Your First Taste Of The Hornets

Supporting the Horns often seems to involve pain...

 

Very early 70's. So young I couldn't even tell you who we played.

 

My first game was with my Dad and brother watching Watford v Spurs.

Sat in the family area, remember only a bit about the game - our wingers were good. We had Worrell Sterling on one side. As he scored I think it was:

14th December 1985- Division One, Watford 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0

My brother is a Spurs fan so not a bad start to attending matches.

As we lived in Wiltshire I'd been a fan for years before getting to go to a game so very happy to be in the ground.

One thing I remember well was my Dad's incredulity at paying £2.70 for three hot dogs at half time. Them were the days.

Some great names on the team sheet if I've got the date right!

 

Lost 1-0 at home against Crewe. Think it was 97. I remember they had Robbie Savage. It was a crap game.

 

Home v Oldham, 1981 in the then Division Two (just looked it up). Fairly sure it was someone’s birthday party so went with some other kids and someone’s parents.

Main thing I remember was one of the Oldham players had bright orange hair, and that it was 1-1 at the end.

Didn’t consider myself a Watford fan then nor for many years after - only went to Vicarage Road to see my heroes (Liverpool) - who did of course start visiting regularly shortly after!

 

My first game was the last game of the season in 1979 against Hull City. We needed to win to go up and did so 4-0. It was an evening game and the atmosphere was electric. I remember the night so vividly. Over 27000 in attendance, pitch invasion at the end, seeing Elton John and the score board was awesome.

This was one of the best days of my life. I was instantly hooked. Luther Blissett and Ross Jenkins made a massive impression on me that night. They and Graham Taylor (goes without saying really) are my heroes and remain so to this day.

Since that night, Watford has been a massive part of my life. It was wonderful being a Watford fan growing up through the late 70s and early 80s.

 

I was at this game. If my memory serves me well, Ray Train scored a volley from the edge of the box, only to be disallowed because Nigel Callaghan was offside.

 

A 2-1 home win vs Darlington in Autumn 1977. About half a dozen games into GT’s first spell. We were 8th and the win took us to 4th. A 2-1 win at home to Bournemouth a few days later midweek took us top and I was hooked.

 

A really fantastic evening!

 

April/May 1975. Watford v Walsall. Despite needing to win to stay in Division 3, we lost at home 1-3 0r 2-3 to get relegated to Division 4. Great memories!

 

I beat you by a couple of months. The Hull match was my second ever game. My first being just a couple of months earlier in March ‘79 when we beat Chesterfield 2-0. The only thing I remember from that game was Roger Joslyn missing a penalty.

 

Mine was also against Darlington as the last game of the 76/77 season, so the last game before GT arrived. Couldn't have picked a better time to become a Watford fan. I only went because a school pal was going and I asked to tag along.
1-1 draw with a late OG for us if I recall.

 

And yet here you are still!
#Loyalty

 

Watford 1-0 Wimbledon (Blissett) 1987

 

Vale. Devon White brace, David Connolly hat trick. Never looked back.

 

Dec 12th 1970. Watford 0 L*t*n 1. And so it begins…
Malcolm MacDonald and our future manager Mike Keen were in the L*t*n team, Endean, Scullion and the rest in ours. 24,000 in the ground, with me in the Rookery end, south-east corner, under the floodlight. The atmosphere was raucous and the first thing I saw before the game was a punch-up right in front of me (no segregation in those days). TV was black & white then, so the green of the pitch (even though it would have been muddy) was striking. Of course I was hooked, despite the result.

 

1983 Watford 2-1 Liverpool. As a kid my memory is hazy, but my step-dad was a Watford fan. I recall the walk to the Vic, the terraces and Blissetts goal.

 

York at home, old division 2. I think we won 2-1.

 

17th Feb 1968 v Bury. Sat in the Shrodells.

1-1 draw. They scored first and we equalised.

 

86 FA Cup 3rd round, 3-1 at Coventry. Snow, orange ball.
Had supported since 1980 but living in Woolacombe, Devon as a 7 year old, trips to Watford were rare.

 

It would have been sometime around the mid 70s and for some reason I've always thought it was a pre-season friendly against Bishop's Stortford, but I've never been able to find a record of such a fixture taking place. I vividly remember my first away match though - Oxford Utd January 1979. Snow on pitch and we played in red, which was very exciting as in those days teams only used their second strip in the event of a genuine colour clash

 

I think Savage nutmegged Mooney in that game!

 

Away v Pompey,late 1970 Google tells me.

We were hammered 6-0 ( apposite!) Perhaps 6-1. No 5-0.

Toffees Cup Final hero Mike Trebil thingy scored a hat trick I'm told. It was his first game!

I was wee,6 to be precise.

 

Caramba! A whupping.

And things have gone downhill ever since eh?

 

Mostly wretched with that golden period from '78 -87 of Paradiso and the occasional fleeting moments.

"Happy? I remember happy. No I'm not happy dear".

 

Carlisle away circa 1978.... Random I admit but was studying in Newcastle at the time

 

23p a pint and on a student grant....good times

 

I went to that one - an evening match on a Tuesday too. I was working on the railway then, so it was free tickets. I got thrown out for jumping up and down as the teams came out. Had to pay again and go in the home end. And we lost 1-0.

 

It could have been Herts senior cup game?

 

My first game was in Finland. Pre season match against local side Jaro from Pietarsaari; July 1987. Blissett four goals secured a 5-0 win with Paul Mitchel (?) scoring one. Watford were actually touring Sweden but played one game over here also. Great experience for young fan meeting players after the game. I can remember Blissett laughing a lot and Peter Hetherston being very shy new player. Alan Gillett(?) the new assistant was kindly communicating with us after the game.

My first in the Vic was later that year on Boxing Day against Sheff Wed. Great start as Mel Sterland scored an own goal from McClelland corner. Is that possible...? We lost 1-3 though.

 

October 1992. Home to Bristol Rovers won 4-2. I don't remember much about it, not surprised as my dad has always said I just ran around the east stand the whole time. Only stopped to eat the burger my Dads mate Dennis bought me.

Many games with Dad and Dennis and my Dad's work mates. I could write a book of the stories from the away days with them.

Dennis later become a steward at the club, was usually positioned in the corner between the East stand and Rookery had what he called his gate to open and close. He sadly died just before the start of the Boothroyd prem season.