2009–10 Watford F.C. season

Watford's first league match was at home to Doncaster Rovers, a team who finished the 2008–09 season level on points with Watford. Mackay was banned from the match, due to a suspension from an incident in the previous season.[20] Watford lined up in a 4–4–2 formation, with Tommy Smith playing as a striker, and Don Cowie and Jobi McAnuff as wingers. Scott Severin was playing his first competitive match for Watford, and fellow debutant Danny Graham scored the opening goal after 27 minutes, a close range finish from a Tommy Smith cross. This was followed by a headed equaliser from Doncaster's James Hayter ten minutes later. In the second half, Doncaster striker Dean Shiels had a shot which his manager felt had crossed the line. However, the referee deemed that it had not, and the match finished as a draw.[21][22] Watford were defeated 2–0 at Sheffield United in their next league fixture, with Jamie Ward and Ched Evans scoring for the opposition. The result caused Watford to slip into the relegation places for the only time of the season. Mackay expressed disappointment at his side for the goals they had conceded, and revealed that club was considering a transfer offer for Smith.[23]

Despite the transfer speculation, Smith played for Watford at Nottingham Forest, scoring one goal and assisting two more. Also involved were Lee Hodson, who made his first competitive starting appearance, and loan players Henri Lansbury and Tom Cleverley. Forest scored twice, but Cleverley scored Watford's fourth goal to secure the club's first league win of the season.[24] The home game against Blackpool at Vicarage Road proved to be Smith's final game for the club. His and Cleverley's goals were equalised by Alex Baptiste and Gary Taylor-Fletcher respectively, giving Blackpool their fourth consecutive draw. The final match before the closure of the transfer window was a trip to Welsh side Swansea City, where Watford continued with their 4–4–2 formation. The departures of Smith, Williamson and McAnuff meant that Lansbury and Marvin Sordell made their first starts, and helped Hodson retain his place in the team. Graham nutmegged goalkeeper Dorus de Vries to put Watford ahead, but Swansea defender Alan Tate scored a late header to salvage a 1–1 draw.[25][26]

Watford did not play another game for two weeks, due to international fixtures. On the resumption of club football, they faced Barnsley and Plymouth Argyle, who were both near the bottom of the Championship at the time.[27] Watford changed to a 4–5–1 formation for the home match against Barnsley, with Jon Harley replacing Sordell. Their other change to the starting lineup was an enforced one. Captain Jay DeMerit suffered an injury whilst on international duty with the USA, and was replaced by Dale Bennett, who made his Football League debut. Graham scored the only goal of the game with a close-range finish in the 54th minute. Watford's clean sheet was their first in the league since March.[n 1] Playing the same formation, they recorded an identical result at Plymouth, with Tom Cleverley's early goal proving decisive. For both of these wins, Watford's defence consisted entirely of players who had progressed from their youth system.[28][29]

Former Watford player Heiðar Helguson rejoined Watford on loan from QPR on 15 September 2009,[30] and his first game was as a substitute against Leicester City. With Watford trailing 2–0 at half time, Mackay changed from a 4–5–1 formation to a 4–4–2, with striker Helguson replacing attacking midfielder Henri Lansbury. Helguson's impact was immediate. He set up Graham for Watford's opening goal, before scoring twice to put Watford into a 3–2 lead. However, Helguson suffered an injury shortly before the end of the match, and Ellington replaced him for the final ten minutes. Leicester subsequently equalised, and the match ended 3–3.[31] A total of 3,389 Watford fans attended the away match against Reading, who were managed by ex-Watford manager Brendan Rodgers.[32] Former Watford player Grzegorz Rasiak scored Reading's goal, in a match that also saw Jobi McAnuff and Brynjar Gunnarsson facing their former club. Graham equalised for Watford, and despite a red card for Ellington, the match finished as a draw.[33] Preparation for Watford's game against Coventry City was affected by a virus affecting six first-team players.[34] Will Hoskins scored his first goal of the season, but Coventry scored three goals to inflict Watford's first home defeat of the season.[35] Four days later Cardiff City defeated Watford 4–0; Watford's heaviest home league defeat since January 2004.[34]

Don Cowie made his debut for Scotland during the October international break.[36] Upon the resumption of club football, Watford recorded an away win at Middlesbrough, who had just been relegated from the Premier League. Three days later, Ipswich led Watford 1–0 at the end of standard time at Portman Road, but Nathan Ellington equalised in the last minute to deny Ipswich their first league win of 2009–10. Watford's game against Sheffield Wednesday was their third in seven days, and first goals of the season for Lansbury, Adrian Mariappa and Jon Harley ensured Watford's second win in that time. Eight days later Watford travelled to fourth-placed West Bromwich Albion. Watford were defeated 5–0—their heaviest defeat of the season and biggest ever defeat against West Brom.[37] They responded with a home win over Preston in their next match, with Cleverley scoring to join Danny Graham as the club's leading goalscorer of the season.

