Gordon Watson
Encyclopedia
Gordon William George Watson (born 20 March 1971) is a retired English
football player whose career was almost ended when he suffered a double fracture in the right leg in a tackle with Huddersfield Town defender Kevin Gray
on 1 February 1997.
Throughout his career he was known as “Flash”, a nickname he first acquired at 4 years old, after the comic book hero, Flash Gordon
.
, he was playing in local tyro football when he was spotted by scouts from his local team Charlton Athletic
. He joined them as an associate school-boy in June 1985, signing as a trainee in July 1987 and as a professional in April 1989. He made his debut for Charlton against Derby County
, who had Peter Shilton
in goal. After a two years spell at the Addicks, in which he scored eight goals in 23 starts, the headstrong Watson made the brave move to uproot to South Yorkshire and joinSheffield Wednesday
in February 1991 for a fee of £250,000.
. In the UEFA Cup Watson appeared in 3 of the 4 games played by Wednesday, who reached the second round going out to Kaiserslautern
.
Wednesday also reached both the FA Cup final
(lost to Arsenal
after a replay) and the League Cup final
(also lost to Arsenal) in 1993, although Watson did not play in any of the finals, being behind Mark Bright
, David Hirst
and Paul Warhurst
in the choice of strikers.
His best season for Wednesday was 1993–94 when, with David Hirst missing much of the season through injury, Watson scored 12 goals in 23 league appearances. In the following season, Wednesday struggled for goals generally but Watson made only 5 starts coming off the bench a further 18 times.
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.
on 18 March 1995 and scored against Newcastle United
in his home debut 4 days later as the Saints came from a goal down after 89 minutes to snatch an unlikely 3–1 victory. Watson went on to make 12 Premier League appearances (scoring 3 goals) in the 1994–95 season as Saints lifted themselves to a 10th place finish.
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."
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 3 goals from 25 league appearances, with the goal-scoring being shared by Matthew Le Tissier
and Neil Shipperley
, with 7 league goals each. 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. His final appearance for The Saints was in a humiliating FA Cup defeat at Elm Park
, Reading
on 4 January 1997.
for £550,000 and was the club’s then record signing.
In only Watson's third game for the club he suffered a double fracture in the right leg in a tackle with Huddersfield Town defenderKevin Gray
on 1 February 1997. The tackle was described by football pundit, Jimmy Hill
, as "late, dangerous and violent" and was the worst he had seen in fifty years of football. The fourth minute tackle during a 1–1 draw at Valley Parade led to Watson undergoing emergency surgery in which he required a 6 inch plate and 7 screws inserted into his leg.
Following five further operations, he missed the remainder of the 1996–97 season, the entire 1997–98 campaign and he only managed a handful of starting appearances in the 1998–99 season before his contract came to an end.
In a landmark case in the High Court, in October 1998, Watson successfully sued Gray for negligence and was awarded £50,000 in interim damages as well as a latter £900,000, the bulk of which was to compensate for the loss of anticipated earnings.
In August 1999 he signed for Bournemouth in an effort to rebuild his career but only made 11 league and cup appearances in the 1999–00 season. When his contract expired in June 2000 it was not renewed and he spent the next year out of the game with his career seemingly at an end.
He spent some time at Portsmouth
who allowed him to use their training facilities and after a trial in 2001, he was ready to play for Portsmouth, but Graham Rix
was unable to offer him a contract.
(managed by Watson's former Sheffield Wednesday team-mateChris Turner). In just 31 starts in 2001–02, Watson’s goal haul of 18 helped the side off the bottom of the table and into the Third Division play-offs. Watson was easily the club's top-scorer in 2001–02, with double that of his closest "rivals".
The 2002–03 season was another frustrating one for Watson. He started brightly with five goals in the first eight games, but in the 4–1 victory over Darlington
on 14 September 2002 he broke his left leg after a sliding challenge with Matthew Clarke. This ruled him out for much of the club's successful promotion campaign. Although he returned in March, he was never fully fit and failed to add to his goal tally. Even so, Watson clearly enjoyed his swan-song at Hartlepool as did the club's fans with many fan sites describing him as "Hartlepool’s best ever striker".
His Hartlepool contract expired in June 2003 and was not renewed as Watson sought to move back South. In August 2003 he had a trial with his former club Sheffield Wednesday
but, after suffering a further knee injury in training, this came to nothing and Watson finally ended his playing career.
in 1997, Watson and his family continue to live in the city where re runs a property renovation business. He is also involved in coaching his son, Callum, in junior football and hopes eventually to move up to coaching at a higher level.
In January 2007, he began working for Southampton's in-house radio station "The Saint", subsequently Radio Hampshire
, taking over as a match analyser from Jimmy Case
when he was unavailable. He also worked for G-Sports, an African PPV Sports channel as a pundit for Premier League & Serie A coverage.
Since July 2008, he has been employed by Leicester City
as a scout and analyst of forthcoming opponents assisting his former Sheffield Wednesday colleague, Nigel Pearson
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
football player whose career was almost ended when he suffered a double fracture in the right leg in a tackle with Huddersfield Town defender Kevin Gray
Kevin Gray
Kevin John Gray is an English footballer, playing as a defender for Workington.-Football career:He started his career at Mansfield Town signing as a trainee in July 1990 and had a successful four year period at Mansfiled...
on 1 February 1997.
