Your First Taste Of The Hornets

April 7th 1980 at home to Oldham. We won 1-0. No idea who scored. Stood under the scoreboard and was immediately hooked. Season ticket the next season. First away game was Southampton in our very first away match in the top flight and we won 4-1!!

 

Dennis Booth, apparently. That was a rarity - he only got two in 100 appearances.

 

First game was December 1983, 3-2 win at home to Nottingham Forest. George Reilly was sent off.

My first away game was at St Andrews later that season in the FA Cup quarter final where we won 3-1.

 

I recall an incident at half-time during a game in the Keen era....mid-December and bloody freezing...we were losing (as usual) and I was standing with a group of schoolmates, an oasis of apparent humanity in a desert of empty terracing punctuated only by the occasional unoccupied crush-barrier. Suddenly over the tannoy came the strains of a song we quite liked, so we started to jump up and down a bit, trying to keep warm whilst simultaneously attempting to cram some WFC-based lyrics into the rhythmn of the track. We saw him coming from afar, with a quasi-demonic grin on his face....one of our finest boys in blue. 'Oi, stop all that, you lot,' he barked as he drew near. 'You'll cause an accident behaving like that. What d'you think you're playing at?'
'We're trying to keep warm and have a bit of fun,' one of my mates ventured. 'Fun?' he shouted in incredulity. 'You're here to watch Watford play, not have fun, so pack it in or I'll throw you out.' With which he wandered off, stalking the empty terraces like a snow leopard searching for elusive prey amongst the Himalayas.

We played even worse in the second half, so maybe getting thrown out would've been a better option. Except of course, pubs did not stay open all afternoon back then.

 

1966/67 Division 3 Home to Bristol Rovers won 3-0. Crowd of 17,000.

 

What a stonking first away game to choose - well done! Mine was a 3-0 defeat at Reading’s old Elm Park where we were destroyed by Robin Friday.

 

It would have been around 1992 when I was 7 and I think I went with my Croxley Guild team. We sat in the old family enclosure in the East Stand. I can't really remember who the opposition were.

I started going properly in 1995/96, though looking back at the fixtures the first game I can definitely remember is the 5-2 against Port Vale. Plus the second return of GT, with Luther and Kenny on the pitch and the tannoy playing 'welcome home', whatever game that was. Can also remember us losing to Leicester and being relegated on the final day.

I can remember my first away game - 1-1 away at Norwich on a midweek under the lights in 1998. Stevie Palmer scored.

 

16 Sept 1967 my Dad took me and my brother to the Vic (Main Stand very posh!) for our first match versus Bristol Rovers (Div 3). I seem to remember my Dad telling me that we had a promising youngster, 17 year old Tony Currie playing (full debut) but the player to watch was Stewart Scullion. Maybe my mind has played tricks in the intervening 56 years as that makes him sound a bit too Mystic Meg as the 7,500 crowd had witnessed a 4-0 thumping win with Currie 2, Scullion and Garbett scoring. I was hooked for life.

We were only just above the relegation zone, albeit early in the season, but by February 1968 Currie was off to Sheff Utd for £26,500 after 18 matches and 9 goals for Watford, joining Leeds and QPR later and picking up 17 England caps (3 goals). That was the way things went in those days I guess. Anyhow here's one of TC's goals on that glorious day.

 

Ipswich: 2-0 up, but lost 3-2.

 

I was at that game. I went on the supporters' coach with a school mate. It was decided to stop at a pub on the way home but as my mate and I were only 13 we weren't allowed in. We sat in the garden until the rest of the passengers had finished drinking. No-one thought to even get us a packet of crisps. I seem to remember that there was an apple tree in the pub garden so we ate apples till we felt ill.

 

My first away game was Swindon away under Harrison. They scored early but Paul Millar equalised.

 

Watford 4-2 Crewe, 21 Nov 1998.

A Gifton brace, Bazeley and Wright for us.

I was four and remember nothing about it but do have vague memories of Wembley that May.

 

First one I can recall was a home win against Rotherham in 2001 I think. Vialli's first home game, won 3-2. Got a dodgy pen after about a minute, Smith scored a great goal to win it at the end.

 

First taste was the 1999 play of final. I didn’t go to the game but my grandad was a steward and he was always getting me shirts and other merch. My Nan tapped the game for me and after that I was hooked.

First game was Gillingham at home on Aug 2003, I think Marlon King scored a brace against up in a 2-2 draw. In a weird way I miss the wonky 3 sided stadium and the underdog/fighting for relegation days. Every game of every season counted and I just don’t get that feeling now. Maybe it’s an age thing, but it just isn’t the same

 

I went to that, I think it was the day of the Hillsborough tragedy

 

It was indeed. Remember it all being all over the news in the car on the way home

 

Surprised no one has answered your question, I guess it was Andy Cole,

 

…against David James for us.

 

First taste was Millwall at home in 1956.

 

Wow. A new "earliest". 67 years ago !

 

Sweet, salty, sour, bitter or umami?

 

My uncle used to design the match day programs and always had one with him when he visited. At the time I was leaning towards Arsenal and had already been to a couple of games with mates, but he kept telling me to go visit Watford.
So I went, on the Met line, and into the Vic Road end where the family stand is now. It's hard to describe the feeling but I knew instantly that this was my club, not Arsenal.

Think it was Hull, think we won, think it was 78?

Strangely my old man was West Ham and never tried to steer me that way.

 

And a resounding 2-o win to boot for you, way before you needed to hate Harry Bassett! 6 days later we drew 1-1 at the Den. You Blues!!

 

Hull at home was '79. The promotion decider, evening game, 4-0 win ? The only time we played Hull at home around that time....
Any idea which league, or how long GT had been there ?

 

It's a bit of a blur TUT, but it wasn't an evening game and the opposition was in similar colours to us which I thought very odd.
Appreciate the detective work.

 

I think it was

25 Sep 1982 Watford v Sunderland W 8-0 League Division One

we were living in Watford for a bit with my gran (dad was in the navy so moved around) and Dad took me to a few games that season , not 100% sure it was the first game I saw but definitely the first one I can remember seeing

and I have just found a Clip of it on you tube

 

An amazing start for you if it was your first game!
Afterwards I remember reading that Sunderland fans were surprised that we weren’t noisier at the game, given the score line. We could have claimed that we were just taking it in our stride because it was a routine win, but I think the truth was that we were a bit stunned to realise how good we were.

 

Especially as Sunderland could have scored twice before our first goal!

 

Missed it because I was on a romantic weekend in Paris. Missing it completely ruined the weekend !

 

If I remember, we also hit the woodwork four times in the first half as well. It’s certainly the only time I’ve seen three Watford players all on a hat-trick at the same time.

 

Used to get free-tickets from a Watford run kids football camp thing held in the Croft in Eastcote, first game I remember was Wimbledon at home when they had their balloon protest (2001 according to google) although I'm sure I went to some games a few years before that.

 

Pre season friendly against Vancouver Whitecaps where they trialled the 25 yard shoot out instead of penalties which was going to be a thing at one point.

Funnily enough we did 25 yard shoot outs when I did the half time kids competitions against Man Utd in maybe 1982 .

We played in red (Watford Rockets) and were cheered by the Utd fans when we scored , who were in the Rookery back in those days .