| Club: | Watford F.C. |
| Season: | 2005–06 |
| Manager: | Aidy Boothroyd |
| Chairman: | Graham Simpson |
| Stadium: | Vicarage Road |
| League: | Championship |
| League Result: | 3rd (qualified for play-offs) |
| Cup1: | Play-offs |
| Cup1 Result: | Winners |
| Cup2: | FA Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Third round |
| Cup3: | League Cup |
| Cup3 Result: | Third round |
| League Topscorer: | Marlon King (21) |
| Season Topscorer: | Marlon King (22) |
| Highest Attendance: | 19,842 vs Coventry City (11 Feb 2006, Championship) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 7,011 vs Notts County (23 Aug 2005, League Cup) |
| Average Attendance: | 15,415 |
| Prevseason: | 2004–05 |
| Nextseason: | 2006–07 |
During the 2005–06 English football season, Watford competed in the Football League Championship.
Against the odds, Watford managed to gain promotion to the Premier League through the play-offs, defeating Leeds United 3–0 in the play-off final to return to the top flight after an absence of six years.[1] Crucial to Watford's promotion was striker Marlon King, who was the Championship's top scorer. Striker Darius Henderson and young winger Ashley Young also chipped in with 15 and 14 league goals respectively; between them, the three scored 51 of the club's 77 goals scored in the league.
See main article: 2005–06 Football League Championship.
Watford's score comes first[2]
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 August 2005 | Preston North End | H | 1–2 | 12,597 | Henderson | |
| 9 August 2005 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 3–3 | 13,813 | King, Young (2) | |
| 12 August 2005 | Cardiff City | A | 3–1 | 10,102 | King (2), Henderson | |
| 20 August 2005 | Burnley | H | 3–1 | 16,802 | King, Mahon, Spring | |
| 27 August 2005 | Reading | H | 0–0 | 12,152 | ||
| 29 August 2005 | Derby County | A | 2–1 | 23,664 | Spring, Carlisle | |
| 10 September 2005 | Stoke City | A | 3–0 | 14,565 | Devlin, Young, King (pen) | |
| 13 September 2005 | Norwich City | H | 2–1 | 13,502 | King, Young | |
| 17 September 2005 | Sheffield United | H | 2–3 | 15,399 | Henderson (2) | |
| 24 September 2005 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 0–0 | 6,258 | ||
| 28 September 2005 | Coventry City | A | 1–3 | 16,978 | Young | |
| 1 October 2005 | Leeds United | H | 0–0 | 16,050 | ||
| 15 October 2005 | Leicester City | H | 1–2 | 16,224 | Young | |
| 18 October 2005 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–1 | 21,187 | Young | |
| 22 October 2005 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–0 | 24,069 | Young | |
| 29 October 2005 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 3–1 | 14,561 | DeMerit, King, Devlin | |
| 1 November 2005 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 3–1 | 16,476 | Spring, McNamee, Young | |
| 5 November 2005 | Hull City | A | 2–1 | 18,444 | Mahon, Spring | |
| 19 November 2005 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 2–1 | 16,988 | Carlisle, King | |
| 22 November 2005 | Leicester City | A | 2–2 | 18,856 | King, Mackay | |
| 26 November 2005 | Preston North End | A | 1–1 | 14,638 | Spring | |
| 3 December 2005 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 1–1 | 14,455 | King | |
| 10 December 2005 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 1–1 | 12,884 | King | |
| 17 December 2005 | Burnley | A | 1–4 | 13,815 | King | |
| 26 December 2005 | Southampton | H | 3–0 | 16,972 | Henderson, Carlisle, Hajto (own goal) | |
| 28 December 2005 | Millwall | A | 0–0 | 8,450 | ||
| 31 December 2005 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–2 | 15,856 | Henderson | |
| 2 January 2006 | Luton Town | A | 2–1 | 10,248 | Henderson, Mackay | |
| 14 January 2006 | Stoke City | H | 1–0 | 12,247 | Eagles | |
| 21 January 2006 | Norwich City | A | 3–2 | 25,384 | Henderson (2), Spring | |
| 28 January 2006 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 4–1 | 11,722 | Spring (2), King, Young | |
| 6 February 2006 | Sheffield United | A | 4–1 | 20,791 | Eagles, King (2), Bouazza | |
| 11 February 2006 | Coventry City | H | 4–0 | 19,842 | Young, King, Henderson, DeMerit | |
| 14 February 2006 | Leeds United | A | 1–2 | 22,007 | Young | |
| 18 February 2006 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 1–0 | 6,658 | Eagles | |
| 25 February 2006 | Cardiff City | H | 2–1 | 17,419 | Mackay, King | |
| 4 March 2006 | Derby County | H | 2–2 | 16,769 | King, Bangura | |
| 11 March 2006 | Reading | A | 0–0 | 23,724 | ||
| 20 March 2006 | Southampton | A | 3–1 | 19,202 | Mahon, Henderson (2) | |
