Memories of Troy Deeney's best years as a Watford player

In a piece written following Troy Deeney's departure from Watford last year, Nick Catley explains why the former captain deserves his place in "the very top drawer of Watford legends".

As YBR! went to print, it was confirmed that Troy Deeney had been released from his Watford contract, and signed for Birmingham City.

Perhaps the first thing to note is that this wasn’t a surprise ‒ not just because speculation had grown over the previous week, including an extremely unusual statement from the club suggesting this was a possibility, but because it’s been increasingly clear over the last couple of seasons that Troy would feature less and less in our plans.

But those aren’t the years that put Troy in the very top drawer of Watford legends. In his farewell video, he compared the departure to losing a family member, and in a similar spirit, let’s instead remember the good times. And there were so, so many good times.

I argued in YBR! issue 4 that Troy’s most memorable goals bookended his period as our leader, our go-to presence, a pair of semi-final strikes crucial in getting us to Wembley finals (2013 play-offs and 2019 FA Cup). But what was it that made him so pivotal during that time?

He was a symbol of permanence ‒ although he was, er, unavailable for the very start of the Pozzo regime, for some time he’s been the only survivor of that era ‒ but of course he’s done much, much more than just stick around.

There was his sheer effort. He was the one chasing seemingly lost causes, getting back into his own penalty area to defend a lead, dragging out an extra burst in the 87th minute on a heavy pitch. As much as anything else, this made him the fans’ representative in the team, the one whose name always got sung first, the one who took the applause at the end of the game last.

Deeney blasts home his penalty in the FA Cup semi-final against Wolves

There was his coolness under pressure, best illustrated by his utterly brilliant penalty record. Although it was never quite true, goalkeeping coach after goalkeeping coach will have told their charge that Deeney puts them straight down the middle ‒ but when they’re hit like that, he could point to the exact square on the net he was aiming at and they still wouldn’t stand a chance.

There was the fact he produced when it mattered. The two semi-finals are evidence of this of course, but consecutive home wins in the early spring of 2018 against Everton and West Bromwich also come to mind, when the catch on the relegation trapdoor was just starting to loosen. Troy stepped in with a sturdy screwdriver and ensured it remained solidly shut, with a goal in the last 15 minutes of each game to produce a pair of 1-0 wins.

There was the controversy. It’s difficult to know whether Troy became more outspoken as time went on, or the media just became more interested in it as they realised he was good copy. It’s also unclear if this was a good thing or not ‒ it certainly seemed less good when his powers started to wane ‒ but it was a part of everything he was. When he accused Arsenal of lacking cojones after an injury-time win in October 2017, he knew he was setting himself up as a hostage to fortune, and he duly took the abuse when he missed a penalty at Ashburton Grove the next March. But while they’d never admit it, the vast majority of those Arsenal fans knew he’d been right.

There was his charisma. Everyone seems to have a story of how impressive a figure Troy became off the pitch after his earlier aberrations. The result of mine is the signed shirt that still hangs, framed, in my nephew’s bedroom from when he was a mascot in 2012. People don’t forget this stuff.

There was, of course, his leadership. The player cajoling all the others, urging the fans to make more noise, taking responsibility, visibly missed by team-mates when not on the pitch ‒ a talisman, not in the way the word’s often used of a team’s best player ‒ though he was that a lot of the time, too ‒ but in the sense that he inspired the rest of the team to play better. In some of the seasons in the mid-Premier League era, when Troy was injured, the rest of the team seemed to be standing around waiting to find out what to do, like a flock of sheep in need of a border collie.

Deeney celebrates his superb winner at Hull in 2013

But mostly, he was really, really good at football. It’s something that often seems to get forgotten due to all the other facets of his personality, but he was superb. His heading was pretty good as a goal threat, but immense in winning the ball ‒ at his peak he was almost untouchable in the air. He was an excellent finisher ‒ calm in front of goal, but also capable of the odd screamer, such as his winner at Hull in a promotion battle in April 2013. He held the ball up brilliantly, often preventing us being overwhelmed by possession-based teams. He was also more skilful than his popular image might suggest, effortlessly controlling balls that came to him from all angles, and playing deft passes to create chances as well.

If the last couple of years have felt like a gradual decline from past glories ‒ and, mystifyingly, brought some totally inexplicable abuse on social media ‒ the end feels the right one, with Troy getting to play for the club he’s always supported. It will introduce me to a genuinely new sensation ‒ hoping Birmingham do well.

But the Watford story is over, and for so many reasons, he’s already a cast-iron Hornet legend. Thank you so much for so much Troy. We’re going to need another flag.

Copies of YBR! Yellow Black & Red! are available to buy from thewatfordtreasury.com/collections/ybr