Been At Both: Five Who Have Played For The Hornets And The Hatters

By: Watford FC Staff

Watford are set to make the short trip to Kenilworth Road to take on local rivals Luton Town in the Sky Bet Championship this Saturday (April 1, 12.30pm KO), with Chris Wilder’s charges hoping to replicate the success of the reverse fixture, when the Hornets ran out 4-0 winners at Vicarage Road in October.

While only a handful of players have crossed the divide between the sides, many of those that did achieved considerable success, including future club legends and memorable goalscorers. Here are five who have donned the yellow and orange of both sides in their careers…

Matthew Spring

Making 53 Watford appearances in-between two spells at Kenilworth Road, midfielder Matthew Spring made a positive impact in his two seasons with the Hornets having condemned them to defeat a few years earlier.

Spring’s long-range strike put Luton ahead in a clash with Watford in 2002 that ended with the Hatters advancing in the Worthington Cup, but he won back yellow hearts with a series of committed displays in their promotion to the Premier League under Aidy Boothroyd in the 2005/06 campaign, netting the third in a 3-0 play-off semi-final victory over Crystal Palace.

Staying at Vicarage Road for one more season, Spring returned to Bedfordshire to add to the 250 league appearances he made in his first Luton spell, scoring 12 goals in two seasons despite his club’s relegation to League Two.

Andre Gray

Former Watford striker Andre Gray broke onto the scene with Luton Town in 2012, having impressed in the Conference North at Hinckley United, playing part-time football.

Moving up to the National League, Gray hit the ground running with the Hatters, scoring 20 goals in his first season and spearheading their promotion to League Two in the following campaign with 30 goals, finishing as league top goalscorer.

From Golden Boot to Golden Boy, Gray thrived at then Championship side Brentford and later Burnley before a move to Watford was sealed in 2017.

Gray scored 21 times in a Watford shirt, with key winners in the 2018/19 season standing out in the memory, including decisive strikes against Everton, Leicester City and in the FA Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace. The Jamaica international left the club last summer after five years as a Hornet, with one spent on loan at Championship side Queens Park Rangers.

Henri Lansbury

The only player in this list to still be representing either side, midfielder Henri Lansbury joined the Hatters in the summer of 2021.

Ascending through Arsenal’s youth ranks, an 18-year-old Lansbury’s first taste of Championship football came in 2009 when Malky Mackay was at the helm of Watford.

Lansbury’s four months at Vicarage Road saw him impress the home faithful, notably scoring twice against Sheffield Wednesday and impressing Gunners boss Arsène Wenger in the process. He returned to North London in December and remained at the Emirates Stadium until 2012, going on to ply his trade with Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Bristol City prior to his Luton move.

Alec Chamberlain

Goalkeeping legend Alec Chamberlain joined Luton in 1988 after a frustrating spell at Everton garnered no appearances, with Neville Southall the established number one. Chamberlain had made a name for himself at Colchester United between 1982 and 1987 and took his qualities to Kenilworth Road, where he played over 100 times.

Ending his career with the Hornets, Chamberlain signed on in 1996 as a 32-year-old and remained active for another decade; etching his name into the history books among the likes of Tony Coton and Steve Sherwood and winning two Player of the Season awards.

Perhaps his most iconic moment between the sticks for Watford, the club ambassador heroically kept his side in a play-off semi-final away at Birmingham City, taking the game to a penalty shoot-out and making two spot-kick saves, before keeping a clean sheet in the Wembley final to secure a first-ever Premier League promotion in 1999.

Clarke Carlisle

Of the players to have represented Watford and Luton, even fewer have made direct moves between the clubs, but Clarke Carlisle was once a Hatter and a Hornet at the same time when he moved on loan from Vicarage Road up the M1 in 2007 in a mutually beneficial emergency move which saw the defender build fitness after a long-term injury.

Carlisle had suffered the injury in the penultimate match of the 2005/06 Championship season against Queens Park Rangers, having been an established name in the first-team beforehand. Signing from Leeds United to reunite with former boss Aidy Boothroyd, Carlisle played 40 games for Watford, scoring five goals.

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