| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 20 March 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Sidcup, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) [1] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Charlton Athletic | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1991 | Charlton Athletic | 31 | (7) |
| 1991–1995 | Sheffield Wednesday | 66 | (15) |
| 1995–1997 | Southampton | 52 | (8) |
| 1997–1999 | Bradford City | 21 | (5) |
| 1999–2000 | AFC Bournemouth | 6 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | Portsmouth | 0 | (0) |
| 2001–2003 | Hartlepool United | 49 | (23) |
| Total | 225 | (58) | |
| International career | |||
| 1991 | England U21 | 2 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Gordon Watson (born 20 March 1971) is an English former professional footballer, scout and sports co-commentator.
As a player, he was a forward who notably played in the Premier League for Sheffield Wednesday and Southampton, as well as in the Football League for Charlton Athletic, Bradford City, AFC Bournemouth and Hartlepool United, he made over 200 appearances throughout his career and was capped twice at England U21 level, scoring once.
Since retirement, Watson has worked as a scout for Leicester City as well as working for BBC Radio Solent as a co-commentator on Southampton games.
Born in Sidcup, [2] Watson grew up in children's homes in London. [3] Throughout his career he was known as "Flash", after the comic book hero, Flash Gordon. [4] [3] [5]
Watson started his career with the youth team of Charlton Athletic. He made a "successful transition" into the senior squad, [6] scoring seven goals in 31 appearances for them in the Football League. [2]
He signed for Sheffield Wednesday for a fee of £250,000, with a further £100,000 payable depending on appearances. [6] He made his debut for the club in March 1991. [1] He made his last appearance for the club in May 1995. [1] He scored 15 goals in 66 Football League appearances for them, [2] scoring six further goals in 21 appearances in other competitions. [1]
In March 1995, after four years at Hillsborough, Watson was signed by relegation-threatened Southampton (under manager Alan Ball) for a fee of £1,200,000. [4]
He made his Saints debut at Nottingham Forest on 18 March 1995 [7] and scored against Newcastle United in his home debut four days later as the Saints came from a goal down after 89 minutes to snatch a "priceless" 3–1 victory. [7] Watson went on to make 12 Premier League appearances (scoring three goals) in the 1994–95 season as Saints lifted themselves to a 10th-place finish. [8]
According to Holley & Chalk's In That Number, Watson was "an effervescent,never-say-die forward, the sort the crowd always love and, although not the most skilful of front-runners, he had a swashbuckling style that unnerved defences." [4]
Alan Ball left The Dell at the end of the 1994–95 season, to be replaced by Dave Merrington. The 1995–96 season was a poor one for both the Saints (finishing in 17th place, just above the relegation zone) and Watson, with only three goals from 25 league appearances, with the goal-scoring being shared by Matthew Le Tissier and Neil Shipperley, with seven league goals each. [9] For 1996–97, Saints appointed a new manager in Graeme Souness who brought in Egil Østenstad as first choice striker to play alongside Le Tissier, leaving Watson to make only the occasional appearance. [10] His final appearance for The Saints was in a humiliating FA Cup defeat at Elm Park, Reading on 4 January 1997. [11]
Two weeks later, Watson was sold to Bradford City for £500,000 [4] and was the club's then record signing. [3]
On 1 February 1997, while making his third appearance for Bradford City, he suffered a double fracture of his right leg in a tackle with Huddersfield Town defender Kevin Gray. [12] [3] The tackle was described by football pundit, Jimmy Hill, as "late, dangerous and violent" [13] and was one of the worst tackles he had ever seen. [14]
Watson and the club took the matter to court, suing both Huddersfield Town and Gray for negligence. [15] Watson won the case, [16] and was awarded initial damages of £50,000. [17] Further damages were later awarded, bringing the total to £959,143. [18]
In his second game back for the club after injury, 18 months later, he scored two goals to help Bradford City to victory. [19] He scored a total of five goals in 21 Football League appearances for the club. [2]
On expiry of his contract with Bradford City (now promoted to the Premiership) in June 1999, Watson declined the offer of a new contract explaining that he was not "fit enough or good enough to represent Bradford City in the top flight". [20]
In August 1999 he signed for AFC Bournemouth in an effort to rebuild his career but only made 11 league and cup appearances in the 1999–00 season, without scoring. [2]
