Biggest Mistake Of The Pozzo Era

Discussion in 'The Hornets' Nest - Watford Chat' started by pleaseenterthenamebywh, Jan 15, 2021.

  1. Chumlax

    Chumlax Squad Player

    How, at this point, can you justify saying that, exactly? What with?
     
    wfcmoog likes this.
  2. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    Idiots on twitter were commenting saying 'Announce Sarr' - the more sensible among us were rightly saying on here that he would be a great signing but were worried about the cost knowing it would mean we would cut corners recruiting elsewhere. And that's exactly what has happened.
     
  3. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    Fair point .

    Does show sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for.
     
  4. wfcmoog

    wfcmoog Tinpot

    Indeed. Offer a football fan an enticing sounding, attacking player and they will be excited.

    However, nobody apart from Gino and Grimaldi will have thought signing Dawson was enough to fix our defence and our failure to address our torrid striker roster is one which has been an issue for 5 years now.
     
    CarlosKickaballs and wfc4ever like this.
  5. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    Newsflash: There were also chants about Capoue being 'better than Zidane' and Doucoure never losing possession. Doesn't make them even close to true.

    Another newsflash: Revisionism doesn't make what's being said automatically wrong. It was a mistake not to sell him but it's one that was backed at the time. Theres no harm in pointing out that it was a mistake in hindsight though.

    Thats the 'truth'.
     
    Mavu likes this.
  6. Steve Leo Beleck

    Steve Leo Beleck Squad Player

    Uuurgghhh this thread has made me remember the Southampton game and QSF's ******ous management.

    They hadn't won in nine, losing seven of them. We were 1-0 up through Sarr and him and Deulofeu being able to run with the ball from deep was terrifying them making us a constant threat on the break as neither of them were operating as conventional strikers.

    So he subbed Deulofeu off and put on Gray after about 70 minutes and we never kept the ball, couldn't get out and couldn't carry the ball up the pitch. The pressure built and built and they scored twice in the last ten or so minutes, saving Hassenhuttl's job and kick starting their season, whilst Quique rightly got the sack.
     
  7. Chumlax

    Chumlax Squad Player

    Funniest thing is that has served as a template for many of our performances ever since.
     
    Shakespearo likes this.
  8. Stuey

    Stuey Reservist

    Knee jerk managerial/head coach appointments (QSF 2nd stint, McKinlay, Munoz)

    Not investing properly in the team in the summer of 19/20 season (and arguably this season) . Complacency.

    Long unjustified contracts for players approaching 30 (or over 30)
     
    BigRossLittleRoss likes this.
  9. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    Gray isn’t so much the mistake, it’s not rectifying that mistake. Sometimes you just have to swallow your pride and admit you’ve ****ed up. Because Gino spent £18 on Gray he was scared/unwilling to just write it off as an error and go again. That has negatively affected us ever since.

    Then allowing Troy to become bigger than the club and for his media reputation to cloud managers judgement became interwoven with that error. We signed Welbeck because he was a cheap gamble (see above for why) Even though he was predictably injured a lot of that time, he came into form and fitness after lockdown. Unfortunately Pearson still bought into the Deeney myth, starting him ahead of Welbeck. This was all while Troy needed a knee operation as well, absolutely bizarre.

    So even though Gino never acknowledged or corrected the initial Gray error, through luck rather than judegement one of his knock on (knock on as in he was a signed directly as a result of wasting £18 on Gray) cheap punts was a potential lifeline for the whole thing, but Troy’s completely unfounded media reputation blinded Pearson like it does everyone else.

    Welbeck is still a premier league player scoring goals, Troy is a championship player with one goal from open play.
     
    DaveWFC, Chumlax and wfc4ever like this.
  10. pleaseenterthenamebywh

    pleaseenterthenamebywh Academy Graduate

    Javi's final 8 games saw us go on our longest losing streak this century, where we averaged 3 goals conceded per game. There was some fair logic in hiring a park the bus specialist in Quique at this point. Wrong decision, but not as bad as you all like to make out. Nigel's final 10 games was far worse than what QSF served up.
     
