2008–09 Watford F.C. season

"Watford sign Rose from Tottenham". BBC Sport. 24 March 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2023.

Watford

2008–09 season
Chairman	Graham Simpson (until December 2008) Jimmy Russo (from December 2008)
Manager	Aidy Boothroyd (until October 2008) Malky Mackay (caretaker in November 2008) Brendan Rodgers (November 2008 – June 2009) Malky Mackay (June 2009)
Stadium	Vicarage Road
Football League Championship	13th
FA Cup	Fifth Round (eliminated by Chelsea)
League Cup	Fifth Round (eliminated by Tottenham Hotspur)
Top goalscorer	League: Tommy Smith (17) All: Tommy Smith (17)
Highest home attendance	16,386 (vs Wolverhampton Wanderers, 25 October 2008)
Lowest home attendance	13,193 (vs Burnley, 27 January 2010)
Average home league attendance	14,858
Home colours Away colours
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

Watford Football Club are an association football team from the county of Hertfordshire, England. Waford has played in the Championship since being relegated from the Premier League in 2006–07. The club finished the season in 13th position out of 24 Championship teams. The club went through four managers during the season.

Background, review and events

The 2008–09 season was their second consecutive one in the Football League Championship, following relegation from the Premier League in 2006–07.^[1]

They reached the fifth round of both the League Cup and FA Cup, where they were eliminated by Premier League sides Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea respectively. Both teams went on to reach the finals of the corresponding competitions, with Chelsea going on to win the 2009 FA Cup Final.^[2]

Off the pitch, there were a series of personnel changes through the course of the season. Chairman Graham Simpson and chief executive Mark Ashton resigned, and were replaced by Jimmy Russo and Julian Winter respectively. Following a decline in form throughout 2008, manager Aidy Boothroyd left the club by mutual consent, and was replaced by Brendan Rodgers. In turn, Rodgers controversially left the club a few weeks after the last game of the season, having previously suggested that rumours linking him to Reading were "questioning his integrity".^[3] His replacement was first team coach and former player Malky Mackay.^[4]

The season is perhaps best remembered for the "ghost goal" incident, which occurred in a league match against Reading on 20 September 2008. Following a corner from Reading player Stephen Hunt, John Eustace kicked the ball across the line, level with the six-yard box. Initially, linesman Nigel Bannister seemed to signal for a goal kick, and players from both sides ran away from the penalty area, waiting for goalkeeper Scott Loach to take it. However, Bannister walked over to referee Stuart Attwell, and after a brief discussion, Attwell awarded Reading a goal. The match eventually finished 2–2. The match also marked Loach's debut; the "ghost goal" was the first goal he conceded in his Watford career.^[5][6]

Match results

League Championship

League results

Match	Date	Stadium	City	Opponent	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers		Source
							Watford	Opponent
1	Sat 9 August	Selhurst Park	London	Crystal Palace	0–0	15,614
2	Sat 16 August	Vicarage Road	Watford	Charlton Athletic	1–0	14,413	Smith, T.W.
3	Sat 23 August	City Ground	Nottingham	Nottingham Forest	2–3	20,005	Smith, T.W. (2)
4	Sat 30 August	Vicarage Road	Watford	Ipswich Town	2–1	16,345	Eustace, J.M., O'Toole, J.J.
5	Sat 13 September	Hillsborough	Sheffield	Sheffield Wednesday	0–2	17,066
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Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
46	16	10	20	68	72	−4	58	11	6	6	42	32	+10	5	4	14	26	40	−14

Last updated: 17 March 2013.
Source: Fussballdaten.de

Final league table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
11	Queens Park Rangers	46	15	16	15	42	44	−2	61
12	Sheffield Wednesday	46	16	13	17	51	58	−7	61
13	Watford	46	16	10	20	68	72	−4	58
14	Doncaster Rovers	46	17	7	22	42	53	−11	58
15	Crystal Palace	46	15	12	19	52	55	−3	56^[a]

Updated to match(es) played on 3 May 2009. Source: The Football League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:

1. Crystal Palace were give a one-point deduction for using an ineligible player during a match against Sheffield United on 3 May 2009.^[7]

FA Cup

Match	Date	Stadium	City	Opponent	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers		Source
							Watford	Opponent
3	3 January 2009	Vicarage Road	Watford	Scunthorpe United	1–0	8,690	Rasiak   67'	—	^[MR 1]
4	24 January 2009	Vicarage Road	Watford	Crystal Palace	4–3	10,006	DeMerit   17' Cork   27' Hoskins   67' Rasiak   70'	Hill   48' Ifill   83', 90'	^[MR 2]
5	14 February 2009	Vicarage Road	Watford	Chelsea	1–3	16,851	Priskin   69'	Anelka   75', 77', 90'	^[MR 3]

