Is right now the best time in our history?

It was when Wally was in charge!

 

Having researched it, apparently closer to 6 miles.

Almost lost him to Brentford.

In today's football money, Elton's investment then maybe £50-75m. Broadly similar to Gino's? Obviously loans & so on cloud the picture.

 

True, but money didn't help produce Terry, Callaghan, Blissett, Jackett and Barnes, Tom Walley did. His contribution hasn't been mentioned

 

I'd say 4 miles from Pinner railway station to Vic Road.. as the crow flies. 5.5 miles shortest distance by road.

Yes hard to work out what his investment would be in today's football world.. though the record transfer fee is now 70 times more than in the early 80's. Would mean writing off nearer to £100 million, which i doubt he would.. or could even afford to.

 

I suspect that for many people (self included), the period 1977-86 was the best because it was a major part of our formative years. I had been going to Watford with my dad since 1970, but GT's arrival coincided with me going with a group of mates, standing in the Rookery, winning shed loads of games.

It was part of a rite of passage - football, beer, girls, music, all of which were better then than now, because they were relative novelties

 

To be balanced, their parents produced them.

So any success we have had or will have is all down to Nigel Callaghan folks I’m afraid. Elton and Gino’s role in all this is vastly overstated.

The Rookery to be renamed ‘The Mr and Mrs Callaghan Stand’ from next season.

 

Actually Elton's Mum lived in flats just off Pinner Road, between Northwood Hills and Pinner Green (A404), not in Pinner itself. 5.2 miles by road to WFC according to Dr Google. Sorry for the pedantic local knowledge but it was very much my patch growing up.

 

Don't think Tom Walley gets much kudos for Blissett, he was already a senior pro when Walley was taken on as the youth coach in '77. Still, swap Luther for Gibbs and it's still an impressive reportoire of players he brought forth. (Wrote groomed originally, swiftly changed my mind).

 

Stalker.

 

I thought she lived up Pinner Hill as you go up with Montesole / Pinner CC on your right ?

 

Compare any of these premier league seasons to 97/98. Anyone who thinks it's better now than then is deranged.

 

Yep. I think it all depends on how much joy you get from players of PL ability. I genuinely got more joy watching Peter Kennedy and Richard Johnson than I’ve ever got from Doucoure and Pereyra.

I got Holebas wrong. I didn’t like his surly attitude as I mistook it for not wanting to be here. But as time has gone on, I’ve realised he is the closest we’ve had to straddling those two era’s.

 

Although the late 70s early 80s were much better I took it for granted cos I was at primary/secondary school and didnt know any better. It did really light up my youth and seeing Barnes from when he was 17 and luther in full swing was totally amazing. 98/99 was incredible cos it was so unexpected and in my opinion GTs biggest achievement: no Barnes, no Blissett, no Platt (with villa). But I do really love our current crop, the quality of football is way better than at any time in our history and this team and squad are full of great characters who are also great footballers with much better technique than almost all our previous players. When I first saw us in the old division 3, never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined the rollercoaster ahead. Maybe Gino is the final gift but in my life so far WFC has been the gift that keeps on giving.

 

Afraid i'm gonna out pedant you here.. but Elton lived at three different addresses in that area.
Until he was 6 he lived at 55 Pinner Hill Road.. the house he was born in. From ages 6 to 15 he lived at 111 Potter Street, after that moving to live with mum and step dad at 3A Frome Court, Pinner Road. So i reckon he was living at Potter Street when he was first taken to Vicarage Road. All these places are, as you pointed out, nearer to Northwood Hills tube than Pinner. Surprised none of these houses have a plaque on them.

If anyone fancies doing the Elton Tour you can find details here.. http://walks.young1.org/walk.php?id=103

 

That's really interesting, thanks. I've always understood the photo of flats in the Captain Fantastic album were those on Pinner Road, which I think Bernie Taupin also visited.
I must try and go back for a wander round sometime, although I have little reason to go back to the Pinner area since my Mum died a few years ago. Perhaps a detour after the ludicrously early kick-off on Sunday?