After leaving Bournemouth he played for the reserve team of Portsmouth. [3] He finished his career with Hartlepool United, scoring 23 goals in 49 games in the Football League. [2] While playing for Hartlepool he continued to live on the south coast, training during the week with the Southampton squad, [21] and flying up to Hartlepool for matches. [3] He was top-scorer for the club during his first season with them, scoring 18 goals in all competitions, and he signed a new one-year contract in May 2002. [22] At the start of his second season with the club he spoke of his desire to help the club get promoted. [23] He broke his left leg in September 2002, [5] [24] playing for the club's reserves in January 2003, [25] before returning to first-team training with the club in February 2003. [26] He had previously spent time recuperating at Lilleshall. [27] In July 2003, after leaving Hartlepool, he was linked with a return to former club Sheffield Wednesday, after trialling with the club. [28] [29]
Watson won two caps for the England under-21 team. [3]
After retiring as a player, Watson combined working in investments in the City of London with a media career for BBC Radio Solent. [19] [30] He now lives in Costa Rica and is a host on the BetUS Soccer Channel. [31]
He has also worked as a scout for Leicester City. [30]
In March 2019 he spoke about former club Bradford City's relegation battle, saying it would be a "miracle" if they stayed up, and that they needed a complete overhaul in the summer. [32]
Francis Vincent Benali is an English football coach and former professional player.
Nicholas Charles Holmes is an English former professional footballer. He spent the majority of his playing career with Southampton, where he won the FA Cup Final in 1976. In 1987, he joined East Cowes Victoria for a season before retiring. From July 2002 to July 2009, Holmes was manager of Salisbury City.
Graham Baker is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder for Southampton, Manchester City and Fulham.
Neil Andrew Heaney is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger.
Henry Brown was an English footballer who played as an inside forward for various clubs in the early part of the twentieth century, including West Bromwich Albion, Newcastle United, Fulham and Southampton. At Newcastle, he was a member of the team that won the Football League championship in 1906–07.
Wyndham William Pretoria Haines was an English footballer who played at centre-forward for south coast rivals, Portsmouth and then Southampton in the 1920s and 1930s.
John Samuel Foster was an English footballer who played as a forward for various clubs in the 1900s. After retiring as a player, he became a manager.
The 1922–23 season was the 28th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's first in the Second Division of the Football League. Having secured promotion from the Third Division South as champions the previous season, the largely unchanged Saints team avoided relegation comfortably and finished in the middle of the league table in their first season as a second-flight club. After a poor start to the campaign in which they picked up only one point from their first five matches, Southampton began to improve in form and move up from the Second Division relegation zone. The club picked up several wins over higher-placed opponents challenging for the division's two promotion places, allowing them to finish mid-table. Southampton finished in 11th place with 14 wins, 14 draws and 14 losses, and an even goal average.
The 1924–25 season was the 30th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's third in the Second Division of the Football League. Following the 1923–24 season, in which the club finished just three points shy of the First Division promotion places in fifth place, the Saints dropped two positions to finish seventh in the league. As with the last season, Southampton began their Second Division campaign poorly and found themselves at the bottom of the table after two losses in their first three games. The side continued to struggle to pick up wins, but steadily began making their way up the table over the next few months. A number of wins over the Christmas period and an eight-game unbeaten run at the end of the season helped Southampton finish in seventh place with 13 wins, 18 draws and 11 losses.
The 1925–26 season was the 31st season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's fourth in the Second Division of the Football League. After finishing in the top half of the league table in their first three seasons in the division, Southampton had their worst year to date in the second flight when they finished in 14th place, ending just six points above the first relegation position. The club suffered a string of losses at the beginning of the campaign, leaving them with points to make up in later months. Former player Arthur Chadwick was brought in as Southampton's new manager in October, and the club subsequently secured their position in the Second Division with a run of wins over the Christmas period, despite continuing to lose points. The club finished in 14th place with 15 wins, eight draws and 19 losses.
