|
Address: |
|
Vicarage
Road |
|
Watford |
| WD18
0ER |
|
Telephone: |
|
01923 -
496000 |
| Ground
Capacity: |
| 22,100
(all-seated) |
| Official
Website: |
| www.watfordfc.com |
| Unofficial
Websites: |
|
Glory
Horns
Big
Watford Love.com
Blind,
Stupid and Desperate
Watford
Mad!
City
Orns
Watford
Supporters Trust
|
| How
to get there: |
|
By Car:
EXIT the M1 at Junction 5 and follow the A4008, signed 'Town
Centre'. Take the slip road by-passing a roundabout (again, signed 'Town
Centre') and continue on the A4008. After passing under a railway arch take the second exit (straight on) at the next roundabout to approach traffic lights at the junction with the ring-road.
Continue on the ring-road, getting in the left-hand lane to follow signs for West Watford (A4145) and Watford General Hospital. At a t-junction, turn left and immediately get in the right-hand lane to follow the road round into Fearnley Street (again, signed for West Watford and the hospital). Get in the left-hand lane, pass through traffic lights as your bear left and the ground is 200 yards up on your left, opposite the Red Lion pub.
By Rail:
THE
nearest station is Watford High Street, a ten-minute walk
away from the ground. However, you are likely to come into
Watford Junction train station, which is about a 20-minute
walk.
Leave the station & take the main road straight opposite
(Clarendon Road) all the way (over Ring Road at lights) up
to the High Street. Turn left and go past past Wetherspoons
(Moon under Water) on your right and then take the first
right after 100-yards into Market Street. Continue along
again crossing Ring Road to T junction & then left at an
excellent chip shop. Vicarage Road is the next right turn.
It should take around 15-20 minutes to walk.
Watford also has its own London Underground tube station,
which is on the Metropolitan Line and is situated just under
one mile from Vicarage Road. However, overland trains from
London normally have a shorter journey time. Parking:
THERE is no parking available for fans at the ground and street parking is virtually exclusively restricted for local residents by way of matchday permits. The town centre has several car parks, the easiest of which for access to Vicarage Road is 'Church Car Park' on the inside of the ring-road, opposite the turn-off into Vicarage Road. Other possibilities are Watford General Hospital, Watford Grammar School for Girls, Cassiobury Park Avenue, Chater Junior School, Addiscombe Rd, Watford and Laurence Haines School, Vicarage Rd, Watford. |
| Other
than the football...: |
|
ALTHOUGH
as a Luton Town supporter you’re unlikely to stay in
Watford any longer than is necessary, we thought we’d
better still bring you a guide to the things to do to pass
the time in Watford!
 |
|
The
Harlequin Centre.
|
Shopping
here is, in fact, quite good, with the Harlequin Centre an
indoor shopping centre that has, as you would expect, a
whole host of shops for you to peruse.
There is also the Watford market which is pretty
popular.
Of the
nightclubs, Destiny and Area are the most popular, while if
you’re looking for something more relaxing, you could try
the Warner Brothers cinema.
Hemel
Hempstead isn’t too far away and can be reached via a bus
ride and boasts a leisure park that houses several fast-food
outlets, a bowling alley and, perhaps most significantly, an
aqua park with several water shoots!
 |
|
Pulse
at Stevenage.
|
In
addition, Stevenage
is accessible via a bus ride, although this takes about an
hour. In Stevenage,
you’ll find a leisure park and plaza that have several
bars - Cobarnas, Flares, Chicago Rock Café and Jumpin' Jaks
and two nightclubs - Pulse and, for over 24s, Vogue.
When it
comes to the match, and the big derby between Watford and
the mighty Hatters, you’re likely to want a pre-match
drink. The ground is in walking distance of the town centre,
where along the High Street you will find a few pubs
including a large Wetherspoons outlet called the ‘Moon
Under Water’. There is also 'Macs Bar' in Fearnley Street,
close to the ground. It is a small bar situated off Cassio
Road and is clearly visible when taking the route to
Vicarage Road from the town centre via Market Street. The
pub is roughly a two-minute walk to the away turnstiles.
However, you’re recommended to avoid the ‘Red Lion’,
which is outside the ground.
If
you’re looking for something to eat, the Harlequin Centre
has a food court and several fast-food outlets. |
|
A Hatter and a Hornet
- Kerry Dixon |
 |
|
Kerry
Dixon.
|
Luton-born
Kerry Dixon was firstly a Tottenham
apprentice, but got a first taste of League football for his
next club Reading.