League Cup

Match	Date	Stadium	City	Opponent	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers		Source
							Watford	Opponent
1	12 August 2008	Vicarage Road	Watford	Bristol Rovers	1–0	5,574	Hoskins   88'	—	^[MR 4]
2	28 August 2008	Vicarage Road	Watford	Darlington	2–1	5,236	Francis   37' O'Toole   116'	Blundell   90'	^[MR 5]
3	23 September 2008	Vicarage Road	Watford	West Ham United	1–0	12,914	Mullins   70' (o.g.)	—	^[MR 6]
4	11 November 2008	Liberty Stadium	Swansea, Wales	Swansea City	1–0	9,549	Williamson   21'	—	^[MR 7]
5	3 December 2008	Vicarage Road	Watford	Tottenham Hotspur	1–2	16,501	Priskin   13'	Pavlyuchenko   45' (pen.) Bent   76'	^[MR 8]

Player information

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   EST Mart Poom 2 DF   ENG Gavin Hoyte (on loan from Arsenal) 3 DF   ENG Mat Sadler 4 MF   ENG Jack Cork (on loan from Chelsea) 6 DF   USA Jay DeMerit 7 MF   SCO Don Cowie 8 MF   ENG John Eustace 9 FW   HUN Tamás Priskin 10 FW   POL Grzegorz Rasiak (on loan from Southampton) 11 MF   JAM Jobi McAnuff 12 DF   ENG Lloyd Doyley 13 GK   ENG Scott Loach 14 MF   JAM Lee Williamson 15 DF   ENG Jon Harley 16 GK   ENG Richard Lee 17 GK   ENG Stuart Searle 18 FW   ENG Theo Robinson 19 FW   ENG Steve Kabba 20 MF   SLE Al Bangura

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 FW   ENG Tommy Smith 22 FW   ENG Will Hoskins 23 DF   ENG Adrian Mariappa 24 DF   ENG Mike Williamson 25 MF   SCO Gareth Williams 26 MF   IRL John-Joe O'Toole 27 MF   ENG Billy Gibson 28 MF   LVA Aleksandrs Cauņa (on loan from Skonto) 30 GK   WAL Jonathan North 31 DF   ENG Jordan Parkes 32 MF   ENG Lewis Young 33 FW   ENG Liam Henderson 35 MF   ENG Ross Jenkins 36 DF   ENG Eddie Oshodi 37 FW   ENG Marvin Sordell 38 DF   ENG Rob Kiernan 39 DF   ENG Danny Rose (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) 40 DF   EST Andrei Stepanov 41 DF   NIR Lee Hodson

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 4 DF   NGA Sam Sodje (on loan from Reading) 5 DF   ENG Leigh Bromby (on loan to Sheffield United) 7 MF   JAM Damien Francis (retired) 7 MF   ENG Liam Bridcutt (on loan from Chelsea) 19 FW   ENG Lionel Ainsworth (to Huddersfield Town)

No. Pos. Nation Player 24 DF   ENG Darren Ward (on loan from Wolves) 28 FW   ENG Moses Ashikodi (to Shrewsbury Town) 29 DF   FRA Cédric Avinel (on loan to Gueugnon) 30 GK   ENG Mark Tyler (on loan from Peterborough United) 34 DF   ENG Dale Bennett (on loan to Kettering Town)

Transfers

In

Date	Nationality	Position	Name	Club From	Fee	Reference
18 July 2008		DF	Jon Harley	Burnley	Free	^[9]
26 January 2009		DF	Mike Williamson	Wycombe Wanderers	Undisclosed	^[10]
2 February 2009		MF	Don Cowie	Inverness CT	Nominal	^[11]

Out

Date	Nationality	Position	Name	Club To	Fee	Reference
30 May 2008		MF	Jordan Stewart	Derby County	Free	^[12]
8 July 2008		MF	Toumani Diagouraga	Hereford United	Undiclosed	^[13]
22 July 2008		FW	Darius Henderson	Sheffield United	£2,000,000	^[14]
6 August 2008		DF	Danny Shittu	Bolton Wanderers	Undisclosed	^[15]
23 January 2009		FW	Lionel Ainsworth	Huddersfield Town	Undisclosed	^[16]
27 February 2009		FW	Moses Ashikodi	Shrewsbury Town	Free	^[17]^[18]

Loan In

Date	Nationality	Position	Name	Club From	Length	Reference
15 August 2008		FW	Grzegorz Rasiak	Southampton	Full-Season	^[19]
27 November 2008		MF	Liam Bridcutt	Chelsea	One Month	^[20]
31 December 2008		DF	Gavin Hoyte	Arsenal	Until end of season	^[21]
2 January 2009		MF	Jack Cork	Chelsea	Until end of season	^[22]
2 February 2009		MF	Aleksandrs Cauņa	Skonto FC	Until end of season	^[11]
24 March 2009		DF	Danny Rose	Tottenham Hotspur	Until end of season	^[23]

