WATFORD Chairman Graham Simpson joined the official Watford website to be the first featured supporter in our series called 'My Watford'. 

The feature will hopefully prove popular with fans, however we can only continue to run it with your support. Find out at the end of this article how you can be profiled next time.  

Simpson is a lifelong Watford supporter and joined the board at Vicarage Road in November 1999. If you would like to find out more about his background as a Watford fan and how he used to make his way to games in the 1960s then read on!   

Name:  Graham Simpson
From:  Originally from Chorleywood

Q:  Why do you support Watford and how long have you supported them?
A:  I saw my first Watford game in the 1959/60 season, against Wycombe Wanderers in the third round of the FA Cup. We beat them 5-1 and I saw the great Cliff Holton.  I can't remember how many goals he scored, but I think it was a hat-trick. That was my first Watford match.

We then went on and did very well in the FA Cup. We went on to beat Birmingham and Southampton, but eventually lost to Sheffield United. It was a great run as we were in the old fourth division at the time.

Q:  Did you catch the Watford bug straight away?
A:  Absolutely. Watford had always been my local team and the first time I went to Vicarage Road I must have been about 11 and it had a massive impact on me.

Q:  Where did you stand at the ground?
A:  I can remember very clearly, I stood at the Vicarage Road end, slightly to the right where you enter the ground. I remember as a child I had never seen anything like it, I just couldn't believe my eyes. 

The first time you go to a football match it has a tremendous impact and it took my breath away to see all those people. 

Q:  The crowd is a huge part of football, isn't it?
A:  Definitely. I've always said to Aidy and everybody else, that if you're there for the first time and see the players come out of the tunnel running towards you, it's a very special moment. It's just so exciting and that's when you get your long term supporters - look at me, 1959 and still here! 

Q:  Can you talk us through a typical home matchday for you?
A:  You wake up as a Chairman, but then you start to become a fan. You feel your stomach tightening and you can't really focus on anything much before a match.

I usually have guests at home games so I arrive quite early to entertain the opposition's Chairman and directors. I am briefed beforehand on everyone in the board room as we're very keen to look after our guests properly. My job is to make sure that everyone feels comfortable and welcome, and to be a good host.

Q:  What about when you're actually watching the game, if you've had a troubled morning or a difficult week, does that go out the window when you're watching?
A:  The only thing that matters is the match, and like everyone else I become an absolute fan, totally engrossed in the game, and ecstatic when things go right.

Q:  Do you have to exercise control when you're at the game, and do you find that difficult?
A:  We all know football is a passionate game and emotions run high, I'm sad to admit that I have used bad language a couple of times, and that's not right for a Chairman.

When I've disagreed with certain decisions I want to vocalise it, so of course I've got to be careful because that can really cause problems with the fans.  On a few occasions I've said too much and fans have given me quite a lot of abuse but I recognise that it's not a sensible way forward. 

I've had to control myself, especially at away games. Away games are much harder because you're not with your own fans but surrounded by the opposition.  I'm isolated in the directors' box away from home and I actually wish I could be with our fans.

Q:  Have you ever wanted to sit in the Watford end with the fans?
A:  I did sit in the Rookery a couple of seasons ago against Derby County when we were having a bad time and very near relegation. I went on to the pitch and talked about how we all had to stick together to win the game. We did win it and I hope I helped a little that night.

However, as Chairman you have a responsibility that comes with the position. Much as I would like to sit in the Rookery, it is my job and duty as Chairman to be the leader of the Club and be in the right place. However, there will be a time when I am no longer Chairman and then I'll go back to my roots as a fan.

Q:  Prior to becoming Chairman, how hardcore a supporter were you?
A:  I've been a Watford supporter since 1959, but I've drifted in and out since then depending on my business and my family.  If I was working in the theatre on a Saturday I couldn't go to watch the game.

Through the 1960s, however, I attended a lot of home and away games. In the late 1970s it was about getting my children into the game - they grew up in the era of Graham Taylor and Elton John. We still go to games as a family today.

Then towards the 1990s my business really took off and I was extremely busy so I wasn't a strong presence then. But when my business was doing well in 1994/95 I bought a hospitality box and I came back that way.

Q:  Do you remember any big games you couldn't make it?
A:  Yes, I do - the Kaiserslautern game. I can't remember where I was but I remember listening to it on the radio. That was probably a key game. 

More recently I remember when we played away at Fulham when we were in the old second division. I wasn't there for that one and that was a crucial game.

Q:  What's your most memorable moment as a Watford supporter?
A:  Actually, I have two or three memorable moments. 

I have a very strong image of climbing over the fence at the Birmingham match and not paying the entrance fee. There were about 32,000 in the ground and I climbed a pylon and watched the match from there and the police couldn't reach me! That was a very strong image as a youngster. 

I also remember taking one of my sons to the FA Cup final and arriving very early - a big moment for us both. And more recently there's obviously winning the play-off final in 2005 at the Millennium stadium and the realisation that the Club had moved from being in terrible debt to knowing that the Club would survive. 

Q:  What are the most extraordinary lengths you've gone to, to get to a football match?
A:  I used to hitch-hike quite a lot to watch Watford games when I was young as I didn't have much money.  I particularly remember hitch-hiking to Manchester United in 1968 or 69 to watch a game - we drew - and then hitch-hiked all the way back again!

Please look out for part two of our interview with the Chairman here at www.watfordfc.com

If you would like to be profiled in our 'My Watford' series then please email themediateam@watfordfc.com and we'll send you some questions.  We look forward to hearing from you. 

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