Joining the Elm Park outfit for £20,000, he scored 51
league goals in 116 appearances before a £175,000 move to Chelsea
in August 1983. He went on to be a prolific marksman
at Stamford Bridge scoring 147 goals in 335 appearances and
earning international honours with England along the way.
He left Chelsea
in 1992 after losing his first-team place and he signed for
their Premiership rivals Southampton
for £575,000. However, after only 9 League
appearances and 2 goals at The Dell, he joined Luton
initially on loan and then permanently on a free transfer in
February 1993.
The bulk
of Dixon's professional career was sandwiched between
rejection by Luton as a teenager and joining them in
February 1993 at the age of 31. "Luton were
marvelous for me. To run out there for the first time
and score a few goals for them was great for me” recalled
Kerry Dixon in an interview with the Telegraph.
"The highlight [of his Luton career] was probably
setting up two of Scott
Oakes's goals when we beat West
Ham 3-2 in the quarter-final to book our place against Chelsea.
But the semi-final itself was so disappointing."
He made
88 appearances for the Hatters, scoring 20 goals in the two
years that he was at the club. In a separate interview
he said of his career, "Apart from playing for England,
my best memory in football was playing for Luton, against Chelsea,
in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley in 1994. Luton
lost 2-0 but the reaction of the Chelsea
fans to me was probably the greatest thing that has happened
to me. Every single Chelsea
fan was singing, 'There's only one Kerry Dixon'. It
brought a lump to my throat."
He won
eight caps internationally, scoring twice against Germany in
a friendly tournament in Mexico in 1985, and scored 231
League goals in his career. He joined Millwall
from the Hatters in March 1995 for £5,000 and showed that
he had lost none of his appetite for the game, when
outscoring both of Millwall's
big money summer signings. He then went to Watford
for £25,000 in January 1996 (11 appearances, 0 goals) and
finished his playing days at Doncaster
Rovers, playing 16 games and scoring 3 goals. He
became their player/manager, but was sacked in August 1997
and moved onto non-league Boreham
Wood as player-coach.
Kerry
faced the Hatters in an FA Cup match in November 1998, when
two goals from Phil Gray and one from Steve Davis saw Luton
to a 3-2 victory. He went on to manage non-league Letchworth
Garden City in the South Midlands Football League.
He also had a spell working in a pub, after taking on the
lease of The Distillery, a pub in his home town of Dunstable.
He then became the
assistant manager to Robbie O'Keefe at non-league neighbours
Hitchin
Town, and Kerry could
also be heard as a regular commentator on Talk Sport.
In
November 2003, Kerry became the Hitchin
Town manager following O'Keefe's departure from Top
Field. He was to be assisted by Ian Donnelly
(Assistant Manager) and Mark Burke (Coach) in a three-man
management team.
Andy Melvin, managing
director of Hitchin
Town FC, said of the appointment: "We have opted
for a three-man team that brings together a wide range of
experiences and expertise. Kerry Dixon's vast experience as
a player and coach will be a major boost to this club. But
as well as Kerry's undoubted qualities, we are also going to
rely on the local knowledge and credibility of two popular
and well known figures. Ian Donnelly is a great character
and well-liked among our supporters. Mark Burke's name has
been synonymous with Hitchin
Town for almost 20 years. Between these three, we should
be able to build a solid platform for the future."
Kerry Dixon said: "I have
been at the club since the summer and I know all about its
restrictions and the abilities of our playing staff. I will
be looking to focus on the strong points of each player and
also to improve on the weaker aspects of their game. Right
now we have a job to do to get the club away from the lower
reaches of the League. I am confident we can bring about a
significant improvement."
Dixon added: "I was brought to the club in the summer
by Robbie O'Keefe, who was an excellent coach for Hitchin
Town FC. It was a pleasure to work with him and I will
always be glad that he gave me the chance to come to Hitchin."
However, things with the
Canaries didn't work out quite as planned and Kerry took up
a role with Dunstable
Town.
|
|
The Club and The Ground
WATFORD have been FA Cup finalists, as well
as finishing runners-up in the the old First Division (now the
Premiership) in the 1980s. However, after a decline in
fortunes in the 1990s, just as the Hatters were suffering at the
same time, the Hornets found themselves in the old Division Three
(now League One).
They did enjoy a brief return to the
Premiership under their old master Graham Taylor, but after just
one season amongst England's elite, they were on the slide.
