Watford Confirm Released List and Managerial Progress

Watford FC Confirm Released & Retained List Ahead of 2026/27 Season

By Football Correspondent | May 24, 2026

Watford Football Club has officially announced its released and renewed player list for the upcoming 2026/27 Championship season. The announcement, made on Friday, provides clarity as the club looks to rebuild following a disappointing 2025/26 campaign that ended with a mid-table finish and the recent departure of head coach Ed Still.

Among the notable departures are experienced midfielder Tom Ince and defensive midfielder Nampalys Mendy, both of whom have left Vicarage Road on free transfers. Several academy graduates, including goalkeeper Myles Roberts, defender Hayden Barrett, and forward Bi Adeyemo, have also been released as the club streamlines its squad.

On the retained side, key midfielders Edo Kayembe and Tom Dele-Bashiru have had their contracts extended. Kayembe, who has made over 150 appearances for the club, has signed a new deal until 2027. Dele-Bashiru has triggered an option in his contract following a strong loan spell earlier in his career. The club confirmed that discussions are ongoing with several other players regarding their futures.

The timing of the announcement comes as Watford continue their search for a new permanent head coach. Ed Still was relieved of his duties on May 3 after less than three months in charge, during which the team struggled for consistency. First-team coach Karim Belhocine also departed alongside him.

Reports suggest that the club, led by sporting director Gian Luca Nani, is in advanced talks with Danish coach Niels Frederiksen. The 52-year-old, who has an impressive track record in Scandinavian football with clubs like Brøndby IF, is understood to be the frontrunner for the role. Chairman and CEO Scott Duxbury recently emphasised the need for a manager with proven promotion experience to guide the Hornets back toward the Premier League.

Last season proved challenging for Watford. Despite some promising individual performances, the team ultimately finished in the lower half of the Championship table. A heavy 4-0 defeat to Coventry City on the final day of the season summed up the campaign's frustrations for supporters. The club has since focused on squad restructuring and preparing for what they hope will be a more competitive push next term.

With several players departing and contract talks continuing, Watford are expected to be active in the summer transfer window. The club has already been linked with potential targets, including players from the domestic leagues and abroad, as they aim to add quality and depth to the squad.

Supporters will be eager to see who the next head coach will be and how the playing staff shapes up ahead of pre-season training, which is scheduled to begin in early July. The 2026/27 Championship season is set to start in early August, giving the club a busy few weeks to finalise their preparations.

Despite recent turbulence, there remains optimism around Vicarage Road. The ownership group, led by the Pozzo family, has reiterated their commitment to long-term stability and ambition. Fans will hope that the decisions made this summer can finally deliver the consistency and success that has been missing in recent years.

As the club moves forward into a new era, all eyes will be on the managerial appointment and the incoming transfers that could define Watford's fortunes in the seasons ahead.

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Home of Watford FC

Opened 1922

Capacity 22,200

History (from Wikipedia)

Vicarage Road Stand[edit]

The Vicarage Road Stand was built following the conclusion of the 1992–93 season. Previously an open terrace, the all-seater stand was built to comply with the Taylor Report and raise the standard of the ground. It cost £2.3 million to build and had a capacity of 5,800 people. Construction was largely funded by the £1.2m sale of Bruce Dyer in 1994.[9][10]
Originally a mere earth bank when the club moved to the ground, it was gradually transformed into a conventional terrace. In 1978, an electronic scoreboard was put up, which became an iconic symbol of Watford's eighties heyday. In a display of solidarity with the home support, Graham Taylor maintained that the benches for the coaching staff and substitute on the side of the pitch would remain exposed to the elements until such time as the home end was covered.
Its final game as a terrace was a 1–0 loss to Oxford United on 8 May 1993. It opened to the public once more on 18 September 1993, with Watford defeating Notts County 3–1.[11]
Previously the home stand, it now houses the away support. A partition was subsequently added, meaning that both home and away support could be put in the stand. Half of the stand is given to away fans, and the other half is used as the family area for home fans. It also houses wheelchair supporters of both teams. Since August 2012, the stand has been home to the Hornets Shop.[12]

