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Watford V Liverpool Sat Nov 24th @3pm


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Double Agents

           

As we prepare for our trip to Vicarage Road on Saturday, YNWA looks at the careers of some of those who have represented both Watford and the mighty reds.

           

Current double agents

Forward Jerome Sinclair arrived from West Bromwich Albion’s Academy aged fourteen in the summer of 2011, becoming our youngest ever player in September 2012, aged sixteen years and six days, when he featured in a League Cup Third Round tie at his old club. He eventually struck once in five senior appearances before he moved to Watford for £4m in June 2016, so far scoring once in eleven senior outings, but is spending this season on loan at Sunderland.

           

Academy Director Alex Inglethorpe left Tottenham Hotspur in November 2012 to move to Melwood as Reserve Team Head Coach, being promoted in August 2014. He had started his playing career as a forward with Watford, netting three goals in seventeen outings before moving to Leyton Orient in May 1995.

           

Diggin’ it

John Barnes struck 83 times in 292 games for Watford, as they finished second in the League and reached the FA Cup Final the following season, and remains their joint most capped player, having won 31 of his 79 England caps before joining the reds. He arrived at Anfield for £900,000 in June 1987, a transfer that had been heavily trailed for at least six months, and Kopites were not disappointed by his performances, as he helped us to two League titles, an FA Cup and a League Cup during an Anfield career in which he scored 108 goals in 407 appearances. He was also twice voted Football Writers’ Player Of The Year, as well as once by his fellow players.

           

Custodians

Keeper Alec Chamberlain was at Anfield on loan from Sunderland as cover for David James, sitting on the bench at the Coca-Cola Cup Final in 1995, and five subsequent League games, without getting onto the pitch. He joined Watford for £40,000 from the Wearsiders in July 1996 and made 290 appearances for them, being named Player of the Season as they won the new Second Division championship in 1998. He quit playing in 2007, but continued in a coaching role at Vicarage Road until announcing his departure in December 2017.

           

David James arrived from Watford for a fee of £1m in July 1992. He went on to make 277 appearances in his five years at Anfield, before being sold to Aston Villa for £1.7m.  He had played 98 times for the Hornets as they struggled in the old Second Division. Paul Jones played two reds games on loan from Southampton in January 2004, at home to Aston Villa and at Tottenham Hotspur. He then moved permanently to Wolverhampton Wanderers, from whom he joined Watford on loan. He played eleven times for them, including both legs of our Carling Cup Semi-final in January 2005.

           

Scotland Under-23’s international keeper Bert Slater signed from Falkirk in June 1959 as part of an exchange deal for fellow Scottish goal-tender Tommy Younger. He played 111 times for the reds, winning a Second Division title medal in 1962, after which he joined Dundee. He then ended his career at Vicarage Road, making 134 League appearances for them before retiring in 1969. In fact, he scored an own goal for the reds in our first League Cup meeting with the Hornets in September 1969, when we won 2-1 at Vicarage Road. Dave Underwood played fifty times for the reds as he shared first-team duties with Russell Crossley and later Doug Rudham. He had signed from Watford for £7,000 in December 1953, and left in July 1956, returning for a second spell at Vicarage Road to play 124 League games for them in total.

           

The management

Centre-half Keith Burkinshaw only made one senior reds appearance, against Port Vale in April 1955. The rest of his playing career was also fairly inconsequential, but he found greater success as a Manager, notably with Tottenham Hotspur between 1976 and 1984. He was appointed Assistant Manager at Vicarage Road in March 2005, a position he held until quitting in December 2007 due to a serious family illness.

           

Brendan Rodgers took over as Watford boss in November 2008, his first senior management role. He moved on to Reading the following June after leading the Hornets to thirteen wins in his 32 games in charge. He was named as Kenny Dalglish’s successor at Anfield in June 2012, guiding us to 85 victories in 166 matches before being sacked in October 2015. Harry Kewell was appointed Head Coach of the Under-21’s at Watford in July 2015, but was sacked last April. He joined the reds from Leeds United for £5m in July 2003, but his time at Anfield was somewhat disappointing due to a series of niggling injuries, as he bagged sixteen goals in 139 reds games before moving to Galatasaray as his contract expired in July 2008. He helped us to claim the Champions League and FA Cup in his reds career, although he limped out of both finals.

           

Forward Fred Pagnam joined the reds from Blackpool in May 1914, and so could only bag thirty goals in 39 reds games before joining Arsenal in October 1919, with whom he kept up his remarkable strike-rate. He ended his playing career with the Hornets, and later managed them for three seasons in the late 1920’s as they struggled in the Third Division South. He was replaced as Watford boss by former reds half-back Neil McBain, who had played twelve reds games in 1928 after signing from St. Johnstone that March. He moved to Watford just eight months later, taking over as Manager the following year. He remained in charge for eight years and had a second three-year spell in charge in the late 1950’s as they stubbornly remained in the Third Division South. He also spent time working as a Scout for the Hornets.

           

Frank McParland started out in 1995 by assisting John Owens with the Under-14’s. When the Academy opened in 1999 he was handed a full-time role as head of the community coaching department. Gérard Houllier later gave him a scouting role before Rafael Benítez made him Joint Chief Scout in 2004, moving to Bolton Wanderers as General Manager in July 2007, although he only remained there three months. He returned to Melwood in May 2009, moving up to be Director of Academy and Player Development two years later. He worked as Watford’s Chief Scout between 2008 and 2009.

           

Also up front

Ronnie Rosenthal signed from Belgian club Standard de Liège for £1m in June 1990, after having been on loan for several months. He netted 22 times in his 97 first-team games for the reds and was sold to Tottenham Hotspur for £250,000 in January 1994. He moved to Watford on a free transfer in August 1997 and spent two years with the Hornets, bagging eleven goals in 39 games, helping them to the Second Division title in his first season.

 

John Evans was signed at the fourth attempt from Charlton Athletic in December 1953 for £12,500, but we suffered relegation in his first season at Anfield. His greatest moment with the reds came when he netted all our goals in a 5-3 defeat of Bristol Rovers in September 1954. Overall, he struck 53 times in 107 reds games before joining Colchester United in December 1957. He had been on Watford’s books for the 1948/49 season, without making the first team.

           

Ted Crawford signed from Halifax Town in 1932, bagging four goals in eight games before joining Clapton Orient in July 1933. He guested for Watford during the war. Fred Howe joined on a free transfer from Hyde United in March 1935, netting 36 times in 94 outings before joining Manchester City in June 1938. He bagged three reds trebles, including notching four times in our record 6-0 derby victory at Anfield in September 1935. He also turned out for the Hornets during the Second World War.

           

Scottish centre-forward Peter Kyle signed from Clyde in September 1899, failing to score in five outings before joining Leicester Fosse in May 1900. He had a brief spell with Watford in the Southern League in 1909/10 that ended due to “utterly disgraceful and demoralising conduct," according to the West Herts Post.

           

Other double agents

Jermaine Pennant arrived at Anfield in July 2006 for £6.7m after Birmingham City were relegated, hitting the target just three times in 81 reds games, helping us to reach the Champions League Final in his first season, although he left for Real Zaragoza in July 2009 after a five-month loan spell with Portsmouth. He had two loan spells with Watford whilst an Arsenal player. He struck twice in nine games in his first spell with the Hornets in January and February 2002, and then scored once in fourteen outings when he returned at the end of the year. They secured mid-table finishes in the First Division in both seasons.

           

Left-winger Albert Riera signed from R.C.D. Espanyol for an initial £5.5m on transfer deadline day in September 2008, notching five times in 56 reds games before moving to Olympiacos for an initial £3.3m fee in July 2010. He signed for Watford in March 2014 having recently had his contract with Galatasaray terminated. He netted once in eight games for the Hornets. Former second-string left-winger Alex Kačaniklić joined Watford on loan from Fulham in January 2012, netting once in twelve outings.

           

Full-back Frank Lock signed for the reds from Charlton Athletic on Christmas Day 1953. He moved on to Watford in June 1955 after 42 reds appearances. Ben Dabbs only made 56 first-team appearances at full-back for the reds after signing from Oakengates Town in June 1932. He joined Watford six years later.

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Down Memory Lane

           

In advance of our League game at Watford on Saturday, YNWA looks at our previous away League meetings. We have so far won six, drawn two and lost three of the eleven matches to date.

           

Most recently

Mohamed Salah scored on his reds bow as we were held to a 3-3 draw in a season opener in August 2017. We fell behind to a Stefano Okaka goal before Sadio Mané equalised. Abdoulaye Doucouré put the Hornets back in front, with Roberto Firmino equalising from the spot and Salah giving us the lead, which we held until a stoppage-time leveller from Miguel Britos.

           

Emre Can’s stunning bicycle kick at the end of the first half was the only goal of our trip three months earlier. We lost 3-0 in December 2015 when left-back Nathan Aké struck early on after stand-in keeper Ádám Bogdán dropped the ball at a corner, with Odion Ighalo adding a brace. We won by the same score in January 2007, with Peter Crouch adding a brace after Craig Bellamy had opened the scoring, with both starting alongside Dirk Kuyt in an attacking line up.

           

Bye bye Bob

Bob Paisley bowed out as reds boss in May 1983 with a 2-1 defeat at second-placed Watford, having already clinched our fourteenth League title six weeks before. Craig Johnston netted our consolation that day. Martin Patching and Luther Blissett netted for the home side.

           

Off the mark

John Wark scored on his debut in a 2-0 win in March 1984, with Ian Rush also netting. Luther Blissett finally breached the reds’ defence in February 1988, to score the first goal against us in all competitions for 994 minutes, a then club record. We still won comfortably in a mud bath, 4-1, with Peter Beardsley bagging a brace, to add to goals from John Aldridge and John Barnes.

           

Ton up

Goals from David Thompson and Czech mates Patrik Berger and Vladimír Šmicer helped us to squeeze a 3-2 victory in January 2000 after losing a two-goal lead, to avenge the Hornets’ win at Anfield earlier that season. Our third goal, Šmicer’s first reds strike, was our hundredth in all competitions under Gérard Houllier's sole charge.

           

Other encounters

Our other three League fixtures at Watford all took place in the mid-1980’s, with one win, one draw and one defeat. Ian Rush was on target late on as we were held on New Year’s Day 1985 after Blissett had scored from the spot before the break.

           

Kenny Jackett opened the scoring in January 1986, before Paul Walsh bagged a brace and Rush also netted as we won 3-2 in a live TV match. But for Bruce Grobbelaar fumbling Worrell Sterling’s low cross a minute after we had gone 3-1 up, which presented Watford substitute Jan Lohman with an open goal, we would have moved into second. However, we had to settle for third place behind Everton on goal difference. In December 1986, we lost 2-0 thanks to goals from John McClelland and a certain John Barnes.

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