Watford’s 1998/99 Playoff Heroics

Premier League promotion Watford

Watford legend, Graham Taylor, achieved great things in his first spell at Vicarage Road (June 1977 to May 1987), leading the Hornets from the fourth tier to second in the top flight and an FA Cup final. He didn’t have the same impact in his brief second spell in the dugout (February to June 1996), but in this article, we’re focusing on Taylor’s third stint – June 1997 to May 2001 – and, specifically, how he guided Watford to the top flight for the first time in more than a decade.

Promotion from Third Tier


When Taylor joined the Hornets in June 1997, they were languishing in the third tier of English football. Granted, they had been relegated from the second (then called Division One) under Taylor’s stewardship. But to be fair to the former England boss, the damage had already been done by the time he rejoined the club in February 1996.

Kenny Jackett was brought in to have a go at promotion from the old Division Two for the 1996/97 season, but they finished in 13th place and showed few signs of improvement. The board once again turned to the trusted hands of Taylor to guide them back to glory. And once again, he delivered.

Taylor came in with a point to prove after largely failing as England manager and in his subsequent roles at Wolverhampton Wanderers (March 1994 to November 1995) and the aforementioned short stint back at Watford. He hit the ground running and his side lost just six of their 46 league matches to finish top of the table on 88 points, three clear of their nearest rivals, Bristol City.

Few fans or pundits thought Taylor would or could emulate his back-to-back promotions of 1977/78 and 1978/79 (from the old Division Four to the old Division Two), but clearly Taylor had other ideas.

Back-to-Back Promotions

Watford got off to a great start in the First Division campaign of 1998/99, winning their opening three matches against Portsmouth, Bradford City, and fellow promoted side Bristol City. Things got tougher after that with a trio of defeats (to Sunderland, Taylor’s former club Wolves, and Huddersfield Town). Another three wins on the spin (Queens Park Rangers, Swindon Town, and Ipswich Town) preceded a long period of rather mixed results.

Taylor had made the Hornets resilient and hard to beat in the third tier, and the squad were able to maintain that to a certain extent in the next division up. They went unbeaten from 20th October to 19th December 1998. But they never really looked like real promotion contenders… until the very end of the season.

From 3rd April to 9th May 1999, Watford won seven league games and drew one, propelling the Hornets to a fantastic finishing position of fifth place with 77 points. That meant they faced Birmingham City in the playoffs, the Blues having finished in fourth spot on 82 points (with Bolton Wanderers and Ipswich Town in the other playoff semi).

How the Playoffs Played Out


Watford edged a tight first leg against Birmingham, Michel Ngonge getting the only goal of the game at Vicarage Road. In the return leg at St Andrew’s, it was once again the home side who earned a slender victory, this time Dele Adebola giving the Blues the 1-0 victory. The game thus went to penalties, and what a shootout it was!

Paul Furlong missed his opening spot kick for Birmingham, but after Steve Palmer fluffed his lines for Watford, it was all-square at 4-4 after five pens apiece, and so it went to sudden death. Birmingham blinked first, Chris Holland’s miss proving crucial, as Alon Hazan scored to seal the 7-6 victory for the Hornets and a place in the playoff final.

The Playoff Final: Bolton Wanderers v Watford

Graham Taylor was clearly no stranger to Wembley by May 1999 having led both Watford and England there plenty of times. Though it wasn’t always a happy hunting ground for him, in the 1999 First Division Playoff Final, things went very well indeed.

Bolton were in the pre-Allardyce stage with Colin Todd in the dugout. The Trotters had some very decent players at the time, including the likes of Robbie Elliott, Ricardo Gardner, and future Chelsea and Barcelona man Eiður Guðjohnsen. But Watford were the better side on the day and after a cagey opening half hour, Nick Wright scored the opener for the Hornets after 38 minutes.

Things got better still for Taylor’s men in the second period, but not until they’d soaked up plenty of Bolton pressure. Despite creating chances, Todd’s Bolton couldn’t find a way to score. Then, in the 89th minute, substitute Allan Smart sealed the deal for Watford as the Hornets won 2-0 and made it to the Premier League for the first time (the previous times they’d played in the top flight were before the Premier League existed!).

Not All Fairytales Have a Happy Ending…

Unfortunately for Taylor, things didn’t go particularly well for the Hornets in the English Premier League. They lost their opening two league matches against Wimbledon and Sunderland… but then came arguably the high point of their season: a 1-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield! They followed up with a home win over Bradford City and Hornets fans began to hope their side could stick it out in the Prem. Alas, they lost nine of their next 10 league matches, and they never quite recovered from that tailspin.

In the end, Watford finished rock bottom of the Premier League in the 1999/2000 campaign. They mustered just six wins all season, with six draws and 26 defeats, leaving them on 24 points. It’s far from the worst tally achieved by a newly promoted side to the Premier League, but they were still 12 points from safety.

Taylor stayed on as manager for another year but failed to make the playoffs (they finished ninth in 2000/01). The Hornets would have to wait until the end of the 2005/06 to get back up to the top tier after another fine playoff victory. But that’s a story for another day.