Officially Watford is not London, but anyone who makes a football trip to the English capital can easily visit Watford: In terms of travel time, it is sometimes faster to reach than some of the London clubs. Moreover, it is one of the friendliest clubs in the Premier League.
Sometimes as a club, you have to be lucky in the right moments. For example, a young supporter developing into one of the greatest musical talents of his generation. In 1976, Elton John decided to take charge of his beloved club Watford FC - then still in the fourth division - and make the unknown Graham Taylor manager. Under the guidance of the flamboyant singer and young manager, the club rose to the highest level within six years, where it had never played in over 100 years of history.
Today, the club yo-yos between the bottom half of the Premier League and the top of the Championship, a wonderful position when you know where the club came from. Graham Taylor has now passed away sadly and Elton John is no longer in office, but their legacy is still very much alive.
Small but nice, that's the best way to describe Vicarage Road. The modest stadium on the street of the same name has been Watford's home since 1922 and with a capacity of 22,200 places, it is one of the smaller stadiums in the English top flight.
We are always very happy with beautiful, massive floodlights. On Vicarage Road you can see them towering above the stadium from afar, four large light boxes that slope diagonally over the field from the roof. Also beautiful is the club name on the outside of the Vicarage Road Stand (see photo above), where the away supporters and the family section are located.
Inside, Vicarage Road is a thoroughly renovated, but still delightful English stadium with four different stands which are close to the pitch. Both longer sides bear the names of Elton John and Graham Taylor. The short Rookery Stand is home to Watford's more fanatical supporters, although you don't have to be afraid of unfriendly scenes here.
After taking over as manager of Watford, Graham Taylor once said, “I am not here just to build a team, but to build a club.” Graham Taylor was not a man who, at the first possible step up the road, would not be hung up on the tune of 'a train that only goes by once'. He would be attached to Watford over two periods, for fifteen years. It was a real shock when he suddenly died in 2017, at only 72 years old.
Shortly after, the Rous Stand was renamed the Graham Taylor Stand and a year after his death, the great manager received his finest tribute. On the corner of Vicarage Road and Occupation Road – right in front of the fan shop – a statue appeared with the caption: 'Watford's greatest ever manager'.
Recently, another memorial was added just down Vicarage Road. On a side wall of Cornerstone Church (on the corner of Vicarage Road and Banbury Street) a beautiful mural was unveiled of a laughing Graham Taylor in a Watford outfit, with a quote and the manager's signature on it.
Before settling on Vicarage Road, Watford played for over 25 years (from 1898) on Cassio Road, also known as the West Hertfordshire Sports Ground. Although the football stadium has been gone for almost 100 years, the field still exists. Today the field serves as a cricket ground.
Anyone with a phobia of insects better ignores this. Watford fans and players are referred to as The Hornets, of course in reference to the yellow and black shirts and club colours. In the centre of Watford, on the corner of King Street and High Street, you'll find a giant statue of a hornet (a species of wasp), a reference to the club's nickname. A bit ridiculous, a wasp of a metre or two, but The Hornets are quite proud of it.
Watford's club mascot. Crystal Palace managers Roy Hodgson and Sam Allardyce were pissed off by him mocking their striker Wilfried Zaha. In the opinion of Harry the Hornet, he often lays on the ground, and the large wasp was not afraid to show it, to the hilarity of football fans from all over England.
Opposite the fan shop and the Graham Taylor statue is pub 'No. 8 at the Red Lion'. It's a real Watford pub that on match days is packed with fans that will have you stumbling to your spot in the stadium in no time.
Watford owes many of her successes to (now Sir) Elton John and the supporters are very proud of the singer. There is even a lookalike of him walking around Watford's home games, fully dressed in a shiny suit and of course with special glasses. Although 'the real' Elton John is no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the club, the 'Rocket Man' is never far away. He continues to serve as honorary chairman of Watford and regularly attends matches at Vicarage Road, taking his seat in the stand named after him. The next generation is on the way, as his son Zachary plays in the club's youth academy. How beautiful would it be? After everything Elton John has done for the club, his son in the first team, more than 50 years after the singer himself entered the club.
You can buy tickets through Watford's official club site, where it is easy to get tickets for non-top matches. The prices are relatively low too, for an average game you can have a seat on the long side for a mere £30: A steal by Premier League standards.
Watford is a suburb of London and that means it is well-served by public transport. From central London, it is best to take the Overground at London Euston station, in the direction of Watford Junction. Get off at Watford High Street station one stop before the end, from where it is a ten-minute walk to Vicarage Road.
Images: Shutterstock
