Monthly Archives: January 2002

31st January 2002- New Division One, Preston North End 1 Watford 1

http://watford.fcdb.info/index.php?page=matches
Daily Telegraph, 1 Feb 2002
Guardian, 1 Feb 2002
Evening Standard, 1 Feb 2002

A Thursday night in Preston! What an attractive prospect! Amazingly, 313 Watford fans braved the distance and the fact that recent form had decreed that this was a banker of a home win.

Not for the first time this season, there was confusion among the five hundred or so Watford faithful when the line-up was announced. It appeared that Gifton would be playing up-front on his own with support from Jermaine Pennant. However it quickly became clear that no-one had communicated this to Gifton as he spent most of the time hovering on the half-way line down the left hand side. It was usually David Noble who was Watford’s furthest player upfield.

Almost forty games has passed and with the exception of forty-five minutes against ten-man Wimbledon, we are still looking as unfamiliar with ourselves as we did at Maine Road.

https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=2002-01-31
https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-1/31-january-2002/

20th January 2002- New Division One, Watford 1 Manchester City 2

Kevin Keegan’s promotion bandwagon was given a slice of good fortune as Watford gifted Manchester City all three points on Sunday.

As early as the quarter hour mark we were forced into a reshuffle as Cox limped off having earlier received treatment. Doyley dropped into his more accustomed central role, with Heidar continuing his tour of the outfield positions as a right wing-back.

At this point, anyway, Luca brought Helguson on, and I assume we went to four in defence, with Glass dropping back and Helguson, inexplicably, playing wide right. Hindsight is a beautiful thing, and there’s no denying Pennant’s usefulness up front, but isn’t he supposed to be a right winger and Helguson a striker?

A difficult pitch and a difficult opponent, full of tricks and movement, but we played as well as we could, which is all you can ask for. Although City were better than us, technically, our battling performance could have earned a draw. Helguson’s unfortunate own goal gave City a win they barely deserved: that’s what happens when you ask strikers to play a defensive role.

https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=2002-01-20
https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-1/20-january-2002/

15th January 2002- New Division One, Millwall 1 Watford 0

This was the second time in less than a year that referee Rob Styles had sent two Watford players off in a game.

http://watford.fcdb.info/index.php?page=matches
Evening Standard, 16 Jan 2002

BSAD report: So, Rob Styles might be – well, is – a truly atrocious referee. The contempt with which Graham Taylor spoke of him last season would be enough to convince me, even without witnessing his acts of wanton vandalism first hand. But we were the beneficiaries of his chaotic rule on at least two occasions here – once, when Micah Hyde was given a lecture rather than a booking for a particularly crude challenge from behind; later, when Reid was booked for diving after clearly being felled by Blondeau as he dashed into the box. In truth, while Styles provided a choking smokescreen, we ought to be both encouraged by our resilient performance and somewhat frustrated that it didn’t yield a better result.

https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-1/15-january-2002/

5th January 2002- FA Cup Third Round, Watford 2 Arsenal 4

  • Director of Marketing Ed Coan reveals that a ‘Wembley Revisited’ brochure was designed in the run up to the Tottenham semi final in 1987.
  • The East Stand redevelopment plan is shown in detail in the middle pages of the programme.  None of it ever happened due to the collapse of ITV Digital.
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1st January 2002- New Division One, Watford 1 Millwall 4

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=4484

Gianluca Vialli’s men were torn apart as Millwall claimed all three points in clinical fashion. Watford hit the post through Tommy Smith after 23 minutes but otherwise were rarely a threat until Heidar Helguson scored a consolation nine minutes from time.

Gianluca Vialli said in his match programme notes that he didn’t want “to take stock” until the end of the season. However, only 45 minutes into Watford’s first 2002 commitment the Vicarage Road fans were voicing their concern.

One of these teams is indeed well-equipped for a Division One charge (if not, you feel, for Premiership survival). The other has its head in the clouds. One was hungry, sharp, well-organised, strongly bonded…and, crucially, aware of its limitations and prepared to work hard to overcome them. Not so very different from the Watford side that passed swiftly through the First Division under Graham Taylor, in fact. The other was lazy, sloppy, weak, fragmented, and entirely deserving of a stuffing.

https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=2002-01-01