The Rookery Stand[edit]

The Rookery Stand was built over the course of the 1994–95 season. Another former terrace, the all-seater Rookery stand has a capacity of 6,960. Larger than the Vicarage Road stand, it has facilities on two levels and also holds most of the club's administrative areas. The stand cost £1.6 million to build, approximately £300,000 of this figure was contributed by the Football Trust, with the remaining money coming from the £2.3m sale of Paul Furlong by then-owner Jack Petchey in 1994.[9][13]
When Watford moved from Cassio Road, this end of the ground featured a roof over a cinder bank, and over the years the roof eventually had to be removed for safety reasons. The Supporters' Club eventually raised funds to enable the Rookery End to feature concrete terracing under cover, and this aim was realised in 1959.
The new stand, replacing the 1959 model was used by Watford supporters for the first time on 22 April 1995, for the visit of Bristol City. As part of redevelopment work in conjunction with the Watford Health Campus, 164 units of affordable housing, known locally as The Wrap, were built on and around the Rookery end. Construction finished in 2009.[14]
The Rookery is the "home end". It lends its name to the Watford fans' podcast, From The Rookery End.[15] The stand was known as the Rover South for Saracens matches.[16]

The Graham Taylor Stand[edit]

The Graham Taylor Stand was renamed for the 2014–15 season, taking its name from the club's most successful manager Graham Taylor.[17] It was previously named after former FIFA president Sir Stanley Rous. The official renaming ceremony took place on 29 November 2014.[18]
The stand with its distinctive wavy roof runs along the side of the pitch, on the west side of the ground. It is a two-tiered stand, with executive boxes and a TV camera gantry. Built in 1986, it replaced the Shrodells Stand. The £3 million development was partly funded via a loan from Elton John. The upper tier, complete with executive boxes, was constructed first, and temporary seats forming a lower-tier were added later. These were later replaced with permanent seats, first used for a game against Notts County on 18 September 1993.
When the club moved from Cassio Road in 1922, the Union Stand was transported and reconstructed on this side of the ground. It was replaced by the Shrodells Stand, which was constructed during the 1930s. It was extended in 1979 with a further 2,200 seats replacing the standing enclosure in front of the stand.
The final match for the Shrodells Stand was a 1–1 draw against Manchester United on 3 May 1986, the Graham Taylor Stand opened on 23 August 1986, when Oxford United visited Vicarage Road, with Watford coming out 3–0 winners.

The Sir Elton John Stand[edit]

The Sir Elton John Stand sits on the east side of the ground, and contains the changing rooms & tunnel. The stand was fully opened on 13 December 2014, in a ceremony attended by Sir Elton John.[19]
Prior to the development of the Sir Elton John Stand, the east side of the ground was home to the Main Stand, which was constructed in 1922 following Watford FC's move from Cassio Road. The Main Stand was closed in 2008 due to safety concerns.[20]
Following the acquisition of Watford FC by the Pozzo family in 2012, the club were able to finance the development of a new stand to replace the Main Stand. The redevelopment of the east side of the stadium began in 2013, with the aim of developing a 3,000 seater capacity stand which would also house the players changing rooms, television gantry and tunnel.[21][22]
In May 2014, it was announced the stand will be known as The Watford FC Community Stand. However the club announced in November 2014 that the new stand would instead be named after former chairman Sir Elton John.[23] The changing rooms were used for the first time in a friendly match between Watford and Udinese on 2 August 2014.
On 8 June 2015, the club confirmed that 700 extra seats were being installed in the recently built Sir Elton John Stand.[3] This number was revised a day later to around 1000 extra seats, following the announcement of an expansion in the north-east corner.[3]

Things to do near the stadium.