# 2004–05 Watford F.C. season

During the 2004–05 English football season, Watford competed in the Football League Championship.

## Season summary

The 2004–05 season saw a continuation of the good form of the end of the previous season, with the club well in the upper half of the Championship at the end of September. However, a long run of poor form subsequently saw the club drop steadily towards the relegation zone. Another good cup run further eased the club's financial position, with the team reaching the semi-final of the League Cup, soundly beating Premiership sides Portsmouth and Southampton on the way, before losing narrowly to Liverpool. The club's poor league form, however, came to a head in March, with a run of terrible performances and Lewington was sacked on 22 March. His sacking was controversial, and many fans were unhappy at the loss of a man who had led the club to two cup semi-finals in three seasons, enduring considerable financial hardships.
At the age of 34, Aidy Boothroyd was appointed manager of Watford after serving at Leeds United as a coach; 70-year-old Keith Burkinshaw was recruited as his assistant. Boothroyd's inexperience raised concerns among fans, who worried that he would not be able to keep the side in the Championship. However, Watford secured enough points to ensure survival with two games to go in the season.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 16 | Cardiff City | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 48 | 51 | −3 | 54 |
| 17 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 52 | 64 | −12 | 53 |
| 18 | Watford | 46 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 52 | 59 | −7 | 52 |
| 19 | Coventry City | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 61 | 73 | −12 | 52 |
| 20 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 40 | 65 | −25 | 51 |

## Results

Watford's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League Championship

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 7 August 2004 | Preston North End | A | 1–2 | 12,208 | Devlin |
| 9 August 2004 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 3–0 | 14,737 | Webber (2), Dyer |
| 14 August 2004 | Burnley | H | 0–1 | 12,048 | |
| 21 August 2004 | Leicester City | A | 1–0 | 22,478 | Webber |
| 28 August 2004 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 3–1 | 13,104 | Ardley, Webber (2) |
| 11 September 2004 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 1–1 | 14,148 | Webber |
| 14 September 2004 | Cardiff City | A | 3–0 | 10,606 | Webber (2), Ardley |
| 19 September 2004 | Millwall | A | 2–0 | 10,865 | Webber, Helguson |
| 25 September 2004 | Reading | H | 0–1 | 13,389 | |
| 28 September 2004 | Wigan Athletic | H | 0–0 | 11,361 | |
| 2 October 2004 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 0–3 | 6,382 | |
| 16 October 2004 | Derby County | A | 2–2 | 23,253 | Helguson (2) |
| 19 October 2004 | Sunderland | H | 1–1 | 13,198 | Ardley |
| 23 October 2004 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–2 | 22,497 | Helguson, Bouazza |
| 30 October 2004 | Nottingham Forest | A | 2–1 | 24,473 | Helguson (2) |
| 2 November 2004 | Gillingham | A | 0–0 | 7,009 | |
| 6 November 2004 | Derby County | H | 2–2 | 13,689 | Helguson, Gunnarsson |
| 13 November 2004 | Sheffield United | A | 1–1 | 18,454 | Gunnarsson |
| 20 November 2004 | Rotherham United | H | 0–0 | 17,780 | |
| 24 November 2004 | Leeds United | A | 2–2 | 24,585 | Dyer (2) |
| 27 November 2004 | West Ham United | A | 2–3 | 24,541 | Gunnarsson, Dyer |
| 4 December 2004 | Stoke City | H | 0–1 | 12,169 | |
| 11 December 2004 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–1 | 14,605 | Helguson |
| 18 December 2004 | Coventry City | A | 0–1 | 14,493 | |
| 26 December 2004 | Reading | A | 0–3 | 18,757 | |
| 28 December 2004 | Cardiff City | H | 0–0 | 13,409 | |
| 1 January 2005 | Millwall | H | 1–0 | 13,158 | Helguson |
| 3 January 2005 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 1–2 | 6,335 | Helguson |
| 15 January 2005 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 3–1 | 11,223 | Helguson (2), DeMerit |
| 22 January 2005 | Wigan Athletic | A | 2–2 | 9,008 | Dyer, Webber |
| 5 February 2005 | Gillingham | H | 2–0 | 15,188 | Ashby (own goal), Eagles |
| 12 February 2005 | Sunderland | A | 2–4 | 24,948 | Dyer (2) |
| 22 February 2005 | Ipswich Town | A | 2–1 | 23,993 | DeMerit, Dyer |
| 26 February 2005 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–0 | 25,060 | |
| 5 March 2005 | Coventry City | H | 2–3 | 13,794 | Dyer, Webber |
| 8 March 2005 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0–2 | 12,118 | |
| 12 March 2005 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–3 | 16,638 | Ardley |
| 15 March 2005 | Leicester City | H | 2–2 | 11,084 | DeMerit, Webber (pen) |
| 19 March 2005 | Preston North End | H | 0–2 | 19,649 | |
| 2 April 2005 | Burnley | A | 1–3 | 11,507 | Blizzard |
| 5 April 2005 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 0–1 | 15,333 | |
| 9 April 2005 | Leeds United | H | 1–2 | 16,306 | Helguson |
| 16 April 2005 | Rotherham United | A | 1–0 | 5,438 | Helguson |
| 23 April 2005 | Sheffield United | H | 0–0 | 17,138 | |
| 30 April 2005 | Stoke City | A | 1–0 | 15,229 | Helguson |
| 8 May 2005 | West Ham United | H | 1–2 | 19,673 | Helguson |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 8 January 2005 | Fulham | H | 1–1 | 14,896 | Helguson (pen) |
| R3R | 19 January 2005 | Fulham | A | 0–2 | 11,306 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 24 August 2004 | Cambridge United | H | 1–0 | 6,558 | Ferrell |
| R2 | 21 September 2004 | Reading | A | 3–0 | 8,429 | Cox (pen), Bouazza, Ingimarsson (own goal) |
| R3 | 26 October 2004 | Sheffield United | A | 0–0 (won 4–2 on pens) | 7,689 | |
| R4 | 9 November 2004 | Southampton | H | 5–2 | 13,008 | Dyer, Chambers (2), Helguson, Bouazza |
| R5 | 30 November 2004 | Portsmouth | H | 3–0 | 18,877 | Helguson (2), Dyer |
| SF 1st Leg | 11 January 2005 | Liverpool | A | 0–1 | 35,739 | |
| SF 2nd Leg | 25 January 2005 | Liverpool | H | 0–1 | 19,797 | |

