Featured post

14th May 2008- Championship Playoff Semi-Final Second Leg, Hull City 4 Watford 1 (Hull City won 6-1 on aggregate)

Leave a Reply
http://watford.fcdb.info?id=4813

Hull City are to make their first ever appearance at Wembley after a 6-1 aggregate win over Watford in the Championship play-offs.

Darius Henderson scored from close range after 12 minutes to give Watford hope of retrieving a two-goal deficit.

We were closer to pulling this off than the final scoreline ultimately suggests, and the half-hour during which we lead the game and the hosts were increasingly bricking it was the most enjoyable of the season.  Unfortunately, we haven’t done “keep it tight” convincingly for a while.

Featured post

14th May 2000- Premier League, Watford 1 Coventry City 0

Leave a Reply
Scan 95
Scan 96
Scan 97
Scan 106
Scan 107
Scan 108
Scan 109
Scan 110
Scan 111
Scan 112
Scan 113
Scan 114
Scan 115
Scan 116
Scan 117
Scan 118
Screen Shot 2018-05-14 at 16.56.29
Screen Shot 2018-05-14 at 16.56.50
Scan 122
Scan 123
Scan 124
Scan 125
Scan 126
Scan 127
Scan 128
Scan 129
Scan 130
Scan 131
Scan 132
Scan 133
Scan 134
Scan 135
Scan 136
Screen Shot 2018-05-14 at 16.58.22
Scan 119
Scan 120
Scan 121
http://watford.fcdb.info?id=4401
Scan 21

BSAD imageBSAD report: Like us, Coventry came to enjoy themselves. Their last chance for an away win brought their fans out in force and they contributed fully to a tremendous pre-match atmosphere. Robert Page received his “Player of the Season” trophy to a huge ovation, and both he and Haig Oundjian paid tribute to the supporters who have done the club proud in recent months. Following a earth-shaking, immense “ELTON JOHN’S TAYLOR-MADE ARMY” session, the team emerged from the tunnel into bright May sunshine for its final Premiership appearance….

Screen Shot 2018-05-14 at 17.03.14
Screen Shot 2018-05-14 at 17.00.49
https://oldwatford.com/2016/05/15/15th-may-2016-premier-league-watford-2-sunderland-2-2/
Daily Mirror, 15 May 2000
Featured post

14th May 1983- Division One, Watford 2 Liverpool 1

Leave a Reply
http://watford.fcdb.info?id=3500
IMG_0168.jpg
Sunday Mirror, 15 May 1983
Sunday People, 15 May 1983
Sunday Telegraph, 15 May 1983
Daily Telegraph, 16 May 1983
https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=1983-05-14
Screen Shot 2017-05-11 at 20.20.45.png

Scan 221 copy.jpgBSAD imageBSAD report: The word was that two men, not one, would be entering retirement at Vicarage Road and if young Martin Patching does quit the Football League now because of chronic physical damage there is no doubt that his last experience of it will furnish more pleasant memories than Bob Paisley took away from the final hour and a half of the most successful career any British club manager has ever known.

https://oldwatford.com/2013/05/04/4th-may-2013-championship-watford-1-leeds-united-2/
Featured post

14th May 1979- Division Three, Watford 4 Hull City 0

Leave a Reply

We needed to beat Hull in our final game of the season to guarantee promotion.

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=3291

Watford Observer match report

The Guardian, 15 May 1979
IMG_0159.jpg
Evening Standard, 15 May 1979
Screen Shot 2018-05-14 at 10.31.14

The final table looked like this.  

https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-three/26-may-1979/
Featured post

14th May 1977- Division Four, Watford 1 Darlington 1

Leave a Reply
http://watford.fcdb.info?id=3179
Darlington Evening Despatch, 14 May 1977
Sunday People, 15 May 1977
Sunday Mirror, 15 May 1977
Sunday Sun, 15 May 1977

Watford Observer match report

Sunday People

The final table looked liked this…

3rd May 2026- Ed Still is sacked as Watford Head Coach

Watford Observer: Ed Still sacked as Watford head coach after miserable end of season

LIVE: Reaction as Ed Still is sacked as Watford head coach

WATCH: Immediate video reaction to Ed Still leaving Watford

Ed Still sacked – but that won’t fix the dysfunction at Watford

BBC: Watford have sacked head coach Ed Still after less than three months in charge at Vicarage Road.

