Monthly Archives: April 1999

27th April 1999- New Division One, Port Vale 1 Watford 2

The game was postponed from 20th April because of a waterlogged pitch.

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=4354
Daily Telegraph, 28 Apr 1999

Stupendous. As stupendous as only the sixth straight win that takes us roaring into a playoff place can be. Are you watching, Wanderers? Scratch that, we know they’re watching – the thought of Wolves and Bolton fans returning from the pub last night, bringing up CEEFAX page 309, cursing loudly, then flicking over to 325 for a terrified glance at the league table was one of the evening’s many joys.

https://oldwatford.com/1999/05/09/9th-may-1999-new-division-one-watford-1-grimsby-town-0/

24th April 1999- New Division One, Watford 2 Crystal Palace 1

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BSAD imageBSAD report: Five straight wins, and we’re exploring the chance of ultimate possibility for all it’s worth. Everything stems from belief – once we started believing it was possible, it became so. To the extent where the weekend’s other results mean that we just have to win three more games to reach the playoffs.

It’s a lot to ask. Thrillingly, though, we’re rising to the challenge. Whether we go out or not, this is still a blaze of glory.

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=4353
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17th April 1999- New Division One, Crewe Alexandra 0 Watford 1

http://watford.fcdb.info/index.php?page=matches
Sunday People, 18 Apr 1999

BSAD: The greatest concern is perhaps that we didn’t add to our tally in the second half, resulting in a scoreline that didn’t reflect our superiority. Wright was an early, unfortunate culprit, haring in on goal and turning his defender twice before curling a shot wide.

https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=1999-04-17
https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=1999-04-17

10th April 1999- New Division One, Watford 2 Bolton Wanderers 0

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http://watford.fcdb.info?id=4351
Sunday Telegraph, 11 Apr 1999
Sunday People, 11 Apr 1999
Observer, 11 Apr 1999
Sunday Mirror, 11 Apr 1999

BSAD imageBSAD report: Back in GT’s heyday, there was never any question of waiting to find out what the opposition was going to do. No polite introductions. So it was here – while Bolton were courteously allowing the game to settle into a pattern, we rudely elbowed them out of the way and hurled ourselves lemming-like at their goal. Within a minute, Mooney sent Wright sprinting through, only for Banks to charge from his line to clear – that was not to be the last time that the Bolton keeper saved his team-mates.

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5th April 1999- New Division One, Birmingham City 1 Watford 2

http://watford.fcdb.info/index.php?page=matches
Daily Telegraph, 6 Apr 1999
Birmingham Post, 6 Apr 1999

BSAD: Christ, this was an absolutely magnificent away victory, one of the truly great Watford performances of recent years. They took the intensity and aggression from the last twenty minutes of the Tranmere game as a starting point. Then they added discipline, intelligence, astonishingly astute tactics, finishing, bravery, patience, unbroken concentration, resolute confidence, ambition. After weeks of suffering from a chronic inferiority complex, we finally proved ourselves wrong.

https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=1999-04-05
https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-1/05-april-1999/

3rd April 1999- New Division One, Watford 2 Tranmere Rovers 1

The game that started the run in to the playoffs. Just look how far behind Wolves we were in the table even after this game.

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=4349
Sunday Mirror, 4 Apr 1999
Sunday Mercury, 4 Apr 1999
Sunday Telegraph, 4 Apr 1999
Sunday People, 4 Apr 1999

BSAD report: Renowned literary academic AC Bradley once wrote of Shakespeare’s “King Lear” that it is “too huge for the stage”. In other words, attempting to squeeze such an absolutely immense, overwhelming spectacle – storms, insanity, rage, evil, revenge, forgiveness, redemption – into a theatre is like trying to trap a hurricane in a matchbox.

You could say much the same of the concluding twenty minutes of Watford versus Tranmere. “Too huge for a football pitch” – lawless carnage that refused to recognise the touchline as any kind of barrier, spilling over into the dugouts, the dressing rooms, and the stands.

English Division OneTable »
Barnsley2-1Sheffield United
Bradford City3-0Grimsby Town
Bristol City2-0Port Vale
Norwich City0-1Crystal Palace
Oxford United0-0Bolton Wanderers
Queens Park Rangers1-1Huddersfield Town
Stockport County0-0Bury
Sunderland3-0West Bromwich Albion
Swindon Town0-6Ipswich Town
Watford2-1Tranmere Rovers
Wolverhampton Wndrs2-0Portsmouth
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