It is looking extremely likely that Watford will fall short in their quest to secure a Premier League return this season and will instead face another year of Championship action in 2025/26. This does not, however, stop us from picturing what England’s top division might look like with the Hornets involved. To do this, we will look back at all the 14 years Watford have spent time in the top tier, starting from their first ever experience of what was then First Division football, back in 1982/83.
Top Flight Debut (1982-1988)
It took Watford, founded in 1881, a long time to reach the top of English football. Their rise was a most unexpected one too, as in 1977/78 they were still playing football in the lowly Fourth Division. Three promotions in just five seasons brought Watford to the promised land though, and what an initial impact they made as the new boys.
Despite being one of the newly promoted sides, Watford were a force to be reckoned with and outperformed many established First Division teams. A superb campaign saw Graham Taylor’s men finish second in the table and one of the rewards for this was qualification for a European competition (the UEFA Cup), something Watford had never previously managed. A big part of the unexpectedly strong season was down to the performances of club legend Luther Blissett, who netted 27 goals on his way to being the league’s top scorer.
It was always going to be hard to build on such a stunning year and it proved to be the case as across the next four seasons, Watford settled into being a mid-table side. Always finishing between 9th and 12th, the club were never threatened by relegation and it looked like they could become one of the top-flight regulars. While this did not pack the excitement of the debut First Division season, comfortably staying in the league for five years was still a fine achievement for an outfit of Watford’s size.
It was during the Hornets’ sixth season that disaster struck though. Previously, the club had been such consistent scorers, netting at least 67 goals across their five First Division efforts. But these goals suddenly dried up and a lowly goals tally of just 27 saw them finish in 20th place, 10 points adrift of safety.
Second Successive Promotion (1999-2000)
Watford were close to bouncing back immediately from their relegation in 1988 but finished four points shy of automatic promotion and faced defeat in the play-offs. After this disappointment, it took them until 1996 until they changed divisions – but sadly in the wrong direction. After getting themselves out of Division Two in 1997/98, the Hornets secured back-to-back promotions the following year after winning the Division One play-offs.
Successive promotions are quite a rare achievement, especially this high up the footballing pyramid, but the success can end up coming too quickly for some teams. This is what happened to Watford here as they simply did not have the squad to compete in the top flight. As a result, the Hornets finished rock bottom and their points total of 24 was then the lowest in Premier League history. Oh what Southampton would give for 24 points in 2024/25!
Another Brief Return (2006-2007)
Watford spent the next five seasons in the second tier not looking remotely like promotion candidates before a hugely improved showing in the 2005/06 season. This saw the club finish in 3rd place and although this was not good enough for automatic promotion, they were able to win the play-offs.
Although it looked like Watford would be more competitive than they were in 1999/00, the campaign proved a struggle and they once again finished in 20th place. Things may have been different had Marlon King not missed most of the season through injury mind you. The Jamaican international scored 22 goals the previous term, but was only fit enough to start in 12 Premier League matches due to a knee injury.
A Longer Stay (2015-2020)
No play-offs required this year as Watford finish 2nd in the Championship in 2014/15, securing a Premier League return at the eighth time of asking. Despite their previous two top-flight efforts being a disaster, under Quique Sánchez Flores, the club managed a solid 13th-place finish. The following year, with Walter Mazzarri now in charge, the club again staved off relegation. Although they finished 17th, they enjoyed a six-point gap over Hull City who sat directly below them.
There was little in the way of improvement the following year as the club registered just one more point, but their total of 41 was good enough for 14th place. Javi Gracia took over midway through this campaign and under the Spaniard’s leadership, Watford saw marked improvements in the 2018/19 season. Not only did they finish in 11th place, their highest ever for the Premier League, but they reached the FA Cup final, something they last managed in 1984.
Despite this great season, Gracia was sacked just four games into 2019/20 campaign and replaced by former boss Quique Sánchez Flores. With Flores recording just one win in 10 league games though, Watford brought in yet another manager, Nigel Pearson, in an attempt to drag themselves out of the bottom three. Results noticeably picked up under Pearson but despite his best efforts, the club fell one agonising point shy of safety.
A Season to Forget (2021-2022)
This is the third time Watford faced immediate relegation on their Premier League return. You can argue it is an unforgiving league, especially given the growing financial gap between the established sides and newly promoted clubs, but even so, the Hornets were particularly poor. Survival was always going to be a test but they did not even put up a real fight. All they could muster was a mere 23 points, their lowest tally ever in the top flight, although this was at least enough to finish ahead of Norwich City on 22.
It was a season in which Watford fans had very little to cheer but despite the many defeats, they did have the joy of beating Manchester United 4-1 at Vicarage Road. This remains one of Watford’s most memorable Premier League victories and resulted in the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Will 2025/26 be the season they earn promotion back to the Premier League to add to these memories? It’s a bit of a long shot but fingers crossed!
