For all the negativity from many of our fans regarding the way our season has panned out, although we haven't sunk to any of the devastating lows that supporters of the likes of Luton, Notts County, Oxford, Grimsby and Swindon have experienced, you could certainly pick out a sizable number of infinitably lower moments in the last decade or so than any we've encountered this season. I'm something of a late comer to supporting Watford, so didn't experience the 1995/96 relegation season, but here are a few of my choices: - Losing 5-0 at Fulham - didn't go to the game, but hearing the 4th and 5th goals go in on the radio against a team who were supposed to be our promotion rivals, following our stinker against Huddersfield, brought back only too vividly memories of losing week in and week out in the Premiership, often getting thrashed by mediocre teams in the process - Hearing the news that the bald Italian**** was planning to sue us for having the "temerity" to sack him for doing a godawful job, when we were already in a crippled financial state after his astute signings of the likes of Blondeau, Vega and Issa - Losing Aidy's first three games and looking at the Championship table to find us just above Brighton in the relegation zone on goal difference, after relegation had hardly looked like an issue - at the time, I thought if Aidy were to take us down things could get very ugly between the fans and board - was dreading the trip to Rotherham and the possibility of us failing to get 3 points at the worst team in the Championship by a country mile Although from reading BSaD and other fans' views, the home defeat to Grimsby in 1993/94 (which had what remains the lowest league attendance since the start of that season, with mass protests of "we want Petchey out"), or the hammering at Palarse which was the final nail in Roeder's coffin (and effectively our chances of staying up) could be said to be candidates... Edited by Admin: Removed the C word, save it for gloryhorns, (much as I agree with the use of it in V*****'s case )
My experiences are limited as i've only been a supporter for 10yrs or so but losing to the scum 2-1 at the vic in my first ever derby game was pretty bad. Or perhaps the majority of the Lewington era which was painful to say the least.
Lowest moment? Probably sitting in the second row in the lower rouse. You can't get much lower than that, well maybe a row.:]]
Watford 2 Walsall 3 in the 70's sent us down to the old 4th division, worst WFC moment - but wouldn't change it for anything as it was very humbling and taught me that my heart is WFC where ever they may be placed in any league. This was followed by many years of good/best.
My worst memory is that game against Leicester leading to relegation, although we'd looked dead and buried we fought back and just ran out of games. Can’t believe it was over 10 years ago. They always say the first relegation is the worst. However that relegation also resulted in one of the best seasons: 1997-98 was an awesome experience, especially Fulham away, but I was in the family section so couldn’t invade the pitch! Edit: Just remembered another more personal one, losing 4.1 to Ipswich on my 19th Birthday 2003/04. But they made up for it with the 3.1 victory against Southampton on my 21st last season
My lowest moment would have been when i was 11 (or about that) Heading up to Manchester for the Man City V Watford game. Strolling through the streets riddles with screams and gun shots then having to sit next to the man city fans! Awful day, which then followed in me trying to be as "cool" as my big brother, standing on my seat and sticking my middle finger up constantly at a Man City supporter in a yellow rain coat. And then having us lose the game. Oh and 2-1 defeat at the hands of the scummers. They stack up quite nicely
Mooney leaving for Birmingham, my all time Watford hero. That was a big blow. Also 1995/96 relegation, our end of season form and the fact that the season before we finished about 7th made it all the harder to take, plus the 96/97 season of many draws and the wilderness of mid table in Div 2 (now League One of course).
The 'Toshiba' years (as I call them) were topsy turvy, the bald Italian bastian then Lewington, my lowest moment had to also be when Viawee threatened to sue, if I ever saw him again he would go home to Italy in a hurse...
i would follow the Ivan and go for the Palace hammering. It was worse for me at the time as I was at uni in Brighton and all my mates were Palarse fans. Going back a long time, i remember us losing in the play offs to Blackburn (i think) in about 88. I was just getting old enough to understand football and how it meant we did not have a chance to get promoted to division 1.
Thats a toughie, relegation from League 1 was a massive blow then watching Philips walk for a paltry 700k to Sunderland. Speaking of which, I also find soul destroying the number of decent players we've sold... sometimes for paltry fees or nothing at all. Philips, Robbo, Connolly, Cook, Nielsen, Brynyar Gunnarsson, Webber, Heidar etc etc Also, watching Mooney leave for nothing cos we wouldnt pay him 10k a week (might even have been less) then about three months later, ****** comes on board and brings in VEGA on 30k ..... I WILL NEVER FORGIVE THE BOARD WHOEVER THEY WERE FOR THAT. This season, for me, has been one of the most depressing in the 20 years I have followed the club. At least in the sorry years of the early nineties we knew how bad we were and didnt have a pot to pish in... Aidy tells us he's happy with his squad yet for half the season they've been diabolical. My thinking is we have been led to believe we are better than we are ... promotion + promises of top 10 prem place - bottom of the league - our perfomances on the pitch = boos after each home game. For me, this season SO FAR is right up there!
Not being able to buy a Watford shirt anywhere in the mid 70's for my birthday (nobody stocked them then) Finally paying for PTV service and realising how bad it was - would not work on my computer. Selling Heidar, Barnes, Dyer, Phillips and Furlong - though not all at once. The ref not disallowing the Andy Gray "goal" against Steve Sherwood at the Cup Final, which I took a mate who supported Everton to. And the rest of that match. Realising Neil Cox was going to take any free kick (into the wall). Watching the team that played so well at the start of the season panic and drop so deep they might as well have joined in the drumming in the Rookery against Fulham, Sheff Utd and Wigan this season.
