Watford Football Club is an English association football club based in Watford,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. Formed on 15 April 1898 as a result of the amalgamation of two strong local clubs, Watford St. Mary's and West Herts. West Herts began life as Watford Rovers in 1881, and renamed West Herts in 1891, the team joined the Southern League in 1896. West Herts amalgamated with local rivals Watford St. Mary's for the start of the 1898–99 season, to form a new club, Watford Football Club. Between 1898 and 1920, Watford competed in the Southern League, winning the championship in 1914–15. The Southern League was suspended for the next four seasons due to the First World War. On the league's resumption in 1919–20, Watford finished as runners up on goal average. At the start of 1920–21, Watford joined the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

, and transferred to the Third Division South when the league was reorganised the following season. They have played in the Football League ever since, with the exception of 1939–1946, when competitive football was suspended due to the Second World War, and the 1999–2000 and 2006–07 seasons, when they competed in the Premier League. In addition to the latter two seasons, the club also competed in the top division of English football between 1982 and 1988, achieving their highest league placing of second in the 1982–83 season. Many of Watford's individual records are held by former

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

Luther Blissett Luther Loide Blissett (born 1 February 1958) is a former professional footballer and manager who played for the England national team during the 1980s. Born in Jamaica, Blissett played as a striker, and is best known for his time at Watford, ...

. He has made more Watford appearances (503, including substitute appearances) and scored more goals for the club (186) than anyone else. His corresponding totals in the Football League (415 appearances and 148 goals) are also Watford records.

Cliff Holton Clifford Charles Holton (29 April 1929 – 31 May 1996) was an English footballer. Born in Oxford, Holton played as a full back for non-league Oxford City as a youth, before joining Arsenal in October 1947 at the age of 18. He spent three sea ...

has scored the most goals for Watford in a single season; 48 in all competitions in the 1959–60 season, including 42 in the Football League.Jones, ''The Watford Football Clubs Illustrated Who's Who''. p. 123.

Eddie Mummery Albert Edward Pilkerton Mummery (18 August 1897 – 31 January 1937) was an English professional footballer, who played as an inside forward or a wing half. Early life Born in Norwich, Mummery played for amateur clubs Lichfield and Yarmouth, ...

's five-goal haul against Newport County on 5 January 1924 is the club record for goals scored by a player in a Football League match. Watford's most-used goalkeeper is

Skilly Williams Reginald George "Skilly" Williams (4 January 1890 – 19 June 1959) was an English association footballer. Born in Watford, he played primarily as a striker during his amateur career, but later switched to become a goalkeeper. After playing for ...

, who played for the club 341 times between 1913 and 1926. John Barnes and Kenny Jackett share the record for the most international caps won while playing for Watford. Barnes made his first 31 England appearances before transferring from Watford to Liverpool in 1987. Jackett, a

one-club man List of one-club men may refer to: * List of one-club men in association football * List of one-club men in rugby league * List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise * List of NBA players who have spent ...

, made the same number of appearances for Wales. Seven people have played competitively for the club while managing them: John Goodall, Harry Kent,

Fred Pagnam Fred Pagnam (4 September 1891 – 1 March 1962) was an English footballer and manager. Pagnam played as a forward in the Football League for clubs Huddersfield Town, Blackpool, Liverpool, Arsenal, Cardiff City and Watford, and in non-league footb ...

Neil McBain Neil McBain (15 November 1895 – 13 May 1974) was a Scottish professional footballer and football manager. He remains the oldest player to appear in an English Football League match aged 51 years. Playing career Club McBain, a wing half ...

Bill Findlay Bill Findlay (29 October 1913 – 28 May 1986) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Footscray and North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He played as a rover and was sometimes pushed forward where he was a handy ...

Ken Furphy Kenneth Furphy (28 May 1931 – 17 January 2015) was an English football player and manager. Despite being on the books at Everton between 1950 and 1951, Furphy was a lower league player with Runcorn (1951–53) Darlington (1953–62) and then ...

, and most recently Mike Keen between 1973 and 1975.Jones, ''The Watford Football Club Illustrated Who's Who.'' pp. 267–274.

Key

This list contains players who have made 50 or more competitive appearances for Watford, since the amalgamation of West Herts and Watford St Mary's. Non-professional players (or any player who has not signed a first team contract) or any other academy player(s) are not on the list. It includes appearances and goals in the Premier League,

Southern Football League The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English fo ...

, FA Cup,

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

, Football League Trophy, Full Members Cup, UEFA Cup and

Anglo-Italian Cup The Anglo-Italian Cup ( it, Coppa Anglo-Italiana, also known as the Anglo-Italian Inter-League Clubs Competition and from 1976 to 1986 as the Alitalia Challenge Cup, Talbot Challenge Cup or Gigi Peronace Memorial) is a defunct European football c ...

. Appearances and goals in other competitions or non-competitive matches are not included. The table does not include appearances and goals from 1939–40; the season was abandoned after three matches due to the Second World War, and playing records from those matches were annulled.Jones, ''Watford Season by Season''. p. 209.

Players

''Current players' statistics correct at end of 2013–14 season.''

Notes

References

;Bibliography * * *
Watford Football Club archive 1881-2017
;General *Positions, playing statistics and career spans from 1898–99 to 1997–98 sourced to: Jones, ''Watford Season by Season.'' pp. 225–241. Players with multiple spells at the club are cited individually. *Positions, playing statistics and career spans from 1998–99 onwards sourced to: Career spans for players with multiple spells at the club are cited individually. *International representation up to and including May 1996 sourced to: Jones, ''The Watford Football Club Illustrated Who's Who.'' pp. 279–284. Players who made their international debut after May 1996 are cited individually. *Players of the Season up to 2010–11 sourced to: Subsequent winners are cited individually. ;Specific {{featured list

Players Players may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Players'' (1979 film), a film starring Ali MacGraw * ''Players'' (2012 film), a Bollywood film * ''Players'' (Dicks novel), a novel by Terrance Dicks, based on the television series ''Doc ...

Watford Association football player non-biographical articles