2007–08 Watford F.C. season

The 2007–08 football season was Watford Football Club's 62nd consecutive season of competitive football since the Second World War. It began on 1 July 2007, and concluded on 30 June 2008, although competitive games were only played between August and May.

Watford

2007–08 season
Chairman	Graham Simpson
Manager	Aidy Boothroyd
Football League Championship	6th
Football League Championship play-offs	Semi final (eliminated by Hull City)
FA Cup	Fourth round (eliminated by Wolverhampton Wanderers)
League Cup	Second round (eliminated by Southend United)
Highest home attendance	18,698: Watford v Queens Park Rangers, 29 December 2007
Lowest home attendance	8,166: Watford v Gillingham, 14 August 2007
Home colours "> Away colours
← 2006–07 2008–09 →

Season summary

Following relegation from the Premier League in 2006–07, Watford started the 2007–08 season strongly, winning eleven of their opening sixteen games and opening up an 8-point gap at the top of the Championship table.^[1] However, after the departure of Adam Johnson to Middlesbrough on 11 November 2007 Watford's form declined; they won six of their next sixteen Championship games, and only one of their final sixteen.^[2] In January 2008 Watford sold captain Gavin Mahon and top scorer Marlon King, but purchased Mat Sadler, Leigh Bromby and John Eustace.^[3] Watford finished the 2007–08 season in 6th position, and were eliminated in the play-off semi finals to Hull City.^[4]

Matches

Legend

  Win   Draw   Loss

Friendlies

Football League

For more information, see 2007–08 Football League Championship.

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Watford

11 August 2007	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1–2	Watford	Molineux, Wolverhampton
	Olofinjana 45'	(Report)	Stewart 87' King penalty 90',	Attendance: 23,115 Referee: Neil Swarbrick

Watford v Sheffield United

18 August 2007	Watford	1–0	Sheffield United	Vicarage Road, Watford
	Williamson 56'	(Report)		Attendance: 16,414 Referee: Andre Marriner

Leicester City v Watford

25 August 2007	Leicester City	4–1	Watford	Walkers Stadium, Leicester
	Hume 15' Campbell 51' Sheehan 54' De Vries 85'	(Report)	King penalty 90'	Attendance: 21,642 Referee: Anthony Taylor

Watford v Ipswich Town

1 September 2007	Watford	2–0	Ipswich Town	Vicarage Road, Watford
	Henderson 6' Smith 75'	(Report)		Attendance: 17,295 Referee: Michael Jones

Watford v Southampton

16 September 2007	Watford	3–2	Southampton	Vicarage Road, Watford
	Shittu 42' Henderson 81', 90'	(Report)	Rasiak 45' Dyer 69'	Attendance: 15,915 Referee: Graham Salisbury

Cardiff City v Watford

19 September 2007	Cardiff City	1–2	Watford	Ninian Park, Cardiff
	Hasselbaink 61'	(Report)	Henderson 17', 78'	Attendance: 13,169 Referee: Lee Probert

Queens Park Rangers v Watford

22 September 2007	Queens Park Rangers	1–1	Watford	Loftus Road, London
	Moore 59' Leigertwood	(Report)	Johnson 49'	Attendance: 14,240 Referee: Keith Hill

Watford v Blackpool

29 September 2007	Watford	1–1	Blackpool	Vicarage Road, Watford
	Johnson 49'	(Report)	Hoolahan penalty 73'	Attendance: 16,580 Referee: Richard Beeby

Watford v Sheffield Wednesday

2 October 2007	Watford	2–1	Sheffield Wednesday	Vicarage Road, Watford
	Henderson 6' King penalty 16'	(Report)	Kavanagh 36' Johnson	Attendance: 15,743 Referee: Andy Hall

Scunthorpe United v Watford

6 October 2007	Scunthorpe United	1–3	Watford	Glanford Park, Scunthorpe
	Forte 20'	(Report)	Johnson 10' Henderson 61' King 63' Williamson	Attendance: 7,515 Referee: Eddie Ilderton

Watford v Hull City

20 October 2007	Watford	1–0	Hull City	Vicarage Road, Watford
	King 20'	(Report)		Attendance: 15,803 Referee: Andy Woolmer

Coventry City v Watford

23 October 2007	Coventry City	0–3	Watford	Ricoh Arena, Coventry
		(Report)	Johnson 30' King 42' Henderson 46'	Attendance: 17,032 Referee: Lee Probert

