2008–09 Watford F.C. season

Watford Football Club are an association football team from the county of Hertfordshire, England. Waford has played in the Championship since being relegated from the Premier League in 2006–07. The club finished the season in 13th position out of 24 Championship teams. The club went through four managers during the season.

Watford
2008–09 season
ChairmanGraham Simpson (until December 2008)
Jimmy Russo (from December 2008)
ManagerAidy Boothroyd (until October 2008)
Malky Mackay (caretaker in November 2008)
Brendan Rodgers (November 2008 – June 2009)
Malky Mackay (June 2009)
StadiumVicarage Road
Football League Championship13th
FA CupFifth Round (eliminated by Chelsea)
League CupFifth Round (eliminated by Tottenham Hotspur)
Top goalscorerLeague: Tommy Smith (17)
All: Tommy Smith (17)
Highest home attendance16,386 (vs Wolverhampton Wanderers, 25 October 2008)
Lowest home attendance13,193 (vs Burnley, 27 January 2010)
Average home league attendance14,858

Background, review and events

The 2008–09 season was their second consecutive one in the Football League Championship, following relegation from the Premier League in 2006–07.[1]

They reached the fifth round of both the League Cup and FA Cup, where they were eliminated by Premier League sides Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea respectively. Both teams went on to reach the finals of the corresponding competitions, with Chelsea going on to win the 2009 FA Cup Final.[2]

Off the pitch, there were a series of personnel changes through the course of the season. Chairman Graham Simpson and chief executive Mark Ashton resigned, and were replaced by Jimmy Russo and Julian Winter respectively. Following a decline in form throughout 2008, manager Aidy Boothroyd left the club by mutual consent, and was replaced by Brendan Rodgers. In turn, Rodgers controversially left the club a few weeks after the last game of the season, having previously suggested that rumours linking him to Reading were "questioning his integrity".[3] His replacement was first team coach and former player Malky Mackay.[4]

The season is perhaps best remembered for the "ghost goal" incident, which occurred in a league match against Reading on 20 September 2008. Following a corner from Reading player Stephen Hunt, John Eustace kicked the ball across the line, level with the six-yard box. Initially, linesman Nigel Bannister seemed to signal for a goal kick, and players from both sides ran away from the penalty area, waiting for goalkeeper Scott Loach to take it. However, Bannister walked over to referee Stuart Attwell, and after a brief discussion, Attwell awarded Reading a goal. The match eventually finished 2–2. The match also marked Loach's debut; the "ghost goal" was the first goal he conceded in his Watford career.[5][6]

Match results

League results
Match Date Stadium City Opponent Result Attendance Goalscorers Source
Watford Opponent
1 Sat 9 August Selhurst Park London Crystal Palace 0–0 15,614
2 Sat 16 August Vicarage Road Watford Charlton Athletic 1–0 14,413 Smith, T.W.
3 Sat 23 August City Ground Nottingham Nottingham Forest 2–3 20,005 Smith, T.W. (2)
4 Sat 30 August Vicarage Road Watford Ipswich Town 2–1 16,345 Eustace, J.M., O'Toole, J.J.
5 Sat 13 September Hillsborough Sheffield Sheffield Wednesday 0–2 17,066
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Results summary
OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
46 16 10 20 68 72  −4 58 11 6 6 42 32  +10 5 4 14 26 40  −14

Last updated: 17 March 2013.
Source: Fussballdaten.de

Final league table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
11 Queens Park Rangers 46 15 16 15 42 44 −2 61
12 Sheffield Wednesday 46 16 13 17 51 58 −7 61
13 Watford 46 16 10 20 68 72 −4 58
14 Doncaster Rovers 46 17 7 22 42 53 −11 58
15 Crystal Palace 46 15 12 19 52 55 −3 56[lower-alpha 1]
Updated to match(es) played on 3 May 2009. Source: The Football League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. Crystal Palace were give a one-point deduction for using an ineligible player during a match against Sheffield United on 3 May 2009.[7]

FA Cup
Match Date Stadium City Opponent Result Attendance Goalscorers Source
Watford Opponent
3 3 January 2009 Vicarage Road Watford Scunthorpe United 1–0 8,690 Rasiak 67' — [MR 1]
4 24 January 2009 Vicarage Road Watford Crystal Palace 4–3 10,006 DeMerit 17'
Cork 27'
Hoskins 67'
Rasiak 70'		 Hill 48'
Ifill 83', 90'		 [MR 2]
5 14 February 2009 Vicarage Road Watford Chelsea 1–3 16,851 Priskin 69' Anelka 75', 77', 90' [MR 3]

