1998–99 Watford F.C. season

Watford
1998–99 season
Chairman	Elton John
Manager	Graham Taylor
Stadium	Vicarage Road
Football League First Division	5th (promoted)
Play-offs	Winners
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	First round
Top goalscorer	Noel-Williams (10)
Average home league attendance	11,822

During the 1998–99 English football season, Watford F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

Season summary

In the 1998–99 season, Watford's second successive promotion was achieved with a 2–0 victory over Bolton Wanderers in the playoff final, securing the club's promotion to the top flight for the first time since 1988.^[1]^[2]

Final league table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
3	Ipswich Town	46	26	8	12	69	32	+37	86	Qualification for the First Division play-offs
4	Birmingham City	46	23	12	11	66	37	+29	81
5	Watford (O, P)	46	21	14	11	65	56	+9	77
6	Bolton Wanderers	46	20	16	10	78	59	+19	76
7	Wolverhampton Wanderers	46	19	16	11	64	43	+21	73

Source:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference
(O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

Results

Watford's score comes first^[3]

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

Football League First Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
8 August 1998	Portsmouth	A	2–1	15,275	Thomson (own goal), Lee
15 August 1998	Bradford City	H	1–0	10,731	Ngonge
22 August 1998	Bristol City	A	4–1	13,063	Johnson (2), Yates, Hazan
25 August 1998	Sunderland	A	1–4	36,587	Smart
28 August 1998	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	0–2	12,016
8 September 1998	Huddersfield Town	A	0–2	9,811
12 September 1998	Queens Park Rangers	H	2–1	14,251	Millen, Smart
19 September 1998	Swindon Town	A	4–1	8,781	Smart (2), Wright, Hazan
26 September 1998	Ipswich Town	H	1–0	13,109	Kennedy (pen)
29 September 1998	Sheffield United	H	1–1	9,090	Noel-Williams
4 October 1998	West Bromwich Albion	A	1–4	11,840	Kennedy (pen)
10 October 1998	Birmingham City	H	1–1	10,096	Rowett (own goal)
17 October 1998	Tranmere Rovers	A	2–3	6,753	Smart, Noel-Williams
20 October 1998	Bolton Wanderers	A	2–1	15,921	Noel-Williams, Kennedy (pen)
24 October 1998	Port Vale	H	2–2	8,750	Guðmundsson (2)
31 October 1998	Bury	A	3–1	4,342	Bazeley, Ngonge, Smart
3 November 1998	Norwich City	H	1–1	10,011	Jackson (own goal)
7 November 1998	Oxford United	H	2–0	10,137	Palmer, Noel-Williams
14 November 1998	Stockport County	A	1–1	8,019	Johnson
21 November 1998	Crewe Alexandra	H	4–2	9,405	Noel-Williams (2), Bazeley, Wright
28 November 1998	Crystal Palace	A	2–2	19,521	Wright, Kennedy
5 December 1998	Barnsley	H	0–0	10,165
12 December 1998	Stockport County	H	4–2	9,250	Johnson, Wright, Noel-Williams (2)
19 December 1998	Grimsby Town	A	1–2	6,679	Noel-Williams
26 December 1998	Bristol City	H	1–0	15,081	Smart
29 December 1998	Norwich City	A	1–1	19,255	Palmer
9 January 1999	Portsmouth	H	0–0	12,057
16 January 1999	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	0–0	23,408
23 January 1999	West Bromwich Albion	H	0–2	11,664
30 January 1999	Sunderland	H	2–1	20,188	Wright, Noel-Williams
6 February 1999	Bradford City	A	0–2	14,142
16 February 1999	Huddersfield Town	H	1–1	10,303	Mooney
20 February 1999	Queens Park Rangers	A	2–1	14,918	Wright, Smith
26 February 1999	Swindon Town	H	0–1	8,692
2 March 1999	Ipswich Town	A	2–3	18,818	Smith, Mooney
6 March 1999	Sheffield United	A	0–3	15,943
13 March 1999	Oxford United	A	0–0	8,137
20 March 1999	Bury	H	0–0	9,336
3 April 1999	Tranmere Rovers	H	2–1	8,682	Kennedy, Ngonge
5 April 1999	Birmingham City	A	2–1	24,877	Mooney, Daley
10 April 1999	Bolton Wanderers	H	2–0	13,001	Hyde, Mooney
17 April 1999	Crewe Alexandra	A	1–0	5,461	Mooney
24 April 1999	Crystal Palace	H	2–1	15,590	Hyde, Mooney
27 April 1999	Port Vale	A	2–1	7,126	Mooney (2)
1 May 1999	Barnsley	A	2–2	17,098	Ngonge, Mooney
9 May 1999	Grimsby Town	H	1–0	20,303	Kennedy

