Category Archives: Gianluca Vialli

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.

BBC-SPORT-_-ENGLISH-DIVISION-1-_-Watford-1-4-Millwall Download

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

22nd December 2001- New Division One, Watford 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1

Vialli talks about the League Cup defeat at Sheffield Wednesday, the game where he lost the confidence of many Watford supporters.

When you think about it, Jonathan Ross is a complete tosser. Actually, you probably don’t need to think about it all that much….

Watching this game was a reward for ministering to my two sick children while they emitted green and yellow fluids and solids from both ends, for the past two days. Frankly, if we’d been playing Norwich, I don’t think I could have stomached it. But allowed out by my wife, at the possible expense of an Arsenal ticket in a couple of weeks, I hoped against hope that the Charlton spirit would see us right against a team everyone knows are unlikely to finish as low as seventh yet again.

More games from 22nd December at https://oldwatford.com/tag/dec22

15th December 2001-New Division One, Watford 1 Crystal Palace 0

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27th November 2001-League Cup Fourth Round, Watford 3 Charlton Athletic 2 (After Extra Time)

BSAD: Really, it’s impossible to capture it without immediately referring to an insane performance from Paul Robinson, who spent most of the first half stomping around to mark his territory on the left flank before leaving his kingdom to seek fulfilment of his schoolboy dream of being a dashing, swashbuckling goalscorer.

Gianluca Vialli’s stated love for the League Cup, which he won in 1998 while player-manager at Chelsea, has seemed out of touch now that it is fashionable to devalue the competition, but last night his Watford team produced a performance to reinvigorate its romantic side.

Evening Standard, 28 Nov 2001

Daily Telegraph, 28 Nov 2001

24th April 2004- New Division One, Watford 1 Norwich City 2

http://watford.fcdb.info?s=40802&id=4477

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25th November 2001- New Division One, Watford 3 Portsmouth 0

A solid performance by Watford at Vicarage Road ended a poor run of form from Gianluca Vialli’s team.

Nothing of any consequence happens on a Sunday evening. The invention of the wheel, the discovery of penicillin, the abolition of slavery, the introduction of the backpass law…none of them happened while the people involved were lounging around in front of “Monarch Of The Glen”.

http://watford.fcdb.info?s=39661&id=4476