Luther had three playing spells at the club was Watford’s first million pound player, was first team coach and the first inductee into the club’s Hall of Fame.
Defender Neil played less than twenty games for Watford yet they included some of the biggest games in the club’s history. He later returned to set up the Former Players Association.
Locally born midfielder Ross was at Watford from the age of nine, breaking into the first team while still a scholar. He became a regular in the side under Brendan Rodgers but after the Pozzo takeover he found opportunities harder to come by.
Striker Theo made his debut for Watford as a 17 year old in 2006 but found subsequent appearances hard to come by in the following three years at the club.
Welshman Malcolm progressed through the youth ranks, captaining the team in the 1985 FA Youth Cup Final and making his first team debut later that year.
Northern Ireland international Peter joined Watford in the summer of 1997. Despite playing in a wing-back role, he finished top scorer in 1997-8 as the club gained promotion to Division One.
Richard gave up his university degree course to join Watford in 1982, signing from non-league Burton Albion. He left for Hull City in 1985, and went on to have a twenty year career in the game and briefly returned to Watford in 2000.
Many supporters blame Dave Bassett for dismantling Graham Taylor’s team almost overnight and setting the course for relegation and ten years in the doldrums, and with good reason. But there are two sides to every story and I was keen to hear Bassett’s. He admitted his mistakes and, like anyone, tried to mitigate where he could and I found his account of his biggest mistake fascinating.
Following in the footsteps of Ross Jenkins and George Reilly must have been a daunting prospect but Colin West made an immediate impact after joining from Sunderland on transfer deadline day in March 1985. We talked about the circumstances that led to his transfer to Watford.
For the next interview it was off to Alderley Edge, to meet Steve Harrison at a little tea shop. Steve joined Watford in 1978 as a player and then later Graham Taylor offered him a role working with the club’s juniors. When Taylor left to join Aston Villa, ‘Harry’ went with him, returning to replace Dave Bassett as manager six months later. Steve was great company and spoke at length with the humour and enthusiasm I’d hoped for.
I wondered how the interview would go with Wilf Rostron. He wasn’t one to keep in touch with his former team-mates, it seemed. He struck me as extremely modest and not one to live in the past. He’d participated in some of the club’s most remarkable days and yet his memory of them was understated.
In early March 2009, I headed to Wakefield to meet John McClelland, who had been one of my favourite players, arguably the finest defenders to ever play for Watford. McClelland was interview number six.