First Division play-offs


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
SF 1st Leg	16 May 1999	Birmingham City	H	1–0	18,535	Ngonge
SF 2nd Leg	20 May 1999	Birmingham City	A	0–1 (won 7–6 on pens)	29,100
F	31 May 1999	Bolton Wanderers	N	2–0	70,343	Wright, Smart

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	2 January 1999	Tottenham Hotspur	A	2–5	36,022	Johnson, Kennedy

League Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1 1st Leg	11 August 1998	Cambridge United	A	0–1	3,073
R1 2nd Leg	18 August 1998	Cambridge United	H	1–1 (lost 1–2 on agg)	6,817	Ngonge

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	ENG	Alec Chamberlain
—	GK	ENG	Chris Day
—	DF	ENG	Darren Bazeley
—	DF	ENG	Clint Easton
—	DF	ENG	Nigel Gibbs
—	DF	ENG	Colin Miles
—	DF	ENG	Keith Millen
—	DF	ENG	Steve Palmer
—	DF	ENG	David Perpetuini
—	DF	ENG	Paul Robinson
—	DF	ENG	Darren Ward
—	DF	ENG	Dean Yates
—	DF	WAL	Rob Page (captain)
—	DF	NGA	Benedict Iroha
—	MF	ENG	Tony Daley
—	MF	ENG	Micah Hyde^{[notes 1]}


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	ENG	Stuart Slater
—	MF	ENG	Tommy Smith
—	MF	NIR	Peter Kennedy
—	MF	FRA	Alexandre Bonnot (on loan from Angers)
—	MF	ISL	Jóhann Guðmundsson
—	MF	ISR	Alon Hazan
—	MF	AUS	Richard Johnson
—	FW	ENG	Jason Lee
—	FW	ENG	Tommy Mooney
—	FW	ENG	Gifton Noel-Williams
—	FW	ENG	Guy Whittingham (on loan from Sheffield Wednesday)
—	FW	ENG	Nick Wright
—	FW	SCO	Allan Smart
—	FW	ISR	Ronny Rosenthal
—	FW	COD	Michel Ngonge^{[notes 2]}

References

^ "Watford back in the big time". BBC Sport. 31 May 1999. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
^ McGuinness, Mark (1 June 1999). "Football: You've Got Wat It Takes, Taylor: First Division Play-Off Special; Bolton 0 Watford 2 Graham back on a high with return to the top flight". The Free Library. The Mirror. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
^ "Watford 1998-1999 Home - statto.com". Archived from the original on 25 January 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
^ "Watford FC Player Appearances | Past & Present | Soccer Base".

Notes

^ Hyde was born in Newham, England, but also qualified to represent Jamaica internationally and would make his international debut for Jamaica in 2001.
^ Ngonge was born in Huy, Belgium, but also qualified to represent the Democratic Republic of the Congo internationally and made his international debut for the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1995.

[1] "Watford back in the big time". BBC Sport. 31 May 1999. Retrieved 24 March 2012.

[2] McGuinness, Mark (1 June 1999). "Football: You've Got Wat It Takes, Taylor: First Division Play-Off Special; Bolton 0 Watford 2 Graham back on a high with return to the top flight". The Free Library. The Mirror. Retrieved 24 March 2012.

[3] "Watford 1998-1999 Home - statto.com". Archived from the original on 25 January 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2012.

[4] "Watford FC Player Appearances | Past & Present | Soccer Base".

[5] Hyde was born in Newham, England, but also qualified to represent Jamaica internationally and would make his international debut for Jamaica in 2001.

[6] Ngonge was born in Huy, Belgium, but also qualified to represent the Democratic Republic of the Congo internationally and made his international debut for the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1995.

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[notes 1]

[notes 2]

Watford F.C. seasons
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1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000
2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
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2020s	2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26