 

Sounds like a great idea.. might do the same walk next time i'm over.
Yeah the flat where Bernie Taupin came to stay was his mum and step dads place in Pinner Road (near junction with Alandale Road) as opposed to Pinner Hill Road. They wrote Your Song and Tiny Dancer there among other tracks.
This video gives you an idea of the walk..

 

1982/83 season aside, yes it is.

 

IF we won the FA cup, would anyone disagree that this was the best season in our history? (Am aware it's not going happen btw)

 

Will be the biggest achievement the club has ever had IMO.

Some might think the FA Cup isn’t as prestigious as it once was. But every club wants to win it. Once you win it, it will forever be linked to us...’2019 FA Cup winners Watford’. You simply can’t but history like that. And ours is missing something of that note. Portsmouth won it. Wigan won it. I remember vividly and I don’t support them...

It’s remembered by people who live for football how good we were in the 80’s under GT - but not universally. Win the cup and everyone will know about it.

 

Winning the FA Cup and finishing 7th would probably qualify as our best ever season, although I'm open to debate over it regarding that season of 1982-83 when we finished 2nd.

For my money there has only been two eras of note in the club's history. From 1977-87 and when the Pozzo's took over. Sure we've had a lot of isolated good seasons, but nothing of sustained progress. So we had 10 years of progression under GT and SEJ, now we're 7 years into a progressive era under the Pozzo's, and hopefully it will continue for many years to come.

Comparing the two spells is difficult and you can only really go on highlights. You've got to consider where we were before SEJ took over. Languishing in the fourth division. We gained 3 promotions, League Cup semi final, FA Cup final and another FA Cup semi final, UEFA Cup qualification and Division One runners-up. That's quite a list.

This era has seen 1 promotion and 1 FA Cup semi final (maybe 2 this season).

Now you could argue, with the financial resources needed to compete this time around, it's raises the bar far higher as an achievement, as it's clear, there is a far wider gap between the top 6 clubs then there ever was in the eighties. The playing field was a lot more even back then and you could easily go on back-to-back promotions and stay in the top league. We did it a couple of times, Swansea and Wimbledon also achieved this feat.

If we finish 7th (our second best ever league season) and do not win the FA Cup, then season 82-83 still holds it. But, all things considered, barring a total collapse from now on, this could well be the second best ever season we've ever had. Just enjoy it, as it doesn't last forever, that's for damn sure.

 

There have been isolated, most enjoyable and memorable seasons outside of the two GT eras and the current Pozzo era. 59-60 (the Holton, Uphill season) was the first time we had been promoted in the Football League and was my first stamping me as a Watford fan for life. The 68-69 season is wholly memorable as the first time we elevated ourselves above the mire of the bottom two divisions. They were both the best time in our history if you see what I mean.

Perhaps an argument could be made that the first GT era was the best time for the fans and the Pozzo era is the best time for the club itself.

 

Foolishly, he loaned the club money, which somehow, when he sold the club to Petchey, Petchey became entitled to. I think it was a couple of million that Jack squeezed out of the club, that Elton had loaned in good faith.

 

I thought Elton wrote off his loans to the club? That's how i remember it anyway.

 

As I recall it, one of the difficulties of Petchey selling the club, once he'd long tired of it, was his insistence that any buyer also settle these loans, which had never even come from him.

 

It might be the case that EJ wrote off some of the loan but not all.. or that he gave the club a clean slate at some point but then loaned them some more. Probably the latter as i seem to recall him writing off loans well before selling up. I need to read up on it more.

 

I think it was effectively an admin error. Elton said he didn’t want his loan repaid but it was still detailed in the club accounts when he sold to the West Ham guy, who was able to insist it was repaid to him when he, in turn, sold the club. Another snake.