After a break for the last international fixtures of 2009, Watford resumed the season with a 3–0 home win over Scunthorpe United. Helguson scored two goals, meaning that at that point he was averaging more than a goal per game in 2009–10. Watford suffered consecutive defeats away to Crystal Palace and Newcastle, failing to score in either match. The Newcastle match was followed by a home game against Queens Park Rangers two days later, due to television coverage. Lloyd Doyley scored his first ever goal in professional football to equalise before half-time, and Watford eventually won 3–1. This marked Watford's fourth consecutive home win, and took them into a playoff position. Such was the surprise at Doyley's goal, that the club released a commemorative T-shirt, with the slogan "I was there when Lloyd scored!"[38] However, Watford's sequence of home wins ended with a 1–0 loss to Derby County, and was followed by a defeat at the league's then bottom side, Peterborough United—their first win since sacking manager Darren Ferguson.[39] The team finished 2009 with consecutive draws against Nottingham Forest and Bristol City.

Watford's start to 2010 was impacted by the unusually cold winter, which caused the postponement of two home matches in January. Consequently, they played only two matches that month: 2–1 and 3–2 defeats away to Doncaster Rovers and Blackpool respectively. They recorded two wins and a defeat from their first three matches of February, before again suffering a postponement, this time due to a waterlogged pitch at Loftus Road. A 2–2 draw against Scunthorpe United on 20 February left Watford 13th in the Championship on 39 points, having played the fewest matches of any club in the division.[40]

Mackay later remarked that fixture congestion in March and April caught up on his relatively small squad. Between 20 February and 20 April, Watford played fifteen matches, winning two (against Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich Town), drawing four and losing nine. Although they never entered the relegation zone, with five games remaining they were separated from it only on goal difference.[41] However, wins against Plymouth, Reading and Coventry City ensured that Watford remained in the Championship for the 2010–11 season.

From their 3rd game until their 31st, Watford found themselves in a mid-table position; seldom in the top six, but several points clear of the relegation zone. A series of fixture postponements meant that, as of their 30th fixture, Watford had played fewer matches than any other Championship team.[40] The postponements were followed by a run of one win in 12 games between February and April, leading to Watford slipping close to the relegation places. With five matches to play, they were 21st, ahead of Sheffield Wednesday only on goal difference.[82] Survival was sealed in the penultimate match with a 3–0 win against Reading. A subsequent victory at Coventry elevated Watford to a final position of 16th, their highest place in the table for two months. The team finished with 54 points – 16 fewer than Blackpool in the final playoff position, and 7 more than Sheffield Wednesday, the highest placed of the three relegated teams.[83]

Key

The first round draw for the 2009–10 League Cup (known as the Carling Cup for sponsorship reasons) took place on 16 June 2009. It included all Football League clubs for the forthcoming season with the exception of Newcastle and Middlesbrough, who were given byes to the second round. Watford were drawn to play an away match against north London side Barnet.[84] Barnet were two divisions below Watford, in Football League Two. In the match, Malky Mackay gave a first competitive start to 17-year-old academy right back Lee Hodson and a first game of the season to goalkeeper Richard Lee. The match was goalless after 90 minutes, before Scott Severin and Mike Williamson scored for Watford in extra time.[85]

Barnet v Watford

11 August 2009 First round	Barnet	0–2 (a.e.t.)	Watford	Underhill Stadium, Barnet
		[85]	Williamson 105' Severin 120 + 3'	Attendance: 3,139 Referee: Cook

The second round draw, held on 12 August 2009, included the 35 winners from the first round, as well as Newcastle, Middlesbrough, and the 13 Premier League teams not involved in the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League. Leeds United were selected as the home side against Watford, in what would be the first match between the two teams since the 2006 Football League Championship play-off final.[86] Leeds took the lead with a Robert Snodgrass goal in the 38th minute. Marvin Sordell scored his first senior goal for Watford, taking the game to extra time. However, Snodgrass scored his and Leeds' second goal to secure a 2–1 victory for the League One side.[87]

Leeds United v Watford

25 August 2009 Second round	Leeds United	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Watford	Elland Road, Leeds
	Snodgrass 38', 98'	[87]	Sordell 87'	Attendance: 14,681 Referee: Hall

Over the course of the season, 31 players made at least one first team appearance for Watford. Of these, Adrian Mariappa was the only one to start all 49 matches. Goalkeeper Scott Loach started every league match, while Danny Graham also played some part in every Watford fixture. Graham also finished as the club's top scorer with 14 goals, all of them coming in the Football League. Tied for second place were Heiðar Helguson and Tom Cleverley, both of whom scored 11 goals. Three Watford players were sent off in 2009–10: Cleverley, Jon Harley and Nathan Ellington received one red card each.

