I can't type it all out right now, but needless to say, he had some worrying things to say, some points he raised were of huge concern and he left me with a lot to think about as I try and make sense of it all.
Apparently he wasn't there when lloydinho scored but wished he had. That moment was possibly the biggest reason for wanting to buy the club. The new East Stand is intended to be completed, and filled with season ticket holders by the time Lloyd scores his second He also admitted the delay in announcing MV joining WBA was due to the entertainment value provided by the "is that MV in the background" pics
Just watched Part 1. Nothing awfully surprising in it. In essence they were attracted to Watford because the ethos and expectations of the club matched theirs. They could have bought other clubs. Bassini dragged the process on longer than anticipated so the final deal went through later than they hoped. They were surprised by the progress of the club in their first season but in the same vein were a little surprised that we didn't kick on this year as that was the clear goal. Gino does come across as a solid football man though as he makes it quite clear he understands that that's football and will just keep trying. Money is being spent on several developments because again that matches their aims for the improvement of the club. They like to keep things under wraps a lot though as a rule so don't expect them to be shouting from the treetops about every little purchase. He spoke about the scouting regime - how there are 40 people around the world filing regular reports into a team of 5 head scouts. They then meet every 2 months and discuss who to sign. Signings will go where they are needed within the three clubs. Basically the scouting game is getting harder as other teams cotton on to what they're doing. So whereas maybe a few years ago Udinese would be the only Italian club at the U20 World Championships now there are more scouts than players. Although players come to Watford and need to be convinced to come once they are here they want to stay which is positive. He was asked a question about spending money on players. He said it comes down to value for money. If a top player was available at the right price they would be signed but realistically the prospects probably lie elsewhere. He used Chalobah as an example of a player who came here and his aims and the cost matched where we were. We wanted him back for the season just gone but by that point his wages had increased, he had higher expectations and other clubs who were prepared to pay more money were circling so it was a non-starter. There were also some comments about youth development etc but I zoned out a bit. This account is from memory rather than as I was listening so won't all be in the right order.
For me, since the Pozzos have bought the club, the Pozzos and Duxbury have actually been really good. Seem to have a lot of football and business sense, don't leave supporters in the dark, and ultimately the complete opposite to Bassini!!!! Everytime the Pozzos put out something like this into the media, the question of if they are good owners are not always comes up, and i believe they are the best thing to happen to the club off the field in our history, the financial stability that they provide is often disregarded as soon as we have a bad result. The negative so far has been Nani, i don't think he has done enough yet, the first season the loans had to come in, but replacing Chalobah and Vydra with Iriney and Acuna just didn't work, so this season he has got to step up, and hopefully bring in players that provide the results that the Pozzos deserve.
To be fair one was hugely experienced and was playing in La Liga and the other scored lots of goals the previous season and certainly looked as though he would be fine in The Championship. I admit it's not all been great but he is definitely not without his successes. This summer should prove his worth and it's been a good start. What The Pozzos have done in a very short time is brilliant. A new stand, new pitches at the training ground, a profit in their first season and a sensible outlook. I'm sure they're aware that last season wasn't good enough but I'm very confident they will also deliver a team good enough to go up and good enough to stay up as well. What might have happened without them just doesn't bear thinking about.
No nothing really new. But, when listening to this type of interview we have to take a view as to whether the man is being honest. If you believe he isn't being honest, then it is pretty pointless listening to it and making any judgements on what he is saying. But if you accept he is being honest, then I can't see how anyone can be anything other than delighted that these people own and run our club. They are not big spenders but, and if FFP is enforced, big spending will become increasingly irrelevant to success on the pitch. They want to achieve success by growing organically and in a financially sustainable manner, creating the right environment, through development of young players and through efficient use of their international resources. Picking the right young players is a gamble, as is picking the right players from overseas is a gamble, so mistakes will be made throughout. Fans will always have valid reasons and the entitlement to have a moan at those mistakes and at bad results on the pitch, but that is the nature of football. When you see some of the problems and owners that other clubs are living with, you must be a bit of a bonehead if you think that the Pozzo's aren't good for Watford.
The problem was never with the quality of the players. Acuna and Iriney are both good players who just struggled to settle. Sometimes players can come over from abroad and kick on immediately, like Ulloa, sometimes it doesn't work out like that. Not sure Nani can be held to account for that. If anything he derserves credit this summer for recognising that domestic signings don't carry as much risk.
I would say Elton John was the best thing to happen. Without his ambition and money we would never have made it to the top flight, then hung around in the top 2 divisions making us attractive to the likes of the Pozzos. I understand where you're coming from though.
Is that not blindingly obvious though? I don't think any football fan, or certain.my anyone in Nani's position should need a season to work this out.
Having seen Watford climb up from the bottom of the League to the top in just a handful of years under Elton and GT, I agree with you. In those days we needed someone who was a fan of the club with a bit of money. But, Eltons heart wasn't in the club when we started to need new investors and success on the pitch wasn't forthcoming. His priorities changed. These days, we need someone with a business brain, experiences & resources and with their heart sustainably in the right place.
The model in place does not allow for too much spending and involves a lot of risk. Nani is a cog in the machine, and can't go outside the framework of what's in place. Gino talks about value and risk in the interview, and makes it abundantly clear that the value currently lies in getting young talent in from abroad (increasingly younger talent), and he accepts that there are risks involved with this method. To blame Nani for the foreign imports that don't settle, and to take issue with the fact that the majority of the players we get in are not British or based in the country is to criticise the way the whole thing works, rather than Nani's particular involvement.
I'm someone who has grown up watching watford for only 10 years, and while i respect the achievements of Elton and Graham hugely, growing up in the uncertainty of Russos and Bassini has meant the Pozzos coming in just feels more real to me. We're in one of the most exciting times in our history barring the Taylor days. I don't however agree that Elton helped us be attractive, because most of the gains were eventually used up by the overspending of Vialli and later on Simpson. It could be indirectly as it meant we had a greeter focus on the academy which was a big advantage of the Pozzos choosing us
Nothing new in terms of info, it was well delivered and I think you can get a good sense of who Gino Pozzo is from listening to it. The man comes across very well and is clearly very capable. There is also no doubt that he completely understands the football industry, something which distinguishes him from the vast majority of other owners in the sport. Overall he struck me as a very competent, grounded and capable man who has a clear vision for how to develop the club long term.
So you were the only one who thought that our squad was not good enough for promotion at the beginning of last season? Nani’s job is to use the scout reports he is provided, to make a judgement of who is good enough to come to the club, and to then convince and negotiate with them to bring them here. A lot of the players who were not successes looked extremely good on paper, and yes in hindsight they were the wrong choices. But I wasn’t the only one who thought that QPR would be much closer to the top of the table with the squad they had this season. This league is very good at neutralising technical ability, with crap pitches, long balls, high physicality and a gruelling schedule. Yes, Nani has clearly made mistakes. But to put a large proportion of the blame on him using only hindsight is a bit unfair. Nobody could tell you that Vydra would be 20 goals better than Acuna, or that past captain Iriney would not show as much leadership skills as the less technically gifted and injury prone Eustace, especially when top Pozzo scouts tell you otherwise.
But without Elton we would most likely still be bumbling around divisions 3 and 4 and not been in a position to attract Vialli, have a top academy etc. We're both coming at this from different eras though so will have a different opinion However I do agree it's exciting to have the Pozzos in charge now. It's been a long time since we had an owner that will be a long term success.
