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.
Central defender Darren made his debut as a 17 year old in a derby game against Luton Town. Despite a serious injury in 1997, he regained fitness to become a regular in the 1999 Premiership team and in Division One the following season.
Defender Trevor joined Watford as a schoolboy in 1971, and was given his debut in early 1975 by Mike Keen. He was part of the squad under Graham Taylor that won promotion out of Division Four and Division Three in consecutive seasons.
Midfielder Stephen joined from Newcastle United on a free transfer in 2001. He went on to score a memorable goal in the FA Cup quarter-final win over Burnley in 2003.
Goalkeeper Andy joined the Hornets in 1971 from boyhood club Everton and went on to make one short of 300 appearances for the club during a nine-year spell.
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.
If you saw John Barnes play you’ll be hard pushed to think of a more naturally gifted individual to wear a Watford shirt. Barnes was the one who got the crowd on the edge of their seat, or on tiptoes, whenever he got the ball. We met one Tuesday afternoon and it was an interesting chat but I felt like I was not really getting much beneath the surface.
Richard Hill was Graham Taylor’s last signing for the club before leaving for Aston Villa. His Watford career was brief. As the fourth interview for Enjoy The Game, it is often the bit-part players who have the clearest view of the drama taking place centre stage.
The first interview conducted by phone was with defender Charlie Palmer who broke into the team at the start of the 1983-84 season but then lost his place to David Bardsley. I had thought that Palmer would be a peripheral figure in the story but it was an honest, frank and insightful interview.
Another trip to the north-west meant I could schedule a couple of interviews back-to-back. First up I travelled to Manchester City’s training ground to speak to Glyn Hodges. He was fun to listen to the first person I spoke to who had not signed for Taylor and so his perspective on Bassett’s takeover was interesting.
