the left-back position for the remainder of the season until he was dropped from the first team ahead of the match in favour of Stephen Kelly against Barnsley on 9 April 2007. Manager Steve Bruce explained his decision to leave out Sadler of the squad. As a result, Sadler never played again for the remainder of 2006–07 season, as Birmingham City were promoted back to the Premier League. Despite this, Sadler made thirty–six appearances. Nevertheless, Sadler then signed a three–year contract with the club, keeping him until 2010. In the 2007–08 season saw Sadler suffered a knock and Achilles problem to the start of the season. After missing out the first two matches, Sadler made his first appearance of 2007–08 when he came on as a substitute for Fabrice Muamba in the 80th minute, in a 1–0 loss against West Ham United on 18 August 2007. Sadler then provided assist for Garry O'Connor in the 27th minute, in the first round of League Cup, in a 2–1 win over Hereford United on 28 August 2007. However, Sadler struggled for the first team place after losing his left-back position to Franck Queudrue and Liam Ridgewell. As a result, Sadler was sent to play in the reserve. But in December, Sadler returned to the first team in the left-back position in his first league appearance since December, in a 2–1 loss against Newcastle United on 8 December 2007. However, on his next appearance against Reading, Sadler came under criticism when his back-pass short led to goalkeeper Maik Taylor brought down Stephen Hunt in the penalty box, leading Hunt to take the penalty himself and converted the penalty successfully. After the match, Taylor defended Sadler, stating he could one day bounce back. After appearing one more appearance, Sadler was left out of the squad once again and attracted interests from clubs around England. Upon joining Watford, Sadler said it was an honour to play for Birmingham City, the team he grew up supporting, and regretted not playing enough games for the club. Watford Sadler joined Watford on 24 January 2008 for an initial fee of £750,000, rising to £900,000 depending on appearances. He signed a three-and-a-half-year contract. Sadler made his Watford debut on 29 January 2008, making his first start for the club, in a 1–1 draw against Sheffield United. Despite the injury, Sadler was the regular in the first team for the