Throughout his career he was known as “Flash”, a nickname he first acquired at 4 years old, after the comic book hero, Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...
.
Charlton Athletic
Born in SidcupSidcup
Sidcup is a district in South East London in the London Borough of Bexley and small parts of the district in the London Borough of Greenwich.Located south east of Charing Cross, Sidcup is bordered by the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bromley and Kent County Council, and whilst now part of...
, he was playing in local tyro football when he was spotted by scouts from his local team Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
. He joined them as an associate school-boy in June 1985, signing as a trainee in July 1987 and as a professional in April 1989. He made his debut for Charlton against Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
, who had Peter Shilton
Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton OBE is a former English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently holds the record for playing more games for England than anyone else, earning 125 caps....
in goal. After a two years spell at the Addicks, in which he scored eight goals in 23 starts, the headstrong Watson made the brave move to uproot to South Yorkshire and joinSheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
in February 1991 for a fee of £250,000.
Sheffield Wednesday
Although he was never a regular fixture in the Sheffield Wednesday side (making a total of only 88 appearances in 4 years, of which 46 were as substitute) he enjoyed some good times as Wednesday were promoted to Division 1 (the top level) at the end of his first season and then achieved third place in 1991–92 and a place in the UEFA cupUEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
. In the UEFA Cup Watson appeared in 3 of the 4 games played by Wednesday, who reached the second round going out to Kaiserslautern
1. FC Kaiserslautern
1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern, also known as 1. FCK, FCK or simply Kaiserslautern, is a German association football club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. On 2 June 1900, Germania 1896 and FG Kaiserslautern merged to create FC 1900...
.
Wednesday also reached both the FA Cup final
1993 FA Cup Final
The 1993 FA Cup Final was contested by Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley. The original match, played on 15 May 1993 finished 1–1, with Arsenal winning the replay on 20 May; 2–1 after extra-time....
(lost to Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
after a replay) and the League Cup final
1993 Football League Cup Final
The 1993 Coca Cola Cup Final took place on 18 April 1993 at Wembley Stadium, and was played between Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday. Arsenal won 2–1 in normal time, in what was the first of three Wembley finals between the two sides that season; Arsenal and Wednesday also met in the FA Cup...
(also lost to Arsenal) in 1993, although Watson did not play in any of the finals, being behind Mark Bright
Mark Bright
Mark Abraham Bright is a former English footballer who is now a sports pundit and BBC London's sport presenter, as well as a coach at Crystal Palace....
, David Hirst
David Hirst (footballer)
David Eric Hirst is an English former professional footballer, an exciting but injury prone striker who played for Sheffield Wednesday for much of his career.-Playing career:...
and Paul Warhurst
Paul Warhurst
Paul Warhurst is an English former football player. He was primarily as a defender, but has also played in midfield or as a striker at various points in his career...
in the choice of strikers.
His best season for Wednesday was 1993–94 when, with David Hirst missing much of the season through injury, Watson scored 12 goals in 23 league appearances. In the following season, Wednesday struggled for goals generally but Watson made only 5 starts coming off the bench a further 18 times.
In March 1995, after four years at Hillsborough
Hillsborough Stadium
Hillsborough Stadium is the home of Sheffield Wednesday football club, Sheffield, England. Football has been played at the ground since it was opened on 2 September 1899, when Wednesday moved from their original ground at Olive Grove. Today it is a 39,812 capacity all-seater stadium, making it the...
, Watson was signed by relegation-threatened Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
(under manager Alan Ball) for a fee of £1,200,000.
Southampton
He made his Saints debut at Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
on 18 March 1995 and scored against Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
in his home debut 4 days later as the Saints came from a goal down after 89 minutes to snatch an unlikely 3–1 victory. Watson went on to make 12 Premier League appearances (scoring 3 goals) in the 1994–95 season as Saints lifted themselves to a 10th place finish.
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."
Alan Ball left The Dell
The Dell (Southampton F.C.)
The Dell in Milton Road, Southampton, England was the home ground of Southampton Football Club, between 1898 and 2001.-New stadium:Since 1896, Southampton had been tenants of Hampshire County Cricket Club at the County Ground, having vacated the Antelope Ground in the summer of 1896...
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 3 goals from 25 league appearances, with the goal-scoring being shared by Matthew Le Tissier
Matthew Le Tissier
Matthew "Matt" Le Tissier is a retired English footballer who played for Southampton and England.An attacking midfielder with exceptional technical skills, Le Tissier is the second-highest ever scorer for Southampton behind Mick Channon and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year in 1990. He was...
and Neil Shipperley
Neil Shipperley
Neil Jason Shipperley is a retired English professional footballer, who played as a centre-forward. He is the former manager of Walton Casuals of the Isthmian League Division One South....