Correct as of the final game of the season. Starting appearances are listed first, followed by substitute appearances in parentheses where applicable.

2010–11 Watford playing statistics

No.	Pos	Name	P	G	P	G	P	G	P	G			Notes
			Championship		FA Cup		League Cup		Total		Discipline
1	GK	Scott Loach	46	0	1	0	0	0	47	0	2	0	—
2	DF	Adrian Mariappa	46	1	1	0	2	0	49	1	6	0	—
3	DF	Jure Travner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
4	MF	Scott Severin	4(5)	0	1	0	1	1	6(5)	1	0	0	—
5	MF	Henri Lansbury	34(3)	5	1	0	0(1)	0	35(4)	5	10	0	Joined club on 21 August 2009
6	DF	Jay DeMerit	25(2)	0	1	0	0	0	26(3)	0	2	0	—
7	MF	Don Cowie	40(1)	2	1	0	2	0	43(1)	2	1	0	—
8	MF	Stephen McGinn	2(7)	0	0	0	0	0	2(7)	0	1	0	Joined club on 15 January 2010
8	MF	Tommy Smith	4	2	0	0	1	0	5	2	0	0	Left club on 27 August 2009
10	FW	Danny Graham	37(9)	14	1	0	2	0	40(9)	14	2	0	—
11	FW	Heiðar Helguson	26(3)	11	0	0	0	0	26(3)	11	3	0	Joined club on 15 September 2009[n 2]
11	MF	Jobi McAnuff	3	0	0	0	1	0	4	0	0	0	Left club on 27 August 2009
12	DF	Lloyd Doyley	43(1)	1	1	0	2	0	46(1)	1	2	0	—
13	GK	Jonathan North	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
14	MF	Ross Jenkins	21(3)	0	0(1)	0	1	0	22(4)	0	1	0	—
15	MF	Jon Harley	20(18)	1	0(1)	0	0(1)	0	20(20)	1	4	1	—
16	GK	Richard Lee	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	—
17	DF	Dale Bennett	8(2)	0	0	0	0	0	8(2)	0	1	0	—
18	FW	Will Hoskins	5(13)	3	0	0	1	0	6(13)	3	0	0	—
19	FW	Liam Henderson	0(13)	0	0(1)	0	0(1)	0	0(15)	0	1	0	—
20	MF	Tom Cleverley	33	11	1	0	1	0	35	11	5	1	Joined club on 17 August 2009.
22	DF	Craig Cathcart	12	0	0	0	0	0	12	0	0	0	Joined club on 14 September 2009, and left on 5 January 2010
22	MF	Will Buckley	4(2)	1	0	0	0	0	4(2)	1	1	0	Joined club on 26 January 2010.
24	DF	Martin Taylor	17(2)	2	0	0	0	0	17(2)	2	1	0
24	DF	Mike Williamson	4	1	0	0	2	1	6	2	0	0	Left club on 1 September 2009.
25	FW	Nathan Ellington	2(15)	1	0	0	0(1)	0	2(16)	1	2	1	Left club on 1 January 2010
26	MF	John-Joe O'Toole	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Left club on 1 September 2009.[n 3]
26	FW	Ryan Noble	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
27	DF	Mat Sadler	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
28	MF	John Eustace	39(3)	4	1	0	2	0	42(3)	4	11	0	—
29	MF	Michael Bryan	1(6)	0	0	0	0	0	1(6)	0	0	0	—
30	MF	Rob Kiernan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
31	FW	Marvin Sordell	1(4)	1	0	0	0(1)	1	1(5)	2	2	0	—
33	DF	Lee Hodson	29(2)	0	1	0	2	0	32(2)	0	2	0	—
34	DF	Eddie Oshodi	0(1)	0	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0	—
36	FW	Kurtney Brooks	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0(1)	0	0	0	—
37	GK	Jonathan Bond	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
38	MF	Piero Mingoia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
39	FW	Gavin Massey	0(1)	0	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0	—

• Player of the season: Tom Cleverley
• Player's player of the season: John Eustace
• Young player of the season: Scott Loach
• Goal of the season: Lloyd Doyley (vs QPR on 7 December 2009)
• Hall of fame inductee: Nigel Gibbs

Martin Taylor joined Watford from Birmingham City in January 2010.

