A post from someone that was actually there.... ZOLA : He had several offers both in UK and in Italy to manage, he was aware of the Pozzo's interest, but nothing was definate until last week. He held out for the Watford job over the other opportunties as he see's this as the biggest challenge and opportunity, he has a lot of respect for the Pozzo's and they were key to him coming to Watford . He is very excited, seems very humble, but admitted he was tired this evening as its been a whirlwind few days, and he only met the players today. He is relishing the challenge, said if he didnt have anything to prove he wouldnt be here, hence he says he has alot to prove, and after two years out the game, and the learning experience at West Ham good and bad, he is in a strong place to take team forward. He knows the team needs strengthening, however wants to assess what he has got before anything radical (hence stopping the Heaton signing), however the two Czech boys were positions that were a MUST and they were training today. He has been assured that Watford wont be a feeder club for Udinese or Granada, but obviuosly the value of having 3 clubs in the family has advantages and the Pozzo'z scouting network, one of the best in the world will be a huge advantage to Watford He will identify which positions he needs to improve, and the skill sets and type of player he wants, and GianLuca Nani who he will work closely with should be able to offer 4 or 5 players to bring in, so the ability to attract and secure new players should be an easier process He is excited about the challenge, has said he will make mistakes, however will give 100% of himself to make it work, he is very passionate about football and the way its played, and he will NOT compromise on that. He asked fans to be patient ............... When asked about Vialli, he said that was along time ago under different circumstances, Zola said he felt more prepared. He mentioned he is very good friends with Roberto DiMatteo, and was also delighted for Mancini in winning the title. He would love to meet Elton John and would love SEJ to come to training or a match soon, likewise Graham Taylor, Zola certainly seems respectful of people of love the club and also stated he bought into the community element and wanted this to continue He was full of respect for Sean Dyche and said he has been left a good legacy, which he hopes to build on ...... In my opinion, I think he is gonna be good if we give him time Gian Luca Nani : I didnt get a chance to speak with him, but it was clear Zola and GLN will be working closely together on the squad and new entrants Scott Duxbury : After reading the negativity of some West Ham fans, I was intrigued to meet Scott. He was very self assured and looks calm and measured. He didnt say much during the conference, however did say that talks have started with Marriappa's agent to try to get him to stay, however Zola added that if Aidy wants to move to the Prem, Zola will respect that, to date only Reading have made an offer. I then had an informal chat with Scott after the conference, he confirmed that it was him and Nani who presented the plan/project/opportunity to the Pozzo's who were looking to acquire an English team. Scott and Nani chose Watford because it fits the Pozzo's model for size and culture, and felt it had the potential to emulate a Fulham, Wigan, Bolton etc The Pozzo's are hear for the long term, the want the club to break even in the mid to long term, and will fund the losses between now and when that happens. They will invest in the infrastructure, ground and playing staff to help get to that even keel point. The club was very close to admininstration, he wouldnt say how much debt the club is in on top of the £8M to bondholders, but I guess it aint peanuts, but the Pozzo's will clear those debts and take over the bonds. He asked what the fans think of having the Happy Egg Company on the shirts, I said for me personally its a PR disaster, he smiled, it was done by previous regime. He did say that they could now attract much larger sponsorships, it that too late now ? crack an egg to make an omlette ....... I would rather start season with blank shirts and get a larger sponsor, and let the Happy Eggs sponsor the chicks in the academy. He also asked for ideas on what we could put in front of main stand to stop in looking so ugly, ideas on a postcard ....... Scott summarised that he has been working on the Watford proposed project since February, he is also very excited and here for long term. He chose Watford and has been selling that vision for past 5 months I say lets get behind them, Forza Watford
A very good read, save for the spelling errors. :naughty: If it goes as planned we'll have nothing to complain about. Personally, Zola still has to win me over but I'll give him time. I just find it so frustrating that after all the good work last year we have to start building a side all over again.
