Watford

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The Championship

Round 38

Watford 1 - 1 Wigan Athletic

2023-03-18 15:00 More Reports

Next Match Paid

The Championship

Round 39

Luton Townvs. Watford

2023-04-01 12:30:00 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

2022/2023

Watford

In

Vakoun Bayo (att) Charleroi; Rey Manaj (att) Barcelona; Ben Hamer (gk) Swansea City; Maduka Okoye (gk) Sparta Rotterdam - end of loan; Ignacio Pussetto (att) Udinese - end of loan; Ashley Fletcher (att) New York Red Bulls - end of loan; Yaser Asprilla (mid) Envigado - end of loan; Jorge Segura (def) CD America - end of loan; Philip Zinckernagel (mid) Nottingham Forest - end of loan; Andre Gray (att) QPR - end of loan; Domingos Quina (mid) Barnsley - end of loan; Tom Dele-Bashiru (mid) Reading - end of loan; Pontus Dahlberg (gk) Gillingham - end of loan; Mattie Pollock (def) Cheltenham Town - end of loan;

Out

Cucho Hernandez (att) (sp) Columbus Crew; Moussa Sissoko (mid) (k) Nantes; Philip Zinckernagel (mid) Olympiacos; Joshua King (att) (r) Fenerbahce; Andre Gray (att) Aris Saloniki; Adam Masina (def) (sp) Udinese; Jorge Segura (def) Independiente Medellin - loan; Nicholas N'Koulou (def) (sp) Released; Ben Foster (gk) (r) Released; Rob Elliot (gk) Released; Juraj Kucka (mid) (r) Parma - end of loan; Peter Etebo (mid) Stoke City - end of loan;

Watford endured another miserable Premier League campaign that ended in relegation last season, suffering an immediate return to the Championship after recording just 23 points and going through three different managers. Forest Green Rovers boss Rob Edwards has been appointed to oversee a long-term project at Vicarage Road - a change in direction to the usual short-term view. Edwards has struggled with poor results in pre-season whilst attempting to complete a huge squad overhaul. Key players Emmanuel Dennis and Ismaila Sarr remain at the club despite continued links away, and should they stay, it would make Watford a force to be reckoned with at this level. Vakoun Bayo and Rej Manaj are intriguing options to join the pair in attack, but a new-look Watford side will do without the services of Moussa Sissoko, Juraj Kucka and Ben Foster - three of the very few bright sparks of last season. Edwards could well struggle to maintain stability at the club that has been stripped apart and has started over once again, with so many new squad members being put together to try and achieve promotion. Watford have an array of options and an incredible squad depth, but it is one that could easily become unsettled over the course of the year.

Target

Reaching the playoffs is an absolute minimum for this strong Watford side, with promotion expected. They have an array of talent at their disposal, but it remains difficult to gauge how they could perform given the huge changes taking place.