Enjoy the game – Watford Football Club cover art

Enjoy the game – Watford Football Club

Enjoy the game – Watford Football Club

By: Lionel Birnie
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About this listen

In 1977 Graham Taylor and Elton John drew up a ten-year plan to steer Watford Football Club from the depths of the Fourth Division to the top flight.


They did it in five.


The Hornets took on and defeated the giants of English football in the Eighties. They were runners-up to Liverpool in the Football League, they played in Europe, and reached the FA Cup final at Wembley for the first time.


Enjoy the Game by Lionel Birnie, published in 2010, is a book that tells the story of that incredible decade based on dozens of interviews with the players and management who made it happen.


Now, for the first time, it's available as an audio series, read by Watford supporter, actor and voice artist Colin Mace.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lionel Birnie Football (American) Football (Soccer)
Episodes
  • Chapter 1 – Elton's Dream

    Chapter 1 – Elton's Dream
    Oct 12 2023

    It's summer 1977. Watford are languishing in English football's Fourth Division but they have a wealthy, flamboyant and famous owner who has dreams of taking them to the top. The rock star, Elton John, has only recently taken full control but he's a novice when it comes to running a football club.


    Elton's vision is to appoint England's World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore as manager, but Watford's directors have other ideas and set about persuading the chairman to go for someone who knows what the lower divisions are all about. It takes an intervention from the legendary Don Revie to change the course of the club's history.


    The club the new manager inherits is a shambles. Greyhound racing takes priority over football at Vicarage Road. But the goal is clear, to reach the First Division in ten years...


    Enjoy the game by Lionel Birnie. Read by Colin Mace. Produced by Jon Moonie.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    30 mins
  • Chapter 2 – A Whirlwind Arrives

    Chapter 2 – A Whirlwind Arrives
    Oct 12 2023

    'You’re going to work harder than you’ve ever worked before' – Graham Taylor


    In the summer of 1977, after two consecutive seasons stuck in the Fourth Division, Watford had a new manager. Graham Taylor had led Lincoln City out of the bottom division with a record-breaking points total and he swept into Vicarage Road determined to change the culture and drive up standards. His first job was to meet each of the players, look in the whites of their eyes and assess whether they had what it would take to embrace his methods. Taylor's impact was more or less immediate...


    Enjoy the game by Lionel Birnie. Read by Colin Mace. Produced by Jon Moonie.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    22 mins
  • Chapter 3 – Giant Steps

    Chapter 3 – Giant Steps
    Oct 12 2023

    Graham Taylor appoints a veteran, Double-winning manager as his assistant in the clearest sign yet that Watford were going places. With an emphasis on fast, attacking football and a desire to outscore the opposition home and away, Taylor's methods have an immediate effect as they win the Fourth Division title and then pass straight through the Third Division to reach the second tier for the first time in almost a decade.


    Enjoy the game by Lionel Birnie. Read by Colin Mace. Produced by Jon Moonie.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    49 mins
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