In anticipation of Watford’s Sky Bet Championship trip to Rotherham United on Saturday, February 17, at 3 p.m., we’ve examined five players who have represented both the Hornets and the Millers.
After joining Watford at the age of nine, Hornets icon Lloyd Doyley played 443 games in the defence.
In his 269th game for the Golden Boys, he scored his first goal with a spectacular diving header against QPR. His tenure at Vicarage Road was from 2001 to 2015, during which he played in the Premier League.
After leaving the Hornets, Doyley went on trial with Rotherham, and even though manager Neil Warnock signed him, he only appeared in three games for the Yorkshire team.
Moving forward After progressing through Rotherham’s development system, Will Hoskins made headlines on Boxing Day 2003 at the age of 17, when he scored two goals in the closing moments to secure a 2-1 victory over Wigan Athletic.
In his last season with the team, he scored goals for the Millers and went on to sign a combined contract with Watford in 2007 that also brought Lee Williamson to Vicarage Road.
After that, he made 70 appearances for the Hornets and scored seven goals before leaving in 2010 to join Bristol Rovers.
After leaving West Ham United in 2018, the Portuguese winger moved to Vicarage Road and played 37 games for the Golden Boys, scoring three goals.
Five times, he went on loan from Vicarage Road; the most recent was an eight-appearance stint with Rotherham last year.
In July, Quina left for Udinese.
Following his advancement through the academy, Thompson, a defender, was awarded a full Northern Ireland cap in 2011, just three days prior to making his Football League debut.
Despite spending a significant amount of time away from the team on loan, Thompson would play 16 times for the Hornets until 2014.
Between 2019 and 2021, he made 14 appearances as a featured player for Rotherham.
Paolo Vernazza, a creative midfielder, left Arsenal to join Watford in 2000.
At the age of nine, he and his family moved to England, where he went on to play 107 games for the Hornets, scoring three goals.
He moved on a free transfer from Vicarage Road to Rotherham in 2004, where he went on to play in 27 league games.
