From The Rookery End - A show about Watford FC

A new era begins at Watford and, for the first time, From The Rookery End and WD18 come together. In this first collaboration episode, Jon, Charlie and Watford Observer's Adam Drury discuss the appointment of new head coach Alessio Dionisi, whether the club's manager recruitment process has finally changed, and what the Italian needs to do to succeed where so many others have failed. Can Dionisi b...

Well… that was that. A season that promised something—maybe not everything, but something—ends with a whimper, five straight defeats, and a performance that barely felt worth dissecting. But, as ever, it’s not really about the 90 minutes, is it? Because on Saturday morning, a few hours before kick off, came the statement . The one meant to explain it all. Recruitment, injuries, leadership, culture...

Jon, Kieran, Mike and Jason are back outside the Hornet Shop after another tough afternoon as Watford FC fall to a 2–0 defeat at home to Sheffield United. There’s no hiding from it — this was a flat, lifeless performance that summed up where the football team is right now. The lads reflect on some hints at something successful, before everything unravelled in depressingly familiar fashion. With be...

On From The Rookery End this week, Jon and Mike are joined by Watford Observer’s Adam Drury after Watford’s defeat at Oxford — but rather than pick apart another bad away day,the take a step back and the conversation goes bigger. With all too familiar questions surfacing again, they look at where the club is right now, why this season feels so unsatisfying and what sits behind the mood around Watf...

Jon, Jordi, Mike and Kieran are on presenting duties after Watford’s Easter weekend fixtures — a 1-1 draw at home to Charlton on Easter Monday, coming hot on the heels of the 2-1 defeat away at QPR on Good Friday. We hear from DCW after he left Loftus Road less than impressed, and the team pick through another familiar-feeling performance: a flat first half, a brighter second, and plenty of questi...

Watford served up the full emotional buffet this week — from the genuine high of a feel-good win over Wrexham (and that moment), to the all-too-familiar frustration of a stop-start, slightly baffling 0-0 with Leicester. Outside the Hornet Shop once again, Jon is joined by Jason, Mike and Kieran to try and make sense of it all — from players who look like they might just be “a thing”, to others who...

Back behind the mic, Jon and DCW look back on a bruising week for Watford after a frustrating draw at Sheffield Wednesday and a damaging defeat at Stoke. There’s talk of missed chances, flat performances, fading playoff hopes and what Ed Still can realistically get out of this squad in the final stretch. The lads also hear from the Watford Observer’s Adam Drury, who was at the bet365 Stadium and s...

With no Watford match to dissect and a long trip to Sheffield on the horizon, Jon, Jordi and Jason decide to have a bit of fun instead . The boys kick things off with a Watford-themed version of "Play Your Cards Right" , before attempting to build the ultimate Watford XI made up entirely of non-European players — those who were either born in, or represented, countries outside of Europe. Finally,...

Back at their spiritual home of The Railway Arms in Oxhey, Jon, Jordi and Jason reflect on a week that perfectly sums up Watford’s season so far. From the frustrating 2-0 home defeat to Ipswich to the much brighter 2-1 response away at Bristol City, the lads dig into what Ed Still tweaked — and what it might mean going forward. There’s deserved praise for Jeremy Ngakia’s stunning worldie, recognit...

After a winless run of 7 games, Watford marked Ed Still’s first home game in charge with a comprehensive win over fellow Play Off hopefuls Derby County. Mike is joined by Jas and Kieran to discuss an enjoyable afternoon at the Vic, where the defensive unit earned plaudits and the strikers did their jobs. There is praise for Mfuni, Abankwah, Mendy and more, as the boys wrap up a game that the Horne...

Watford have launched a brand new Supporters Board… but what actually is it? What power does it have? And can it genuinely improve the relationship between the club and the fanbase? Mike is joined by Adam Drury (Watford Observer) to speak to two of the board members, Flis Irving and Alex King , to get a proper understanding of why the board exists, how it was formed, and what success will look lik...

Watford travelled to Deepdale and returned with a 2-2 draw against Preston — a result that, for a first game under a new Head Coach, looks decent… but still leaves the same lingering annoyance. With the season entering the business end, draws aren’t enough, and the pressure is building to start turning draws into wins. Jon, DCW and Adam Drury (Watford Observer) break down what they learned from th...

