Watfords Greatest Ever Crocked Eleven

Pick your favourite player that could've, would've and should've had it not been for injury.

 

Does Sean Murray getting too comfy with the ale count as an injury?

 

Gareth Williams was a gifted player but permanently injured.

 

Don't you mean David Holdsworth rather than Dean? Dean left us under Harrison.

 

We had a player called Dean Yates who signed for us in the summer of 1998, I think he lasted a few games and was finished.

As for Rod Thomas, didn't he fall under the category of "failed to develop from showing promise as a teenager"? I'm pretty sure he went to Carlisle after us.

 

Martin Patching

 

Dean was constantly injured resulting in him never really getting a chance to get near the first team. Was gutted when he left for Brentford because on his days in the reserve games I saw he banged goals in for fun. He carried that on for the rest of his career to be fair.

 

Agreed. Gutted when we let him go then saw him have a pretty solid career elsewhere

 

Couldn't think of any goalies. Anyone?

 

The more annoying thing is we got Perryman in as manager and he didn't go back to Brentford and sign him. I think he went to Wimbledon eventually.

 

Record signing Duggie Woodfield, obviously.

 

Honourable mention for Bobby Svarc

But Gifton obviously.

 

I think Tommie Hoban would have been a PL player if he stayed injury-free

 

Ben Iroha and his bunions

 

The thing with Rod Thomas was that he reached full physical maturity very young. I played in a 5 a side tournament he was also playing him and he was basically a man at the age of 15. His body looked completely different to the other boys in the tournament. As his peers reached physical maturity he lost that advantage.

 

Gary Plumley. Only played one game.

 

Albeit on loan, but George Thorne looked like he'd go on to be a very good player before he did he cruciate twice, then broke his leg!

 

Darren Anderton.

Could've been a great injury miss for us, had he ever signed.

We can but dream.

 

Also where is the Janmaat option?

Never in the field of human sporting endeavour has one player been at our club so long and racked up so much time injured. Legend.

If only he could have played all his matches against Chelsea.

 

Stephen Hughes.

And of course, Pierre Issa for the legendary stretcher incident.

 

Has to be Gifton. Other honourable mentions to Calum Davenport who lasted less than one half before Henderson broke him, Collins John and his muscle imbalance and Gareth Williams (did he ever get on the pitch?)

 

Ben and his unfeasibly painful bunions would have made a good Viz strip.

 

Andre Gray

We couldn't possibly have paid >£15m for someone that crap, he must have tripped over some bling and suffered a career ending injured or something on the trip down from Burnley

 

Collins John.

If only he hadn't had one leg two foot longer than the other.

 

Well, I hesitate to say this because he was unfortunately more than crocked:
The late Jimmy Davis.

On injuries that affected our season, Marlon King's knee early in the prem season and Tommy Mooney also knee , both injuries caused relegation.

 

Collins John - I did actually see him get a few for Twente (via a Dutch housemate)...

 

There were so many other players around that time that we got shot of who then did very well elsewhere. Malcolm Allen, Ewan Roberts, Rick Holden just off the top of my head.

 

Richard Hill

 

He was great for a few seasons, but Richard Johnson was cut off in his prime and never really recovered.

 

Can't think of many crocked goalkeepers?

Miller, Chamberlain, Baardsen, Pidgely, Loach, Kuzczak?, Gomes, Fozzie, Bachmann.
All seemed regularly injury free. I don't go back any further!

Ah just remembered Mart Poom, he was often crocked wasn't he?

 

Almen The Great

 

he wasn’t injured, just unfit after going on a long holiday and getting back for pre season out of shape.

 

Masina.

 

Being turned back by the police on the M1 link road that day was one of the strangest experiences of my time supporting Watford.