Watford signed three permanent players before the first game of the season: former Scotland international Scott Severin, Carlisle United striker Danny Graham, and Slovenian left back Jure Travner. The transfer window closed at the end of 1 September 2009, meaning that Watford could not buy or sell further players until the opening of the January transfer window on 1 January 2010. The club took this opportunity to sign Scotland under-21 international Stephen McGinn, young Rochdale winger Will Buckley, and 30-year-old centre back Martin Taylor.

Unless a country is specified, all clubs play in the English football league system.

Tommy Smith joined Portsmouth on 27 August 2009.

The club's financial shortfall necessitated the sale of players in the summer of 2009, with Jimmy Russo confirming in the annual accounts that the club would need to continue to sell players "year on year" in order to "meet the financial requirements of the business."[97] After the early departures of Theo Robinson and Al Bangura, Tamás Priskin was sold to Ipswich Town in the first week of August, just before the start of the Championship season. Despite being able to transfer players at any stage between 1 July and 1 September, Watford conducted much of their business in the last week of the transfer window. Portsmouth submitted transfer bids for Smith and Williamson. Negotiations with Reading for Smith were ongoing,[98] while their bid for McAnuff was accepted. Smith's transfer to Portsmouth and McAnuff's move to Reading were confirmed before Watford's match against Swansea City,[99] with Williamson's transfer following a few days after.[100] Mackay later expressed frustration at the latter transfer, revealing that after Watford rejected Williamson's transfer request, he declared himself unfit to train, play, or travel to Swansea.[101]

Watford's final sale of the season came when the January transfer window opened on 1 January 2010. John-Joe O'Toole, who was already on loan at Colchester United, was signed on a permanent transfer by former Watford manager Aidy Boothroyd.

All clubs play in the English football league system.

Jobi McAnuff was sold to Reading in August.

After leaving the club in 2005, Heiðar Helguson rejoined Watford on loan for 2009–10.

Having sold several first team players, Watford used the loan system to sign young players from Premier League clubs, offering them early experience of competitive football. First to arrive was Tom Cleverley, who scored on his debut and was eventually voted Watford F.C. Player of the Season. Other players acquired in this manner included his Manchester United teammate Craig Cathcart, and Arsenal midfielder Henri Lansbury. Watford's other significant loan acquisition was former player Heiðar Helguson. The Iceland international made an instant impact on his return to Vicarage Road, scoring two goals as a substitute in a 3–3 draw against Leicester City.

For similar reasons to their young acquisitions, Watford loaned players such as O'Toole, Billy Gibson and Marvin Sordell to lower-league sides, in the hope that they would gain first-team experience. They also used the system to send Mat Sadler to Stockport County, and Nathan Ellington to Greek side Skoda Xanthi. In both cases, the loans were made with the option of a possible permanent move.

Four Watford players represented their country at senior international level in 2009–10. Club captain Jay DeMerit played for the United States in the Confederations Cup, where he helped his team reach the final at the expense of Spain, and the 2010 World Cup, where he played against England and Slovenia. Heiðar Helguson played five matches for Iceland, scoring two international goals in a 4–0 win over Andorra. Don Cowie made his debut for Scotland against Japan, and was selected again by manager George Burley to play against Wales. Another debutant was Michael Bryan. He toured the United States with Northern Ireland, making his international debut as a substitute against Turkey and four days later starting for his country against World Cup qualifiers Chile.

Several further players participated in youth international matches. Loan duo Tom Cleverley and Henri Lansbury played alongside goalkeeper Scott Loach in England under-21s UEFA Euro 2011 qualifying campaign. Reserve team defender Jordan Parkes played for England against Uzbekistan at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, and Ross Jenkins also played for the team in a friendly against Montenegro. Other professional players to represent their countries at youth level included Lee Hodson and Craig Cathcart for Northern Ireland under-21, Stephen McGinn for Scotland under-21, Rob Kiernan for Ireland under 19s, and Eddie Oshodi for England under-17s.[127]

Country Team Player  England Under-21 Tom Cleverley Henri Lansbury Scott Loach Under-20 Ross Jenkins Jordan Parkes Under-17 Eddie Oshodi  Iceland Men's senior Heiðar Helguson  Malta Under-17 Vjorn Sultana  Northern Ireland Men's senior Michael Bryan Under-21 Craig Cathcart Lee Hodson Under-17 Adam Thompson Jack Warburton Under-16 Dominic Ball

Country Team Player  Republic of Ireland Under-19 Rob Kiernan Under-17 Jack Bonham Sean Murray Connor Smith  Scotland Men's senior Don Cowie Under-21 Stephen McGinn  United States Men's senior Jay DeMerit  Wales Under-21 Kurtney Brooks Jonathan North Under-17 Jonathan Bond

Stephen McGinn played international football for Scotland under-21s.