| 25 March 2006 | Millwall | H | 0–2 | 16,654 | ||
| 31 March 2006 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–3 | 18,619 | King | |
| 9 April 2006 | Luton Town | H | 1–1 | 15,922 | King | |
| 14 April 2006 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | 22,584 | King | |
| 17 April 2006 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–1 | 16,721 | Henderson (2) | |
| 22 April 2006 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 2–1 | 16,152 | Young, Santos (own goal) | |
| 30 April 2006 | Hull City | H | 0–0 | 19,041 |
| SF 1st Leg | 6 May 2006 | Crystal Palace | A | 3–0 | 22,880 | King, Young, Spring | |
| SF 2nd Leg | 9 May 2006 | Crystal Palace | H | 0–0 (won 3–0 on agg) | 19,041 | ||
| F | 21 May 2006 | Leeds United | N | 3–0 | 64,736 | DeMerit, Sullivan (own goal), Henderson (pen) |
See main article: 2005–06 FA Cup.
| R3 | 7 January 2006 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 0–3 | 13,239 |
See main article: 2005–06 Football League Cup.
| R1 | 23 August 2005 | Notts County | H | 3–1 | 7,011 | Young, Bouazza (pen), Blizzard | |
| R2 | 20 September 2005 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 2–1 | 9,296 | Carlisle (2) | |
| R3 | 25 October 2005 | Wigan Athletic | A | 0–3 | 4,531 |
(Starting appearances + substitute appearances)
| No. | Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Play-offs | Total | Discipline | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||||
| 1 | GK | Alec Chamberlain | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2 | DF | James Chambers | 26+12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 31+13 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| 3 | DF | Jordan Stewart | 29+6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 35+6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 4 | DF | Malky Mackay | 35+3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 40+3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | |
| 5 | DF | Clarke Carlisle | 30+2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 33+2 | 5 | 5 | 1 | |
| 6 | DF |  Jay DeMerit | 27+5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 32+5 | 3 | 4 | 0 | |
| 7 | MF | Chris Eagles | 16+1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 17+2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| 7 | MF | Carl Fletcher | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 8 | MF | Gavin Mahon | 35+3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 40+3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | |
| 9 | FW |  Marlon King | 40+1 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 44+1 | 22 | 2 | 1 | |
| 10 | MF | Paul Devlin | 21+2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21+2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| 12 | DF | Lloyd Doyley | 40+4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 46+4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 14 | MF | Dominic Blizzard | 9+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 15 | MF | Ashley Young | 38+1 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 42+1 | 15 | 3 | 1 | |
| 18 | FW |  Hameur Bouazza | 3+11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 5+12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| 19 | DF | Anthony McNamee | 26+12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30+12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 20 | MF |  Al Bangura | 11+24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 15+26 | 1 | 6 | 0 | |
| 21 | MF | Toumani Diagouraga | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 22 | DF | Junior Osborne | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 23 | DF | Adrian Mariappa | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 25 | MF | Matthew Spring | 36+3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 41+3 | 9 | 8 | 0 | |
| 26 | GK | Ben Foster | 44 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| 27 | FW | Joel Grant | 2+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 28 | FW | Francino Francis | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 29 | FW | Darius Henderson | 27+3 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 | 31+4 | 15 | 6 | 1 | |
| 31 | MF | Alex Campana | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 33 | FW | Trevor Benjamin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 34 | MF | Ben Gill | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 36 | FW | Gabriel Agbonlahor | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 37 | FW | Theo Robinson | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |