. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  21. ^ "FA Youth Cup winners". The Football Association. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
  22. ^ Johnson, William (1 May 2001). "Vialli unveiled as new Watford manager". Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  23. ^ "Vialli sacked". BBC Sport. 14 June 2002. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  24. ^ "Watford in financial peril". BBC Sport. 24 September 2002. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  25. ^ "Vialli sues Watford". BBC Sport. 7 February 2003. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  26. ^ "Hornets eye stadium repurchase". BBC Sport. 13 March 2003. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  27. ^ "Watford players agree pay cut". BBC Sport. 25 September 2002. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  28. ^ "Young completes £9.65m Villa move". BBC Sport. 23 January 2007. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  29. ^ "FA Cup Semi Final: Watford vs Manchester Utd". The Football Association. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  30. ^ "Watford sign Ellington for £3.25m". BBC Sport. 29 August 2007. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  31. ^ "Boothroyd leaves Watford position". BBC Sport. 3 November 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  32. ^ "MacKay takes temporary charge". Watford F.C. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  33. ^ "Watford Appoints Rodgers". Watford F.C. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  34. ^ Club disappointed as Rodgers departs
  35. ^ "Watford – Historical football kits". Retrieved 17 October 2009.
  36. ^ Murray, Scott (21 February 2001). "Whatever happened to Third Lanark?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  37. ^ David Conn (21 September 2002). "New owners of Vicarage Road revealed as Watford wither". London: The Independent. Retrieved 20 October 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  38. ^ Oli Phillips (6 August 2004). "Watford seal Vicarage Road Deal". Watford Observer. Retrieved 23 October 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  39. ^ "Joint probe launched into trouble". BBC Sport. 11 September 2002. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  40. ^ "Profiles". Watford F.C. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  41. ^ "Magic numbers". Watford F.C. 7 July 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  42. ^ Adrian Boothroyd's managerial career soccerbase.com

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