Watford (A)

[Royalshow]

Watford is shit. The ground is shit, the town is shit, the pubs are generally awful and the walk to the ground is depressing.

With the exception of pretending that the building opposite the away end is the set for Celebrity Squares ((c) Baker & Kelly), a visit to Watford has nothing to recommend itself.

I will, however, be going.

Watford is a market town just outside London and retains its independent identity even though people regard it as being part of London (due to being inside the M25).

Visually, its not nice to look at but its got a good shopping centre (the Harlequin) and a good indoor market. Fans with non-footballing partners can leave their partners to go shopping in the Harlequin whilst they walk the short distance to Vicarage Road to (hopefully) enjoy the match.

The football ground is one of the more traditional stadiums which has been modernised and is still being redeveloped. It has its own character and given the short distance from Reading, an easy trip - and definitely worth visiting especially for those fans who don't attend many (or any) away matches.

Its very odd in that they put the home supporters family enclosure next to the visiting away supporters. The hardcore home supporters are located in the Rookery, which is on the opposite side of the pitch from where the away supporters sit (Vicarage Road stand).

Why would you want people that never travel going? They are the ones that ruin it for everyone else usually.

[Barry the bird boggler]

I'd rather Palace went down.....

[RoyalBlue]

We usually struggle to sell out when it's a mid season match so have no chance of selling out for a meaningless end of season game.

It's because it is our last away game of the season and party (inflatable time) that it is more likely to sell out.

Short trip, easy to get to, good pubs, local 'rivals', the opportunity to send down the team whose supporters were mocking us/bigging it up earlier in the season are also reasons.

[RoyalBlue]

Has anyone tried buying Watford tickets on-line today?

At present the tickets for the game are not appearing at all. What's more there are no details of tickets for home games appearing either!

http://www.reading.talent-sport.co.uk/PagesPublic/ProductBrowse/productAway.aspx

[voyager1]

Why would you want people that never travel going? They are the ones that ruin it for everyone else usually.

It would be nice if Reading could fill up the away end at Watford and make a sea of blue/white.

[Compo's Hat]

Why would you want people that never travel going? They are the ones that ruin it for everyone else usually.

It would be nice if Reading could fill up the away end at Watford all with random inflatables.

[1871 Royal]

Why would you want people that never travel going? They are the ones that ruin it for everyone else usually.

It would be nice if Reading could fill up the away end at Watford all with random inflatables.

We all know thats going to happen anyway Compo

[Huntley & Palmer]

The only thing Watford used to be good for was walking through the allotments to the old away end. The ground is a shit hole made up of four varying age stands, none of which blend in with each other and they've compounded things by starting to build a block of flats or similar in one of the corners. As for the Harlequin, I remember going there as a kid in the 90's and it was shit.

[Compo's Hat]

No beer in the ground either!

[Silver Fox]

The only thing Watford used to be good for was walking through the allotments to the old away end. The ground is a shit hole made up of four varying age stands, none of which blend in with each other and they've compounded things by starting to build a block of flats or similar in one of the corners. As for the Harlequin, I remember going there as a kid in the 90's and it was shit.

Still, IN for a day trip if it looks like it matters eh?

[voyager1]

The only thing Watford used to be good for was walking through the allotments to the old away end. The ground is a shit hole made up of four varying age stands, none of which blend in with each other and they've compounded things by starting to build a block of flats or similar in one of the corners. As for the Harlequin, I remember going there as a kid in the 90's and it was shit.

They are filling in the corners with new facilities for the club (offices, new changing rooms) and also building flats for the NHS which will integrate into some NHS facility as the hospital is only next door.

Once the players changing rooms/facilities have been relocated into the new corner block then they will demolish the East Stand and rebuild it, increasing the stadium capacity to 23,000.

Not sure what the schedule is for getting the work complete but I don't think the financial situation helps.

As for the Harlequin, can't see anything wrong with it. Its a good sized shopping centre for its inner-town location.

[SpaceCruiser]

I've got my ticket!

[Royal With Cheese]

I lived in Liverpool Road in Watford and the garden of the house backed directly onto the main stand.

That was in the 80's and it generally was a shit place to live. Then I lived in Reading in the 80's and it, to be honest, wasn't much better.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

My first wife came from South Oxhey, enough said really.

[NWL Royal]

My first wife came from South Oxhey, enough said really.

South Oxhey = Yuck

[Sun Tzu]

. The ground is a shit hole made up of four varying age stands, none of which blend in with each other .

That's an improvement from the days when there were 4 different structures just down one side of the ground !

It's also the only ground in the country that I have ever been marooned in by flood water and the old Rookery used to be unique in that despite it apparantly having steps you actually got lower the more steps you climbed up due to the slope of the ground !

I used to live a couple of hundred yards from the ground so do have a soft spot for the club but despite having lived there for two years I have absolutely no memories of the place.

[LUX]

I've got friends in the area from when I was a prep school teacher in Northwood in 1984 ( ). I too have a soft spot for Watford, but would never allow that to prevail over RFC (even if the game was meaningless for us but not for them).

I'm actively earning brownie points to fly over for this one..........................probably with my 10 year old son, which could be a pub problem.


ps saw us lose twice in quick succession in League Cup games there in about 1977 (ie scores level over two legs, but we lost the decider about 5 0. From memory, me and my lot were the only Biscuits in the stadium.

[NWL Royal]

Northwood, now there's a nice place...

[LUX]

Potter Street Hill, midway between Northwood and Northwood Hills underground

Teachers' pub: The Gate.

[BenReadingFC]

Northwood, now there's a nice place...

Nice Bunker