The Watford Observer has again teamed with its friends at the Watford Treasury to share stories from previous issues of YBR! - Yellow Black & Red!

Colin Payne explains why Nigel Callaghan will always be a Vicarage Road great.

During those long remorseless lockdown nights, when every evening was a Wednesday evening, weekends failed to exist, and life moved at half the speed it normally does, I became aware of a middle-aged man who would broadcast a DJ set live on social media. There was something sad about it, mainly because such evenings are traditionally enjoyed in the sweaty environs of pubs or clubs, with a ready supply of company and alcohol, and not via the internet. Yet DJ Nigel Callaghan manfully ploughed on, and his one-man show would regularly crop up on my Facebook feed, despite my having no interest in it whatsoever.

Around 40 years earlier I first witnessed Cally on a football field, and although it was a few years before I finally realised the fact, he was one of the finest – if not the finest – footballer I have ever seen in a yellow shirt. Whether he was a maverick in the perceived definition, I’m not sure, but he did things his way!

Watford Observer:

Nigel Callaghan could delivert a cross with pinpoint accuracy

Cally wasn’t exactly GT’s golden child, with the young winger feeling singled out at times, but it is believed that Graham had a soft spot for him, hence that ‘tough love’. On the field, at times, he was just brilliant. Possessing a stance that resembled a gangly meerkat, there has been no finer striker of the ball, and his crosses were often delivered with a pinpoint accuracy that meant Luther or Ross only had to leave their heads on their shoulders to see the ball home.

An under-21 England international, he could have been one of the greats, but at times he could be frustrating as hell, although he was never as inconsistent as some would have us believe. There was always that perceived cockiness about him, which was more than likely just confidence, only dressed up in a perpetual laid-back teenage cheeky chappy/sulky chappy demeanour. Weekends would see him behind the decks, with a tad more enthusiasm than displayed more recently online, at local nightclubs where his passion for music – and fun – would be all too evident.

He would feature in almost every landmark game through the 80s, as well as the 1991 ‘Great Escape’ after returning on loan, yet despite making close to 300 appearances and scoring 50 goals, he never received the true recognition he deserved, perhaps because of the hobbies away from the football field – he was never seen as ‘dedicated’ enough, raw talent not being sufficient back in those times.

Watford Observer:

The Hornets winger pressed into emergency goalkeeping duty

Cally’s best days were enjoyed at Vicarage Road, and in spells at Derby, then Villa, he never eclipsed what he achieved at Watford. The brief return on loan in 1991 offered glimpses of what we had missed, and at the time even a slightly tubby 29-year-old Cally was better than anything else we had. Yet that was already the end of his playing days. By the time he was 30 he was knocking around non-League football, slowly working his way down the pyramid, before taking off to Greece to manage nightclubs and generally catch up with the youth that playing football had inconveniently robbed him of.

Some would say his career had been characterised by wasted opportunities, that he could have gone so much further in the game. For me though, he did what he wanted, and who could want more? He will always be one of the greats.

Copies of YBR! are available to buy from https://thewatfordtreasury.com/collections/ybr