2004–05 Watford F.C. season

Watford
2004–05 season
Chairman Graham Simpson
Manager Ray Lewington (until 22 March)
Aidy Boothroyd (from 29 March)
Stadium Vicarage Road
Championship 18th
FA Cup Third round
League Cup Semi-finals
Top goalscorer League:
Heiðar Helguson (16)
All:
Heiðar Helguson (20)
Average home league attendance 14,289

During the 2004–05 English football season, Watford competed in the Football League Championship.

Season summary

The 2004–05 season saw a continuation of the good form of the end of the previous season, with the club well in the upper half of the Championship at the end of September. However, a long run of poor form subsequently saw the club drop steadily towards the relegation zone. Another good cup run further eased the club's financial position, with the team reaching the semi-final of the League Cup, soundly beating Premiership sides Portsmouth and Southampton on the way, before losing narrowly to Liverpool. The club's poor league form, however, came to a head in March, with a run of terrible performances and Lewington was sacked on 22 March.[1] His sacking was controversial, and many fans were unhappy at the loss of a man who had led the club to two cup semi-finals in three seasons, enduring considerable financial hardships.

At the age of 34, Aidy Boothroyd was appointed manager of Watford after serving at Leeds United as a coach;[2] 70-year-old Keith Burkinshaw was recruited as his assistant. Boothroyd's inexperience raised concerns among fans, who worried that he would not be able to keep the side in the Championship. However, Watford secured enough points to ensure survival with two games to go in the season.

Final league table

PWDLFAGDPts
C1Sunderland46297107641+3594
P2Wigan Athletic46251297935+4487
 3Ipswich Town46241398556+2985
 4Derby County462210147160+1176
 5Preston North End462112136758+975
P6West Ham United462110156656+1073
 7Reading461913145144+770
 8Sheffield United461813155756+167
 9Wolverhampton Wanderers461521107259+1366
 10Millwall461812165145+666
 11Queens Park Rangers461711185458-462
 12Stoke City461710193638-261
 13Burnley461515163839-160
 14Leeds United461418144952-360
 15Leicester City461221134946+357
 16Cardiff City461315184851-354
 17Plymouth Argyle461411215264-1253
 18Watford461216185259-752
 19Coventry City461313206173-1252
 20Brighton & Hove Albion461312214065-2551
 21Crewe Alexandra461214206686-2050
R22Gillingham461214204566-2150
R23Nottingham Forest46917204266-2444
R24Rotherham United46514273569-3429

Results

Watford's score comes first[3]

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Football League Championship

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
7 August 2004Preston North EndA1-212,208Devlin
9 August 2004Queens Park RangersH3-014,737Webber (2), Dyer
14 August 2004BurnleyH0-112,048
21 August 2004Leicester CityA1-022,478Webber
28 August 2004Plymouth ArgyleH3-113,104Ardley, Webber (2)
11 September 2004Brighton & Hove AlbionH1-114,148Webber
14 September 2004Cardiff CityA3-010,606Webber (2), Ardley
19 September 2004MillwallA2-010,865Webber, Helguson
25 September 2004ReadingH0-113,389
28 September 2004Wigan AthleticH0-011,361
2 October 2004Crewe AlexandraA0-36,382
16 October 2004Derby CountyA2-223,253Helguson (2)
19 October 2004SunderlandH1-113,198Ardley
23 October 2004Ipswich TownH2-222,497Helguson, Bouazza
30 October 2004Nottingham ForestA2-124,473Helguson (2)
2 November 2004GillinghamA0-07,009
6 November 2004Derby CountyH2-213,689Helguson, Gunnarsson
13 November 2004Sheffield UnitedA1-118,454Gunnarsson
20 November 2004Rotherham UnitedH0-017,780
24 November 2004Leeds UnitedA2-224,585Dyer (2)
27 November 2004West Ham UnitedA2-324,541Gunnarsson, Dyer
4 December 2004Stoke CityH0-112,169
11 December 2004Wolverhampton WanderersH1-114,605Helguson
18 December 2004Coventry CityA0-114,493
26 December 2004ReadingA0-318,757
28 December 2004Cardiff CityH0-013,409
1 January 2005MillwallH1-013,158Helguson
3 January 2005Brighton & Hove AlbionA1-26,335Helguson
15 January 2005Crewe AlexandraH3-111,223Helguson (2), DeMerit
22 January 2005Wigan AthleticA2-29,008Dyer, Webber
5 February 2005GillinghamH2-015,188Ashby (own goal), Eagles
12 February 2005SunderlandA2-424,948Dyer (2)
22 February 2005Ipswich TownA2-123,993DeMerit, Dyer
26 February 2005Wolverhampton WanderersA0-025,060
5 March 2005Coventry CityH2-313,794Dyer, Webber
8 March 2005Nottingham ForestH0-212,118
12 March 2005Queens Park RangersA1-316,638Ardley
15 March 2005Leicester CityH2-211,084DeMerit, Webber (pen)
19 March 2005Preston North EndH0-219,649
2 April 2005BurnleyA1-311,507Blizzard
5 April 2005Plymouth ArgyleA0-115,333
9 April 2005Leeds UnitedH1-216,306Helguson
16 April 2005Rotherham UnitedA1-05,438Helguson
23 April 2005Sheffield UnitedH0-017,138
30 April 2005Stoke CityA1-015,229Helguson
8 May 2005West Ham UnitedH1-219,673Helguson