Watching cox come out of the tunnel towards the end of his time here, was horriable. i knew when i saw him come out, that he was going to play rubbish and give up with 10 mins to go. he did it every game that season, and when i saw him come out of the tunnel i had that here we go again feeling, and it went on for a whole season those were low times.
Travelling to an away game with Crewe a couple of seasons back, where we lost 3-0. My dad and I paid £100 for the whole trip and we were 3-0 down at HT. No effort at all. Made me really upset. I had spent money and made the effort to get there and sing my heart out, Cox and co. had been paid to go there and they couldn't even pretend they were bothered.
couldn't agree more, i have been a supporter 10 years and that is by far my loswest moment, watching springies goal fly in was something that wont EVER leave me!
Fulham has given me possibly best and worst watford games best when we won division 2 followed by the pitch invasion:]] , worst, going on a freezing cold boxing day, hardly being able to see (which i spose couldve been a good thing) and losing 5-0. im only 16 so have only followed us for 10 years, but one of the worst was when i was about 12, turning on teletext to see "Watford future in doubt" about the financial issues. Sc*m 2-1 defeat was pretty bad as well
You're joking mate, how about a bit of perspective? Does losing by a late goal to Sheff Utd, depressing though it was at the time, really compare to losing 3-0 to the same (but much weaker) side or losing 4-1 to Millwall in ******'s only season? Or failing to beat 10-man Wigan the same as ******* away your play-off hopes in the old Division 2 at home to an average Chesterfield side, having Craig Ramage sent off in the process, a player who'd shown such promise not so long before only to let it all go to waste? Or getting outclassed by a very good Liverpool side anything like losing by more to a Palace side who weren't good enough for the Premiership the following season? What about when we lost to Birmingham in the FA Cup in our last Premiership campaign in a run of 2 draws and 12 defeats in 14 games? Are any of the lows we've experienced this season comparable with those above?
FA Cup semi defeat against Soton ... not so much the result as the fact we didn't do ourselves justice.
scum 2-1 but a 2-0 defeat at crewe and a 3-0 loss at west brom were pretty shocking. oh yeah, wimbledon away 5-0 in prem. when you get tonked like that against a relegation candidate you know its bad
As Ive been watching the side since late 1976 Ive not really experienced to many lows.Only a couple come to mind.Being relegated on the last day of the season at home to Birmingham was a all time low. Losing at home 3-0 against Grimsby and seeing supporters storm the Directors box was another low I will never forget. Also many years ago we lost at home to Liverpool in the cup,and the Ref cheated by giving them a penalty against Coton,and the Ref even admitted it was not a penalty.We lost 2-1. The last two that sticks out is losing to spurs in the cup semi final with Gary Plumley in goal,and watching Andy Gray head the ball out of Sherwoods hands in the 84 cup final. Apart from that Ive seen the most successfull periods in watfords history since 1977 so Im one of the lucky ones.
NW Hornet, you like many others, have just switched off this year. What you're forgetting is whilst you are picking out the odd gut wrenching defeat over a number of years, this season I can think of at least ten performances that have beggared belief (probably more). Sorry but im not going to make any more excuses or gloss anything over that "we'll come back next year stronger" We've been bloody appalling! We had a massive chance to become a bigger club this year, the same as Charlton and Bolton have done. Unfortunately the boards ambition does not match mine. We've bloody blown it so YES this season IMO has been the worst by a long way!
A couple of years ago we played Nottingham Forest at home on a Tuesday night and lost 2-0. That was probably the most depressing football game I have ever watched at The Vic. I think that was Lewington's last game in charge as well. At the end of the game I came away thinking "we are down" And then we stumbled across Mr Boothroyd ;D
i remember listenin to that game on the radio. was in my first year at uni and there was a forest fan on my floor. right **** he was i think preston at home was lewingtons last game, i remember i came home for it. that was pretty bad too
may 2 nd 1988 dave bassett, has taken us down. the **** has gone, and our last game in top flight football for over a decade is scum away..... we lost 2 - 1
Well it seems we'll probably have to agree to disagree, but at worst I can think of 5 or 6 performances this season that could be deemed as unacceptable. I can think of at least as many if not more from the last Premiership campaign, and certainly more from either of the 1996/97 season, the last two thirds of 2000/01, the ****** season, and both Lewington's last two seasons. And none of the low spots from those seasons match any from the current one. And yes I may have appeared to be selective in picking out the "odd gut wrenching defeat" but had I been bothered I could have picked out a much longer list of lows over the last ten years - the ones I mentioned were certainly no isolated incidents for their seasons. You bemoan our performances over the last 6 months whilst forgetting that we were seeing Liverpool/Bolton/Wigan-like performances or worse on an almost regular basis under ****** and the latter part of Lewington's reign. Maybe your expectations are just higher than most fellow Watford fans mate, but I bet Bolton and Charlton which you say we should be looking to emulate didn't have to cope with Ricketts or Johansson being out for most of their first seasons after promotion...
Think it should also be added they didn't stay up at the first time of asking (as far as i'm aware), I know Bolton in particular were definitely one of the original 'Yo-Yo' clubs!
Yep, Bolton went up and down and twice (just like we look to be doing) before they properly established themselves in the top flight.
