In my ‘quest’ to see Watford play at all 92 league clubs I have 25 to go to - all in leagues 1 and 2. I used to think I would never complete it, but now I’m getting ready to be presented to the crowd at Harrogate in about 2027 when my quest is finished.
Hope we can get good pre-season odds on relegation before it becomes clear quite how rudderless we are these days.
We came pretty damn close this season. This was just after we lost 2-1 at Hillbrough to a very late Sheff Wed goal.
That season we won our last 2 games 3-0/4-0 v Reading and at Coventry to stay up with Palace drawing at Hillsbrough to survive and relegated the Owls. Helguson scored 2 in the first game. Of course we saved ourselves under Boothroyd when he first came in with a 1-0 win at Stoke. Helguson getting the winner. Oh for a striker like that now.
Yes, and also beat Rotherham 1-0 away from home and got a 0-0 at home against Sheff Utd. All three games at the start of Boothroyd's tenure. He certainly did an awful lot in such a small space of time. I still admire the guy now, even if his reign with us ended after getting embarrassed in the playoffs.
The 1997/98 season was brilliant though. That final day at Fulham is one of my favourite memories. Better than any of the last few seasons and better than Any premier league season. So much fun. I still have some of the Fulham turf in a pot at my mum's I think.
Yes 97/98 was good. 96/97 gets papered over though when Kenny Jackett was in charge and we seemed to draw every game and finished up mid-table when we were favourites for the title after relegation. League One is a tough old division these days. Some so called 'big' clubs down there. If we did end up there in the next couple of years, I wouldn't bet we'd get out of it as quickly (2 seasons) as we did in the 90's. We haven't had a trip to what is now League Two in many many years, before I was born, but thanks to Pozzo watch this space!
Yes and Cameron Crocodile Man eating an ice cream in Bishop's Park! Happy days. You knew where you were with vending machine throwing maniacs like him around! He'd have thrown an entire canteen at Pozzo never mind a piddly banner.
Piping Bristol City to the title was oh so sweet. They had been right behind us all season too. I do remember the Fulham game, sold out away end and a mixture of excitement, nerves and just plain adrenaline. I've never hugged a perfect stranger so tightly when the final whistle blew. Not too sure he had either.
Boothroyd’s first three games: Burnley away - lost 1-3, Plymouth away - lost 0-1, Leeds home lost 1-2. I will never accept that Lewington wouldn’t have kept us up that season as well. Boothroyd did a good job the following year by marrying up big, strong, quick players with a smattering of quality (Young, King, Spring), but once that departed his football was horrible, as was the regime he worked for.
You are correct with regards to those results, however Boothroyd joined towards the end of April the previous season 02/03. Lewington was dismissed before the season ended and Boothroyd kept us up (if I am wrong then I appologise)
He joined in March 2005 after we lost 2-0 to PNE. I remember there was a lot of Aidy who ? As it wasn’t very common to give young coaches jobs like it is now . Think Mark Ashton knew him from a time at Leeds .
I prefer League 1 to the Championship. Everyone is capable of beating anyone else and it'll be good to see us win a few games rather than just being the Championship whipping boys
Fair enough I am probably getting my dates mixed up, but it was a while ago. Best memories of our promotion season under Aidy apart from the P/O and Final was the 4-1 battering win at Sheff Utd, we cut their lead over us in second place to about four points that night. Also, the brilliant win at QPR despite them thinking they had scored then we scored lol.
Yes and then we were winning at Leeds but lost after being reduced to 9 men. If we’d won that I think we’d have gone on to finish top 2. But then we’d have missed out on the PO final win….. vs Leeds.
Plus missed out on the punch up between Aidy and the Palarse bench in the second leg of the PO Semis. DeMerrit's goal in the final, the quite flukey second one and the most blaintent penalty I've ever seen for our third goal... what an afternoon that was in Cardiff. I'm still not sure if we just played amazing or Leeds were just shyte that day, but either way, a memory that is ours.
As an aside, given how that season was a brief pause from Leeds' spectacular implosion, I wonder what would have happened to them had they got back to the Prem there and then?
This isn't ambitious enough. I want to see us in a local derby against Kings Langley in the 8th tier, where we lose despite the best efforts of a thoroughly depressed 32 year old Sarr.