League Cup
Match Date Stadium City Opponent Result Attendance Goalscorers Source
Watford Opponent
1 12 August 2008 Vicarage Road Watford Bristol Rovers 1–0 5,574 Hoskins 88' — [MR 4]
2 28 August 2008 Vicarage Road Watford Darlington 2–1 5,236 Francis 37'
O'Toole 116'		 Blundell 90' [MR 5]
3 23 September 2008 Vicarage Road Watford West Ham United 1–0 12,914 Mullins 70' (o.g.) — [MR 6]
4 11 November 2008 Liberty Stadium Swansea, Wales Swansea City 1–0 9,549 Williamson 21' — [MR 7]
5 3 December 2008 Vicarage Road Watford Tottenham Hotspur 1–2 16,501 Priskin 13' Pavlyuchenko 45' (pen.)
Bent 76'		 [MR 8]

Player information

First-team squad
Squad at end of season[8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Estonia EST Mart Poom
2 DF England ENG Gavin Hoyte (on loan from Arsenal)
3 DF England ENG Mat Sadler
4 MF England ENG Jack Cork (on loan from Chelsea)
6 DF United States USA Jay DeMerit
7 MF Scotland SCO Don Cowie
8 MF England ENG John Eustace
9 FW Hungary HUN Tamás Priskin
10 FW Poland POL Grzegorz Rasiak (on loan from Southampton)
11 MF Jamaica JAM Jobi McAnuff
12 DF England ENG Lloyd Doyley
13 GK England ENG Scott Loach
14 MF Jamaica JAM Lee Williamson
15 DF England ENG Jon Harley
16 GK England ENG Richard Lee
17 GK England ENG Stuart Searle
18 FW England ENG Theo Robinson
19 FW England ENG Steve Kabba
20 MF Sierra Leone SLE Al Bangura
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 FW England ENG Tommy Smith
22 FW England ENG Will Hoskins
23 DF England ENG Adrian Mariappa
24 DF England ENG Mike Williamson
25 MF Scotland SCO Gareth Williams
26 MF Republic of Ireland IRL John-Joe O'Toole
27 MF England ENG Billy Gibson
28 MF Latvia LVA Aleksandrs Cauņa (on loan from Skonto)
30 GK Wales WAL Jonathan North
31 DF England ENG Jordan Parkes
32 MF England ENG Lewis Young
33 FW England ENG Liam Henderson
35 MF England ENG Ross Jenkins
36 DF England ENG Eddie Oshodi
37 FW England ENG Marvin Sordell
38 DF England ENG Rob Kiernan
39 DF England ENG Danny Rose (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur)
40 DF Estonia EST Andrei Stepanov
41 DF Northern Ireland NIR Lee Hodson

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
4 DF Nigeria NGA Sam Sodje (on loan from Reading)
5 DF England ENG Leigh Bromby (on loan to Sheffield United)
7 MF Jamaica JAM Damien Francis (retired)
7 MF England ENG Liam Bridcutt (on loan from Chelsea)
19 FW England ENG Lionel Ainsworth (to Huddersfield Town)
No. Pos. Nation Player
24 DF England ENG Darren Ward (on loan from Wolves)
28 FW England ENG Moses Ashikodi (to Shrewsbury Town)
29 DF France FRA Cédric Avinel (on loan to Gueugnon)
30 GK England ENG Mark Tyler (on loan from Peterborough United)
34 DF England ENG Dale Bennett (on loan to Kettering Town)

References

Match reports
  1. "Watford 1–0 Scunthorpe". BBC. 3 January 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  2. "Watford 4–3 Crystal Palace". BBC. 24 January 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  3. "Watford 1–3 Chelsea". BBC. 14 February 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  4. "Watford 1–0 Bristol Rovers". BBC. 12 August 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  5. "Watford 2–1 Darlington (aet)". BBC. 26 August 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  6. "Watford 1–0 West Ham". BBC. 23 September 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
  7. "Swansea 0–1 Watford". BBC. 11 November 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  8. "Watford 1–2 Tottenham". BBC. 3 December 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2013.

Other references
  1. Chris Bevan (21 April 2007). "Watford 1–1 Man City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  2. Chris Bevan (30 May 2009). "Chelsea 2–1 Everton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  3. Frank Smith (22 May 2009). "'No contact at all' from Reading for Rodgers". Newsquest.
  4. "Mackay appointed Watford manager". BBC Sport. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  5. "Watford 2–2 Reading". BBC Sport. 20 September 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  6. Richard Evans (30 June 2010). "England's future stars – ones to watch for the 2014 World Cup squad". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  7. "Crystal Palace have one point deduction for fielding ineligible Rui Fonte". The Guardian. 1 June 2009. Archived from the original on 12 June 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  8. "FootballSquads - Watford - 2008/09".
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