Britt Assombalonga's appearance on Saturday marked a significant landmark for Watford Football Club as the forward became the 50th Academy player to make his first team debut for the Hornets since the Academy was created in 1998.

Watford have a tradition of producing their own talent and it is a track record which head of Academy Nick Cox does not believe will be matched.

“It is a very proud moment. Every time one of our graduates make their debut is a special occasion but Saturday was a little bit more special than normal because it was the 50th,” Cox said.

“I don't know about other clubs' statistics but I would be very surprised if anyone had matched that or bettered it. It is something we are going to dig into to see where we rank but very few clubs would get near that tally.”

Assombalonga has seemed likely to become number 50 for some time considering his form this season and Cox believes the 19-year-old is an apt recipient due to his unusual route to the first team, which combined both the Academy and the club's community trust.

At the age of 16, the forward decided to enrol at Hertswood School and it wasn't until he arrived that he learned about a scheme with Watford's community trust, which combined education and playing football.

Assombalonga, who can play out wide or up front, progressed through the various trials to secure a place in the team and his performances led to a recommendation to Watford, who offered him a trial.

After being given a scholarship with the club, he impressed for the Under-18s and Reserves and was handed a professional contract by the Hornets last year.

Cox said: “The club as a whole should be proud of the route Britt has taken to first team football.

“There is no set pathway that is mapped out for success and players that become established as a professional footballer all take different routes.

“We strive to take children at a young age and all the way through our programme - that is our number one priority - but then we will have boys like Britt who arrive late to the system and that is just as familiar a story. We are proud of it and we think it is important.

“It is an apt story for number 50 because it sums up the traditions of our football club and the DNA of our football club. We have always been a family club, we have always had an emphasis on youth development so for number 50 to be a product that has been linked both with the academy and community scheme, really sums up what our heritage is all about. It is an appropriate story for us to celebrate.”

Watford had a high number of Academy players in match-day squads last season, largely due to having seven substitutes, and there were four Academy graduates who made their debuts.

This season there have been two debutants from the Academy and second-year scholar Sean Murray, who made his first start in the final game of last season, has risen to prominence.

Dyche has been criticised for not playing the young, home-grown players enough but Cox said the statistics do not back up the argument and stressed that last year was an exceptional campaign from an Academy point of view.

“I disagree with the statement [about Academy graduates not being involved as often this season], we are not far off where we were last season at this moment in time in terms of contribution, minutes on the pitch, number of debuts and number of academy graduates involved,” Cox said.

“Last season 43 per cent of all starts came from the Academy and this season we are just below the 40 per cent mark.

"So we are a little bit off last year but you need to put that into context and in the Premier League, for example, they don't average one debut a season and we are averaging four debuts a season over the last 12 years, so that puts it into context a little bit.”

He continued: “I think you also have to put last season into context and accept it was an exceptional year for the Academy.

“The statistics we picked up last year were far beyond anything we have seen in the past so the more realistic thing to do is look around the world of football to find out the norm and that is when you realise this club is far from the norm in terms of youth development.

“And I would imagine that the club's philosophy will continue along those lines in the future.”

The 50 first team players from the Academy

Name Debut App (sub) Goals

Britt Assombalonga 2011/12 1 (0) 0

Al Bangura 2004/05 38 (39) 1

Dale Bennett 2008/09 16 (10) 0

Dominic Blizzard 2003/04 27 (9) 2

Jonathan Bond 2011/12 1 (1) 0

Hameur Bouazza 2003/04 58 (40) 14

Steve Brooker 1999/00 0 (2) 0

Kurtney Brooks 2009/10 0 (1) 0

Michael Bryan 2009/10 5 (9) 0

Alex Campana 2005/06 1 (2) 1

Toumani Diagouraga 2005/06 5 (1) 0

Lloyd Doyley 2001/02 330 (32) 1

Chris Eagles 2004/05 27 (5) 4

Gary Fisken 2001/02 19 (9) 1

Kieron Forbes 2007/08 0 (1) 0

Fabian Forde 2000/01 0 (1) 0

Francino Francis 2005/06 1 (2) 0

Billy Gibson 2008/09 0 (1) 0

Ben Gill 2005/06 0 (3) 0

Elliott Godfrey 2002/03 0 (1) 0

Joel Grant 2005/06 3 (7) 0

Jamie Hand 2001/02 42 (19) 0

Liam Henderson 2008/09 0 (21) 0

Tommie Hoban 2010/11 0 (1) 0

Lee Hodson 2008/09 81 (6) 1

Jerel Ilfil 2002/03 10 (1) 0

Ross Jenkins 2008/09 77 (17) 2

Rob Kiernan 2008/09 0 (2) 0

Richard Lee 2002/03 107 (3) 0

Anthony McNamee 2001/02 42 (60) 3

Adrian Mariappa 2005/06 224 (21) 4

Gavin Massey 2009/10 0 (9) 0

Piero Mingoia 2010/11 4 (3) 1

Sean Murray 2010/11 11 (2) 4

Jason Norville 2001/02 6 (9) 1

John-Joe O’Toole 2007/08 39 (27) 12

Junior Osborne 2004/05 1 (3) 0

Eddie Oshodi 2009/10 0 (2) 0

James Panayi 1999/00 10 (4) 0

Jordan Parkes 2006/07 5 (0) 0

David Perpetuini 1998/99 18 (3) 1

Theo Robinson 2005/06 1 (5) 0

Claude Seanla 2006/07 0 (1) 0

Jack Smith 2002/03 25 (3) 2

Marvin Sordell 2009/10 55 (25) 25

Sam Swonnell 2002/03 1 (1) 0

Adam Thompson 2010/11 8 (3) 1

Matty Whichelow 2010/11 5 (18) 3

Ashley Young 2003/04 83 (27) 22

Lewis Young 2008/09 1 (3)