Loan Out

Date	Nationality	Position	Name	Club To	Length	Reference
30 May 2008		FW	Nathan Ellington	Derby County	Full-Season	^[12]
5 August 2008		FW	Moses Ashikodi	Hereford United	Until January	^[24]
21 November 2008		FW	Lionel Ainsworth	Hereford United	One Month	^[25]
12 January 2009		DF	Leigh Bromby	Sheffield United	Until end of season	^[26]
23 January 2009		DF	Cédric Avinel	FC Gueugnon	Until end of season	^[27]

Squad, appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Championship		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK	EST	Mart Poom	7	0	7	0	0	0	0	0
14	GK	ENG	Scott Loach	38	0	31	0	3	0	4	0
16	GK	ENG	Richard Lee	11	0	10	0	1	0	0	0
Defenders
2	DF	ENG	Gavin Hoyte	10	0	7	0	3	0	0	0
3	DF	ENG	Mat Sadler	16	0	15	0	1	0	0	0
6	DF	USA	Jay DeMerit	38	1	32	0	3	1	3	0
12	DF	ENG	Lloyd Doyley	43	0	37	0	2	0	4	0
15	DF	ENG	Jon Harley	43	1	37	1	2	0	4	0
23	DF	ENG	Adrian Mariappa	47	1	39	1	3	0	5	0
24	DF	ENG	Mike Williamson	17	1	17	1	0	0	0	0
Midfielders
4	MF	ENG	Jack Cork	21	1	19	0	2	1	0	0
7	MF	SCO	Don Cowie	11	3	10	3	1	0	0	0
11	MF	JAM	Jobi McAnuff	45	3	40	3	3	0	2	0
14	MF	JAM	Lee Williamson	38	3	34	2	1	0	3	1
Forwards
9	FW	HUN	Tamas Priskin	41	14	36	12	2	1	3	1
21	FW	ENG	Tommy Smith	49	17	44	17	2	0	3	0

Bookings

References

Match reports

1. "Watford 1–0 Scunthorpe". BBC. 3 January 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
2. "Watford 4–3 Crystal Palace". BBC. 24 January 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
3. "Watford 1–3 Chelsea". BBC. 14 February 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
4. "Watford 1–0 Bristol Rovers". BBC. 12 August 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
5. "Watford 2–1 Darlington (aet)". BBC. 26 August 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
6. "Watford 1–0 West Ham". BBC. 23 September 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
7. "Swansea 0–1 Watford". BBC. 11 November 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
8. "Watford 1–2 Tottenham". BBC. 3 December 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2013.

Other references

1. Chris Bevan (21 April 2007). "Watford 1–1 Man City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
2. Chris Bevan (30 May 2009). "Chelsea 2–1 Everton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
3. Frank Smith (22 May 2009). "'No contact at all' from Reading for Rodgers". Newsquest.
4. "Mackay appointed Watford manager". BBC Sport. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
5. "Watford 2–2 Reading". BBC Sport. 20 September 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
6. Richard Evans (30 June 2010). "England's future stars – ones to watch for the 2014 World Cup squad". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
7. "Crystal Palace have one point deduction for fielding ineligible Rui Fonte". The Guardian. 1 June 2009. from the original on 12 June 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
8. "FootballSquads - Watford - 2008/09".
9. "Defender Harley signs for Watford". BBC Sport. 18 July 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
10. "Watford sign defender Williamson". BBC Sport. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
11. "Watford swoop for double signing". BBC Sport. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
12. "Rams sign Ellington and Stewart". BBC Sport. 30 May 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
13. "Bulls sign midfielder Diagouraga". 8 July 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
14. "Henderson makes switch to Blades". BBC Sport. 23 July 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
15. Staff (6 August 2008). "Bolton sign defender Shittu". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
16. "Huddersfield make double signing". BBC Sport. 23 January 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
17. "Watford terminate Ashikodi deal". BBC Sport. 3 February 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
18. "Shrewsbury sign striker Ashikodi". BBC Sport. 27 February 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
19. "Rasiak joins Watford". Eurosport. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
20. "Watford land Chelsea's Bridcutt". BBC Sport. 27 November 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
21. "Watford swoop for defender Hoyte". BBC Sport. 31 December 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
22. "Chelsea's Cork loaned to Watford". BBC Sport. 2 January 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
23. "Watford sign Rose from Tottenham". BBC Sport. 24 March 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
24. "Hereford snap up Ashikodi on loan". BBC Sport. 5 August 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
25. Carley, Steve (20 November 2008). "Ainsworth returns to boost Bulls". Worcester News. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
26. Smith, Frank (13 January 2009). "Bromby: 'I didn't want to leave Sheffield United in the first place'". Watford Observer. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
27. Smith, Frank (23 January 2009). "Have Watford fans seen the last of Avinel". Watford Observer. Retrieved 26 December 2023.

External links

• The Football League official site