Crystal Palace v Watford

29 October 2007	Crystal Palace	0–2	Watford	Selhurst Park, London
		(Report)	Smith 32' King 67'	Attendance: 13,986 Referee: Keith Stroud

Watford v West Bromwich Albion

3 November 2007	Watford	0–3	West Bromwich Albion	Vicarage Road, Watford
		(Report)	Miller 33' Phillips 35' Albrechtsen 49'	Attendance: 18,273 Referee: Michael Jones

Norwich City v Watford

6 November 2007	Norwich City	1–3	Watford	Carrow Road, Norwich
	Croft 65'	(Report)	Henderson 36' Marshall own goal 43' King 88'	Attendance: 24,192 Referee: Clive Penton

Watford v Colchester United

10 November 2007	Watford	2–2	Colchester United	Vicarage Road, Watford
	Johnson 4' King 64'	(Report)	Platt 20' Lisbie 46'	Attendance: 16,069 Referee: Neil Swarbrick

Barnsley v Watford

24 November 2007	Barnsley	3–2	Watford	Oakwell, Barnsley
	Howard 31' Devaney 34' Lee own goal 66'	(Report)	Shittu 36', 45'	Attendance: 10,117 Referee: Kevin Pike

Watford v Burnley

27 November 2007	Watford	1–2	Burnley	Vicarage Road, Watford
	Shittu 86'	(Report)	Gray 58' Guðjónsson 80'	Attendance: 15,021 Referee: Kevin Friend

Watford v Bristol City

1 December 2007	Watford	1–2	Bristol City	Vicarage Road, Watford
	O'Toole 87'	(Report)	Showunmi 75' Byfield 90'	Attendance: 16,689 Referee: Phil Joslin

Colchester United v Watford

4 December 2007	Colchester United	2–3	Watford	Layer Road, Colchester
	Platt 7' Connolly 28'	(report)	King 40' O'Toole 42' Priskin 64'	Attendance: 5,760 Referee: Trevor Kettle

Stoke City v Watford

9 December 2007	Stoke City	0–0	Watford	Britannia Stadium, Stoke
		(report)		Attendance: 15,516 Referee: Colin Webster

Watford v Plymouth Argyle

15 December 2007	Watford	0–1	Plymouth Argyle	Vicarage Road, Watford
		(report)	Norris 88'	Attendance: 18,532 Referee: Darren Deadman

Sheffield Wednesday v Watford

22 December 2007	Sheffield Wednesday	0–1	Watford	Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield
		(report)	McAnuff 6'	Attendance: 19,641 Referee: Clive Oliver

Watford v Cardiff City

26 December 2007	Watford	2–2	Cardiff City	Vicarage Road, Watford
	DeMerit 49' McAnuff 90'	(report)	Johnson 34' Whittingham 56'	Attendance: 17,014 Referee: Grant Hegley

Watford v Queens Park Rangers

29 December 2007	Watford	2–4	Queens Park Rangers	Vicarage Road, Watford
	Francis 52' Shittu 84'	(report)	Rowlands penalty 13', 40' Stewart 29' Buzsáky 80'	Attendance: 18,698 Referee: Chris Foy

Southampton v Watford

1 January 2008	Southampton	0–3	Watford	St Mary's Stadium, Southampton
		(report)	Francis 45' King 55' Henderson 62'	Attendance: 23,008 Referee: Fred Graham

Preston North End v Watford

12 January 2008	Preston North End	1–0	Watford	Deepdale, Preston
				Attendance: 12,347

Watford v Charlton Athletic

19 January 2008	Watford	1–1	Charlton Athletic	Vicarage Road, Watford
				Attendance: 17,214

Sheffield United v Watford

29 January 2008	Sheffield United	1–1	Watford	Bramall Lane, Sheffield
				Attendance: 23,161

Watford v Wolverhampton Wanderers

2 February 2008	Watford	3–0	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Vicarage Road, Watford
				Attendance: 18,082

