2006–07 Watford F.C. season

Watford

2006–07 season
Chairman	Graham Simpson
Manager	Aidy Boothroyd
Stadium	Vicarage Road
FA Premier League	20th (relegated)
FA Cup	Semi-finals
League Cup	Fourth round
Top goalscorer	League: Bouazza (7) All: Bouazza (8)
Average home league attendance	18,750
← 2005–06 2007–08 →

During the 2006–07 English football season, Watford competed in the FA Premier League, after being promoted from the Football League Championship last season.

Season summary

Watford were involved in the setting of several Premier League records during the season: when Tottenham Hotspur keeper Paul Robinson accidentally scored for Spurs from a long free-kick that bounced over Ben Foster's head, he became only the third keeper to score in the Premier League (the other two being Peter Schmeichel and Brad Friedel); and when Alec Chamberlain (born in 1964) came on a substitute in a Premier League match, he became the oldest player to appear in the Premier League. Watford were relegated after only one season in the top-flight.

Final league table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Manchester United (C)	38	28	5	5	83	27	+56	89	2007–08 UEFA Champions League Group stage
2	Chelsea	38	24	11	3	64	24	+40	83
3	Liverpool	38	20	8	10	57	27	+30	68	2007–08 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round
4	Arsenal	38	19	11	8	63	35	+28	68
5	Tottenham Hotspur	38	17	9	12	57	54	+3	60	2007–08 UEFA Cup First round ^1
6	Everton	38	15	13	10	52	36	+16	58
7	Bolton Wanderers	38	16	8	14	47	52	−5	56
8	Reading	38	16	7	15	52	47	+5	55
9	Portsmouth	38	14	12	12	45	42	+3	54
10	Blackburn Rovers	38	15	7	16	52	54	−2	52	2007 UEFA Intertoto Cup Third round ^2
11	Aston Villa	38	11	17	10	43	41	+2	50
12	Middlesbrough	38	12	10	16	44	49	−5	46
13	Newcastle United	38	11	10	17	38	47	−9	43
14	Manchester City	38	11	9	18	29	44	−15	42
15	West Ham United	38	12	5	21	35	59	−24	41
16	Fulham	38	8	15	15	38	60	−22	39
17	Wigan Athletic	38	10	8	20	37	59	−22	38
18	Sheffield United (R)	38	10	8	20	32	55	−23	38	Relegation to League Championship
19	Charlton Athletic (R)	38	8	10	20	34	60	−26	34
20	Watford (R)	38	5	13	20	29	59	−30	28

Source: Barclays Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
For further information on European qualification see Premier League – Qualification for European competitions.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

^1. Since the finalists of the 2006–07 FA Cup (Manchester United and Chelsea) and the League Cup winners (Chelsea) had already qualified for the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League through their Premier League positions, their 2007–08 UEFA Cup places were given to the 6th- and 7th-placed Premier League teams.

^2.The highest-placed team who applied for the Intertoto Cup and not in an automatic UEFA Cup spot was awarded with a place in that competition. Blackburn Rovers occupied the Intertoto place, because Portsmouth and Reading did not apply.^[1] A further place in the UEFA Cup was up for grabs via the Premiership Fair Play League. The winner is placed into a draw with the winners of Fair Play leagues in other countries. The representatives from the two countries that come out of the hat first are given a place in the UEFA Cup first qualifying round. Since the winners of the Premiership Fair Play League, Tottenham Hotspur, had already qualified for the UEFA Cup by virtue of their league position, their place in the Fair Play draw was given to Aston Villa. However, the places in the UEFA Cup were awarded to the representatives from Finland and Norway.

For further information on European qualification see Premier League – Competition.

Results

Watford's score comes first^[2]

