Latest news with #WatfordFC
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Watford sign former Bolton goalkeeper Baxter
Watford have signed goalkeeper Nathan Baxter on a two-year deal after his contract expired with Bolton 26-year-old made 72 appearances in two seasons with the Trotters, including the 2023-24 League One play-off final, after joining from Chelsea in June becomes the second Hornets signing of the summer after former Peterborough midfielder Hector Kyprianou penned a five-year deal."I knew about the club's interest last season and as soon as the season finished they wanted to meet me," Baxter told the club website, external."I had a great conversation with the goalkeeping coach and a great conversation with [Watford sporting director] Gianluca [Nani] and they really sold what they saw in me and where they see my career going." Baxter joined Chelsea's youth system at the age of eight and won the FA Youth Cup and Uefa Youth League during his time at Stamford he did not make a senior appearance for the Blues after signing a professional contract in he was loaned out to seven clubs, latterly Scottish side Ross County, Accrington Stanley and Hull City, where he spent two seasons before joining Bolton."I think this is the perfect platform to be able to show people what I can do," he added.
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Watford sign ex-Peterborough midfielder Kyprianou
Watford have signed midfielder Hector Kyprianou on a five-year deal following the expiry of his contract with Peterborough 23-year-old Cyprus international joins on a free transfer and is the Hornets' first signing since the appointment of Uruguayan Paulo Pezzolano as head coach, Kyprianou made 140 appearances for Peterborough, scoring 16 goals, including the second in their 2-0 EFL Vertu Trophy final win over Birmingham City at Wembley in deal will be completed on 1 June."It's a historic club, a massive club that matches my ambitions, which is to play as high as possible and to reach the Premier League," Kyprianou told the club website., external"One of the reasons I joined is that they showed quite a lot of interest in me for a while, and for me that adds a lot of value."To know that they wanted me is a huge positive. Paulo sent me a message to say 'welcome' and we're looking forward to working with each other."Kyprianou spent time in Tottenham Hotspur's youth set-up before making the short move to join Leyton Orient in made his English Football League debut in December of that year and played 79 games for Orient before being sold to Peterborough for an undisclosed fee three years ago. His senior international debut came against Norway in 2023 and he has won 10 Cyprus caps so far."Once the season ended, we asked Peterborough for permission to speak to Hector and we thank them for their cooperation in agreeing to this," said Watford sporting director Gian Luca Nani."Hector fits the demands Paulo has for his players - intensity and a high technical and tactical awareness."Watford finished 14th in the Championship this season, which led to the sacking of former head coach Tom Cleverley.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
More than £65,000 raised for charity at football tournament
More than £65,000 was raised for charity at a football tournament at Watford on Saturday held to raise awareness of mental health issues. A total of 32 teams took part in The Mental Health World Cup, Watford FC's Community Sports and Education Trust, and fans channel WD18 organised the event at Vicarage Road Stadium. The money will be given to charities Goal, Mind, OLLIE, Rennie Grove Peace Hospice, and the Trust. Sam Ucko, from WD18, said: "The football club and the trust were unwavering in their support, reinforcing our pride in a club that continues to build on the legacy of our greatest-ever manager, Graham Taylor—someone who would have wholeheartedly embraced a tournament like this." The winning team featured Watford FC Academy coaching staff, just a day after the Watford FC Under 18s won their semi-final in the Premier League Under-18 Professional Development League play-off final. (Image: Watford FC Trust) Mental Health World Cup founder Giancarlo Gaglione said: Last year, over 6,000 people took their own life, 3/4 of them were male. "My own brother was one of those statistics in 2012 when he took his own life with no signs he was struggling with depression, aged just 26. "The Mental Health World Cup exists to let people know that suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50, to help try and raise awareness around this silent epidemic that is massively underfunded by the government. "We are delighted with the amount raised, as that will go towards our mental health charity partners who are out there literally saving lives. "We hope that normalising the conversation around suicide and mental health using football, we'll move the needle and help shift the numbers to make it a more positive society for everyone." Ucko said: "It was a privilege to help organise the first-ever Mental Health World Cup at Vicarage Road this year. "From the moment Giancarlo shared his story and the inspiration behind creating the tournament, we knew we wanted to play a role in bringing the event to Vicarage Road. "As a fan channel, we've seen first hand how mental health affects football fans. "Having the opportunity to raise funds and stand against suicide while watching our closest friends and family play at the stadium was truly special—something we will never take for granted. "The funds raised will provide crucial support to people in Hertfordshire and across the country, ensuring help reaches those who need it most. "Football has an incredible ability to unite and uplift, and this tournament was yet another powerful reminder of that." The organisers (Mental Health World