# 2001–02 Watford F.C. season

During the 2001–02 English football season, Watford competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

In the 2001–02 season, Gianluca Vialli was named as Taylor's managerial replacement. Vialli made several high-profile signings, and wage bills at the club soared, with Vialli himself earning almost a million pounds a year. However, the season was disappointing, with the club finishing 14th in the division, and Vialli was sacked after only one season, having refused to resign.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 12 | Gillingham | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 64 | 67 | −3 | 64 |
| 13 | Sheffield United | 46 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 53 | 54 | −1 | 60 |
| 14 | Watford | 46 | 16 | 11 | 19 | 62 | 56 | +6 | 59 |
| 15 | Bradford City | 46 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 69 | 76 | −7 | 55 |
| 16 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 12 | 18 | 16 | 50 | 51 | −1 | 54 |

## Results

Watford's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 11 August 2001 | Manchester City | A | 0–3 | 33,939 | |
| 18 August 2001 | Rotherham United | H | 3–2 | 13,839 | Smith (2), Nielsen |
| 25 August 2001 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–1 | 20,257 | |
| 27 August 2001 | Walsall | H | 2–1 | 14,652 | Galli, Nielsen |
| 9 September 2001 | Wimbledon | H | 3–0 | 15,466 | Wooter, Gayle, Robinson |
| 15 September 2001 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–2 | 15,726 | Gayle |
| 18 September 2001 | Norwich City | A | 1–3 | 17,885 | Vega |
| 22 September 2001 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 0–1 | 6,507 | |
| 26 September 2001 | Birmingham City | H | 3–3 | 13,091 | Smith, Cox, Glass |
| 30 September 2001 | Preston North End | H | 1–1 | 18,911 | Jackson (own goal) |
| 13 October 2001 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 3–1 | 14,456 | Hyde, Noel-Williams, Helguson |
| 20 October 2001 | Grimsby Town | A | 3–0 | 5,506 | Hyde (2), Noble |
| 23 October 2001 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–2 | 16,355 | Noel-Williams |
| 27 October 2001 | Bradford City | A | 3–4 | 16,860 | Helguson, Smith (2, 1 pen) |
| 30 October 2001 | Sheffield United | A | 2–0 | 14,338 | Helguson, Smith |
| 3 November 2001 | Barnsley | H | 3–0 | 13,964 | Smith, Helguson (2) |
| 10 November 2001 | Stockport County | H | 1–1 | 12,576 | Smith |
| 13 November 2001 | Burnley | A | 0–1 | 13,162 | |
| 18 November 2001 | Gillingham | A | 0–0 | 8,733 | |
| 25 November 2001 | Portsmouth | H | 3–0 | 15,631 | Robinson, Cox, Issa |
| 1 December 2001 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–0 | 24,015 | |
| 9 December 2001 | Coventry City | A | 2–0 | 13,251 | Glass (2, 1 pen) |
| 15 December 2001 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–0 | 16,499 | Noel-Williams |
| 22 December 2001 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–1 | 17,389 | Smith |
| 29 December 2001 | Walsall | A | 3–0 | 6,882 | Fisken, Nielsen, Smith |
| 1 January 2002 | Millwall | H | 1–4 | 15,300 | Helguson |
| 12 January 2002 | Rotherham United | A | 1–1 | 6,409 | Swailes (own goal) |
| 15 January 2002 | Millwall | A | 0–1 | 12,531 | |
| 20 January 2002 | Manchester City | H | 1–2 | 17,074 | Smith |
| 31 January 2002 | Preston North End | A | 1–1 | 12,749 | Noel-Williams |
| 6 February 2002 | Burnley | H | 1–2 | 12,160 | Pennant |
| 10 February 2002 | Grimsby Town | H | 2–0 | 12,163 | Robinson, Noel-Williams |
| 16 February 2002 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–2 | 18,244 | Noel-Williams |
| 19 February 2002 | Wimbledon | A | 0–0 | 5,551 | |
| 23 February 2002 | Birmingham City | A | 2–3 | 18,059 | Pennant, Johnson (own goal) |
| 26 February 2002 | Norwich City | H | 2–1 | 12,622 | Hyde, Nielsen |
| 2 March 2002 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 0–1 | 15,199 | |
| 5 March 2002 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–1 | 19,580 | Brown |
| 9 March 2002 | Crystal Palace | A | 2–0 | 16,817 | Nielsen, Gayle |
| 16 March 2002 | Coventry City | H | 3–0 | 15,833 | Brown (2), Gayle |
| 23 March 2002 | Barnsley | A | 0–2 | 12,449 | |
| 29 March 2002 | Bradford City | H | 0–0 | 14,001 | |
| 1 April 2002 | Stockport County | A | 1–2 | 4,086 | Webber |
| 6 April 2002 | Sheffield United | H | 0–3 | 13,377 | |
| 13 April 2002 | Portsmouth | A | 1–0 | 16,302 | Webber |
| 21 April 2002 | Gillingham | H | 2–3 | 15,674 | McNamee, Nielsen |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 5 January 2002 | Arsenal | H | 2–4 | 20,105 | Noel-Williams, Gayle |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 21 August 2001 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 1–0 | 9,230 | Gayle |
| R2 | 12 September 2001 | Bristol City | A | 3–2 | 7,256 | Gayle (pen), Vega, Hyde |
| R3 | 9 October 2001 | Bradford City | H | 4–1 | 8,613 | Hyde, Noel-Williams (2), Vega |
| R4 | 27 November 2001 | Charlton Athletic | H | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | 12,621 | Vernazza, Robinson, Helguson |
| QF | 19 December 2001 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–4 | 20,319 | |

