Editing Watford F.C. (section)

===Elton John era===
Musician [[Elton John]], a lifelong Watford supporter, became club chairman in 1976. The singer declared an ambition to take the team into the First Division, and dismissed Kirby's successor [[Mike Keen]] in April 1977.<ref>Phillips, Oliver (21 January 2002). [http://www.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/news/35787.print/ "Bitter times give way at last"]. ''Watford Observer''. Retrieved 20 April 2012.</ref> When [[Graham Taylor]] was named as Keen's successor, the club was still in the Fourth Division.<ref name="bbctaylor">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/aston_villa/1801976.stm|title=Graham Taylor profile|work=BBC Sport |access-date=27 October 2009|date=5 February 2002}}</ref> Taylor achieved promotion in his [[1977–78 Watford F.C. season|first season]]; Watford won the [[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]] title, recording the most wins, fewest defeats, most goals scored and fewest goals conceded of any side in the division.<ref>Brown, Tony. [http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/division-four-old/1977-1978/table "English Division Four (old) 1977–1978 : Table] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728092419/http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/division-four-old/1977-1978/table|date=28 July 2016}}. Statto.com. Retrieved 19 April 2012.</ref> Promotion to the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] followed in [[1978–79 in English football|1978–79]], and [[Ross Jenkins (footballer, born 1951)|Ross Jenkins]] finished the season as the league's top scorer with 29 goals. Watford consolidated with 18th and 9th-placed finishes over the following two seasons, and secured promotion to the [[Football League First Division|First Division]] for the first time in [[1981–82 in English football|1981–82]], finishing second behind [[Luton Town F.C. and Watford F.C. rivalry|rivals]] [[Luton Town F.C.|Luton Town]].<ref name="bbctaylor"/><ref name="promotion1982">Brown, Tony. [http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/division-two-old/1981-1982/table "English Division Two (old) 1981–1982 : Table"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409202551/http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/division-two-old/1981-1982/table|date=9 April 2017}}. Statto.com. Retrieved 19 April 2012.</ref>

Watford started the [[1982–83 Watford F.C. season|1982–83]] season with four league wins from the opening five fixtures; in the space of seven years, the club had climbed from bottom place in the lowest division of The Football League to top position in the highest division.<ref>Brown, Tony. [http://www.statto.com/football/teams/watford/1975-1976/table/1975-08-23 "Watford 1975–1976 : English Division Four (old) Table"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924143235/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/watford/1975-1976/table/1975-08-23|date=24 September 2015}}. Statto.com. Retrieved 19 April 2012.</ref><ref name=top>Brown, Tony. [http://www.statto.com/football/teams/watford/1982-1983/table/1982-09-11 "Watford 1982–1983 English Division One (old): Table on 11.09.1982."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924143237/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/watford/1982-1983/table/1982-09-11 |date=24 September 2015 }}. Statto.com. Retrieved 2 May 2012.</ref> Watford were unable to maintain a title challenge, but eventually finished the season second behind Liverpool, which ensured [[UEFA Europa League|UEFA Cup]] qualification for the following season. [[Luther Blissett]] finished the season as the [[List of English football champions|First Division top scorer]], before signing for Italian [[Serie A]] side [[A.C. Milan|Milan]] for £1&nbsp;million at the end of the season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/169701.star_striker_blissett_heads_for_new_life_at_italys_ac_milan/|title=Star striker Blissett heads for new life at Italy's AC Milan|work=Watford Observer|date=6 July 1983|access-date=27 October 2009}}</ref> An [[FA Cup Final]] appearance followed in [[1984 FA Cup Final|the 1984 fixture]], where they lost to [[Everton F.C.|Everton]].<ref name="fa1984cupfinal"/> After guiding Watford to a ninth-place finish in [[1986–87 in English football|1986–87]], Taylor left the club to manage [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]].<ref name="bbctaylor"/>

