James Andrew Clarridge

James Clarridge's first senior appearance for Watford came in the Carabao Cup second round against Peterborough United on 25 August 2026. He started at centre-back. The night went badly: he put the ball into his own net in the tenth minute, and Watford lost 1–5.

The debut followed a long apprenticeship elsewhere. Clarridge spent more than 12 years in Nottingham Forest's youth system, working through the under-18 and under-21 age groups. With the Forest under-18s he reached the FA Youth Cup final in the 2021–22 season and finished as runner-up.

He also has an international record at youth level. Clarridge has played for England at under-15, under-17 and under-18 level, and had won four caps for the under-18s by October 2021.

He left Forest for Watford in February 2024. In October of that year he signed a three-year contract with the club, which tied him to Watford beyond the 2026 season in which he made his first-team debut.

Cup football has its own rules, and a first start in a heavy defeat is a hard way to begin. Clarridge's route to that point, through Forest's academy and England's junior teams, gave him a long grounding before he played a senior match.