## 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 | NOR | Espen Baardsen |
| 2 | DF | FRA | Patrick Blondeau |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Paul Robinson |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Paolo Vernazza |
| 5 | DF | ITA | Filippo Galli |
| 6 | DF | SUI | Ramon Vega |
| 7 | MF | DEN | Allan Nielsen |
| 8 | MF | JAM | Micah Hyde |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Tommy Smith |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Stephen Hughes |
| 11 | MF | SCO | Stephen Glass |
| 12 | FW | NED | Nordin Wooter |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Alec Chamberlain |
| 14 | MF | AUS | Richard Johnson |
| 15 | FW | ENG | Gifton Noel-Williams |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Nigel Gibbs |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Nick Wright |
| 18 | FW | ISL | Heiðar Helguson |
| 19 | DF | ENG | James Panayi |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 20 | MF | ENG | David Noble (on loan from Arsenal) |
| 21 | FW | IRL | Dominic Foley |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Lee Cook |
| 24 | MF | AUS | Paul Okon |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Gary Fisken |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Fabian Forde |
| 27 | FW | JAM | Marcus Gayle |
| 28 | MF | RSA | Pierre Issa |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Neil Cox |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Danny Webber (on loan from Manchester United) |
| 31 | MF | ENG | Sam Swonnell |
| 32 | DF | ENG | Jerel Ifil |
| 33 | MF | ENG | Anthony McNamee |
| 34 | DF | ENG | Lloyd Doyley |
| 35 | FW | TRI | Jason Norville |
| 36 | MF | ENG | Jamie Hand |
| 37 | GK | ENG | Richard Lee |
| 39 | MF | ENG | Gavin Mahon |
| 40 | DF | ENG | Nick Williams |

### 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 |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Darren Ward (to Millwall) |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Jermaine Pennant (on loan from Arsenal) |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Tom Neill (released) |
| 28 | DF | WAL | Rob Page (to Sheffield United) |
| 30 | DF | ENG | Matthew Langston (released) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 30 | DF | ENG | Wayne Brown (on loan from Ipswich Town) |
| 31 | FW | SCO | Allan Smart (to Oldham Athletic) |
| 33 | MF | ENG | David Perpetuini (to Gillingham) |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Barrie Matthews (released) |