Category Archives: May

9th May 2013- Championship Playoff Semi-Final First Leg, Leicester City 1 Watford 0

https://watford.fcdb.info/index.php?page=matches

BBC: David Nugent’s first goal in 17 games gave Leicester a slender and deserved lead over Watford after an open Championship semi-final first leg.

BHappy:  Less than a fortnight after the last time, we’re back at the KP stadium and it’s an odd experience.  In so many ways, and despite our refusal to get all obsessive about replicating the components of the previous encounter in the name of fortune it’s like stepping back into a story that hadn’t stopped, walking back into a room where the same album had been playing on loop for a fortnight. From the way the wind howls around the ground to the impressive and imposing noise to the frantic edginess of the occasion.  If there’s a change in mood it’s a subtle one in the away end… we’re no longer the nothing-to-lose, let’s give this a go chancers;  we had a go, we almost made it despite extraordinary obstacles, but not quite.  We are battle hardened and slightly circumspect as a result… it’s intangible, but it’s real enough. If the welcome presence of Luther Blissett in the away end provides a fillip, there’s a something that veers between determination and fear which wasn’t here two weeks ago.

Daily Telegraph, 10 May 2013
Guardian, 10 May 2013
Independent, 10 May 2013
Evening Standard, 10 May 2013

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.

13th May 2025- Paulo Pezzolano is appointed Watford Head Coach.

Official: Pezzolano Appointed Head Coach – Watford FCDownload

BBC: Pezzolano appointed Watford head coach

Guardian: Watford appoint Paulo Pezzolano as 18th permanent manager since 2013

Watford Observer: Watford appoint Uruguayan Pezzolano as their new head coach

Who is Watford’s new head coach, Paulo Pezzolano?

‘It is his work on the training ground that impressed the most’

Pezzolano On Joining Watford: “A Great Honour” – Watford FCDownload

6th May 2025- Tom Cleverley is sacked as Watford Head Coach

Club Statement: Tom Cleverley – Watford FCDownload

BBC: Watford have sacked head coach Tom Cleverley after the team failed to reach the Championship play-offs.

Sky: Though Cleverley’s dismissal represents Watford’s 10th sacking in the last five years, he leaves as the third-longest-serving manager since Gino Pozzo took over as owner in 2012.

Guardian: The sporting director, Gian Luca Nani, said: “We thank Tom for his service – not just in his role as head coach but for everything he has given Watford as a player and member of staff.

Watford Observer: Tom Cleverley sacked as Watford head coach

Blissett brands Cleverley sacking ‘a total and utter farce’

RECAP: reaction as Watford sack Tom Cleverley

Sorrow, sympathy and support – but sadly nothing Watford do shocks us anymore

‘Could this be the sacking that tips people over the edge?’

From the Rookery End: DCW was joined by Mike and Jas to discuss Gino Pozzo’s decision to sack one of the most popular Head Coaches in recent Watford history. The trio try to make sense of the decision, and in doing so question what future Watford can hope to have under the leadership of Pozzo, Duxbury and Nani.

The following day the club released a statement from Gino Pozzo

Owner Statement: Gino Pozzo – Watford FCDownload

BBC: Gino Pozzo: The man behind Watford’s manager churn

Watford Observer: Pozzo: ‘We believe we made correct decision for the good of the football club’

New name comes from nowhere to be bookies’ favourite for Watford job

‘94 per cent’ of Watford fans disagree with Cleverley sacking

3rd May 2025- Championship, Watford 1 Sheffield Wednesday 1

WFC.Net goal commentary: 1

Report: Watford 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday – Watford FCDownload

BBC: Moussa Sissoko’s fine equaliser ended Watford’s run of four consecutive defeats as they finished their season with a draw against Sheffield Wednesday, who clung on for point to stay above their hosts.

Sky: Josh Windass gave the Owls a 29th-minute lead but Moussa Sissoko replied in first-half added time to ensure a stalemate in a game between two teams with little left to play for.

Watford Observer: RECAP: Watford 1 Sheffield Wednesday 1

Five talking points as Watford end season with draw

Watford 1 Sheff Wed 1 minute-by-minute report

Cleverley pleased to end with positive performance if not result

‘Football is about feeling a part of something and I certainly do here’

Season summed up on final day amid extended glimpse into possible bleak future

BHappy: We bossed the second period, without creating much in the way of clear cut chances. For that, again, Wednesday get some credit… there was a degree of them losing their heads; Valéry and Otegbayo were rattled, Gassama spent most of the game sitting on the turf sulking as the action flowed indifferently around him. Nonetheless, they kept us at arm’s length… our one clear opening coming when Doumbia worked himself through only to be denied in a game of wink murder by Wednesday’s outstanding player, goalkeeper Pierce Charles.

Fran’s Watford Blog: It had been a spirited second half and the Hornets were unlucky not to come away with all three points. The draw meant that Wednesday took 12th place, and we finished in 14th. It was a bit of a disappointment that we didn’t manage a top half finish but, given that we were predicted to have a relegation struggle, it wasn’t a bad season. We finished a place and a point better than last season, mostly due to the tremendous start that we had. But it is testament to the wonderful job that Tom Cleverley did that we were never in a relegation battle.

From the Rookery End: Watford’s 2024–2025 Season Ends with a 1–1 Draw Against Sheffield Wednesday, Luton Town were relegated, and we marked a major milestone with a 15th birthday party for the podcast!