Rob Edwards Sacked

Doesn’t come close. And for an hour we’d had a one man advantage too. Barely had a shot in 120 mins. Chamberlain save after save.

 

I seem to recall us missing a couple of sitters in that game though, Mooney and Johnson seem to stick in the mind. But yeah, we were slapped around in that game. Think fatigue (which was obvious in the first leg), Robinson being suspended, the atmosphere and the early goal didn’t help us at all.

 

Certainly a real ‘backs to the wall’ performance, but one of the very greatest away days for those of us who were there.

 

Special needs school.

 

How would you say the 3-0 win at Palace in the play-offs compares? Would you rank the 2016 win at Arsenal in the FA Cup as one of the top away days? Some may not rate it that highly because they don’t consider the FA Cup that important and bigger shocks have occurred in it, and it came in the middle of a run of poor form, but it was pretty big because it was our first win at a top team for many years and the first win of that kind of real significance for even longer (the win at Anfield was great, but it didn’t make us come even close to staying up), even if it was followed by that damp squib of a performance at Wembley. Great goal too by Guedioura, who should have been utilized far more, even if he probably wasn’t quite consistent enough to be Premier League quality.

Cardiff 2006 and the comeback against Wolves were of course fantastic, but pedantically speaking they weren’t “away days”.

 

I absolutely loved the Cup win at Arsenal with the Guedioura howitzer, but then I’m one of the few who still love the FA Cup. Having said that, it doesn’t come close to the Cup win at Highbury in ‘87, if you go back that far. That really felt like sticking it to one of the big boys, especially as they were so moany in those days. The Palace one was great too (and a little bit unexpected if we’re honest), but I don’t rate it quite as highly because it was only the first leg and ended up not being very close. Other ones I put right up there are the fierce quarter-final at Birmingham (again) in the ‘84 cup run and of course the first away trip in Europe at Kaiserslautern, where there was a great atmosphere in the away end despite it being a defeat.

 

I think 'great away' days can also depend on where you were sat and who you were with

 

Sat? I would be a bit past it now, but the best away days were spent stood on a packed terrace. e.g. Peterborough 1994.

 

Has to be winning 2-1 at OT as a Div3 team for me…in the days when the top clubs played their 1st team in every round & really wanted to win it.

 

That save he pulled off to deny Eiður Guðjohnsen in the play off final is one of the best I've seen from him. I always remember waiting for the net to bulge, but it didn't.

1:06 minutes in

also here

 

Yes he made several great saves inc a fab one from when the whistle had gone but he didn’t know at the time. Kept us in it for sure.

 

“That’s your job, by the way.” S. Dyche.

 

Never tire of watching those clips. Given how long it had been and how little I expected it, I still think that was arguably the greatest day of being a Watford fan in recentish history

 

Was that 3-4 and Dennis Bailey?

 

I wasn't there but I remember watching the highlights on Sportsnight without knowing the score which made it special.

 

Good point, I was at that one as well. My first ever evening away match on a school night!

 

Yes it was! Complete chaos behind the goal (and on the pitch).

 

I did that too!

 

Absolutely. Taking my Dad to the game, to the old Wembley, as a thank you gesture for when he took me to the Everton Cup Final. Getting half-decent seats next to my fellow Vicarage Rd attendees. A gloriously sunny day. Working out that you could buy a slightly more expensive Travelcard at Ricky Tube ticket machine, as the Wembley Return option had been de-activated, hence avoiding the mad queue outside the ticket office. One of the best atmospheres I have ever experienced at a sporting event. 2 fantastic goals. My ears popping 3 times due to the sheer volume of noise (both goals and full-time). Me, my Dad and our seat mates all singing ourselves hoarse during and after the game. A kind Bolton fan saying congrats, you deserved it, and shaking my hand on the way back to the tube. The amazing feeling of pride in what our club had achieved that day. One of the most professional performances I have ever seen from any Watford Team. That was a Bank Holiday Monday to forever park in the memory banks.

 

Every time I think about growing feeling of that looks like it's going right into the bloody top corner when Wright performed that overhead kick, I get goosebumps. That was a simply electric feeling, multiplied by everyone else around you coming to the same realisation at the same time and then followed by sheer euphoric delirium.

 

I was there, what a day!

 

That Palace game wasn't quite like that, they ripped us apart in the first half and missed a couple of very good chances, we were lucky to go into the break goalless. King scored the first after about 90 seconds after the restart and the rest was history.
When Spring scored the 3rd very late on you knew Palace were cooked.

 

I was listening to reports and score updates on the radio. Main commentary was from Villa Park and suddenly a deafening cheer went up and the commentator explained that the AV fans had just heard the watford score.

 

Luther’s first goal was early in the second half, so we had the joy of being plastered in ketchup and onions from all the HT hot dogs that went up in the air. The lovely Manc supporters in the stand above the away terrace kindly washed it off by pi55ing on us at full time.

 

I turned to my mate just as the game kicked off and said it's really important not to concede early.......
When they scored that is the loudest I have heard a crowd anywhere in all my years of going. It was deafening

 

I can remember a ball boy ,who was carrying a bit of timber , getting the "who ate all the pies" chant then pulling out a chocolate biscuit and eating it , getting a well earned round of applause.
Some bloke with a leg in plaster, in the away end, swinging a crutch at stewards .
Coppers and stewards coming into the terrace, these were the days of fences, dragging some people out but one poor steward got left behind and locked in ! As you say , chaos !!

 

He'd be bang on and I don't blame him for taking that job, but it doesn't change the fact that he is scum now

 

Imagine going from our glorious carpet at Vicarage Road to a ploughed field up the M1 that doesn't even have undersoil heating.

 

He’ll think he’s back at FGR