So lets start the debate. In goal, Plumley or Bonham. Backs, maybe Baxter and/or Woodfield. Sietes has to feature somewhere. Up front Kabba and Ellington. The way things are going Fabbrini may need to fit here somewhere. ..and for the Manager....?? Bassett I think, maybe Keen? So what do you think??
Vega has to be a CB. A front four of Kabba, Iwelumo, Ellington and Garner might scare defences into side splitting laughter. Midfield well not too sure really.
Patrick Blondeau has to be in any worst Watford 11. Ramon Vega too. Not because they were the worst technically but because the gulf in their reputation as international footballers and the dross they served up at The Vic was simply incredible in scale. Poor old Plumley had no business playing in an FA Cup semi-final and that is not his fault so I'd not include him, there are plenty of other more worthy candidates. Ellington and Devon White also have to be there. Midfielders need more thought!
You're being a bit tough on Jack Bonham given his age and the circumstances of his only game - personally I'd put John Cowen in that spot, although I'm sure there would have been worse back in ofh's day. I'm not sure how you can include Sietes either - he never actually played a game for us... Full backs would have to include Albert McLennaghan and Patrick Blondeau, possibly even Sandy Pate. Midfield - Paul Atkinson and Gary Donnellan - Richard Hill was no great shakes either. Not sure about Kabba and Ellington either - Jimmy Lawton and Tommy Anderson would leave them both looking like Torres. On the wing - Derek Irvin, the only right winger I've ever seen with two left feet and Ricky George. Manager? Without a doubt Licorice Allsort - Bassett. Brain cells are hurting....
The stat's speak for themselves in that Senior had a torrid time at the club. It was not entirely his fault when you consider that Bassett sold the very players who could provide him with the service to score the goals he had at Reading. I used to regularly take a blind mate to Reading when Senior was there - rightly a legend at the club. Devon White, Jamie Moralee, Andy Kennedy, Nathan Ellington and Micky Quinn all ensure that Senior shouldn't even be bench warming for a 'Worst XI'.
I'd have to agree with that - Bassett had so much to answer for in his short time there it isn't true
Of course the worst players in the worst eleven is relative. If you've only ever watched Watford in the top two divisions (96-98 seasons apart) then many of the above players like Moralee, Jason Lee, Ellington, Hand, Foley etc. would qualify easily. But going back to our sojourns in the lower 2 divisions, then there were some pretty awful players who would make these look pretty good! Examples from the early to mid 70s that come to mind (apart from McClenaghan who has already been mentioned) are Mike Packer, Charlie Woods, Leo Markham, Guy Bristow, Kevin McCarthy and Trevor How. From the 60s come the 2 goalies who followed Pat Jennings - Frank George and Peter Goy, Andy Porter, Roger Hugo, David Pygall, John Fraser, Tommy (Goose-Face) Anderson - already mentioned, Clive Lomas, Sandy Pate, John Hamilton and the aforementioned Jimmo Lawton. He is most memorable in my memory, contriving to miss the most blatant chance I have seen at Vicarage Road against a Tony Currie led Sheffield Utd. by kneeing a ball that was already going into the goal over the bar from 2 yards. He made Iwelumo look like an International (oh he is after all). I have watched these awful, awful players trying to ply their trade on our sacred turf, nobody in the last 30 odd years comes close to their dreadfulness.....
Tommy Carpenter, Norman Case, Ron Daly, Reg Dudley, Ray Garbutt, Dennis McCrystal, Tommy Varty were all players signed for the 1950-1 season and none of them were retained. Not a great surprise seeing as we finished 23rd out of 24 in the Third Division (South) and had to apply for re-election to the league. In many ways this was the darkest of hours for the club. The Supporters club passed a vote of no confidence in the manager, Ron Gray. An attendance of over 13,000 at the start of the season, dwindled away to a low point when only 3,600 turned up for a game against Swindon on a Saturday in April. The high point of the season, if there was one, was probably in December when we played away at Exeter on Christmas Day and got a 3-3 draw, followed by the Boxing Day game at home to Leyton Orient with a 2-0 win and finally on 30th away against Leyton Orient again where we won 1-2. Although I was of course very young at the time, (actually true) I was aware that unless we were re-elected there would no longer be my trips to the Vic to see the Blues. The only other times that we were close to closure was with the Salad Kings and the plonker with the Red Hat.
Why? Because it puts some of the comments on here about awful players in the last 20 years into context?
No I mean yes! I am just remarking that it is awful remembering some of those players Packer, Kabba, Morris, Ellington etc
I know what you mean. But without remembering those players (and the time at St Andrews where Watford kicked off the second half with 4 full-backs on the pitch together - Packer, Butler, Williams & Welbourne!!), we would not appreciate the good times and players that we have seen.