Thats football i'm afraid. But you have to look at the bigger picture, without this takeover we may not have had a club by the end of this season. All aboard the Zola bus!!!!! :]]
i am really really excited. nice article. I do think we are gonna come under the microscope as i think this is a very unique position so we must be prepared for that but i think this model would appear to make us a very solid club on and off the field. Hopefully the fans won't start to moan at all the players who start to come in and out. I can only see this as a problem if we are loosing though. (my favorite part of fifa is when the transfer season starts). It will be interesting to see how long players hang around that we actually buy. Im on the zola bus (but looking with guilt out the back window at Sean on the street as the bus drives off) cmon u horns
thanks for a great read hollywood.....yea the Happy Eggs shirt contract should be scrambled! Surely the money brought in by the sponsorship will be offset by the total lack of replica shirts sold...what a yoke!
Nice summary, but this one line leads me to believe that they will not be working on the East Stand soon.
Thanks for sharing. To me it doesn't really matter what they say - I will reserve judgement until I see what they DO!
Good old Holly 68! Nice piece about us in the Independent this morning... http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...tions-open-new-doors-for-watford-7932623.html
He mentions the fact Granada had 10 loanees playing last season in a game he attended but omitted to say this would be impossible at Watford with the current rules. Everyone seems obsessed by the fact we'll be a team of loanees.
but who cares if the players are on loan? ask Granada if they cared when they climbed up to to La Liga in two seasons. In any case I don't think you'll have that many loanees. As far as I know you are allowed a maximun of can have on loan 4 player from the same team. That means you could have 4 from Udinese and 4 from Granada for example, is that correct? Are these the rules in England?
We can have a large number of loans but can only have a maximum of 5 in the 16 man matchday squad. I'm not too bothered by loans, they've really helped us in the past and we've had some excellent players, I just wouldn't want too many of them.
Rome wasn't built in na, day! The priority must surely be in putting together a competitive team on the pitch.
Yeah. can the press jog on now. I was looking forward to every other team being "surprised" by the way we play next season, stop telling them we are going to have talented continental types. let them expect a team of Doyleys and hoofball.
Should put Ian Dowie in front of it as by putting something more ugly in front of the main stand it will look better.
I genuinely think that if they can, they should find a new sponsor quickly and scrap the happy egg deal. Anyone want to start a campaign?? That aside, I'm starting to get excited for next season... but trying to remain cautious at the same time! And as far as loans are concerned, I'm fairly sure there is no limit to the amount of season long loans we can use from outside of the UK as they are treated like permanent transfers by the league. Someone else might be able to clarify this either way?
Could we shield the East stand with some old, grim green houses or "executive boxes" as they call them in bedfordshire
When Udinese bought Granada we had to buy all their players as well (I guess for some money issue at Granada) and loan back to them so in fact they had pratically all their squad on loan from Udine but in reality only a bunch of players have been really loaned to them (Ighalo, Siqueira, Nyom this year Floro Flores, Torje) For Watford will be different as the players will still be owned by Watford with only few loans from Udine/Granada
Thanks for that Hollywood , feeling very pozzotive for the future, Duxbury saying we were close to admin doesnt surprise me and now it makes sense why an administrator was involved in the TO talks. New era for the club has started that I think will be a lot more stable for the future .
Of course and the "on the pitch" matters are of top priority, but that will be Zola and Nani's job. They won't be involved in rebuilding of stadium projects. This will be down Duxbury and the Pozzo family to arrange and sort out. I would say the East Stand has to be a priority when it comes to off the field matters. But I can see there will be a lot of work that will need to be done, with resourcing builders, stadium design and approval etc. I would hope that work could begin by May next year if not sooner though. We've been let down by so many owners from previous eras on this one subject. It will be such a relief to see this monstrosity torn down at last.
Watford were only days away from administration. A friend of mine plays golf with an accountant who was involved in the potential administration process and told me in early June that we were about to go into administration.
