# 2005–06 Watford F.C. season

During the 2005–06 English football season, Watford competed in the Football League Championship.

## Season summary

Against the odds, Watford managed to gain promotion to the Premier League through the play-offs, defeating Leeds United 3–0 in the play-off final to return to the top flight after an absence of six years. Crucial to Watford's promotion was striker Marlon King, who was the Championship's top scorer. Striker Darius Henderson and young winger Ashley Young also chipped in with 15 and 14 league goals respectively; between them, the three scored 51 of the club's 77 goals scored in the league.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Reading (C, P) | 46 | 31 | 13 | 2 | 99 | 32 | +67 | 106 | Promotion to the FA Premier League |
| 2 | Sheffield United (P) | 46 | 26 | 12 | 8 | 76 | 46 | +30 | 90 | Promotion to the FA Premier League |
| 3 | Watford (O, P) | 46 | 22 | 15 | 9 | 77 | 53 | +24 | 81 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 4 | Preston North End | 46 | 20 | 20 | 6 | 59 | 30 | +29 | 80 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 5 | Leeds United | 46 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 57 | 38 | +19 | 78 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |

## Results

Watford's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League Championship

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 6 August 2005 | Preston North End | H | 1–2 | 12,597 | Henderson |
| 9 August 2005 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 3–3 | 13,813 | King, Young (2) |
| 12 August 2005 | Cardiff City | A | 3–1 | 10,102 | King (2), Henderson |
| 20 August 2005 | Burnley | H | 3–1 | 16,802 | King, Mahon, Spring |
| 27 August 2005 | Reading | H | 0–0 | 12,152 | |
| 29 August 2005 | Derby County | A | 2–1 | 23,664 | Spring, Carlisle |
| 10 September 2005 | Stoke City | A | 3–0 | 14,565 | Devlin, Young, King (pen) |
| 13 September 2005 | Norwich City | H | 2–1 | 13,502 | King, Young |
| 17 September 2005 | Sheffield United | H | 2–3 | 15,399 | Henderson (2) |
| 24 September 2005 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 0–0 | 6,258 | |
| 28 September 2005 | Coventry City | A | 1–3 | 16,978 | Young |
| 1 October 2005 | Leeds United | H | 0–0 | 16,050 | |
| 15 October 2005 | Leicester City | H | 1–2 | 16,224 | Young |
| 18 October 2005 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–1 | 21,187 | Young |
| 22 October 2005 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–0 | 24,069 | Young |
| 29 October 2005 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 3–1 | 14,561 | DeMerit, King, Devlin |
| 1 November 2005 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 3–1 | 16,476 | Spring, McNamee, Young |
| 5 November 2005 | Hull City | A | 2–1 | 18,444 | Mahon, Spring |
| 19 November 2005 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 2–1 | 16,988 | Carlisle, King |
| 22 November 2005 | Leicester City | A | 2–2 | 18,856 | King, Mackay |
| 26 November 2005 | Preston North End | A | 1–1 | 14,638 | Spring |
| 3 December 2005 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 1–1 | 14,455 | King |
| 10 December 2005 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 1–1 | 12,884 | King |
| 17 December 2005 | Burnley | A | 1–4 | 13,815 | King |
| 26 December 2005 | Southampton | H | 3–0 | 16,972 | Henderson, Carlisle, Hajto (own goal) |
| 28 December 2005 | Millwall | A | 0–0 | 8,450 | |
| 31 December 2005 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–2 | 15,856 | Henderson |
| 2 January 2006 | Luton Town | A | 2–1 | 10,248 | Henderson, Mackay |
| 14 January 2006 | Stoke City | H | 1–0 | 12,247 | Eagles |
| 21 January 2006 | Norwich City | A | 3–2 | 25,384 | Henderson (2), Spring |
| 28 January 2006 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 4–1 | 11,722 | Spring (2), King, Young |
| 6 February 2006 | Sheffield United | A | 4–1 | 20,791 | Eagles, King (2), Bouazza |
| 11 February 2006 | Coventry City | H | 4–0 | 19,842 | Young, King, Henderson, DeMerit |
| 14 February 2006 | Leeds United | A | 1–2 | 22,007 | Young |
| 18 February 2006 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 1–0 | 6,658 | Eagles |
| 25 February 2006 | Cardiff City | H | 2–1 | 17,419 | Mackay, King |
| 4 March 2006 | Derby County | H | 2–2 | 16,769 | King, Bangura |
| 11 March 2006 | Reading | A | 0–0 | 23,724 | |
| 20 March 2006 | Southampton | A | 3–1 | 19,202 | Mahon, Henderson (2) |
| 25 March 2006 | Millwall | H | 0–2 | 16,654 | |
| 31 March 2006 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–3 | 18,619 | King |
| 9 April 2006 | Luton Town | H | 1–1 | 15,922 | King |
| 14 April 2006 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | 22,584 | King |
| 17 April 2006 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–1 | 16,721 | Henderson (2) |
| 22 April 2006 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 2–1 | 16,152 | Young, Santos (own goal) |
| 30 April 2006 | Hull City | H | 0–0 | 19,041 | |

