2008–09 Watford F.C. season

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

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

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.

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.

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". His replacement was first team coach and former player Malky Mackay.

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.

Match results

League Championship

League results

Match	Date	Stadium	City	Opponent	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers		Source
Match	Date	Stadium	City	Opponent	Result	Attendance	Watford	Opponent	Source
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	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

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:

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

FA Cup

Match	Date	Stadium	City	Opponent	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers		Source
Match	Date	Stadium	City	Opponent	Result	Attendance	Watford	Opponent	Source
3	3 January 2009	Vicarage Road	Watford	Scunthorpe United	1–0	8,690	Rasiak 67'	—
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'
5	14 February 2009	Vicarage Road	Watford	Chelsea	1–3	16,851	Priskin 69'	Anelka 75', 77', 90'

League Cup

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

Player information

First-team squad

Squad at end of 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
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	Position	Name	Club From	Fee
18 July 2008	DF	Jon Harley	Burnley	Free
26 January 2009	DF	Mike Williamson	Wycombe Wanderers	Undisclosed
2 February 2009	MF	Don Cowie	Inverness CT	Nominal

Out

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

Loan In

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

Loan Out

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

Squad, appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Championship		FA Cup		League Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	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

[table_hth_CRY0.75142362748805-8] Crystal Palace were give a one-point deduction for using an ineligible player during a match against Sheffield United on 3 May 2009.