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Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Hertfordshire, England. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname the Hornets. Founded in 1881 as Watford Rovers, the club entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade later. After finishing the 1914–15 season as Southern League champions under the management of Harry Kent, Watford joined the Football League in 1920. The club played at several grounds in its early history, before moving to a permanent location at Vicarage Road in 1922, where it remains to this day. Watford spent most of the following half century in the lower divisions of The Football League, changing colours and crest on multiple occasions.
A period under the leadership of future England manager Graham Taylor saw Watford scale new heights. Between Taylor's appointment in 1977 and departure in 1987, Watford rose from the Fourth Division to the First Division. The team finished second in the First Division in the 1982–83 season, competed in the UEFA Cup in 1983–84, and also reached the 1984 FA Cup Final. Watford experienced a decade of decline between 1987 and 1997, before Taylor returned as full-time manager, leading the team to successive promotions from the renamed Second Division to the Premier League. The club's most recent stint in the top division of English football was during the 2006–07 season, under Aidy Boothroyd's management. In the 2013–14 season, Watford will compete in the Football League Championship – the second highest level of English football.
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