2nd May 2026- Championship, Watford 0 Coventry City 4

Watford Observer: Coventry are a great example for Watford to follow, says Still

Ed Still reacts to reports he is set to leave Watford

Duxbury outlines recruitment plan as he addresses mistakes and ‘strong foundations’

Watford Observer: Pollock crowned Watford’s 2025/26 Player of the Season

MATCHDAY AS IT HAPPENED: Watford 0-4 Coventry City

Match Report: 4-0 Coventry loss completes Watford’s worst end to a second-tier season

WATCH: Immediate reaction to Watford 0-4 Coventry City

‘You can evaluate the team by the energy in the stands’

Still reflects on miserable finale to Watford’s season – and what next

BBC: Ellis Simms scored a hat-trick as Premier League-bound Coventry City waved goodbye to the second tier with victory over Watford at Vicarage Road.

Sky: Cheered on by around 2,000 fans bedecked in sky blue, Frank Lampard’s side ended a memorable season with 95 points and 97 goals. By contrast, swathes of empty seats in the Watford sections spoke volumes about the apathy that has engulfed a club which appears to be directionless after another mediocre mid-table campaign.

BHappy: The low key awards ceremony was the right call, I think. Pomp and ceremony in the middle of the pitch would have been inappropriate, misreading the room… but at the same time, not doing the awards would have felt dreadfully performative, perversely. Melodramatic. As if an(other) underwhelming season is somehow beyond the pale. We’re Watford, after all. Lower mid table is going to happen and is part of the story. “Watford ’til I die”, not “Watford ’til I die unless we’re a bit crap again”. That doesn’t mean you have to enjoy it, but let’s not go clutching our pearls.

Fran’s Watford Blog: The awards were presented prior to kick-off with Mattie Pollock deservedly winning Player of the Season. Maamma was equally deserving of the Young Player of the Season award. While Jeremy Ngakia won Goal of the Season for his tremendous strike away to Bristol City.

From the Rookery End: A season that promised something—maybe not everything, but something—ends with a whimper, five straight defeats, and a performance that barely felt worth dissecting.

25th April 2026- Championship, Middlesbrough 5 Watford 1

Watford Observer: Team news: Ekwah returns for Middlesbrough, Ngakia and Bola closer to starts

Watford Observer: MATCHDAY AS IT HAPPENED: Middlesbrough 5-1 Watford

Match Report: Watford complete miserable away run with 5-1 Boro loss

WATCH: Immediate reaction to Middlesbrough 5-1 Watford

Still: Reset needed ‘on many points’ as Boro defeat shows lack of togetherness

BBC: Middlesbrough remain in the race for automatic promotion from the Championship as they demolished mid-table Watford.

Sky: Boro’s 5-1 victory was their joint-biggest win of the season and came courtesy of doubles from Morgan Whittaker and Tommy Conway plus a goal from David Strelec. Watford’s goal came at the start of the second half from James Abankwah, but while the visitors were a match for their opponents for most of the first period, they were comprehensively outplayed after the break.

Fran’s Watford Blog: Ed Still’s team selection had been interesting. He had dropped the youngsters for a more experienced line up and it had worked. Not only did the team look more solid, but it was a surprisingly attacking performance and we were very unlucky to be behind at half time. Once the wholesale changes were made and the youngsters brought on just after the hour mark, it fell apart. But the hosts certainly had luck on their side with a couple of the goals, and the penalty was a silly mistake by Abankwah.

21st April 2026- Championship, West Bromwich Albion 3 Watford 0

Watford Observer: Can Watford provide some optimism at motivated West Brom?

Watford Observer: MATCHDAY LIVE: West Brom 3-0 Watford

Match Report: Watford sink without a trace again in 3-0 West Brom defeat

Still insists Watford players are hurting after ‘hugely painful’ defeat

Non-response at West Brom marks this out as Watford’s worst end-of-season run

BBC: West Bromwich Albion secured their Championship survival as they eased past sorry Watford at The Hawthorns.

