Elton John 'upset' as Burnley rout Watford 4-0
Elton John says he is "upset and disappointed" by Watford's slump after Burnley beat them 4-0 at Vicarage Road.
The former Watford owner made the comment in a now-deleted reply to a club post on Instagram. Calling himself a lifetime supporter, he said he was very upset and disappointed at the decline over the past few weeks and that he felt for the supporters who have to watch the team, as reported by the BBC.
It was over early. Watford were 3-0 down inside 25 minutes on Saturday, 10 October, before Burnley added a fourth to complete the rout in front of the home crowd.
The result left Watford 20th in the Championship, England's second tier, after three straight league defeats and five losses in their past six games. Burnley started the day 22nd and had won only one league game in 2026, against Crystal Palace in the Premier League in February, and had not won away for almost a year.
Watford had started the season brightly. They beat Southampton at home and drew away at Wrexham and at home to West Ham, then took only three more points from their next run of games, a 2-1 home win over Preston in September.
Head coach Alessio Dionisi said everyone must take responsibility for the Burnley defeat, in comments published by Watford FC. Dionisi was appointed in June on a two-year contract. He is Watford's 12th head coach, not counting caretakers, since the end of the 2020-21 season.
John's words carry weight because of his history with the club. He had two spells as owner, guiding Watford's rise from the fourth tier, the bottom division, to second in Division One, then the top flight, and into Europe under Graham Taylor in the 1970s and 1980s. After taking over again in the mid-1990s he re-appointed Taylor, who led successive promotions to the Premier League in 1999. John gave up control for a second time in 2002, released the book Watford Forever in 2024, and has a stand at Vicarage Road named after him.
For fans, this hurts because John is one of their own. He is not a distant celebrity owner. He is the supporter who lived the climb with them, and hearing that disappointment out loud will sting.
