WATFORD fans are being urged to turn out in force and wear their team colours as part of 'Wear Yellow and Red Day' organised this Saturday by Watford FC and official club sponsor, Phones 4u, for the visit of Premiership champions Manchester United.

Watford and Phones 4u are hoping the champions will be faced by a sea of yellow and red when they run out at Vicarage Road, with thousands of Golden Boys' fans wearing their replica shirts and special yellow and red spiral hats which the club and Phones 4u are handing out to Hornets' supporters as they enter the stadium.

Julian Neal, marketing manager at Phones 4u, said: 'We wanted to help the club create an atmosphere to remember at Vicarage Road for one of the high-profile matches of the season to be able to give the supporters something to really shout about as the club comes to the end of a tough season.'

Some 17,000 special free yellow and red hats will be distributed before the game and there will also be a special prize for the fan wearing the most yellow and red on the day of a pair of matchday tickets for the last game of the season (Watford v Coventry City on May 14, 2000), plus a signed Watford shirt donated by Phones 4u.

Ed Coan, the club's director of marketing and communications added: 'This is a great opportunity for all Hornets' supporters to really get behind the team and give the millions watching on TV the chance to see what Watford FC is all about.'

Graham Taylor has now experienced a relegation season for the first time in his career.

It is a far cry from the 1982 team's debut in the top flight when they finished second from top, but what is the difference in the division now?

'Since I left the First Division in 1990, when I was at Aston Villa, everybody talks about the quality of the opposition and of course it is there for everyone to see. You only need half a brain to recognise there are some very, very good players operating in the Premiership for a number of teams,' he said.

'It is not as if they have just one player but three or four and some will argue quite rightly that they are world class. But the biggest difference between 1990 and now is the fitness of those quality players. The level of fitness of the players who have got quality has increased.

'You cannot get into these teams now and expect to outlast them. If I went back to 1982, and history has shown Watford did have some very good players in that period, but we were very, very fit.

'Some of the sides we played against were not as fit as they should have been and not as fit as these lads are now.

'So it is not just the quality of the players but at the highest levels they are quick, big and strong. If they are not 6ft something, they can run like whippets. There are more quality players now and their athleticism is so much more advanced than in 1990.

'There are far, far better teams and far, far better players than in 1990.'

Watford took £50,000-worth of season ticket sales over the net, which is a sign of things to come. The first person to renew was Adrian Spender.

Watford could be going Dutch. The Hornets are close to confirming a pre-season trip to Holland, playing two matches over the weekend of August5/6.

The first match would take place on Friday August 4, the second on August 6 and they would fly back on the Monday. These dates are to be confirmed.

Hemel Hempstead-based Watford fan Bill Evans confirms the Dave Bewley anecdote about Stanley Matthews telling the Watford full back in a friendly: 'The fans are hear to watch me, not you tackle me.'

Bill was ball-boy and recalls Watford's Roy Brown was centre half in a match against the All-Star XI and even won headers against John Charles.

'Roy was a great person. My father was a patient at Garston where Roy's brother Duggie was resident physiotherapist. Roy would call in regularly and got to know my father.

'He was really kind. He took us on holiday to the south coast in an Austin Ruby.'

That was in the 1950's. Can you imagine it happening now?

Watford expect some 900 supporters to be at Middlesbrough for the final away game in the Premiership.

Craig Thompson of South West Supporters Club, for whom every game is an away trip, says of the special celebration day planned for the Riverside: 'We don't want supporters to wallow in self pity. We want them to be proud and loud.'

Watford fan Tony Owen used to help out with our penalty shoot-out competition. He was on the pitch at half-time and joined us in the pressbox during the game.

He also witnessed one game from the sub's bench, apart from being a regular throughout his life, watching the Hornrets from all the various stands and terraces.

He completed the full set the other week, when his firm was invited to a seat in the director's box and he was given the ticket.