You may not have heard of Jack Gran. After he left Watford, he changed his name. His new name became world-famous, as Olly Wicken recounts.
John Joseph Gran was known as Jack Gran when he joined West Herts as an amateur. He made his first appearance in a friendly in November 1895.
Three years l...
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Peter Morgan on why he is no longer really excited about the FA Cup
To we football-mad baby boomers, born in the early 1960s, there was one Saturday of the year we looked forward to more than any other. This day just kept giving for a continuous nine hours. My brother and I would be ready for n...
Pete Bradshaw goes back to April 1977, and the day Mike Keen got sacked
In YBR! 32, Nick Catley recalls the many memorable games against Huddersfield. For those of us of a certain vintage there is one game that needs to be added to that list. One that precedes all of Nick’s. He is to be excused...
Pete Remnant from Do Not Scratch Your Eyes and You ‘Orns TV looks at the men who have scored penalties for the Hornets to determine if a penalty spot specialist is essential, or a passenger.
We start with Watford’s highest scorer in a single season, the great Cliff Holton. In 1959/60 he scored ...
Colin Payne on his affinity with with his yellow, black and red length of acrylic
It’s always one of the highlights of my season, the GT game, the players come out, and the whole stadium holds aloft their scarves. For that minute or so I can think of no time when Watford’s support is more unite...
Neil Dunham is claiming a place in the Guinness Book of Records...
I don’t leave the football early. I’m one of those people who stays behind and finds something to clap about, even after the worst, most savage of beatings. In my 40+ years of supporting Watford I’ve left the game before the fi...
Nick Catley prepares to say farewell, but not goodbye
At Huddersfield, as the hubbub died down from João Pedro’s second goal, a beautifully judged and executed looping header, the bloke behind me leaned down, clearly with something important on his mind. “If he goes in January”, he confided to ...
Nick Catley looks at games against a club that just appears to have a significant impact on our destiny
The game at Huddersfield before Christmas was everything an away day should be – nice town, excellent pub, great company, easy walk to the ground, three points. It was the kind of trip you ju...
Is half-time really too early to leave a game? Colin Payne argues it’s not.
For the purposes of transparency and openness I’ll jump straight to the end. No preamble, no excuses, no justification. I left the Hull game at half-time. There, it’s out there, in the public domain, the ultimate beat-t...
Tim Turner is mystified by the amount of breath that is wasted taunting opposing fans
I love singing at football matches. Whether it’s a song celebrating a player, or one of the old favourites like ‘Elton John’s Taylor-made army’, I will belt it out with gusto, just as long as there are other p...
Leonard Dewick was a goalkeeper who wore spectacles on the pitch. Olly Wicken asks: How do you think his Watford career went?
Len Dewick joined Watford as an amateur in November 1923. He was understudy to the greatest goalkeeper in Hornet Heaven, Skilly Williams. At first, he didn’t get a look-...
Watford Gold’s Neil Dunham looks at some of those with rather exotic names who played for Watford
When Segar Bastard appeared for Herts Rangers way back in 1876, some might have thought that the high watermark had been reached with regards to Watford footballers with ‘interesting’ names. You ma...