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To thousands of Watford fans, he is their 'Captain, leader, legend.'

But what's Troy Deeney really like? Who better to ask than his younger brother by three years, Ellis?

“The first word that comes to mind with Troy is: 'Goofy,' he said, “yeah, he's a joker.

“When we were growing up we watched the 'Fresh Prince of Bel Air,' starring Will Smith – and that's what he's like at home.

“He's always been like it - dancing around the bedroom, cracking jokes. He's the golden child – never did anything wrong. He admits to it, too. He knows I'll be saying this.

“He gets it from our granddad, John. He is very witty. Very cheeky. Troy takes after him.

“Troy could never – ever – walk into my grandparents' house without saying something, either about the house or what they were wearing.

(Image: Reuters)

“My nan, Margaret, wouldn't stand for it, though. She would always clip him around the ear.

“He's always got something to say – always up to something. I say 'was' – even now I get texts from him winding me up.

“I've got a bit of a short fuse. Now I think about it, it's probably because of him.

“I remember once, in days before we all had mobile phones, he told me that we were playing football over the field behind our house.

“So I turned up. I stood there, freezing, wondering where everyone was. Then the penny dropped.

“He'd organised a game - but on a different pitch – by the time I realised and would have got over there, they'd have been playing ages and I'd missed it.

“Had he done it on purpose? Of course he had. I was fuming.

“I can't begin to tell you how many times I fell for it. He was almost wearing his dinner on his face on more than a few occasions.”

(Image: Sunday Mirror)

Ellis himself started his own career at Villa as a YTS and only two weeks ago failed to make it a Wembley double when his Telford United side were defeated in the FA Trophy semi-final by Leyton Orient.

He added: “Troy never took football seriously when we were growing up. Actually, that's wrong, the only football he took seriously was on Sundays.

“He played for a team in Birmingham, the 3C's, and his age group went about three seasons without getting beaten.

“I'm not lying here, but once when I didn't have a game I went to watch them and their goalkeeper actually took a magazine to read.

“But Troy wasn't bothered like I was. I was dedicated to it.

“I was at Villa as a kid, I was the one who had to go to training on Monday or Wednesday nights. Troy had trials but he just didn't fancy the training, just liked the games.

“He didn't see it as a career. When he left school, he went and did an apprenticeship as a bricklayer with Carillion.

“It was only when he signed for Walsall he began to take it seriously.

“But even then it was Troy's wit that got him that gig.

“He was playing non-league and Mick Halsall, one of the Walsall scouts, had been to watch him.

“Mick collared him after one game and said to Troy: 'You're all right you are – I'd take a chance on you if you were a bit younger.'

“Troy said to him: 'How old do you think I am?'

“Mick said: 'Early to mid-20s.'

“Troy said: 'What are you on about, I'm only 18...'

It took Deeney Snr some time to get to grips with the professional game. But after four seasons at Walsall, he was signed by the Hornets.

Progress was slow at first. But the real boost to his career came when Gianfranco Zola turned up at Vicarage Road as Sean Dyche's replacement.

Ellis added: “He got on really well with Dyche but Zola unlocked a few things in Troy that Troy himself didn't think he had.

“Troy used to ring me after training and say: 'You should have seen the gaffer's finishing in training today. It was different class. Left foot, right foot, bending them in, dinking them over the keeper, the lot.'

(Image: Sunday Mirror)

“He learns by seeing and doing. I saw it in his play. His football intelligence grew. He's always been a target man. But after a season with Zola, he was dropping off into midfield and you saw all that change.

“Since then, his career has gone from strength to strength.”

And so to today.

“He's the talk of the family,” added Ellis, “there's a coachload of us going to Wembley. You'll hear us and of course, we're all proud of him.

“But I need to get my own back. So, if you print this, please mention the golf.

“He won't have it – but I smoke him every time we're on the course. We played the other day and, surprise, surprise, he reckoned he out-drove me by half-a-yard. It was his mate who backed him up. I wasn't there.

“He knows I'm better than him.

“I really hope you print this because I just know he'll have something to say about it when we next see each other.

"He just won't be able to help himself.”