Ask any long term Watford FC fan to name their favourite players, and it won’t be long before the name of Luther Blissett comes up.

Luther played 503 games for the club, scored 186 goals and is widely regarded as a hero. He was capped 14 times by the England national football team, scoring a hat-trick on his debut.

I mention all this because it was 35 years ago this month that not only did Luther play for the England Under 21s for the last time, but the game took place at Vicarage Road.

It was the first game of its type ever to be staged at the ground and the Under 21s were due to play Denmark, needing only a victory from either of their last two remaining games to go through to the UEFA Cup Under-21 quarter finals at the expense of Denmark and Bulgaria.

The Watford Observer of September 7, 1979, takes up the story:

“Said Blissett: ‘I’m glad I’m in the squad but I really want to play. I’d be overjoyed to put on an England shirt in front of the home crowd.’

“Having played against Wales and Sweden and then made a good appearance as a substitute against Bulgaria, Blissett has a strong case for a place on present form alone. Watford, in the meantime, are busy preparing for the match with  increased floodlight power planned.

“We hope to have good support from the town. We have managed to obtain this game because of the work done by the officials of the club and the support given by the public,” said Eddie Plumley, chief executive of Watford, who take 15 per cent of the gate.”

The game finished 1-0 to England, with the goal scored by Aston Villa’s John Deehan in the 18th minute.

The U21s eventually got to the semi-finals of the tournament, going out to the GDR, better known to us here as East Germany.

Watford Observer:

Cucumber spaceships and grotesque moonmen made from oranges and pears were among the creations at Oxhey Horticultural Society’s autumn show on Saturday.

These entries in the children’s section provoked particular interest at a show that was of a generally high standard and thought to be one of the most successful held by the society in many years.

Here, ten-year-old Rosalind Edwards is pictured with her prize-winning Moon man.

[From the Watford Observer of September 19, 1969]