On This Day in 2008: Aidy Boothroyd leaves Watford

Boothroyd took Watford to promotion but left them in the Championship.

Aidy Boothroyd went on to manage England Under-21s. (Martin Rickett/PA) (PA Archive)

Watford sacked manager Aidy Boothroyd on this day in 2008.

The Hornets parted company with the boss who took them back to the Premier League two years earlier.

It was Boothroyd’s first job in senior management and he guided the Hornets to third in the Championship to reach the play-offs in 2005-06.

They beat Crystal Palace 3-0 on aggregate before a 3-0 win over Leeds at the Millennium Stadium.

The following season Watford won just five games in the top flight and finished bottom but reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup before losing to Manchester United.

Yet it turned sour for Boothroyd after they lost to Hull in the play-offs in 2007-08 having finished sixth. Just six months later he left Vicarage Road with the Hornets 21st in the Championship, only out of the relegation zone on goal difference.

Boothroyd went onto manage Colchester, Coventry and Northampton before joining the Football Association as Under-20s manager.

He replaced Gareth Southgate as Under-21 boss and took the Young Lions to three European Championships before leaving in 2021.