Ipswich Town v Watford

9 February 2008	Ipswich Town	1–2	Watford	Portman Road, Ipswich
				Attendance: 24,227

Watford v Leicester City

12 February 2008	Watford	3–0	Leicester City	Vicarage Road, Watford
				Attendance: 15,944

Charlton Athletic v Watford

16 February 2008	Charlton Athletic	2–2	Watford	The Valley, London
				Attendance: 26,337

Watford v Preston North End

23 February 2008	Watford	0–0	Preston North End	Vicarage Road, Watford
				Attendance: 16,798

Burnley v Watford

1 March 2008	Burnley	2–2	Watford	Turf Moor, Burnley
				Attendance: 13,677

Watford v Norwich City

4 March 2008	Watford	1–1	Norwich City	Vicarage Road, Watford
				Attendance: 16,537

Bristol City v Watford

11 March 2008	Bristol City	0–0	Watford	Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol
				Attendance: 19,026

Watford v Stoke City

15 March 2008	Watford	0–0	Stoke City	Vicarage Road, Watford
				Attendance: 18,338

Plymouth Argyle v Watford

22 March 2008	Plymouth Argyle	1–1	Watford	Home Park, Plymouth
				Attendance: 17,511

Hull City v Watford

29 March 2008	Hull City	3–0	Watford	KC Stadium, Kingston upon Hull
				Attendance: 23,501

Watford v Coventry City

5 April 2008	Watford	2–1	Coventry City	Vicarage Road, Watford
				Attendance: 17,188

Watford v Barnsley

9 April 2008	Watford	0–3	Barnsley	Vicarage Road, Watford
				Attendance: 16,129

West Bromwich Albion v Watford

12 April 2008	West Bromwich Albion	1–1	Watford	The Hawthorns, West Bromwich
				Attendance: 26,508

Watford v Crystal Palace

19 April 2008	Watford	0–2	Crystal Palace	Vicarage Road, Watford
				Attendance: 17,694

Watford v Scunthorpe United

26 April 2008	Watford	0–1	Scunthorpe United	Vicarage Road, Watford
				Attendance: 16,454

Blackpool v Watford

4 May 2008	Blackpool	1–1	Watford	Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
				Attendance: 9,640

League standings by round

For the complete final league table, see 2007–08 Football League Championship § League table.

  ♦ Automatic promotion position   ♣ Playoff position

Round	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	A
Result	W	W	L	W	W	W	D	D	W	W	W	W	W	L	W	D	L	L	L	W	D	L	W	D	L	W	L	D	D	W	W	W	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	L	W	L	D	L	L	D
Points	3	6	6	9	12	15	16	17	20	23	26	29	32	32	35	36	36	36	36	39	40	40	43	44	44	47	47	48	49	52	55	58	59	60	61	62	63	64	65	65	68	68	69	69	69	70
Position	5♣	1♦	4♣	2♦	1♦	1♦	1♦	1♦	1♦	1♦	1♦	1♦	1♦	1♦	1♦	1♦	1♦	1♦	1♦	1♦	1♦	2♦	1♦	2♦	2♦	2♦	3♣	2♦	3♣	2♦	1♦	1♦	2♦	3♣	3♣	2♦	3♣	3♣	4♣	5♣	4♣	5♣	5♣	5♣	5♣	6♣

Play-offs

Watford's sixth-placed finish meant that they qualified for the play-off semi finals, where they would play a home and away match against third-placed Hull City. As 6–1 aggregate winners, Hull qualified for the final at Wembley Stadium, and as a result of victory in that match they earned qualification to the Premier League for the 2008–09 season.

Semi final first leg

Watford v Hull City

11 May 2008	Watford	0–2	Hull City	Vicarage Road, Watford
				Attendance: 14,713

Semi final second leg

Hull City v Watford

15 May 2008	Hull City	4–1	Watford	KC Stadium, Kingston upon Hull
				Attendance: 23,155

FA Cup

For more information, see 2007–08 FA Cup.

As a Championship club, Watford did not enter the FA Cup until the third round stage. Their potential opponents were the 20 Premier League teams, the 23 other Championship clubs, and 20 teams from lower divisions which had progressed through the first and second rounds, and in some cases additional qualifying games.

Third round

Watford v Crystal Palace

5 January 2008

Watford

2–0

Crystal Palace

Vicarage Road, Watford

Fourth round

Watford v Wolverhampton Wanderers

26 January 2008

Watford

1–4

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Vicarage Road, Watford

League Cup

For more information, see 2007–08 Football League Cup.

