Watford started off the 1975-76 season with full of promise, their young talent, Luther Blissett shining early on. They finished off the season in a respectable eighth position in the forth division. They were poor in the FA Cup, crashing out instantly, suffering a 3-0 home defeat in the first round against Brighton.
The hornets made a slight improvement the following season as they finished off in seventh position. They were humiliated to a shock defeat against non league club, Northwich Victoria in the third round of the FA Cup. The 77-78 season saw Watford reach the third round of the FA Cup once again, on this occasion they stumbled out, defeated against West Ham united. The Hornets embarked on a great run in the forth division, under the guidance of Graham Taylor in charge of Watford, they won the forth division title, winning a staggering thirty matches en route to the end of the season. Taylor once again led Watford to a second successive promotion in the following season as they finished off in third place in the third division; they also embarked on a fantastic run in the league cup, losing eventually to Nottingham Forest, 3-1 in the last four of the league cup. Watford finished off in 19th position in their first season in the second division of English football. Ross Jenkins and Roger Joslyn were inspirational for the hornets through out this glorious period for the North Londoners.