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IN FOCUS: WATFORD

Ahead of our return to the Sky Bet Championship, learn more about all 23 of our opponents

2024-07-19T08:00:00.000Z

IN FOCUS: WATFORD

Ahead of our return to the Sky Bet Championship, learn more about all 23 of our opponents

2024-07-19T08:00:00.000Z

Ahead of our return to the Sky Bet Championship, learn more about all 23 of our opponents

After ‘Watford Rovers’ were originally established in 1881, the club dropped ‘Rovers’ from it’s name 18 years later.

Winners of the Southern League in 1915, it took the Hornets until 1920 to join the Football League.

Many seasons were spent to and from the third and fourth divisions over a number of years until the takeover by lifelong fan and music legend Elton John in 1976, when Watford began to rise.

A year after arriving at the Club, the late Graham Taylor OBE was appointed manager and in the decade that followed, success was the buzzword around Watford.

Rising from the Fourth Division to the First Division in five years, the Hornets also competed in the UEFA Cup and reached the FA Cup final in 1984.

Taylor departed the Club in 1987 and a slight decline arose at Vicarage Road, with relegation twice in eight years, but Taylor returned and guided Watford to the top-flight once again with back-to-back promotions.

However, relegation to the second tier came in 2000 and the Hornets went on to spend a further six years in the Championship, before sealing promotion back to the top-flight in 2006, with a 3-0 play-off final win over Leeds United at the Millenium Stadium.

The Hornets only spent a single season in the Premier League, before returning to the Championship once again for a further seven years before earning promotion back up in 2015.

Four established seasons in the Premier League, including an FA Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley then came to an end with relegation in 2020.

Promoted back to the top-flight at the first time of asking in 2021, the Hornets were then relegated again in 2022 and have remained in the Championship since.

Stadium: Vicarage Road (22,200) – Watford, WD18 0ER

Nickname(s): The Hornets

Manager: Tom Cleverley

2023/24 finishing position: 15th

2023/24 top scorer (all competitions): Mileta Rajovic (11)

Played for both:

Andre Gray –

Gray’s eye-catching goalscoring campaign with Brentford in 2014/15 saw the forward earn a move to Turf Moor in the summer of 2015. The striker helped the Clarets seal promotion to the Premier League in his first season at the Club with 23 league goals. Gray then scored a further nine goals for the Clarets in the top-flight, with three of those coming in a hat-trick against Sunderland, which saw the attacker become the first Burnley player to score a hat-trick in the Premier League. After two years in Lancashire, Gray departed to sign for Watford ahead of the 2017/18 campaign. The striker bagged his first goal for the Hornets in a 2-1 win at Swansea a month after arriving and went on to make over 100 appearances during his four-year spell at Vicarage Road. The forward left Watford in July 2022 to sign for Greek side Aris.

Clarke Carlisle -

Carlisle joined the Hornets in the summer of 2005 from Leeds United as former United coach Aidy Boothroyd brought the defender to Vicarage Road with him. The centre-back made his debut against Preston North End in August that year, before scoring his first goal in a 2-1 victory over Derby County shortly after. The defender played over 30 times in his first campaign with Watford, helping the London side secure promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs, but a long-term injury then ruled out Carlisle for over eight months of the following season. Carlisle then arrived at Turf Moor from the Hornets ahead of the 2007/08 campaign and quickly became a regular amongst the starting XI for the Clarets. The central defender helped Burnley achieve promotion to the Premier League in his second year at the Club and played nearly 30 times in the top-flight. After over 150 appearances in a four-year period, Carlisle departed in the summer of 2012.

Micah Hyde –

Born and raised in London, Hyde joined Cambridge United’s academy set-up in 1993 and broke into the first team before earning a move to Watford in 1997. The midfielder became a fan favourite with the Hornets and a regular amongst the starting XI. After nearly 300 appearances across sevens seasons, Hyde then departed Vicarage Road to join the Clarets in the summer of 2004. In his first season at the Club, Hyde played nearly every league game and scored the equaliser in an FA Cup tie with Blackburn Rovers. The Jamaican international left Turf Moor in January 2007 to join Peterborough United.