  11. Knight GT

    Knight GT Predictor extraordinaire 2013/14

    Did we get that opportunity?
     
  12. wfcmoog

    wfcmoog Tinpot

    Maybe better wording would be 'the timing during which that could realistically have happened has passed.'

    I'm pretty confident that we could have got 10m plus for him that following year or so.

    Now we can't give him away and he's taken several years of wages.
     
  13. Knight GT

    Knight GT Predictor extraordinaire 2013/14

    Saying we survived for 5 years suggest we were doing what Wigan did for years and stayed up by the skin of our teeth which is not true. In fact the first four years we stayed up very comfortably, reached a cup semi final and one cup final. To do that we must have been doing things right but I think we started the decline by beating Wolves and we took our eyes off the ball. If you look at the Premier League and the owners wealth we were always struggling and at some point the financial clout would make a difference. This doesn't mean we couldn't have done things differently but every club that goes down will say that.
    Mistakes have been made over the last 18 months but to keep a club like Watford in the Premier League for more than the odd season is an achievement in itself. Have said all of that some of the signings we have made have made no sense whatsoever
     
  14. Knight GT

    Knight GT Predictor extraordinaire 2013/14

    The problem is now, I suspect Gray knows he will never get anywhere near the money he's on now so will just see out his contract even if some idiot does want to buy him. If I had millions I would seriously pay off his contract and tell him to leave as he gives us nothing
     
    wfcmoog likes this.
  15. wfcmoog

    wfcmoog Tinpot

    Like Deeney, i think both are a net negative for us.

    Sure we would be weaker on paper to lose two players without replacements, but I suspect we would be better off in the medium term if both were paid off and dumped ASAP.
     
  16. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    I think that’s a good point about Troy (as far as us fans are concerned) but it’s where you need strong, decisive and logical management.

    If you look at the great Man Utd and Arsenal teams, they were never scared to get rid of players at their peak. It often seemed odd at the time but they almost always improved. Arsenal never used to give contracts to over thirties, now look at them, they give contracts to players like David Luiz.
     
  17. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    Staying up 'very comfortably' is being 10-15 points clear on the last day. We were in freefall a number of times and arguably stayed up more than once simply because the games ran out. There was more than a hint of concern that we wouldn't survive in those 4 seasons you're claiming were 'very comfortable'.
     
    wfcmoog likes this.
  18. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    We certainly should have planned to replace him and others better like Southampton etc do.

    Or maybe Gray and Success were meant to be those guys ?!
     
  19. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    You realise he has to agree to that too?

    I really think what Gray has going on outside of football answers a lot as to why he's still here. His wife-to-be was born down here and I saw an interview actually with them where she mentioned her family live near Wycombe, very close to herself and Gray. London is obviously an attractive city to live in/nearby. Perhaps a move to somewhere commutable could be achievable (I include Birmingam-based clubs in that) but really can't see him wanting to move further away than that. Working in the music industry, I can assure you that the overwhelming majority of his partners domestic work commitments will be based in London as well - I bet he would face significant obstruction to moving personally. They've got it made if you ignore the fact he has been poor at his job for a long while now....

    We've set him up here - in a place he and his family prefer to live and paying him more than anyone else will to do so. It's going to be incredibly difficult to move him on I think.
     
    põder likes this.
  20. pleaseenterthenamebywh

    pleaseenterthenamebywh Academy Graduate

    There are 38 games a season you muppet, you don't run out of games. Not once were we in the relegation zone beyond September in those 4 seasons. The team got the points on the board early, and then dropped off as there wasn't much left to play for.
     
  21. cyaninternetdog

    cyaninternetdog Forum Hippie

    I dont think WFC is allowed to own other clubs.
     
