Best and Worst Watford players seen

I guess Barnes + Blisset top the list. Ross Jenkins I had a good few seasons, Scullion was good too. Currie + James got better after they left.

Worst? Dont really remember and skillless hoofers particularly, but Kabba is probably the one for me.

Thoughts people???????

 

Best for me Cally but as he was my favourite player I am biased!!!
Worst without a doubt the Duke!

 

Best: Barnesy by miles.

Worst Oh god! Where to start???
mentioned Trevor Senior the other day. Maybe controversial but i thought Gav Mahon was nothing more than a superfit parks footballer.
But.. roll on the drums...for the imbalance between cost and effectiveness it has to be Ellington.

 

Whenever these questions come up I never have any hesitation for the worst.

It has to be Jim Lawton, who replaced Tony Currie in the cup tie against Sheffield United. Lawton also played a number of other games for us, though to say 'played' is suggesting more than he actually did. I've never seen Ellington so I can't compare but at least Ellington has scored for us. Big Jim once got the ball in the net during the pre-match kick about and behaved as if he had scored the winner at Wembley. He also proved to me that Newtonian physics is not correct. In one game Big Jim was six inches from the goal line, the ball came to him just below his forehead, so he was heading downwards, his head was just below the crossbar, and he still managed to head over the bar. What he did was not possible. He had the speed of a traction engine and the turning circle of the Titanic. unlike the Titanic he couldn't go very far without showing signs of exhaustion.

There is one other player I have seen in a Watford shirt playing at the Vic with the first team, who was even worse than Big Jim. That was a lad with the surname John. He played in one friendly and was truely awful but we all loved him. SEJ was not built to be a footballer.

 

oooo - this needs some thought

best - mooney?
worst - anyone who looks like they aren't trying


need more time to think about this one

 

NZ - it had been on the tip of my tongue to mention Big Jim. He truly was dire but, to be fair to him, he was crocked when we bought him and he had been a fairly prolific scorer - I think it was a case of old pals act when Furphy signed him.

There was another player that year who was even worse though - one who probably still holds a strange record. Derek Irvin must surely be the only player to score for us without ever starting a game and is probably our least successful foray into the Scottish transfer market.

 

Dunno about best or worst but funniest - Albert McLennigan - famed for throwing himself onto the ground trying to take a long throw

 

Hardest as I have recently been made aware has to be Duncan Welbourne

 

I'm glad you didn't say "the worst person ever to wear a Watford shirt", given that I once scored an own goal from 30 yards whilst trying to cynically mow someone down from behind.

When I'm asked about the "best" player, I always take that to mean "best attacking player". It's an important distinction, because in my opinion most of the best Watford players over the last 15 years have been defensive.

Bearing in mind that I can't remember the '80s, I've gone for Richard Johnson. Injury and mediocre management meant that we didn't see enough the best of him, but when we did, he was peerless. Insert another dozen superlatives here. Now that Paul Scholes has retired, I can hand on heart say that I believe there is no current player in world football capable of passing as well as he did on a consistent basis. The likes of Mooney and Smith are right up there, but Jonno never quite gets the plaudits that they do.

 

Talking of defensive players I always was impressed with John McClelland

 

Yep. In my all time XI at centre half.

And yes, Chopper Welbourne was well 'ard. Different era, no pussyfooting. John Williams at left back was classy then too. Can't remember whether he was left footed, but he was a pukka left back... if you can remember what one of them is.
Tom Walley was pretty hard too.

 

walter Lees impressed too.

 

GG - remember those times well - our W formation

 

Best... well, I'd struggle to pick from John McLelland, John Barnes, Cally and one of my all time favourite players, Craig Ramage.

Worst.... Devon White (how convenient his name rhymes), Jamie Moralee, Roger Willis, Ken Charlery, the one-game wonder Gary Plumley... bit for the value-for-money, it has to be Ellington!

 

The thing about the 1st Div side with those guys you mentioned, it was a hell of side. Younger hornets must get fed up with us wittering on about them, but you can justifiably put half a dozen of them at least in the all time great list.
Barnes Blissett Callaghan Jenkins Bolton McClelland Rostron Coton whew! Bet I've missed someone out too. But Barnesy for me was always more special than any of the others.

Good time to point up Lionel Birnie's book 'Enjoy the Game'. Hope you've all read it already, but if not, it's brilliant
http://www.lionelbirnie.com/

Anyone know how Cally is at the moment?

 

He seems to be ok, Has beaten the cancer and is plying his skills as a DJ across the countrys Nightclubs!
You can find him on facebook!

 

Great news, thanks.
I don't do the facebook thing, but wish him all the best and thanks for the memories.

 

So many great players to choose from the old Division One team like Barnes, Blissett, Rostron, etc.

My favourite has always been Terry Garbett (closely followed by Luther) - as a five year old going to my first match he scored and was my schoolboy hero!

As for the worst - there's so many to choose from over the years - Senior, Mickey Quinn (only on loan but that was too long), Charlie Woods.

 

I remember when we signed Mickey Quinn! I saw the headline and thought, great, Niall Quinn, exactly what we needed at the time... but alas no, it was short fat Mickey!!

 

has to be ellington, the hope followed by such dissapointment, the keeper day was pretty poor also, best well i'm quite young so has to be mooney or young, or possibly wooter, really wish i'd been born in the barnes blisset age