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

FA Premier League

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
19 August 2006	Everton	A	1-2	39,691	Francis
22 August 2006	West Ham United	H	1-1	18,344	King
26 August 2006	Manchester United	H	1-2	19,453	Francis
9 September 2006	Bolton Wanderers	A	0-1	21,140
16 September 2006	Aston Villa	H	0-0	18,620
23 September 2006	Wigan Athletic	A	1-1	16,359	Bouazza
2 October 2006	Fulham	H	3-3	17,982	King, Young (2)
14 October 2006	Arsenal	A	0-3	60,018
21 October 2006	Charlton Athletic	A	0-0	27,011
28 October 2006	Tottenham Hotspur	H	0-0	19,660
4 November 2006	Middlesbrough	H	2-0	18,951	Woodgate (own goal), Young
11 November 2006	Chelsea	A	0-4	41,936
18 November 2006	Portsmouth	A	1-2	19,738	DeMerit
28 November 2006	Sheffield United	H	0-1	18,887
4 December 2006	Manchester City	A	0-0	35,915
9 December 2006	Reading	H	0-0	19,223
16 December 2006	Newcastle United	A	1-2	49,231	Bouazza
23 December 2006	Liverpool	A	0-2	42,807
26 December 2006	Arsenal	H	1-2	19,750	Smith
1 January 2007	Fulham	A	0-0	19,698
13 January 2007	Liverpool	H	0-3	19,746
20 January 2007	Aston Villa	A	0-2	35,892
23 January 2007	Blackburn Rovers	H	2-1	13,766	Emerton (own goal), DeMerit
31 January 2007	Manchester United	A	0-4	76,032
3 February 2007	Bolton Wanderers	H	0-1	18,722
10 February 2007	West Ham United	A	1-0	34,625	Henderson (pen)
21 February 2007	Wigan Athletic	H	1-1	18,338	Henderson
24 February 2007	Everton	H	0-3	18,761
3 March 2007	Charlton Athletic	H	2-2	19,782	Bouazza, Francis
17 March 2007	Tottenham Hotspur	A	1-3	36,051	Henderson
31 March 2007	Chelsea	H	0-1	19,793
7 April 2007	Middlesbrough	A	1-4	25,534	Francis
9 April 2007	Portsmouth	H	4-2	18,119	Bouazza (2, 1 pen), Mahon, Priskin
18 April 2007	Blackburn Rovers	A	1-3	16,035	Rinaldi
21 April 2007	Manchester City	H	1-1	18,537	Priskin
28 April 2007	Sheffield United	A	0-1	30,690
5 May 2007	Reading	A	2-0	23,294	Shittu, King
13 May 2007	Newcastle United	H	1-1	19,830	King (pen)

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	6 January 2007	Stockport County	H	4-1	11,745	Mackay (2), Smith, Ashikodi
R4	27 January 2007	West Ham United	A	1-0	31,168	McNamee
R5	17 February 2007	Ipswich Town	H	1-0	17,016	Francis
QF	11 March 2007	Plymouth Argyle	A	1-0	20,652	Bouazza
SF	14 April 2007	Manchester United	N	1-4	37,425	Bouazza

League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R2	19 September 2006	Accrington Stanley	H	0-0 (won 6-5 on pens)	8,368
R3	24 October 2006	Hull City	H	2-1	8,274	Young, Priskin
R4	7 November 2006	Newcastle United	H	2-2 (lost 4-5 on pens)	16,791	Francis, Shittu

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 GK Alec Chamberlain 2 DF James Chambers 3 DF Jordan Stewart 4 DF Malky Mackay 5 DF Clarke Carlisle 6 DF Jay DeMerit 7 MF Damien Francis[3] 8 MF Gavin Mahon (captain) 9 FW Marlon King[4] 10 FW Darius Henderson 11 DF Chris Powell 12 DF Lloyd Doyley[5] 14 MF Dominic Blizzard 15 FW Steve Kabba 16 GK Richard Lee 17 DF Danny Shittu 18 FW Hameur Bouazza[6] 19 DF Anthony McNamee 20 MF Alhassan Bangura 21 MF Toumani Diagouraga

No. Position Player 22 DF Junior Osborne 23 DF Adrian Mariappa[7] 24 FW Tamás Priskin[8] 25 MF Gareth Williams 26 GK Ben Foster (on loan from Manchester United) 27 FW Joel Grant[9] 28 MF Albert Jarrett 29 FW Tommy Smith 30 DF Jordan Parkes 31 MF Douglas Rinaldi (on loan from Veranópolis) 32 DF Cédric Avinel 33 GK Scott Loach 34 MF Ben Gill 35 MF Alex Campana 36 FW Moses Ashikodi[10] 37 FW Will Hoskins 38 MF Lee Williamson 40 FW Theo Robinson[11] 41 MF Johan Cavalli

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 15 MF Ashley Young (to Aston Villa) 25 MF Matthew Spring (to Luton Town)