Sky: Isaac Price scored the first goal and made the second for Daryl Dike’s second in as many games before half-time as James Morrison’s side made it nine games unbeaten. On-loan Crystal Palace right-back Danny Imray scored a deserved third goal for the Baggies, who made it 488 minutes without conceding.

Fran’s Watford Blog: This was an awful game with almost no redeeming features. There was a lack of energy in the performance, but I put that down to a lack of confidence among a group of young players for whom nothing seems to be working. I don’t see a lack of effort from the majority of the players. Maamma was, again, a constant threat and I really wish his late shot had gone in as he deserved a goal. The other positive was the return of Ngakia who we have missed since he was injured. But we were well beaten on the night, and it is hard to see us getting any more points this season.

18th April 2026- Championship, Watford 0 Sheffield United 2

Watford Observer: ‘This is what Watford do’ narrative has made me angrier since Oxford, Still says

Still knows he needs results to secure Watford future – ‘I’m not kidding myself’

Team news: Maamma in contention to start, Ngakia and Bola could return

‘The summer is the time to discuss what leadership looks like at Watford’

Supporters’ anger ‘totally normal’ and not an overreaction, says Still

Nabizada: The fans want to see creativity – that’s what I’m trying to do

Watford Observer: MATCHDAY AS IT HAPPENED: Watford 0-2 Sheffield United

Match Report: Watford beaten 2-0 by Sheff Utd as lifeless season finale continues

WATCH: Immediate reaction to Watford 0-2 Sheffield United

Still: ‘Baah hasn’t had the impact I wanted’

Still adamant he is the man to lead significant change after another defeat

BBC: Patrick Bamford’s second-half double helped Sheffield United to victory at out-of-form Watford.

Sky: The striker’s sharpness in front of goal made the difference and lifted Chris Wilder’s side above their opponents in the bright spring sunshine at Vicarage Road.

Fran’s Watford Blog: It was another disappointing game. We should have taken the lead in the first half and certainly started the second half very brightly. The first United goal was fortunate and against the run of play. Their second was rather better and, once that went in, the fight seemed to go out of the players, and we never really looked like getting back in the game. Again, Irankunda and Maamma were the bright sparks, working to create chances, but shots from distance and a well organised United defence frustrated them.

From the Rookery End: Jon, Kieran, Mike and Jason are back outside the Hornet Shop after another tough afternoon as Watford FC fall to a 2–0 defeat at home to Sheffield United. There’s no hiding from it — this was a flat, lifeless performance that summed up where the football team is right now. The lads reflect on some hints at something successful, before everything unravelled in depressingly familiar fashion. With belief draining from both pitch and stands, attention turns to the bigger picture — from recruitment failures to the direction under Gino Pozzo, who was in attendance at the game.

11th April 2026- Championship, Oxford United 2 Watford 0

Watford Observer: Oxford call for ‘relentless support’ on Saturday – can Watford rise to the occasion?

Team news: Maamma set for return, Abankwah and Kayembe fully fit

Bove needs more time and Kjerrumgaard ‘hasn’t quite been on it’, says Still

Pre-season planning ongoing – but not Still’s priority for now

Still on Oxford: ‘I want our fans to see we wanted it more’

Watford Observer: MATCHDAY AS IT HAPPENED: Oxford United 2-0 Watford

Match Report: Abject Watford beaten 2-0 at Oxford United

Pollock asks to apologise publicly after ‘lowest point’ of his Watford career

Still on Watford fans’ reaction: ‘You have to stand up and take it’

BBC: Oxford United moved within a point of Championship safety and extended their unbeaten run at the Kassam Stadium to five matches with victory over out-of-form Watford.

Sky: Watford, who have a poor away record this campaign, were on a winless streak of three going into the game but they had beaten the U’s 2-1 at Vicarage Road at the start of October.

Fran’s Watford Blog: It had been a very poor performance with only Irankunda coming away with much credit. He created some decent chances and, if one had gone in, it would have been a different afternoon. Maamma was also bright when he came on and showed how much we have missed him. But apart from them, it was a miserable afternoon of football.

From the Rookery End: On From The Rookery End this week, Jon and Mike are joined by Watford Observer’s Adam Drury after Watford’s defeat at Oxford — but rather than pick apart another bad away day,the take a step back and the conversation goes bigger.