, with 7 league goals each. For 1996–97, Saints appointed a new manager in Graeme Souness
Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s and player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s as well as captain of the Scottish national team. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur,...
who brought in Egil Østenstad
Egil Østenstad
Egil Johan Østenstad , nicknamed "Østen", is a Norwegian director of football at Viking, where he is also a former player. His playing career also included spells at Southampton and Blackburn, among others.-Norway:...
as first choice striker to play alongside Le Tissier, leaving Watson to make only the occasional appearance. His final appearance for The Saints was in a humiliating FA Cup defeat at Elm Park
Elm Park (stadium)
Elm Park was a football stadium in the West Reading district of the English town of Reading. It was the home of Reading Football Club from 1896 until 1998, when they moved to the new Madejski Stadium....
, Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
on 4 January 1997.
Bradford City
Two weeks later, Watson was sold to Bradford CityBradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
for £550,000 and was the club’s then record signing.
In only Watson's third game for the club he suffered a double fracture in the right leg in a tackle with Huddersfield Town defenderKevin Gray
Kevin Gray
Kevin John Gray is an English footballer, playing as a defender for Workington.-Football career:He started his career at Mansfield Town signing as a trainee in July 1990 and had a successful four year period at Mansfiled...
on 1 February 1997. The tackle was described by football pundit, Jimmy Hill
Jimmy Hill
James William Thomas "Jimmy" Hill OBE is an English association football personality. His career has taken in virtually every role in football, including player, union leader, coach, manager, director, chairman, television executive, presenter, analyst and match official.-Early life:Hill was born...
, as "late, dangerous and violent" and was the worst he had seen in fifty years of football. The fourth minute tackle during a 1–1 draw at Valley Parade led to Watson undergoing emergency surgery in which he required a 6 inch plate and 7 screws inserted into his leg.
Following five further operations, he missed the remainder of the 1996–97 season, the entire 1997–98 campaign and he only managed a handful of starting appearances in the 1998–99 season before his contract came to an end.
In a landmark case in the High Court, in October 1998, Watson successfully sued Gray for negligence and was awarded £50,000 in interim damages as well as a latter £900,000, the bulk of which was to compensate for the loss of anticipated earnings.
Bournemouth
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".In August 1999 he signed for Bournemouth in an effort to rebuild his career but only made 11 league and cup appearances in the 1999–00 season. When his contract expired in June 2000 it was not renewed and he spent the next year out of the game with his career seemingly at an end.
He spent some time at Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
who allowed him to use their training facilities and after a trial in 2001, he was ready to play for Portsmouth, but Graham Rix
Graham Rix
Graham Cyril Rix is an English former football player and coach. He was fired by Heart of Midlothian in March 2006, which was his most recent role in professional football...
was unable to offer him a contract.
Hartlepool United
In September 2001 he was signed by Hartlepool UnitedHartlepool United F.C.
Hartlepool United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Hartlepool that currently play in League One. The team won promotion to League One in the 2006–07 season...
(managed by Watson's former Sheffield Wednesday team-mateChris Turner). In just 31 starts in 2001–02, Watson’s goal haul of 18 helped the side off the bottom of the table and into the Third Division play-offs. Watson was easily the club's top-scorer in 2001–02, with double that of his closest "rivals".
The 2002–03 season was another frustrating one for Watson. He started brightly with five goals in the first eight games, but in the 4–1 victory over Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...
on 14 September 2002 he broke his left leg after a sliding challenge with Matthew Clarke. This ruled him out for much of the club's successful promotion campaign. Although he returned in March, he was never fully fit and failed to add to his goal tally. Even so, Watson clearly enjoyed his swan-song at Hartlepool as did the club's fans with many fan sites describing him as "Hartlepool’s best ever striker".
His Hartlepool contract expired in June 2003 and was not renewed as Watson sought to move back South. In August 2003 he had a trial with his former club Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
but, after suffering a further knee injury in training, this came to nothing and Watson finally ended his playing career.
After football
Despite leaving SouthamptonSouthampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
in 1997, Watson and his family continue to live in the city where re runs a property renovation business. He is also involved in coaching his son, Callum, in junior football and hopes eventually to move up to coaching at a higher level.
In January 2007, he began working for Southampton's in-house radio station "The Saint", subsequently Radio Hampshire
Radio Hampshire
The Breeze 107 is an independent local radio station broadcasting to the Southampton, Portsmouth and Winchester areas of Hampshire, England. It is owned by Celador Radio and is part of The Breeze network of stations...
, taking over as a match analyser from Jimmy Case
Jimmy Case
James Robert Case is a retired English football player who shot to fame with the all-conquering Liverpool side of the 1970s and became known as a player with one of the hardest shots in the game.-Early life:...
when he was unavailable. He also worked for G-Sports, an African PPV Sports channel as a pundit for Premier League & Serie A coverage.
Since July 2008, he has been employed by Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
as a scout and analyst of forthcoming opponents assisting his former Sheffield Wednesday colleague, Nigel Pearson
Nigel Pearson
Nigel Graham Pearson is an English football manager and former professional player. He is currently in his second spell as manager of Leicester City, having previously managed Hull City, Southampton and Carlisle United, and been assistant manager for England Under-21s and Newcastle United...
.