467: Gifton Noel-Williams, Watford, Merlin’s F.A. Premier League 2000, Millennium Edition Sticker Collection

In 1892 the Football League introduced its Second Division and the first two clubs to experience promotion to the top flight were Darwen and Sheffield United. While the Blades enjoyed a relatively comfortable 1893/94 campaign, finishing in tenth, Darwen finished second bottom and, having lost their “test match” against Small Heath, began a footballing tradition of suffering an instant return to the second tier. At the end of the 1898/99 season Darwen finished bottom of the Second Division with just nine points having conceded 141 goals and decided not to stand for re-election to the competition. They spent the entirety of the twentieth century playing in regional leagues and were dissolved in 2009 having fallen into financial difficulties. Darwen were one of the founding members of the Football League and were also the first club to be officially relegated after finishing bottom of the pile in the season prior to the birth of the Second Division. Yo-yo clubs were clearly a thing before West Bromwich Albion’s Baggies were boinging about.

Historically some promoted clubs have come into the top flight like ducks to water. Liverpool, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest all won the First Division in the season immediately after gaining promotion. In Forest’s case they then followed this up with back-to-back European Cup triumphs to settle any doubts about the brilliance of Brian Clough. While no side has emulated such feats in the Premier League era there have been a few standout performers. Newcastle United finished third in 1993/94 thanks to the lethal finishing of Andy Cole while Forest matched these efforts the following season with Stan Collymore running riot. A Marcus Stewart inspired Ipswich finished fifth in 2000/01 and the likes of Reading, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leeds United have enjoyed impressive post-promotion campaigns since then with the likes of Dave Kitson and Patrick Bamford spearheading their attacks. Sadly, however, there are far more clubs who have struggled and crashed back down to the Championship with all three promoted sides in the 2024/25 campaign suffering instant returns after abject seasons.

In 1999 Watford made their Premier League bow having overcome Bolton Wanderers in the play-offs. The Hornets had impressed in Division One following their promotion from the third tier and steadily accumulated points while Sunderland raced to the title with a then record 105 points. Their victory over the eventual champions at the end of January was capped by a goal from teenage striker Gifton Noel-Williams who finished as Watford’s top scorer in their promotion season. This is impressive based on his young age and the competition for places up top in Graham Taylor’s side, but becomes even more noteworthy when you consider that the Sunderland game was his last of the campaign following a horrific knee injury after a tackle from Paul Butler. His recovery kept him out of the play-off run in and it was not until November that he returned to first team action against Sheffield Wednesday.

By this time Watford were mired in the Premier League relegation zone despite impressive victories over Liverpool and Chelsea. This was in part down to their struggles in front of goal with just eight goals scored in their first thirteen matches. Noel-Williams’ return to the side coincided with back-to-back draws against Wednesday and Newcastle United and a close fought loss to a Kevin Phillips’ inspired Sunderland but he was dropped to the bench for crushing defeats to Wimbledon and Everton. The nineteen year old then suffered with arthritis in both of his knees and sat out the rest of the campaign. Watford won just six games, and scored only 35 goals, across the season and finished a distant bottom to return straight to the First Division. While Noel-Williams returned to fitness in the 2000/01 season, and chipped in with eight goals, Watford’s leaky defence prevented them from launching a promotion challenge. Graham Taylor stepped down to be replaced by Gianluca Vialli but only managed a mid-table finish and endured similar fortunes under Ray Lewington in 2002/03. By this stage the club was in severe financial difficulty, in part due to the collapse of the ill-fated ITV Digital experiment, and Noel-Williams was one of several notable players offloaded to keep the meter running.

Gifton Noel-Williams went on to have decent spells at Stoke City and Burnley before two seasons in Spain with Real Murcia and Elche and, following a brief stay at Millwall, two seasons across the pond with the Austin Aztex and the DFW Tornados. After a five-year gap he turned up at non-league Daventry Town before finishing his playing career with Codicote in 2017. He moved into coaching seamlessly with Watford Women and Real Kashmir among others while his sons have entered the family business with Dejon currently with Bedford Town and Isaiah having turned out for Kettering Town. Following the death of his uncle Tony, a committed Rastafarian, in 2008 Gifton Noel-Williams began growing dreadlocks in tribute. Despite admitting that this has perhaps stalled his managerial career he has stood up to this prejudice stating "I've said to people before, if this means that I never become a manager because of my hair then that's OK. I'm OK with that. I'm really, really OK with that."

It’s hard to say whether Gifton Noel-Williams’ presence in Watford’s first team during their debut Premier League season would have made much difference to the eventual relegation outcome. Eleven of their 26 defeats were by single goal margins and those hypothetical eleven points earned by his hypothetical goals would still have seen the Hornets fail to catch up with Bradford City. What is clear is that the gulf between the Championship and Premier League seems to grow wider as the years go by. The class of 2025/26, Leeds United, Burnley and Sunderland, would bite your hand off for a prolific homegrown teenage striker to buck the trend next season.