Watford

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The Championship

Round 8

Leeds United 3 - 0 Watford

2023-09-23 15:00 More Reports

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The Championship

Round 10

Sunderlandvs. Watford

2023-10-04 19:45:00 More Previews

Team details

Rivals	Luton Town
Club Profile	Club Website Twitter: @WatfordFC Facebook: @WatfordFC Address: Watford Football Club, Vicarage Road Stadium, Vicarage Road, Watford, WD18 0ER (Lat: 51.649836 Long: -0.401486) Nickname: The Hornets
Stadium	Vicarage Road (opened 1922) Capacity: 22,220 Pitch Size: 110m x 73m Vicarage Road has undergone a variety of improvement work in recent years. The Elton John Stand was completed in 2014 taking the capacity to 22,220. In September 2004 Watford purchased their stadium back from the leaseholder thanks to donations from fans and the help of former owner Elton John. There are plans in the pipeline to increase the capacity of Vicarage Road to 30,000.
Recent History	The early 2000s saw Watford find themselves in financial trouble. In 2002/03 facing administration, they were helped by players and staff taking a pay cut and a timely FA Cup run. In 2005/06 Aidy Boothroyd lead the team to promotion to the Premier League via the play offs. However their stay in the top flight was limited to one season as they finished bottom. An FA Cup semi final wasn't enough to distract from what was an immense disappointment. In 2008/09 Brendan Rodgers took over from Boothroyd and lead the team to 13th place in The Championship. Malky Mackay & Sean Dyche would follow in the Watford hot seat and despite the success of the latter, he was replaced by Gianfranco Zola. The Italian was installed as part of the Pozzo family takeover and meant there was now a link between the Premier League club and the Serie A side they owned, Udinese. Watford returned to the Premier League in 2015 and reached the semi final of the FA Cup in 2015/16, going one better in 2019 and reaching the final, albeit losing heavily to Manchester City (6-0).
Distance Matrix	Distance Matrix

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Season Guide

2023/2024

Watford

In

Tom Ince (mid) Reading; Rhys Healey (att) Toulouse; Jake Livermore (mid) West Brom; Jamal Lewis (def) Newcastle – on loan; Giorgi Chakvetadze (mid) Gent – on loan; Matheus Martins (att) loan extension

Out

Joao Pedro (k) (att) Brighton; Ismaila Sarr (k) (att) Marseille; Keinan Davis (r) (att) Aston Villa – end of loan; Hamza Choudhury (r) (mid) Leicester – end of loan; Christian Kabasele (r) (def) Udinese; Craig Cathcart (r) (def) released; Tom Cleverley (r) (mid) retired; Hassane Kamara (r) (def) Udinese – end of loan; Kortney Hause (sp) (def) Aston Villa – end of loan; William Troost-Ekong (sp) (def) PAOK Salonika; Joseph Hungbo (sp) (att) Nuremberg; Britt Assombalonga (sp) (att) released; Mario Gaspar (sp) (def) released; Leandro Bacuna (sp) (mid) released; Henrique Araujo (sp) (att) Benfica – end of loan

A disappointing 2022/23 season back in the Championship for Watford, following relegation from the Premier League, saw them finish 11th. Watford have a recent history of hiring and firing managers and it was no different in 2022/23 with Rob Edwards, Slaven Bilic and Chris Wilder all having stints in charge. Now there is another new man in the hotseat. Valerian Ismael has had mixed results with managing Championship teams, so it remains to be seen how he gets on. The off season has seen some notable player departures. Key attacking players from last season, talented winger Sarr and dangerous forward Joao Pedro have both moved on for substantial fees. With both sales combined bringing in around £45 million. There has been a significant trimming of a bloated, stale squad. So far there haven’t been many incomings or money spent. However, the few signings made look promising. Livermore, Ince and Lewis are experienced Championship performers. Striker Healey was injured most of last season, but has scored goals in the French top fight in previous campaigns. Ismael is known for implementing a high energy, pressing game. The Watford players will go out onto the pitch with a clear idea of their roles and the style of play. With all the managerial changes this has maybe not been the case in recent seasons. With Sarr, Joao Pedro and Davis gone there are concerns over the creativity and potency in attack.

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Out

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