For the 2007–08 season, all Football League clubs entered the League Cup in the first round. For the first round, the draw was split into two regional sections of 36 teams. The 18 highest placed teams in the league from the previous season were seeded in each region. Watford, having been relegated from the Premier League, were therefore seeded, and placed in the southern section of the draw.

First round

Watford v Gillingham

14 August 2007

Watford

3–0

Gillingham

Vicarage Road, Watford

Second round

Southend United v Watford

28 August 2007

Southend United

2–0

Watford

Roots Hall, Southend

Ownership and finance

Watford Football Club is owned by the holding company Watford Leisure Plc (LSE: WFC). Its 2007–08 financial year coincided with the football season, running from 1 July 2007 until 30 June 2008. The company's annual accounts were released in November 2008, showing an operating loss of £10.977 million, but a net profit of £426,000 as a result of the sale of player registrations and land.^[5] Watford Leisure's chief executive was Mark Ashton, while their chairman was self-professed lifelong Watford fan Graham Simpson, who also owned shares in the company. The club's other major shareholders were Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party Michael Ashcroft through his investment company Fordwat, and brothers Jimmy and Vince Russo through their business Valley Grown Salads.

Squad details

Player statistics

Key

  † Permanent player left club during the season.

  ‡ On loan at Watford from another club during season.

  ¤ On loan to another club from Watford during season.

  * First appearance(s) for Watford.

# = Squad number; Pos = Playing position; P = Number of games played; G = Number of goals scored; = Yellow cards; = Red cards; GK = Goalkeeper; DF = Defender; MF = Midfielder; FW = Forward

Statistics do not include games played for other clubs. Starting appearances are given first, followed by substitute appearances in parentheses where applicable. ^{[nb 1][6]}

This table of statistics is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.

Pos	Name	P	G	P	G	P	G	P	G	P	G			Notes
		League		FA Cup		League Cup		Playoffs		Total		Discipline		[7][8]
MF	Lionel Ainsworth	3(5)	0	0	0	0	0	1(1)	0	4(6)	0	0	0
DF	Cédric Avinel	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	1	0
MF	Al Bangura	3(4)	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	6(4)	0	2	0
DF	Leigh Bromby	16	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	18	0	0	0
MF	Alex Campana	0	0	0	0	1(1)	1	0	0	1(1)	1	0	0
MF	Ewan Clarke	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
DF	Calum Davenport	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
DF	Jay DeMerit	30(5)	1	2	0	0	0	1(1)	0	31(6)	1	2	0
DF	Lloyd Doyley	36	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	39	0	4	0
FW	Nathan Ellington	18(16)	4	1(1)	0	0	0	2	0	21(17)	4	1	0
MF	John Eustace	13	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	15	0	3	2
MF	Kieran Forbes	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0
MF	Damien Francis	6(5)	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	7(5)	2	1	0
FW	Liam Henderson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW	Darius Henderson	34(6)	12	1	0	0	0	1	1	36(6)	12	10	1
FW	Will Hoskins	0(1)	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2(1)	0	0	0
DF	Matt Jackson	6	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	8	0	2	0
FW	Collins John	3(2)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3(2)	0	0	0
MF	Adam Johnson	11(1)	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	11(1)	5	1	0
FW	Steve Kabba	7(7)	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	9(7)	1	2	1
FW	Marlon King	25(2)	11	1	0	0	0	0	0	26(2)	11	2	0
GK	Richard Lee	34(1)	0	2	0	2	0	2	0	40(1)	0	0	0
GK	Scott Loach	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
DF	Malky Mackay	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0
MF	Gavin Mahon	19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19	0	3	0
DF	Adrian Mariappa	13(12)	0	0(2)	0	2	0	1	0	16(14)	0	1	0
MF	Jobi McAnuff	31(8)	2	2	0	0	0	2	0	35(8)	2	5	0
MF	Anthony McNamee	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
MF	John-Joe O'Toole	23(12)	3	1	1	0(1)	0	0(1)	0	24(14)	3	4	1
DF	Junior Osbourne	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0
DF	Jordan Parkes	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
GK	Mart Poom	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	12	0	0	0
FW	Tamás Priskin	7(7)	1	1(1)	0	2	1	0(2)	0	10(10)	2	2	0
DF	Douglas Rinaldi	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	2	1	2	0
DF	Mat Sadler	14(1)	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	16(1)	0	2	0
DF	Danny Shittu	37(2)	7	1	2	0	0	1	0	39(2)	9	4	0
MF	Tommy Smith	44	7	1(1)	0	0	0	2	0	47(1)	7	3	0
MF	Jordan Stewart	33(6)	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	34(6)	2	3	0
FW	Lee Williamson	27(5)	2	1	0	0	0	2	0	30(5)	2	5	1