Following Taylor's departure, [[Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon]] manager [[Dave Bassett]] was appointed as his replacement, and England [[winger (football)|winger]] [[John Barnes]] was sold to Liverpool. After 4<!---consistent with 23, per MOS:NUM---> wins from his opening 23 league fixtures, Bassett was sacked in January 1988. Watford were bottom of the First Division at the time of his departure, and [[Steve Harrison (footballer)|Steve Harrison]] could not prevent relegation at the end of the season. In [[1988–89 in English football|1988–89]], Harrison's Watford failed to return to the First Division, after defeat in the Second Division play-offs. The under-18 team won the [[FA Youth Cup]], beating [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]] 2–1 after extra time,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/FACompetitions/TheFAYouthCup/History/FAYouthCupWinners.aspx|title=FA Youth Cup winners|publisher=The Football Association|access-date=22 October 2009}}</ref> with future [[England national football team|England international]] [[David James (footballer, born 1970)|David James]] in goal for the Hornets. Harrison departed in 1990, and over the next few years, the closest Watford came to promotion was a seventh-placed finish in Division One{{refn|The second division was renamed Division 1 upon the inception of the Premier League in 1992–93,<ref name=arsenal/> and rebranded as the Football League Championship in 2004–05.<ref name="Joy divisions">Titford, Roger (July 2009). [http://www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/5026/29/ "Joy divisions"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120520164017/http://www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/5026/29/ |date=20 May 2012 }}. ''When Saturday Comes''. Retrieved 2 May 2012.</ref>|name = flc|group = lower-alpha}} in the [[1994–95 in English football|1994–95 season]].<ref name=recentseasons/> However, in the following season – [[Glenn Roeder]]'s third as manager – Watford struggled. Despite the return of Graham Taylor as caretaker manager in February 1996, the club was relegated to Division Two.<ref name=managers/><ref name="bbctaylor"/>

Following the relegation, Taylor became director of football, with former Watford midfielder [[Kenny Jackett]] as manager. After a mid-table finish in Division Two in [[1996–97 in English football|1996–97]], Jackett was demoted to the position of assistant manager. Taylor returned as manager, and won the Second Division title in [[1997–98 in English football|1997–98]] – Watford's second league title under his management. A second successive promotion followed in [[1998–99 Watford F.C. season|1998–99]] after a 2–0 [[1999 Football League First Division play-off Final|play-off final]] victory over [[Bolton Wanderers F.C.|Bolton Wanderers]]. Watford's first [[1999–2000 Watford F.C. season|Premiership season]] started with an early victory over Liverpool, but Watford's form soon faded, and the club were relegated. Graham Taylor retired at the end of the [[2000–01 Watford F.C. season|2000–01 season]],<ref name="bbctaylor"/> and was replaced by [[Gianluca Vialli]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/championship/3004527/Vialli-unveiled-as-new-Watford-manager.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/championship/3004527/Vialli-unveiled-as-new-Watford-manager.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Vialli unveiled as new Watford manager|work=Daily Telegraph|access-date=27 October 2009 | first=William | last=Johnson | date=1 May 2001}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Wage bills at the club rose by £4&nbsp;million during Vialli's tenure, and the club finished 14th in the division in 2001–02. Vialli was sacked at the end of the season, following a dispute with the club's board over the wage bill.<ref>Hughes, Matt (14 June 2002). [http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/vialli-sacked-by-watford-6307763.html "Vialli sacked by Watford"]. ''[[Evening Standard]]''. Retrieved 2 May 2012.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/watford/2045074.stm|title=Vialli sacked|work=BBC Sport |access-date=27 October 2009|date=14 June 2002}}</ref> He was replaced by [[Ray Lewington]], who had joined the club the previous summer as Vialli's reserve team manager.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/3030941/Watford-appoint-Lewington.html "Watford appoint Lewington"]. ''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]''. 11 July 2002. Retrieved 2 May 2012.</ref>