### Championship play-offs

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| SF 1st Leg | 6 May 2006 | Crystal Palace | A | 3–0 | 22,880 | King, Young, Spring |
| SF 2nd Leg | 9 May 2006 | Crystal Palace | H | 0–0 (won 3–0 on agg) | 19,041 | |
| F | 21 May 2006 | Leeds United | N | 3–0 | 64,736 | DeMerit, Sullivan (own goal), Henderson (pen) |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 7 January 2006 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 0–3 | 13,239 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 23 August 2005 | Notts County | H | 3–1 | 7,011 | Young, Bouazza (pen), Blizzard |
| R2 | 20 September 2005 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 2–1 | 9,296 | Carlisle (2) |
| R3 | 25 October 2005 | Wigan Athletic | A | 0–3 | 4,531 | |

## Players
### First-team squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Alec Chamberlain |
| 2 | DF | ENG | James Chambers |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Jordan Stewart |
| 4 | DF | SCO | Malky Mackay |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Clarke Carlisle |
| 6 | DF | USA | Jay DeMerit |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Chris Eagles (on loan from Manchester United) |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Gavin Mahon (captain) |
| 9 | FW | JAM | Marlon King |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Lloyd Doyley |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Dominic Blizzard |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Ashley Young |
| 18 | FW | FRA | Hameur Bouazza |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Anthony McNamee |
| 20 | MF | SLE | Al Bangura |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 21 | MF | FRA | Toumani Diagouraga |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Junior Osborne |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Adrian Mariappa |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Matthew Spring |
| 26 | GK | ENG | Ben Foster (on loan from Manchester United) |
| 27 | MF | JAM | Joel Grant |
| 28 | FW | JAM | Francino Francis |
| 29 | FW | ENG | Darius Henderson |
| 30 | MF | FRA | Marvin Homand |
| 31 | MF | ENG | Alex Campana |
| 32 | FW | ENG | Les Ferdinand |
| 34 | DF | ENG | Ben Gill |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Joe O'Cearuill |
| 36 | FW | ENG | Theo Robinson |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Martin Devaney (to Barnsley) |
| 7 | MF | WAL | Carl Fletcher (on loan from West Ham United) |
| 10 | MF | SCO | Paul Devlin (to Walsall) |
| 11 | DF | ESP | Sietes (released) |
| 16 | GK | ENG | Richard Lee (on loan to Blackburn Rovers) |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Jamie Hand (to Fisher Athletic) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 24 | DF | AUS | Adam Griffiths (to Bournemouth) |
| 25 | FW | BRA | José Júnior (to Odense) |
| 33 | FW | JAM | Trevor Benjamin (on loan from Peterborough United) |
| 36 | FW | ENG | Gabriel Agbonlahor (on loan from Aston Villa) |
| 50 | GK | BEL | Yves Ma-Kalambay (on loan from Chelsea) |
| — | MF | ENG | Ryan Gilligan (to Swindon Town) |

## Statistics
### Appearances, goals and cards

    (Starting appearances + substitute appearances)
| No. | Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Play-offs | Play-offs | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | Alec Chamberlain | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | James Chambers | 26+12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 31+13 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Jordan Stewart | 29+6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 35+6 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Malky Mackay | 35+3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 40+3 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | Clarke Carlisle | 30+2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 33+2 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| 6 | DF | Jay DeMerit | 27+5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 32+5 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Chris Eagles | 16+1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 17+2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Carl Fletcher | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Gavin Mahon | 35+3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 40+3 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Marlon King | 40+1 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 44+1 | 22 | 2 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | Paul Devlin | 21+2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21+2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | Lloyd Doyley | 40+4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 46+4 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Dominic Blizzard | 9+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Ashley Young | 38+1 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 42+1 | 15 | 3 | 1 |
| 18 | FW | Hameur Bouazza | 3+11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 5+12 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | Anthony McNamee | 26+12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30+12 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Al Bangura | 11+24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 15+26 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | Toumani Diagouraga | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | Junior Osborne | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | Adrian Mariappa | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Matthew Spring | 36+3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 41+3 | 9 | 8 | 0 |
| 26 | GK | Ben Foster | 44 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 27 | FW | Joel Grant | 2+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | Francino Francis | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | Darius Henderson | 27+3 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 | 31+4 | 15 | 6 | 1 |
| 31 | MF | Alex Campana | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | Trevor Benjamin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | Ben Gill | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | FW | Gabriel Agbonlahor | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | FW | Theo Robinson | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |