During the 2005–06 English football season, Watford competed in the Football League Championship.

Season summary 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. 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.

Final league table

Results Watford's score comes first

Legend WinDrawLoss

Football League Championship DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 6 August 2005 Preston North EndH1–212,597Henderson 9 August 2005 Plymouth ArgyleA3–313,813King, Young (2) 12 August 2005 Cardiff CityA3–110,102King (2), Henderson 20 August 2005 BurnleyH3–116,802King, Mahon, Spring 27 August 2005 ReadingH0–012,152 29 August 2005 Derby CountyA2–123,664Spring, Carlisle 10 September 2005 Stoke CityA3–014,565Devlin, Young, King (pen) 13 September 2005 Norwich CityH2–113,502King, Young 17 September 2005 Sheffield UnitedH2–315,399Henderson (2) 24 September 2005 Crewe AlexandraA0–06,258 28 September 2005 Coventry CityA1–316,978Young 1 October 2005 Leeds UnitedH0–016,050 15 October 2005 Leicester CityH1–216,224Young 18 October 2005 Sheffield WednesdayA1–121,187Young 22 October 2005 Ipswich TownA1–024,069Young 29 October 2005 Wolverhampton WanderersH3–114,561DeMerit, King, Devlin 1 November 2005 Queens Park RangersH3–116,476Spring, McNamee, Young 5 November 2005 Hull CityA2–118,444Mahon, Spring 19 November 2005 Sheffield WednesdayH2–116,988Carlisle, King 22 November 2005 Leicester CityA2–218,856King, Mackay 26 November 2005 Preston North EndA1–114,638Spring 3 December 2005 Brighton & Hove AlbionH1–114,455King 10 December 2005 Plymouth ArgyleH1–112,884King 17 December 2005 BurnleyA1–413,815King 26 December 2005 SouthamptonH3–016,972Henderson, Carlisle, Hajto (own goal) 28 December 2005 MillwallA0–08,450 31 December 2005 Crystal PalaceH1–215,856Henderson 2 January 2006 Luton TownA2–110,248Henderson, Mackay 14 January 2006 Stoke CityH1–012,247Eagles 21 January 2006 Norwich CityA3–225,384Henderson (2), Spring 28 January 2006 Crewe AlexandraH4–111,722Spring (2), King, Young 6 February 2006 Sheffield UnitedA4–120,791Eagles, King (2), Bouazza 11 February 2006 Coventry CityH4–019,842Young, King, Henderson, DeMerit 14 February 2006 Leeds UnitedA1–222,007Young 18 February 2006 Brighton & Hove AlbionA1–06,658Eagles 25 February 2006 Cardiff CityH2–117,419Mackay, King 4 March 2006 Derby CountyH2–216,769King, Bangura 11 March 2006 ReadingA0–023,724 20 March 2006 SouthamptonA3–119,202Mahon, Henderson (2) 25 March 2006 MillwallH0–216,654 31 March 2006 Crystal PalaceA1–318,619King 9 April 2006 Luton TownH1–115,922King 14 April 2006 Wolverhampton WanderersA1–122,584King 17 April 2006 Ipswich TownH2–116,721Henderson (2) 22 April 2006 Queens Park RangersA2–116,152Young, Santos (own goal) 30 April 2006 Hull CityH0–019,041

Championship play-offs +RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersSF 1st Leg6 May 2006 Crystal PalaceA3–022,880King, Young, SpringSF 2nd Leg9 May 2006 Crystal PalaceH0–0 (won 3–0 on agg)19,041F21 May 2006 Leeds UnitedN3–064,736DeMerit, Sullivan (own goal), Henderson (pen)

FA Cup

+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersR37 January 2006 Bolton WanderersH0–313,239

League Cup

+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersR123 August 2005 Notts CountyH3–17,011Young, Bouazza (pen), BlizzardR220 September 2005 Wolverhampton WanderersH2–19,296Carlisle (2)R325 October 2005 Wigan AthleticA0–34,531

Players First-team squad Squad at end of season

Left club during season

Statistics

Appearances, goals and cards (Starting appearances + substitute appearances) No.Pos.NameLeagueFA CupLeague CupPlay-offsTotalDisciplineAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals1GK Alec Chamberlain2+100030005+10002DF James Chambers26+120002+103031+130703DF Jordan Stewart29+6010203035+60404DF Malky Mackay35+3310103040+33415DF Clarke Carlisle30+2310220033+25516DF Jay DeMerit27+5200203132+53407MF Chris Eagles16+1310000+1017+23107MF Carl Fletcher3000000030108MF Gavin Mahon35+3310103040+33509FW Marlon King40+12110003144+1222110MF Paul Devlin21+2200000021+222012DF Lloyd Doyley40+4010203046+403014MF Dominic Blizzard9+1000110010+110015MF Ashley Young38+11300113142+1153118FW Hameur Bouazza3+11100210+105+1220019DF Anthony McNamee26+12110300030+1211020MF Al Bangura11+24100301+2015+2616021MF Toumani Diagouraga10102000400022DF Junior Osborne10000+10001+101023DF Adrian Mariappa1+20001+10002+300025MF Matthew Spring36+3800203141+398026GK Ben Foster4401000304803127FW Joel Grant2+50001+20003+701028FW Francino Francis0+10001+10001+200029FW Darius Henderson27+31410102+1131+4156131MF Alex Campana00000+10000+100033FW Trevor Benjamin20000000200034MF Ben Gill000+100+20000+300036FW Gabriel Agbonlahor1+100000001+100037FW Theo Robinson0+100000000+1000

References

Notes