today.. Nick Wright's overhead kick and Allan Smart's tears of joy (for some reason I remember a long letter or rather rant in the WO that previous summer about why is GT buying players from Carlisle and saying it lacked "ambition") Winning at Wembley for the first time to reach the Premiership in front of 37k Orns. Sure its a day not forgotten and much like Cardiff in 06 we were the underdogs (in neutral eyes maybe?) despite beating Bolton twice earlier in the season and that great end of season run.
Magic Magic day. My first Masive Watford day. I was 7 at the time, but rmeber the feeling so crazily. It was incredible.
I went to the game with my brother, my dad and my uncle. There may have been others, but I don't remember them ;D. I clearly remember the Nick Wright goal as we were seated behind the trajectory of the ball. It is the main thing I remember from the game. I don't remember the Allan Smart goal as clearly.
That day and winning at anfield are still my 2 favourite days as a Watford fan. Closely followed by beating Leeds with Mc Callister and Cantona in their Team
One of the best days of my life. So many great memories of that day. For some reason Wembley 99 was so much better than Cardiff 06.
Think it was quite well worked actually...Hyde won a tackle and the ball broke to Kennedy who squared it for Smart to drive home from 20ish yards or so. Classic break-away strike really just to end all those nerves after we'd missed a few chances to kill the game off beforehand. Think it was actually better in terms of performance than against Leeds at Cardiff.
I must have watched both goals 200 plus times since on dvd youtube etc. If you look at the build up to Smart's goal. Hyde really left his foot in when making that initial tackle should have been a foul really.
Absolutely. Bolton had their chances in the first half but we defended resolutely and looked lethal on the break playing some decent football. Can't believe its been a decade already. That '99 team (with Mooney, Johnson, Hyde. etc.) was, and still is, my favourite Watford line-up. Happy days!
What a game. I remember Bolton really could have been 3 up by the break but it just was not their day and when Smart scored Kennedy sprinted to the left of the goal to celebrate and Smart sprinted to the right with some other players following they just didn't know what to do with themselves. Didn't Smart cry a little bit when he was kneeling on the grass?
Oh I almost know the goal off by heart, but always from the television camera's view not from where I was sitting that day. Nick Wright's goal is a little more vivid in the memory.
one of the best days of my life, i can still remember nick wrights goal and and when allan smart scored i remember going crazy, it was my last game in england as i moved to oz the very next day!
Much better atmosphere from what i remember. Not sure about that, dont remember leeds having a real chance against us but bolton dominated early on in the wembley final.
i agree with you on that,its rubbish when you had to go another country to play in a game like that,we only had about 25000 at cardiff,we had around 40-45000 at wembley,i bumped into loads of old faces i hadnt seen for years,even my the women that babysat me when i was a nipper!wembleys wembley, venue of legends,me and a mate were over from gran canaria,we were staying with freinds in northwood ,there was a good couple of hundred on the train just from round there,its the fact its local and the walk up empire way towards the twin towers in the sunshine with your mates,beered up to watch the hornets is a special feeling and then to win in the fashion that we did was something that will be with me for the rest of my life,it was a fantastic day out ,i remember when nicky wrights overhead kick hit the back of the net,i was looking at the linesman in disbelief that we'd scored a goaL OF THAT CALIBRE,IN SUCh A MASSIVE GAME AT WEMBLEY WITH THE WORLD WATCHING.great stuff,then we went into watford town centre that night ,was in the pond at the top of the high street and everything,brilliant!:sign15:
Great day and great goals, but both Smart and Wright were unarguably shyte players. They were poor in the Champ, but horrifically out of their depth in the Prem (did anyone see Wright come on at Wet Spam? A contender for worst performance ever in a yellow shirt).
10 Years ago - Blimey... Getting told well before by a supplier that if Watford got to the finals he would sort the tickets out and make a day of it. D day - 9am, Chauffer pulls up in a Merc and all the girlfriends family giving it large out the window. Pick up 3 more people and head straight to wembley. Few bars, loads of beer. Into the best statium in the world at which point Im told that we are actually in a box and that box is the best one - right about the queens seat and sandwiched between coca-cola and nationwide. Nice supprise apart from the fact it was actually behind sealed glass!!!!!!!!!! Rest of the day was beers, jd and coke, food and getting soaked in two bottles of champagne when the second wonder goal went in.... Getting told we had to leave the box (about 2 hours after the game) and walking down stairs straight onto the team bus and giving it a big UUUUUUUUORNNNNNNSSSSSSSSSS before getting asked to remove my drunk harris.. Memorys - the stands being so yellow and wondering where the bolton fans were / the £700 bar bill that I didnt have to pay and getting my programe signed by Smart. Great day! 10 years? Blimey, still feels like yesterday...
still remember the train journey from rickmansworth to wembley, me being 10 didnt stop me singing on the train there with god knows how many carraiges full of watford.
While we're talking about days gone by here's a couple of goals well worth a watch again.... Xavier Gravelaine vs Saints Wooter vs Norwich
I remember walking down the steps at Wembley & thinking it will never get better than this as a Watford fan. A kind of sadness came over me as I thought of how many defeats the Prem would bring, but what a day. Cardiff did not compare, but the journey & the banter on the M4 was fun!!!
Was a top day as a 9 year old boy i was buzzing allday i remember pulling into this pub in my uncles mates dads 10 seater taxi with my uncles and a few older lads and 2 other kids 1 a little girl and i jumped out first and was straight back in because a pub full of pissed off bolton were chasing it i was giving em the little hand gestures as we drove off, was quite scary though but i will always remember thinking F### em we won! in the stadium was amazing i had been to a few crappy england friendlys in there but to be there on a day like that so young i was so happy half the time i couldn't see but i was sooooooooooo happpy it was truly amazing!
I wasn't there. I was playing a football tournament in Amsterdam at the time. Went to St.Andrews though. That was a good night!
Fantastic Day, what a goal Smarts ws the icing on the cake The tube was packed on the way back, so was the town. How yellow was that stadium. More than half full with Horns. Brilliant
For one of the richest games in the world - i preferred the trip abroad to Taffyland - nice stadium, grumpy leeds canuts and we totally outplayed leeds - a supreme performance and excellent DAY out. who wants to go 20 minutes down the road, for one of the biggest games/days out, of a persons football life.
It was an amazing experience to see in the old wembley for me been 9, but i have to agree and say cardiff was, on a personal level, ****ing mental! but i also enjoy semi finals at villa park they are top man u was a ****ing mad day out regardless of the score never forget watford scoring and running to the front before i had got to the back again the mancs had scored again which was when the trouble at the game started if im right
There are a few more here.. http://www.homesoffootball.co.uk/gallery/search/?query=watford (the second row down) Officially there were 37,000 Watford fans at Wembley in 99..and this photo backs that up... With an attendance of just over 70K, you can see we had one block more than Bolton. 37K sounds about right to me.
As a point of interest.....who knows what Michel Ngonge is up to now? (I don't btw, its not a quiz question).