  22. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    Calling someone else a muppet even after calling anyone criticising the Pozzo's 'absurd' in another thread.

    Good work.

    (I won't bother commenting on the rest of your post because its just you condoning bad management)
     
  23. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    If we paid up his whole contarct he’d jump at the chance surely? He’s then only got to sign for another club for £10k a week and he’s already £10k per week better off? He’d probably get a signing on bonus as well.
     
  24. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    If he needs the money, sure. I doubt he does though. And as I've said, there's other circumstances that make being at Watford quite attractive to him I bet. He'd likely want to find another club reasonably local - which narrows the pool significantly. I accept this is all theoretical though and he could easily want a move anywhere to jump-start his career and has had that conversation with his loved-ones...

    But when I watch him, I don't see a player straining to get better or put maximum effort in. I think he's happy with his lot.
     
    põder likes this.
  25. wfcmoog

    wfcmoog Tinpot

    This is a good point. There seems to have been zero consideration to actually evolving as players decline and age.

    The pozzos see players as a box check. We have several strikers, so it's down to ther coach to make them play well.

    Our squad peaked and then there was little improvement. Players like Deoleleou and Sarr, to me, were bought to trade, and play with us until they were ripe to be sold.

    The pozzos never focus on our squad. The players come and go. Some fit. Most don't. That's why I hate them.
     
  26. pleaseenterthenamebywh

    pleaseenterthenamebywh Academy Graduate

    All of you criticising Andre Gray haven't seen into the vision of him scoring the winner in front of a few thousand vaccinated scumm*rs at the kennel in April.

    That will make every single penny spent on him worth it.
     
  27. ITK platypus

    ITK platypus Squad Player

    Because we are in an irrefutably better position now than when they took over.
     
    Rozerhorn likes this.
  28. Chumlax

    Chumlax Squad Player

    Out of curiosity, what event took place that caused you to emerge from under your bridge this week? Was it costly? Does it need structural repair?
     
  29. Abdi

    Abdi Academy Graduate

    £12.5m plus wages on Isaac fuucking Success.
     
  30. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

    This thread needs to be retitled biggest mistakes of the Pozzo era. As there were quite a few unforgivable ones. Stealing a living still the perpetually injured twunt.
     
  31. Knight GT

    Knight GT Predictor extraordinaire 2013/14

    Stayed up 8 points, 6 points, 8 points and 16 points. Until last season I'm not sure we ever even in the bottom 3. In all of those seasons the last few games we seemed to be on the beach as we were pretty much safe. You will always have moments when you look over your shoulder but we just were never in any real danger. I would call that comfortable
     
  32. Knight GT

    Knight GT Predictor extraordinaire 2013/14

    Of course but he would still receive the money he would get over the remaining part of his contract, the difference is that it would be all paid upfront and then we would not be in any danger of playing him.
    It is obviously hypothetical!
     
    Bwood_Horn likes this.
  33. pleaseenterthenamebywh

    pleaseenterthenamebywh Academy Graduate

    The bridge I live under collapsed. I asked Gino to repair it but he won't because he is a tight b**tard
     
  34. Steve Leo Beleck

    Steve Leo Beleck Squad Player

    Really?

    Quique: Played 10, Points 7, Goals Scored 5, Goals Conceded 20. Only win against Norwich.

    Pearson last ten: Played 10, Points 10, Goals Scored 10, Goals Conceded 17. Three wins including the defeat of Liverpool.

    So we took more points, won more games, scored twice as many goals and conceded fewer.

    Quique's football was utterly rancid. It was obviously a terrible appointment at the time as multiple people pointed out on here, it was entirely predictable and more than any other single decision is why we're back in the Championship.
     
    3000, wfcmoog and Burnsy like this.
  35. Knight GT

    Knight GT Predictor extraordinaire 2013/14

    In fairness he looked very decent at Granada. Big, strong and quick and scored some decent goals. He looked ideal for the Premier League. God knows what has happened
     

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