Transfers

In

Date	Player	From	Fee
26 May 2007	Mart Poom	Arsenal	Undisclosed[9]
5 June 2007	Jobi McAnuff	Crystal Palace	£1.750.000[10]
29 August 2007	Nathan Ellington	West Bromwich Albion	£3,250,000[11]
5 January 2008	Lionel Ainsworth	Hereford United
24 January 2008	Mat Sadler	Birmingham City	£750,000
31 January 2008	Leigh Bromby	Sheffield United	£600,000[12]
31 January 2008	John Eustace	Stoke City	£250,000[13]

Out

Date	Player	To	Fee
3 July 2007	Chris Powell	Charlton Athletic	Free[14]
11 July 2007	Harry Forrester	Aston Villa
7 August 2007	Hamer Bouazza	Fulham	£3,000,000 (can rise up to £4,000,000)[15]
16 August 2007	Clarke Carlisle	Burnley	£200,000[16]
18 January 2008	Anthony McNamee	Swindon Town
25 January 2008	Marlon King	Wigan Athletic	Undisclosed[17]

Loans in

Start date	Player	From	End date
31 August 2007	Santiago Aloi	River Plate (Argentina)
14 September 2007	Adam Johnson	Middlesbrough
22 November 2007	Lionel Ainsworth	Hereford United
18 January 2008	Calum Davenport	West Ham United
25 January 2008	Collins John	Fulham

Loans out

Start date	Player	To	End date
10 August 2007	Toumani Diagouraga	Hereford United	31 December 2007 (later extended)[18]
10 August 2007	Theo Robinson	Hereford United	31 December 2007 (later extended[18]
14 September 2007	* Cédric Avinel	Stafford Rangers
17 September 2007	Scott Loach	Stafford Rangers
18 September 2007	Will Hoskins	Millwall
30 November 2007	Alex Campana	Wealdstone
1 January 2008	Scott Loach	Morecambe
1 January 2008	Gavin Mahon	Queen's Park Rangers	End of Season[19]
17 January 2008	Jordan Parkes	Brentford
18 January 2008	Moses Ashikodi	Swindon Town
18 January 2008	Anthony McNamee	Swindon Town
28 January 2008	Scott Loach	Bradford City

Footnotes

1. All players who were named in a Watford first-team matchday squad are listed. This includes players who only featured as unused substitutes.

References

1. "Watford 2007–2008 : English League Championship Table 10.11.2007". statto.com. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
2. "Watford 2007–2008 : Results". statto.com. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
3. "Transfers: January 2008". BBC Sport. 1 February 2008. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
4. Phil McNulty (14 May 2008). "Hull 4–1 Watford (agg 6–1)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
5. "Watford Leisure Plc Report and Financial Statements 2008" (PDF). Watford Leisure Plc. Retrieved 18 December 2009.^{[permanent dead link]}
6. "Watford 2007/2008 player statistics". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 December 2009.^{[permanent dead link]}
7. "Watford 2009/2010 player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 October 2009.^{[permanent dead link]}
8. "Club statistics: Discipline". Watford F.C. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
9. "'Terrific specimen' Poom signs up". Watford Observer. 4 June 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
10. "Winger McAnuff signs for Watford". BBC Sport. 5 June 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
11. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Watford | Watford sign Ellington for £3.25m". newsimg.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
12. "Bromby completes Watford transfer". BBC Sport. 31 January 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
13. "Stoke's Eustace moves to Watford". BBC Sport. 31 January 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
14. "Veteran Powell back at Charlton". 3 July 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
15. Taylor, Chris (8 August 2007). "Fulham boost their striking options with £4m Bouazza". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
16. "Burnley recruit Hornets defender". BBC Sport. 16 August 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
17. "Wigan win King chase". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
18. "Bulls capture young Watford pair". BBC Sport. 10 August 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
19. "QPR sign Watford's Mahon on loan". BBC Sport. 2 January 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2023.