No. Position Player 31 FW Claude Seanla (to Kettering Town) 32 DF Sheku Kamara (released)

Transfers

In

• Chris Powell - Charlton Athletic, 30 June, free^[12]
• Damien Francis - Wigan Athletic, 12 July, £1,500,000^[13]
• Danny Shittu - Queens Park Rangers, 6 August, £1,600,000 (rising to £3,000,000)^[14]
• Tamás Priskin - Győr, 9 August, undisclosed^[15]
• Ben Foster - Manchester United, 10 August, season-long loan^[16]
• Albert Jarrett - Brighton & Hove Albion, 16 August, free^[17]
• Tommy Smith - Derby County, 30 August, £500,000^[18]
• Moses Ashikodi - Rangers, 1 January, nominal fee^[19]
• Will Hoskins and Lee Williamson - Rotherham United, 5 January, £1,000,000 (joint transfer fee)^[20]
• Steve Kabba - Sheffield United, 26 January, £500,000^[21]
• Gareth Williams - Leicester City, 31 January, £600,000^[22]
• Johan Cavalli - Istres, 31 January, free^[23]
• Cédric Avinel - Créteil, 31 January, free
• Douglas Rinaldi - Veranópolis, 31 January, six-month loan

Out

• Ashley Young - Aston Villa, 23 January, £8,000,000 (rising to £9,650,000)^[24]
• Matthew Spring - Luton Town, 18 January, £200,000 (rising to £300,000)^[25]
• Claude Seanla - Kettering Town
• Sheku Kamara - released
• Francino Francis - Redditch United, free
• Les Ferdinand - retired
• Joe O'Cearuill - Arsenal, free

Transfers in: >£5,700,000 (rising to >£7,100,000)

Transfers out: >£8,200,000 (rising to >£9,950,000)

References

1. Spurs win may harm Rovers' Intertoto chances
2. http://www.statto.com/football/teams/watford/2006-2007/results
3. Francis was born in Wandsworth, England, but also qualifies to represent Jamaica internationally and made his international debut for Jamaica in 2003.
4. King was born in Dulwich, England, but also qualifies to represent Jamaica internationally and made his international debut for Jamaica in 2004.
5. Doyley was born in Whitechapel, England, but also qualifies to represent Jamaica internationally and would make his international debut for Jamaica in March 2013.
6. Bouazza was born in Évry, France, but qualifies to represent Algeria internationally and made his international debut for Algeria in February 2007.
7. Mariappa was born in Harrow, England, but also qualified to represent Jamaica and Fiji internationally through his grandparents and father respectively; he would make his international debut for Jamaica in June 2012.
8. Priskin was born in Komárno, Slovakia (then Czechoslovakia), but also qualified to represent Hungary internationally and made his international debut for Hungary in August 2005.
9. Grant was born in Ealing, England, but also qualifies to represent Jamaica internationally and has represented them at U-20 level.
10. Ashikodi was born in Lagos, Nigeria, but also qualifies to represent Antigua and Barbuda internationally and would make his international debut for Antigua and Barbuda in September 2012.
11. Robinson was born in Birmingham, England, but also qualified to represent Jamaica internationally and would make his international debut for Jamaica in February 2013.
12. "Watford capture Charlton's Powell". BBC News. 30 June 2006.
13. "Watford sign Francis from Wigan". BBC News. 12 July 2006.
14. "Watford sign R's defender Shittu". BBC News. 6 August 2006.
15. "Watford sign Hungary star Priskin". BBC Sport. 9 August 2006. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
16. "Watford sign Foster on loan again". BBC News. 10 August 2006.
17. "Jarrett completes move to Watford". BBC Sport. 16 August 2006. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
18. "Derby striker returns to Watford". BBC Sport. 30 August 2006. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
19. "Watford complete Ashikodi swoop". BBC News. 1 January 2007.
20. "Watford sign Williamson & Hoskins". BBC News. 5 January 2007.
21. "Watford land Blades striker Kabba". BBC News. 26 January 2007.
22. "Williams completes Watford switch". BBC News. 31 January 2007.
23. "Watford complete triple signing". BBC News. 31 January 2007.
24. "Young completes £9.65m Villa move". BBC News. 23 January 2007.
25. "Watford man Spring rejoins Luton". BBC News. 18 January 2007.