The team played at several grounds in their early history, including what is now West Herts Sports Club,[3] before moving to Vicarage Road in 1922.

Watford declined between 1987 and 1997, before Taylor returned as manager, leading the team to successive promotions from the renamed Second Division[a] to the Premier League for one season in 1999–2000.

[11] By contrast, under Neil McBain and subsequently Bill Findlay, the team recorded five consecutive top six finishes between 1934–35 and 1938–39, and won the Football League Third Division South Cup in 1937.

This team included Fourth Division top scorer Cliff Holton,[14] who scored a club record 42 league goals in the season.

[17] Eighteen-year-old Northern Irish goalkeeper Pat Jennings also featured under McGarry, and made his international debut despite being a Third Division player.

[18] McGarry joined Ipswich in 1964, and was replaced by player-manager Ken Furphy, from Workington[17] Furphy rebuilt the team around players such as Keith Eddy and Dennis Bond, but after holding Liverpool to a draw in the FA Cup and narrowly failing to win promotion in 1966–67, Bond was sold to Tottenham Hotspur for £30,000, Watford's record transfer receipt at the time.

A year later Watford reached the FA Cup semi-final for the first time, defeating First Division teams Stoke City and Liverpool along the way.

[25] Following Taylor's departure, Wimbledon manager Dave Bassett was appointed as his replacement, and England winger John Barnes was sold to Liverpool.

The under-18 team won the FA Youth Cup, beating Manchester City 2–1 after extra time,[31] with future England international David James in goal for the Hornets.

[47] Watford led the Championship by several points early in 2007–08, but only finished sixth;[33] Boothroyd's team were defeated 6–1 on aggregate by Hull City in the play-off semi-finals.

[50] Amid the departures of several key players during Mackay's tenure, including Tommy Smith and Jay DeMerit, and the club coming close to administration,[51] Watford finished 16th in 2009–10 and 14th the following season.

With Jokanović managing the team, Watford finished second in the Championship, after being edged out on the final day by champions AFC Bournemouth, and were promoted.

[58] Under Sánchez Flores Watford finished 13th in the Premier League,[59] and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, ending Arsenal's bid to win the competition for three successive times,[60] but were beaten 2–1 by Crystal Palace.

The club's kit featured various combinations of red, green and yellow stripes, before a new colour scheme of black and white was adopted for the 1909–10 season.

[72][74] The club's nickname remains, but in 1978 the hornet crest was replaced by a depiction of a hart – a male red fallow deer– on a yellow and black background.

[80] Until April 2019, when Watford played at Vicarage Road their players traditionally entered the pitch at the start of the game to the Z-Cars theme tune.

[82] The club returned to Z Cars as the theme to welcome players to the pitch in August 2019 at the start of the 2019–20 Premier League season, following fan pressure and petitions.

[89] The East Stand, part of which was constructed in 1922, was closed to the general public in 2008 for health and safety reasons, although it still hosted the dressing rooms and the matchday press area.

His three immediate successors – Fred Pagnam, Neil McBain and Bill Findlay – all played for Watford before and during the early part of their managerial tenures.

His successor Ken Furphy matched that achievement in 1966–67, and led Watford to the Third Division title in 1969, before taking the club to its first FA Cup semi-final in 1970.

Following Furphy's departure in 1971, Watford entered a period of decline, experiencing relegation under subsequent managers George Kirby and Mike Keen.

[113] Following Watford's takeover by the Pozzo family, Gianfranco Zola was appointed head coach, replacing former centre back Sean Dyche in July 2012,.

Despite winning four of the first five league matches of the 2014–15 season, and with Watford sitting in 2nd place, Sannino's position had become the subject of much speculation following rumours of dressing-room unrest and some players taking a dislike to his style of management.

On 2 September, Watford confirmed the appointment of former Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Óscar García as the successor to Sannino, beating off competition from fellow Championship side Leeds United for his services.

García, however, resigned from his position on 29 September 2014 for health reasons, having been admitted to hospital with chest pains a couple of weeks prior.

Despite going on to lead the newly promoted Watford to a comfortable mid-table position in the Premier League and the semi-final of the FA Cup, it was announced on 13 May 2016 that Sánchez Flores would be leaving the club at the end of the season.

On 6 December 2019, Nigel Pearson agreed to take manager's job, with Craig Shakespeare as his assistant, on a short-term contract to the end of the season.

[122] In the 2020–21 season, there were two more coaches, beginning with Vladimir Ivic, and followed by Xisco Munoz, who ultimately steered Watford towards promotion to the Premier League.

Former England manager Roy Hodgson took hold of the reigns from February 2022 until the season's end, where Watford finished in 19th place and were relegated from the Premier League.

The highest number of goals scored by a player in a single game at a professional level is the six registered by Harry Barton against Wycombe Wanderers in September 1903.