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R38 January 2005FulhamH1-114,896Helguson (pen)
R3R19 January 2005FulhamA0-211,306

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R124 August 2004Cambridge UnitedH1-06,558Ferrell
R221 September 2004ReadingA3-08,429Cox (pen), Bouazza, Ingimarsson (own goal)
R326 October 2004Sheffield UnitedA0-0 (won 4-2 on pens)7,689
R49 November 2004SouthamptonH5-213,008Dyer, Chambers (2), Helguson, Bouazza
R530 November 2004PortsmouthH3-018,877Helguson (2), Dyer
SF 1st Leg11 January 2005LiverpoolA0-135,739
SF 2nd Leg25 January 2005LiverpoolH0-119,797

Squad

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

No. Position Player
1 England GK Alec Chamberlain
3 England DF Paul Mayo
4 Iceland DF Brynjar Gunnarsson
5 England DF Neil Cox
6 England DF Sean Dyche
7 England FW Bruce Dyer
8 England MF Gavin Mahon
9 England FW Danny Webber
10 Scotland FW Paul Devlin
11 England MF Andy Ferrell
14 England DF Jermaine Darlington
16 England GK Richard Lee
17 England MF Jamie Hand
18 Iceland FW Heiðar Helguson
19 England DF James Chambers
20 England DF Lloyd Doyley
21 England DF Jack Smith
No. Position Player
22 Republic of Ireland MF Dominic Blizzard
23 England MF Anthony McNamee
24 Trinidad and Tobago FW Jason Norville
25 France FW Hameur Bouazza
26 Wales DF Ben Herd
27 England MF Ashley Young
28 England MF Jamie Collins
29 United States DF Jay DeMerit
30 England FW Omari Coleman
31 France MF Toumani Diagouraga
32 England DF Danny Cullip (on loan from Sheffield United)
33 England DF Junior Osborne
35 England GK Reece Kirk
37 Sierra Leone MF Al Bangura
38 England DF Adrian Mariappa
39 Jamaica MF Joel Grant

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. Position Player
2 England MF Neal Ardley (to Cardiff City)
12 England FW Scott Fitzgerald (to Brentford)
13 Wales GK Paul Jones (on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
15 Jamaica DF Marcus Gayle (to Brentford)
No. Position Player
32 England MF Johnnie Jackson (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur)
34 England MF Chris Eagles (on loan from Manchester United)
42 England GK Kevin Hitchcock (retired)

Transfers

In

Out

References

  1. ↑ "Watford dismiss manager Lewington". BBC Sport. 22 March 2005. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
  2. ↑ "Watford appoint Boothroyd as boss". BBC Sport. 29 March 2005. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
  3. ↑ http://www.statto.com/football/teams/watford/2004-2005
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