The 1927–28 season was the 33rd season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's sixth in the Second Division of the Football League. The season was the club's worst in the division to date, as they finished in 17th place just two points above Fulham in the first relegation spot. After a poor start in which they lost their first four games of the campaign, the Saints continued to drop points against teams throughout the Second Division, remaining in the bottom six positions for most of the year. A number of wins in the second half of the season over fellow mid-table sides helped to offset notable losses against those aiming for promotion, ensuring that the club avoided returning down to the Third Division South. Southampton finished the season in 17th place with 14 wins, seven draws and 21 losses.
The 1928–29 season was the 34th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's seventh in the Second Division of the Football League. After finishing in the bottom half of the Second Division league table the last three seasons, the club returned to challenging for promotion to the First Division when they finished fourth, their highest position in the league to date. The team were strong throughout the campaign, picking up key wins over teams around them in the table to secure a strong position. They stayed in the top six of the league for most of the campaign from September, reaching third place on two occasions and dropping to seventh just twice. Southampton finished the season in fourth place with 17 wins, 14 draws and 11 losses, five points behind Grimsby Town in the first promotion place.
The 1929–30 season was the 35th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's eighth in the Second Division of the Football League. After finishing fourth in the Second Division the previous season – their highest position in the league to date – Southampton continued their efforts towards achieving promotion to the First Division, but finished three places lower in seventh. The club struggled at the beginning of the league campaign, remaining in the bottom half of the table due to a run of poor results. A period of form including six wins in eight games followed between September and November, enabling the Saints to move up as high as third place. The team remained in the top half of the Second Division table for most of the rest of the season, finishing in seventh place with 17 wins, 11 draws and 14 losses.
The 1930–31 season was the 36th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's ninth in the Second Division of the Football League. After securing their place as a top-half side in the Second Division over the past two seasons, the Saints began to lose their footing on the league and dropped to ninth in the division. The club failed to win any of their first four games of the campaign, briefly struggling to stay above the two relegation places, but had soon made their way to the top half of the division where they remained for the rest of the season. The Saints were unable to challenge for promotion to the First Division, however, briefly reaching the top five but remaining a long way off the top two sides. Southampton finished the season in ninth place in the table with 19 wins, six draws and 17 losses.
The 1931–32 season was the 37th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's tenth in the Second Division of the Football League. After finishing in the top half of the Second Division league table for the past three seasons, the Saints struggled to challenge in 1931–32 and ended up finishing in 14th place, closer to relegation than promotion. Southampton's first season with manager George Kay started strongly, as the team picked up four wins in their first five matches and reached the top of the Second Division league table for the first time in the club's history. Form quickly deteriorated, however, and the club was briefly involved in a fight for survival in the new year. After picking up a few more wins, Southampton secured their safety and finished in 14th place with 14 wins, 14 draws and 14 losses.
The 1935–36 season was the 41st season of competitive football by Southampton, the club's 14th in the Second Division of the Football League, and the 50th season overall since the club's formation. Despite a strong start, the season was another lacklustre performance by the side, as they finished 17th in the league table just five points above the first relegation spot. After signing West Ham United centre-forward Vic Watson in the summer of 1935, the team won four of their first six games and briefly occupied the top spot in the league; however, a poor run of form running from October to December saw them drop back to the bottom half of the table, where they stayed for the rest of the campaign. Southampton finished the season with 14 wins, nine draws and 19 losses, equal on points with the clubs in 15th, 16th and 18th places.
The 1936–37 season was the 42nd season of competitive football by Southampton and the club's 15th in the Second Division of the Football League. Another disappointing campaign marred by financial problems and personnel changes saw the Saints finishing 19th in the Second Division league table, equalling their worst performance in the flight set just two seasons previously in 1934–35. After picking up a few early wins and starting off around mid-table, the club's form worsened and they remained in the bottom half of the standings from late-November until the end of the season. Southampton finished the campaign with 11 wins, 12 draws and 19 losses in the league, which was exactly the same tally as 1934–35, but even closer to the relegation zone with just four points more than Bradford City in 21st place – the first demotion spot.