Cup, Watford Football Club's Community Sports and Education Trust and WD18) would like to thank their headline sponsors, Go Cardless and Total Security, and Watford FC kit manufacturer Kelme - who supplied all 32 teams with unique shirts and shorts. (Image: Watford FC Trust) The tournament was won by Chile (Watford Under 18s), who defeated Brazil (2-0 to the Bane FC) 3-1 in the final. The winning team featured Watford FC Academy coaching staff, just a day after the Watford FC Under 18s won their semi-final in the Premier League Under-18 Professional Development League play-off final. Their Mental Health World Cup team included the likes of former Hornets players Lloyd Doyley, Adrian Mariappa, and Dan Gosling. Individual awards were also presented - Sean Walker representing Ghana (I Declare a Game of 5s FC) won the Golden Boot, whilst Jack Mooney of Brazil (2-0 to the Bane FC) won the Overall Player of the Tournament. The organisers thanked headline sponsors Go Cardless and Total Security, and Watford FC kit manufacturer Kelme, which supplied all 32 teams with unique shirts and shorts. They also expressed their gratitude to event sponsors Celtic, The Grove, Overbury, MCS, Sale Group, and Mad Squirrel.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Massive changes again in Watford head coach betting market
It's a case of either somebody knows something, or nobody knows anything – in the space of a few hours the betting market for next Watford FC head coach has seen one odds-on favourite replaced with another. In the middle of the afternoon today, Garcia Pimienta was the 1/5 favourite and that is the sort price where the bookies have shortened a contender because they believe it's going to happen. However, in the last half an hour Pimienta has shot out to 2/1 and been replaced at the head of the market by former frontrunner Diego Alonso, who is now priced at 1/2. It is quite some swing in the market in such a relatively short space of time, although Alonso has previously been the favourite in the days since the bookies priced things up. The third favourite in the market Luis Garcia Plaza, who is an 8/1 shot. After that, all the other contenders are priced at double figures – Joso Rojo Martin, known as Pacheta, is next in the list of prices at 12/1. Alonso has been out of work since being sacked by Greek side Panathinaikos in October. The 50-year-old from Montevideo was appointed manager of Uruguay in December 2021, and after four wins in his first four games in charge, he secured qualification for the World Cup in Qatar. A year later, after failing to progress from the group stage in the finals, he handed in his resignation and said he wanted to return to club management. His next job was as manager of Sevilla, taking over in October 2023 when the Spanish side were 14th in the La Liga On December 16, having failed to win any of his eight league matches and having been knocked out of the UEFA Champions League after finishing last in their group, Sevilla sacked Alonso.
BBC News
08-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Expert view: 'Watford board going round in circles'
Geoff Doyle, sports editor, BBC Three Counties RadioHead coaches getting sacked at Watford stopped becoming a surprise a long time ago. If the team isn't doing well, it's the head coach's fault and he pays the price. End of. Watford fans didn't particularly like this philosophy but they kind of understood and accepted it. It was the board's way of doing things and it worked to an extent. The supporters took the teasing from other fans - after all they spent six seasons in the Premier League over a seven-year period. They sucked up the fire them/hire them culture. But Watford haven't been in the top flight for what will soon be four seasons in a row. The 'blame the head coach' strategy is fine if that head coach has the necessary players and culture. If that isn't there then we're going round in circles. And the hiring and firing of managers, of course, affects the culture. More circles. The club board needs some sacking of Tom Cleverley has hit a nerve - hard. Owner Gino Pozzo and the board can point towards a poor 2025 calendar year of results and without question, the form has been sub-standard. Their argument is they always want the team to be improving and they haven't seen that in the past four months. That's a fair point. They also believe the squad was good enough for a play-off place. But here, not many, including myself, agree. A decent January transfer window would have helped (and is a major reason for the poor form) but I'm not convinced it would have been enough. This Watford squad without Giorgi Chakvetadze and Kwadwo Baah is a mid-table team. With them, and barring no other injuries, a side who might finish close to the play-offs. A squad lacking enough is no doubting Cleverley made quite a few mistakes decision-wise (the Daniel Jebbison gamble was his and majorly back-fired) and tactically (got it wrong against some of the weaker teams) but all managers do and it was Cleverley's first season. He did a lot more right than wrong. That end-of-season form wasn't good enough but across the season it was, predominantly because he got more out of the players than any other Hornets head coach since Javi Gracia. And, crucially, having been at the club for so long he 'got' Watford - and the fans deeply cared for him as a result. Towards the end of his reign Cleverley told me the players didn't have enough consequences for their actions which was a dig at the club's environment and culture. The incoming head coach will have to adapt quickly and try and juggle numerous balls. But recently not many of his predecessors have fans are restless. Fortunately for the board there is a break now, giving them time to try and get through the stormiest period since the Pozzos took ownership.