## 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 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Paul Mayo |
| 4 | DF | ISL | Brynjar Gunnarsson |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Neil Cox |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Sean Dyche |
| 7 | FW | ENG | Bruce Dyer |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Gavin Mahon |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Danny Webber |
| 10 | MF | SCO | Paul Devlin |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Andy Ferrell |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Jermaine Darlington |
| 16 | GK | ENG | Richard Lee |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Jamie Hand |
| 18 | FW | ISL | Heiðar Helguson |
| 19 | DF | ENG | James Chambers |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Lloyd Doyley |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Jack Smith |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Dominic Blizzard |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Anthony McNamee |
| 24 | FW | TRI | Jason Norville |
| 25 | FW | FRA | Hameur Bouazza |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Ben Herd |
| 27 | MF | ENG | Ashley Young |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Jamie Collins |
| 29 | DF | USA | Jay DeMerit |
| 30 | FW | ENG | Omari Coleman |
| 31 | MF | FRA | Toumani Diagouraga |
| 32 | DF | ENG | Danny Cullip (on loan from Sheffield United) |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Junior Osborne |
| 35 | GK | ENG | Reece Kirk |
| 37 | MF | SLE | Al Bangura |
| 38 | DF | ENG | Adrian Mariappa |
| 39 | MF | ENG | Joel Grant |

### 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 |
| 2 | MF | ENG | Neal Ardley (to Cardiff City) |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Scott Fitzgerald (to Brentford) |
| 13 | GK | WAL | Paul Jones (on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers) |
| 15 | DF | JAM | Marcus Gayle (to Brentford) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 32 | MF | ENG | Johnnie Jackson (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) |
| 34 | MF | ENG | Chris Eagles (on loan from Manchester United) |
| 42 | GK | ENG | Kevin Hitchcock (retired) |

## Transfers
### In

* Andy Ferrell – Newcastle United, free
* Jermaine Darlington – Milton Keynes Dons, free
* James Chambers – West Bromwich Albion, £250,000

### Out

* Paolo Vernazza – Rotherham United, free
* Wayne Brown – Colchester United, free
* Micah Hyde – Burnley, free
* Neal Ardley – Cardiff City, free
* Scott Fitzgerald – Brentford, free
* Marcus Gayle – Brentford, free