Taylor soon left and was replaced by Italian Gianluca Vialli, but his
heavy spending crippled the club. Ray Lewington steadied the
ship and led them to the Carling Cup semi-final in 2004-05 and Watford are now hoping that new boss Adrian Boothroyd
will emulate their success of the 80s after he guided them back to
the Premiership in his first full season in charge of the Hornets.
The ground, Vicarage Road,
has had both ends re-developed during the 1990's along with the
front of the Rous stand. Both ends are large single-tiered stands,
with some strange looking floodlights perched on the roof. There
is just one side that lets the ground down. The East Stand is a
mish-mash of a couple of old stands and an open seated area in one
corner. Otherwise there is a vast improvement from the Vicarage
Road of old. Hatters supporters used to have a long walk to the
away end as you had to walk around some allotments. However, this
is no longer the case, as away fans are now housed in the Vicarage
Road Stand, previously the home end, at the opposite end of the
ground. There is a large video screen in the corner between the
Rous & Vicarage Road Stands. Vicarage Road is shared with
Saracens rugby club.
Hatters
fans are housed in the Vicarage Road Stand at one end of the
ground. This stand is normally shared with home supporters (with
the obligatory 'no-mans land' in between) or if demand requires it
the whole of this stand (capacity 4,500) can be given to away fans
(as is almost certainly the case for a Watford v Luton Town derby
match). Inside the ground, the delicious 'Football's Famous
Chicken Balti Pie' (£2) is available.
Ground Guide courtesy
of the excellent Internet
Football Ground Guide.
History
- Watford Football Club
FORMED in 1881 as Watford Rovers originally, the club became a
wing of West Herts Club at Cassio Road in 1890. In 1896,
they joined the Southern League and in 1898 the club became what
it is known as today - Watford Football Club.
In 1900, the club won the Southern League Division Two
Championship and in 1915 the Hornets won the Southern League
Championship - the highlight of Harry Kent's 16-year spell as
manager of the club.
In 1920, Watford joined the Football League and in 1922,
Vicarage Road was opened for the first time as 8,000 spectators
saw the Hornets draw 0-0 with Millwall.
The club then embarked on a roller coaster ride that saw them
relegated, change several managers and also sign seven players
from Leicester
City in one week in 1948!
In 1960, the club changed its colours to gold and black and the
club won promotion with Holton bagging an amazing 48 goals in one
season.
In 1969, the Hornets were promoted to Division Two for the
first time in their history. The following year, Watford
reached the semi-final of the FA Cup, but were beaten by Chelsea.
The Hornets then avoided relegation for the next two seasons but
in 1975, they were eventually relegated to Division Four.
By this time, the club's most famous fan - pop star Elton John -
who would go on to become a household name all over the world -
had joined the club as vice-president.
However, it was in 1977 that the Hornets appointed the man that
was to lead them to the greatest times in their history - Graham
Taylor. A year later Watford stormed to the Division Four
Championship and they enjoyed yet more success the following year
as they were promoted to Division Two on the final day of the
season - as well as reaching the semi-final of the League Cup.
Just three years later, Watford were promoted to Division One
(now known as the Premiership) in 1982 and the Hornets finish
their first season in the top flight as runners-up and secure a
UEFA Cup place as Graham Taylor's remarkable turnaround of the
club's fortunes reaches its peak.
In 1984, Watford enjoy yet more success as they reach the FA
Cup final, but Everton
end their dream by winning at Wembley.
In 1987, Watford were shellshocked by Graham Taylor's resignation as manager
and the success the Hornets had enjoyed over the years was about to come to an
end. With Taylor's departure, Dave Bassett became the new Watford manager,
but just a year later, he resigned, to be replaced by Steve Harrison, but
Watford suffered relegation to Division Two in 1988.
Harrison nearly led Watford back to Division One at the first
attempt, but the Hornets narrowly missed out on promotion.
However, in March of the following year Harrison departed Vicarage
Road and Colin Lee became the new boss. Another change of
note was lifelong fan and vice-president Elton John sold his
share-holding to Jack Petchey, who became the new chairman. with
Elton John taking up a life president role. The new chairman
quickly appointed a new manager, with Steve Perryman taking the
reigns at Vicarage Road.
However, Elton John was soon back on the board as a director in
August 1991, but in 1993 he resigned his position to become life
president again. The manager, Steve Perryman was on his way
too - his replacement ex-Hornet Glenn Roeder.
As the Vicarage Road ground underwent improvements, the Hornets
pulled off another great escape by avoiding relegation to Division
Two (now League One) by losing only 2 of their remaining 10
matches and another milestone is set with the sale of striker Paul
Furlong to Chelsea
for a club record £2.3 million.
The following year, Watford finished 7th in Division One -
their highest finish since reaching the play-offs in 1989.
However, there were to be more changes during the 1995-96 campaign
as Glenn Roeder left Vicarage Road February 1996 and former
manager and Hornets legend Graham Taylor returned to Hertfordshire
as general manager. The architect of the club's remarkable rise through all four divisions during the late 70's and early 80's,
Taylor forms a management triumvirate with coaches Kenny Jackett and Luther Blissett for the remaining 18 games of the season. Despite a spirited late run, the Hornets are relegated to the Second Division. In early May, Kenny Jackett is appointed team manager.
The following season, the Hornets' superb defensive record keeps them in contention in a hard-fought Division Two, with the likes of
the Hatters, Brentford and
Burnley. A record-breaking run of 22 League games without defeat does little to improve
Watford's position and a slump towards the end of the season leaves them with little hope of promotion. Just before the last home game of the season, against
Bury on April 26, Graham Taylor steps out onto the pitch to address the fans: "Elton's coming home," is all that can be heard before
Vicarage Road erupts and the supporters have something to cheer about, even if it isn't promotion.
The 1997-98 season brought much joy for
Watford. With Graham Taylor back as manager, the Hornets take the lead in Division Two early on and hold it for most of the season.
Bristol City pounce as
Watford hit a slump and take over at the top of the table.
However, the Hornets rally though and clinch promotion and then the title on the last day of the season.
There was even more to cheer about for the
Watford faithful the following season. Three consecutive
League wins at the start of the season pushed Watford into the top six and despite gloomy national press predictions before the start of the campaign, the Hornets were only once to be outside the top eight in the table during the whole season. Despite having spent only £250,000 on new players,
Watford were still in the promotion battle at Christmas. However, a poor run early in the New Year
left them in eighth place at the end of March. Written off again by the media, Graham Taylor¹s side powered into the play-offs with a 10-game unbeaten run, including six straight victories.
Birmingham
City were beaten 7-6 on penalties after the Play-Off semi-final finished 1-1 on aggregate, and then more than 38,000 Watford fans travelled to Wembley to see a Premiership place earned with a 2-0 victory over
Bolton
Wanderers.
Watford's first season in the Premiership
started promisingly, and memorable wins at Anfield against Liverpool and then at home to
Chelsea helped
Watford reach as high as ninth in the table. Graham Taylor then
shattered the club's transfer record to sign Dutchman Nordin Wooter for £950,000, and then
broke it again to bring in Icelandic striker Heidar Helguson for £1.5
million. However, injuries to key players, added to those already ruled out for long periods,
took their toll and a tally of five points in 16 games either side of Christmas
left the Hornets bottom of the table. They battled bravely to recover but
were relegated before the end of April.
Back in Division One (now the Championship), Graham Taylor's last season at the club
saw the Hornets start promisingly but eventually drop away to finish 9th. However,
Watford announced that Taylor's replacement would be Italian legend Gianluca
Vialli.
The Hornets had a busy summer, signing eight new players before the start of the season. But
their League form was patchy throughout and, despite a run to the
quarter-finals of the Worthington Cup, the campaign was generally a disappointment under the weight of expectation with so many high-profile names at the club. Rumours
were rife as the season ended, and in June the club announced the departure of Vialli and many of his staff. However,
Ray Lewington stayed and was eventually appointed manager.
In 2002-03, Watford started their first campaign under
Ray Lewington unbeaten at home until November, this despite the off-field trauma of a 'Save Our Club' campaign - highlighting the Hornets' fragile financial position - which involved the playing and management staff taking a 12% wage deferral in late September. The surprise of the season
came in the shape of a run all the way to the semi-final of the FA Cup, where the Hornets
lost out narrowly to Premiership Southampton. FA Cup final success, understandably,
seemed to distract Watford's focus on League matters but they still finished in a respectable 13th position.
The following season, the Hornets suffered from inconsistency all season and relegation worries surrounded
Vicarage Road as the season enterede its final months. A superb second-half display at
Millwall
went a long way to easing the relegation worries and the Hornets followed it up with a 2-0 win at home to
Derby County to all but ensure their First Division status for another season.
The 2004-05 campaign saw Watford start the season on fire behind the goals of Danny Webber, who
scored nine in nine appearances before the goals dried up and the striker
suffered a dislocated shoulder in early January. Heidar Helguson
picked up the scoring mantle and bagged 16 goals by February, as the Hornets also dispatched Premiership sides
Southampton and
Portsmouth in the Carling Cup before eventually going out across two hard-fought legs of the semi-final to
Liverpool.
However, the appointment of Adrian Boothroyd
as the club's new manager saw a new era at Vicarage Road and
Watford were hoping they could look forward to a bright future
and hope to relive their Premiership days in the not too distant
future.
However, no Watford fan could have predicted
that the club would be promoted come the end of Boothroyd's first
full season in charge - but that is exactly what happened!
After guiding the Golden Boys to a 3rd placed finish in the
Championship, Boothroyd then steered Watford to a 3-0 play-off
semi-final aggregate win over Crystal
Palace and then a superb 3-0 play-off final win over Leeds
United at The Millennium Stadium.
With the goal scoring exploits of Marlon King,
Darius Henderson and Ashley Young, Watford will be looking to
avoid relegation and hope that they will still be a Premiership
side come the end of the 2006-07 season.
Luton Town
v
Watford... A
full rundown of all of the past meetings
| Home
Matches |
 |
|
Mar
|
28
|
1921
|
D3S
|
W
|
1
|
0
|
12000
|
|
Apr
|
1
|
1922
|
D3S
|
D
|
1
|
1
|
7000
|
|
Nov
|
25
|
1922
|
D3S
|
L
|
0
|
1
|
11000
|
|
Nov
|
3
|
1923
|
D3S
|
D
|
0
|
0
|
9000
|
|
Dec
|
26
|
1924
|
D3S
|
L
|
0
|
3
|
14000
|
|
Jan
|
23
|
1926
|
D3S
|
W
|
5
|
0
|
7233
|
|
Mar
|
19
|
1927
|
D3S
|
D
|
2
|
2
|
10561
|
|
Feb
|
4
|
1928
|
D3S
|
W
|
3
|
2
|
8012
|
|
Mar
|
2
|
1929
|
D3S
|
D
|
2
|
2
|
15199
|
|
Jan
|
18
|
1930
|
D3S
|
W
|
2
|
0
|
9920
|
|
Jan
|
28
|
1931
|
D3S
|
W
|
4
|
1
|
3603
|
|
Oct
|
17
|
1931
|
D3S
|
L
|
0
|
1
|
14765
|
|
Apr
|
26
|
1933
|
D3S
|
W
|
3
|
2
|
4140
|
|
Oct
|
21
|
1933
|
D3S
|
W
|
2
|
1
|
10674
|
|
Nov
|
10
|
1934
|
D3S
|
D
|
2
|
2
|
11260
|
|
Feb
|
29
|
1936
|
D3S
|
W
|
2
|
1
|
13226
|
|
Oct
|
17
|
1936
|
D3S
|
W
|
4
|
1
|
20955
|
|
Apr
|
25
|
1964
|
D3
|
W
|
2
|
1
|
19799
|
|
Dec
|
26
|
1964
|
D3
|
L
|
2
|
4
|
11020
|
|
Apr
|
30
|
1969
|
D3
|
W
|
2
|
1
|
25523
|
|
Feb
|
13
|
1971
|
D2
|
W
|
1
|
0
|
20099
|
|
Mar
|
4
|
1972
|
D2
|
D
|
0
|
0
|
10816
|
|
Apr
|
5
|
1980
|
D2
|
W
|
1
|
0
|
12783
|
|
Aug
|
19
|
1980
|
D2
|
W
|
1
|
0
|
13887
|
|
Sep
|
26
|
1981
|
D2
|
W
|
4
|
1
|
12839
|
|
Dec
|
27
|
1982
|
D1
|
W
|
1
|
0
|
21145
|
|
Apr
|
28
|
1984
|
D1
|
L
|
1
|
2
|
12594
|
|
Oct
|
20
|
1984
|
D1
|
W
|
3
|
2
|
12192
|
|
Apr
|
26
|
1986
|
D1
|
W
|
3
|
2
|
11810
|
|
Dec
|
26
|
1986
|
D1
|
L
|
0
|
2
|
11140
|
|
May
|
2
|
1988
|
D1
|
W
|
2
|
1
|
10409
|
|
Nov
|
29
|
1992
|
ND1
|
W
|
2
|
0
|
8341
|
|
Aug
|
14
|
1993
|
ND1
|
W
|
2
|
1
|
9149
|
|
Mar
|
26
|
1995
|
ND1
|
D
|
1
|
1
|
7984
|
|
Apr
|
20
|
1996
|
ND1
|
D
|
0
|
0
|
9454
|
|
Jan
|
27
|
1997
|
ND2
|
D
|
0
|
0
|
7977
|
|
Oct
|
| | | |
