WNews Feed - SoundSage

In football, sometimes there are days when everything just clicks. For Danny Webber, August 26, 2002 was one of these days.

On a heady afternoon at Vicarage Road, the striker scored once and set up three as the Hornets romped to 5-2 victory against Coventry City. It was a complete performance as the 20-year-old controlled the ball with his chest and laid one off for Stephen Glass to open the scoring before dropping deep and playing an incisive through ball to Tommy Smith for the second.

He finished the third himself in emphatic style before setting up the fourth – perhaps fortunately – by deflecting a Paul Robinson cross into Allan Nielsen’s path.

“You know you’ve had a good game when the final whistle comes but you feel like you could go on for another hour or so, because you’re not out of breath or anything but you’ve been on a cloud,” he said.

“That’s how it felt when I was playing in that era, and I was happy with that particular performance. It does rank high up, because I was enjoying my football so much at the time. There are other times when you put in good displays but you’re maybe not enjoying it, but I was enjoying my football so much in that period.

“I enjoyed playing up front with Tommy Smith because we were on the same wavelength, and people were saying that two small strikers can’t play up front together, but we just had a really nice understanding. Glassy was brilliant too.”

The young forward was on loan from Manchester United at the time and, with the Sky Sports cameras broadcasting the fixture live, perhaps he played out of his skin to make a case for breaking into Sir Alex Ferguson’s side back at Old Trafford?

“I had a lot to prove to myself, more than trying to get in the Man United team,” he said. “I just wanted to prove I could play first-team football consistently and I could put in the level of performances I was putting in for the youth teams against big men who want to smash through you.”

He certainly could play, and this display proved it. There were several goals to choose from, but Webber’s was the pick of the bunch as he showed Premiership class to leave Calum Davenport on his backside with a Cruyff turn before curling an early effort past goalkeeper Morten Hyldgaard.

“As far as a spectacle, it was probably one of my best goals,” he said. “The Cruyff turn in the box and then the shot, it was more instinctive than anything. In the corner of my eye I saw the centre-half slide, so I knew I’d done him. The skill happened so quickly so it was just making sure you place it out of the keeper’s range.

“If I’d taken another touch the keeper would probably have had a better position, so it was all about hitting it early. Funnily enough I was at a barbecue with Calum Davenport a couple of weeks later because I was friends with one of the Coventry lads and everyone at the barbecue just hammered him all day!”

Webber picked up the prize for Display of the Season at the end of the campaign, making the journey back down from Manchester to receive the award in person.

“I remember I picked up the award at the Hilton Metropol, which is where we had the End of Season Awards that year,” he explained.

“I’d already gone back to Man United, but I came back and received the award, and I think those performances at that time are a big part of why I came back to Watford permanently. That particular performance did stand out and still does stand out as one of my best in the yellow shirt.”

The striker struggled with injuries during his spells with the Hornets but it was displays like this which showed what he was capable of on his day.

Unfortunately, Webber’s most prolific season at the club was immediately followed by his departure for pastures north as he signed for Sheffield United after hitting 15 goals in 2004/05.

“I scored nine goals in my first seven games, I was flying and then I dislocated my shoulder. I came back after an operation and started scoring again but at that point I was told I needed to leave the club,” he said.

“Ray [Lewington] didn’t want me to go but he said it was out of his hands. At the time I didn’t really have the opportunity to show the fans my appreciation like you do now with social media. I reflect on my time at Watford with fondness, I would have liked to have left in a different light, but it was a great platform and a great place for me to learn my craft.

“I have immense fondness for everybody at Watford, the fans were amazing with me and really gave me a platform. The club as well is just a really warm club, and I think that’s why Man United have sent a lot of people to Watford over the years, because it’s been a similar outcome for a lot of players. I loved my time there and I’m glad to have shared my journey with the Watford fans.”