Watford’s academy and youth system is not as strong as it needs to be given the club’s relatively limited finances. However, over the years they have helped produce and develop several England internationals. John Barnes was 17 when he joined the club, but more recently Jadon Sancho, Ashley Young and David James began their development with the Hornets from much younger ages.
As is often the way in the modern game, Sancho was snapped up at a very young age by a bigger team, with Manchester City, and then Borussia Dortmund often taking the credit for his progression. The winger never actually played for Watford, moving to City at the age of just 14, by which point he was clearly heading to the top. Sancho chose to leave Pep Guardiola’s men though and he made his debut for Borussia Dortmund at the age of around 17 and a half.
That made the Camberwell-born attacker one of the youngest players in the German side’s history. But what of the Hornets’ freshest-faced stars? In this article, we take a look at the club’s three youngest players, who all turned out Watford when they were still shy of their 17th birthdays.
Keith Mercer, 16 Years and 125 Days
Happy birthday to Keith Mercer who made over 150 appearances for Watford from 1973-1979 scoring over 50 times #watfordfc @WatfordFC pic.twitter.com/Z5ZMnzZg0F
— Shorty (@enjooooythegame) October 14, 2020
Keith Mercer made his Watford debut against Tranmere Rovers on the 16th of February 1973, according to a now-archived page on the club’s official site. He was just 125 days past his 16th birthday at the time and could easily have still been in school in a different life.
In fact, in an interview he gave to another club site, the Lewisham-born striker said that he had to take the day off school to play that day! He came on as a sub in a game his team lost 1-0, appearing for just the last 10 minutes. According to the player himself he nearly scored and was “more excited than nervous”.
Joined at 12
Mercer joined the club aged just 12 and was massively talented as a youngster, with blistering pace his biggest asset. He was also a very aggressive player, who went on to spend eight years at Watford. He scored goals at a rate of around one every three games and played more than 150 games for the club in all competitions.
Knee Injury
However, sadly for Mercer, and indeed Watford, he suffered a serious knee injury in 1977. He had been voted both Young Player of the Season and Player of the Season in 1976/77 when he had his best goalscoring campaign. Mercer seemed to very much be on the up but sadly an issue with his ligaments in September 1977 was a major setback. The issue failed to settle properly and flared up again in December and he missed the majority of the season.
13 Goals
He still managed to record 13 goals that season, despite also suffering from pneumonia, but various further injuries over the following campaign really affected him and he was never quite the same player again. In 1980, he was sold to Southend where he had similar stats to those he managed to Watford in terms of goals and games.
Moved to Blackpool
He moved to Blackpool in the fourth tier for the 1983/84 season but was forced to retire after just one campaign with the Tangerines due to persistent knee problems. He commented on the incredible career of Luther Blissett, who he kept out of the team in the early years, saying “… it could have been me if I hadn’t done my knee when I did. But … I wouldn’t have been the same player if I didn’t go in for tackles like I did.”
Gifton Noel-Williams, 16 Years and 247 Days
Sadly, Gifton Noel-Williams was another young Hornet who might have achieved far more than he did were it not for a knee injury. The striker played three times for England Under 18s and at the age of just 19 was the club’s top scorer, helping them earn promotion into the Premier League.
However, he only played 28 league games that season, his campaign ending in February when he suffered a bad knee injury playing against Sunderland. He was the victim of what was described as an “ugly tackle” from Paul Butler and it led to him missing more or less a year of football at what is a key developmental age for a player. On the day of the injury he had been called up to the England Under 21 side for the first time but after missing so much football he was never quite the same player. Indeed, he suffered from arthritis in his knee following the injury that plagued him for the rest of his career.
Only Played 3 Games
He only managed to play three games for the club the following season in the Premier League and in the 2003/04 campaign was sold to Stoke City. He left the Hornets having scored 41 goals in all competitions, playing 193 games for the club.
Noel-Williams joined the club aged around 12 or 13, making his debut against Sunderland, coincidentally. Like Mercer, he came on as a sub late in his first game but he made an impact more quickly than Mercer and became the club’s youngest scorer that same season. In 1996/97 he would play 28 games in all competitions, registering three goals.
Moved onto Greener Pitches
In the end, he would have a solid career as a pro, taking in short spells at a number of clubs, including Burnley, Brighton and Millwall. However, he also played for two Spanish clubs – Real Murcia and Elche – and in the US. After football, he became a coach and continues to work in that capacity.
Alex Campana, 16 Years and 316 Days
Campana can act as a cautionary tale for all young footballers. Sadly, football is a sport that discards far more players than it embraces and whilst youngsters and their parents are rightly excited at each progressive step, they must be sure to have a back-up plan. Being in the Man City system at 11, for example, is a far cry from still being there at 16, which in turn is a huge leap, usually, from a first-team appearance, which itself in no way guarantees a career in football.
Attacking midfielder, Campana, made his debut as a sub for Watford in the League Cup in 2005, replacing another Watford youth product, the aforementioned Ashley Young. He would go on to make a couple of other League Cup appearances but never played a league game for the Hornets. He left the club in 2007, initially on loan, and had an itinerant non-league career, never again playing for an EFL side.