Watford have yet another a new head coach — and this time, the announcement was met with little fanfare or excotement. Luckily wee were invited to sat down with the man himself and find out more about Ed Still. Jon, Mike and Tom Bodell from the Watford Buzz are joined by Ed for an in-depth chat about his road to Vicarage Road, how the appointment came about and what he wants Watford to become this...

Watford went on the road twice this week — and came back with one point, no goals, and a growing sense of not being able to make the play offs.. Mike, Jordi and Jon look back at the drab but disciplined 0-0 draw away at Hull, before turning attention to the 1-0 defeat at Southampton — a game where Watford showed moments of structure, but once again lacked any real cutting edge. With the Hornets no...

Well… it’s happened again. Another Watford head coach gone, and this time it’s Javi Gracia walking before he’s pushed. Jon, Jason, Mike, DCW and The Brigadier sit down to unpack what Gracia’s resignation really says about Watford right now — a club packed with individual talent but still searching for a team. You’ll also hear from Watford Observer’s Adam Drury, who gives insight into what Javi Gra...

Mike, Jon and Watford Observer reporter Adam Drury sit down after a frustrating week that saw Watford held to two 1–1 draws – first at home to Portsmouth, then away at Blackburn. The lads look at what these games say about the Hornets right now, with inconsistency once again the big theme. Are slow, controlled starts becoming a recurring problem? And while Javi Gracia’s approach is built on stabil...

Mike, Jas and DCW headed to the Mad Squirrel to have a beer and look back at Watford’s 2–0 home defeat to Millwall, another miserable afternoon against the Lions and yet more frustration for the Hornets. They discuss how the momentum built over Christmas appears to have vanished, whether any players came out of the performance with credit, and what it all means as the January transfer window conti...

In the first – and last – FA Cup podcast of the season, Mike is joined by the Watford Observer’s Adam Drury to reflect on Watford’s 5–1 defeat away at Bristol City. The pair discuss the impact of fringe players who were handed an opportunity, what Saturday’s performance might mean for the January transfer window, and whether the result could influence the club’s thinking in the market. As ever in...

Watford’s away trip to Hull City was dramatically called off just 18 minutes before kick-off , leaving hundreds of travelling Hornets fans frustrated after making a 400-mile round trip . Among them was our own Mike, who left home at 7am and didn’t make it back until his 7pm train that evening. With no full From The Rookery End podcast this week, we’re sharing Mike’s appearance on BBC Radio Humbers...

On this week’s episode, Jon, Mike and DCW revel in Watford FC ’s red-hot start to the year as the Hornets make it four consecutive victories and confidence begins to surge. There’s plenty of love for Tom Ince after a stunning hat-trick, with the lads discussing what his form means for the balance and belief within the side. Attention also turns to the hugely important return of Georgi Chakvetadze...

Watford have finally packed their bags and remembered how to win on the road — and Jon, Jordi and The Brigadier Colin are here to enjoy every minute of it. Back-to-back away victories at Leicester (2-1) and Norwich (1-0) give the Hornets something they’ve been missing for a while: momentum. The lads dig into a mature, disciplined performance at the King Power, ask whether this side is starting to...

Watford fans were treated to an early Christmas gift as Javi and the boys delivered a hard-fought 1–0 win over Stoke City — and this week, Jon, Jordi, Kieran and the Brigadier are in festive spirits as they break it all down. The panel dive into the tactical tweaks (planned or enforced), assess encouraging signs from a new-look front four, and ask whether the back four is starting to find its rhyt...

On this week’s From The Rookery End , it’s late drama, long memories and a splash of Hollywood glamour as Jon, Mike and Adam Drury from the Watford Observer unpack a breathless few days in Watford’s season. Two games, two injury-time goals, and absolutely no shortage of talking points. The lads relive the frustration and fightback of the draw with Sheffield Wednesday before heading to North Wales...

In this episode, Jon, Mike, Jordi, and Colin dive into Watford’s dramatic home win over Norwich City—an afternoon that somehow managed to be both thrilling and maddening in equal measure. The guys break down a first half where Norwich ran riot, exposing every crack in Watford’s shaky back line and reminding everyone just how painful a missing defensive midfielder can be. From costly errors to mome...

A raw Monday evening away at St Andrews as defeat strikes Watford again — 2–1 to Birmingham City, but this one felt more self-inflicted than stolen. Jon, Jordi, Jason and Paul from Denver watched that game in the FTRE spiritual home, at the spiritual table, in the Railway Arms. After nine games of Javi #2, the symmetry with Paulo is uncanny: 12 points each for both managers in their first nine, 24...