Matt Rowson on those 'lockdown days'
An opinion that has grated for far longer than it deserves, for significantly longer than its pronouncers have spent formulating it, is that ‘football supporters just care about winning’. Such generalisation is most frequently offered by media commentators i...
This store requires javascript to be enabled for some features to work correctly.
A tale of deception and corruption from the pen of Simon Cheetham
This piece contains flash photography, gratuitous bad language and graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing.
It’s now got to the point that when someone I’ve just met asks me what I do for a living I reply ‘IT’,...
How many goalkeepers does one club need? Tim Turner examines the shadowy history of Watford’s third-choice net-minders
When the team for the home game against Spurs was announced, it occurred to me that Vincent Angelini may have achieved the distinction of being the first fourth-choice keeper t...
Nick Catley looks at what makes going to football special
So. Match day is progressing apace. We’ve scored an early goal, and added a second towards half-time, looking comfortable. Out of nowhere, we’ve conceded stupidly a few minutes into the second half, eliciting that familiar sinking feelin...
Colin Payne on one of the club's great mavericks
He came from Partick at the age of 20, a black cloud already looming over his strawberry-blonde head due to dodgy dealings with even dodgier tracksuits. He was a party animal, shagger (excuse the 80s parlance, but there could be no better descrip...
Mark Groves tells how three generations of his family have been following Watford for 115 years
It all began on an autumn day in 1907 when my grandfather, Joseph Groves, went to his first game at Cassio Road. Little did he know that his legacy would live on until the present day. He was born in...
Nick Catley looks at what makes going to football special
Up until now in this series, I’ve talked about the incidental pleasures of match day, the little things that make football worth going to.
But this. This is why we go in the first place. This is our hit, our drug, the ultimate source of ...
Colin Payne really likes his football mobile-free
I don’t like electronic ticketing. And I sure as hell don’t like Covid passes. However, my displeasure with such things relates neither to excessive queuing, which isn’t that excessive; nor any perceived violations of my civil liberties – nothin...
Nick Catley looks at what makes going to football special
This series is all about the pleasures we experience, big and small, by attending games in person. You might go to a match, however, and not notice this feature at all – even as you participate in it.
Last time we looked at songs and cha...
In the spring of 1994, Watford travelled to Peterborough United in the ultimate relegation six-pointer. It was a must-win game for both teams and proved to be 90 minutes of pure chaos. James Garrett takes up the story...
Strange as it might sound, if I could go back in a Watford FC-themed time ...
Colin Payne gets lost in thrill of the occasion
As I walked past Watford High Street railway station, the fine but plentiful rain doing little for my spirits, a group of seven or eight men spilled on to the pavement. Laughing and joking, and dressed appropriately for the weather, they stood out...
Nick Catley on the goal Adrian Boothroyd described as ‘like a UFO landing’
It isn’t news that debate over refereeing decisions can run and run. Probably the most famous example ever relates to whether the ball crossed the line for England’s third goal in the 1966 World Cup Final (fun fact – ‘Ru...