Lawrence Bassini - Ex Owner

fml.

 

I was making a reference to the change from Baz to Bas.

 

I'm sorry Potguy but I am stunned, I can't believe that you can say that and I find it hugely insulting!!!

A Mongoose is far to intelligent for that type of question!

Do you think it's only after these people see that question answered in black & white that they realise just what a *** they now look?

 

Until he missed the Fans Forum he had worked his way into most people's good books, but that all changed. I have been as vocal critic as anyone else but it's time to be patient and see what he does; judged solely on the facts of what he has done so far, he's done a good job (stadium improvements, Red Lion work & BUYING players.)

Got ticked off on Twitter by the club's Official feed for suggesting that the questions had been censored on the basis there were so many that were basically the same. Reply was that every question sent in was answered and published. Personally I didn't send one in as I expected there to be such enormous interest that all bases would be covered. Some opportunities missed with duplicates and the people who sent moronic questions.

He could probably have answered a few in more detail but if he does what he says in his answers it looks like we're in for a good few years.

 

Just read the Q&A on the wobby. Here are my thoughts:

1) Bassini has been open, honest and frank. In some ways I am glad it has not been a fans forum, as Bassini can take his time over the questions and give an honest answer, and not succumb to peer pressure and tell the supporters what he thinks they want him to say. I appreciate his honesty, and I see absolutely nothing wrong with him hoping to make a profit. He's not an idiot. He knows that if he wants to make a profit, then he has to continue the work on the Red Lion, and completely redevelop the SW corner and East Stand before any other parties will even think of investing in Watford. Bassini could make a profit if we do well on and off the field in the future, and we get a brand spanking new East Stand, SW corner and Red Lion. Everybody wins.

2) Some of those questions really take the ****. Why would some of those imbeciles post stupid questions like that in the first place, and why would the club agree to post them? Maybe it was a joke, I don't know. If I were Bassini, I would be tempted to reply 'is this guy joking? What a ridiculous question, it doesn't deserve an answer'.

3) Slightly touching again on my first point about the profit thing, anyone goading Bassini over the fact that he wants to make a profit is a complete and utter ****ing halfwit. The man is not made of money clearly! Everyone has to make a profit in life to be able to put food on the table, pay the bills and support their families. Why does owning a football club and wanting to make a profit have such a negative stigma attached to it? Like I said, if all goes according to plan, it's a win win situation. Bassini can hopefully in a few years sell the club to someone who the board believes can take the club onto the next level, and we can all have a stadium and team that we can be proud of. What's not to like?

In most situations in life, I completely accept that you can never please everybody, and I am sure Bassini accepts this too. Most of the people who are not happy with Bassini's responses to the Q&A though would be blithering idiots who look to only stir up trouble. No time for them at all.

I also don't think there is any need to try and 'read between the lines'. This is not some encrypted message from the fuhrer to Goebbels that we all need to work to decipher, it's a Q&A session about the club and the answers have I think been straightforward and honest. In this business, I appreciate reading a little honesty.

Right that's it from me, I feel like making a brew.

 

Actually, one more question I would like to know the answer to is how he got to purchase the club for a mere £440,000.

 

I honestly don't think he was open or honest.

The questions were bold and straight to the point which gives that impression but in truth the answers were all pretty vague.

 

I hope he leaves us by the end of the season.

Without him buying us we wouldn't have a farking club to moan about. He came in, saved us, he's done quite a lot. He was pretty much in everybodys good books until he missed a forum due to personal reasons/poor health. he has since answered the questions everybody wanted to know but people STILL aren't happy with that.

He's the man who took all of our problems on board and solved most of them and is trying to maintain our club before helping us push forward.

 

Because, with £11m of debts and leaking money at £4m a year, that was all it was worth. (If that).

As an aside, the reason for paying off the bonds may be that if he does so by March 12th he (we) won't have to pay any interest (which would have been about £500,000). If he's got that much ready cash, or access to that much interest-free cash, we may have been seriously underestimating his wealth.

 

Strangely that could have been the best question asked - which prompted the best answer.

This is the first time to my knowledge that we have been told `It is my money` previously there have been many rumours he was fronting a syndicate.

I hope he has made some serious profits elsewhere and is useing Watford`s accumulated tax losses to provide extra cash flow.

His plans are expensive (including paying off the bond holders early) and if he really is counting pennies, his confidence is impressive.

I don`t blame him for not wanting to be in the public eye, but he does need to use a decent front man to get his ideas across, rather than have `spats with God`.

If he can actually do what he suggests he could be the new Messiah - I just hope it all pans out.

 

Words are words, actions are actions.

 

True.

 

Actions is also a word and saying or reading words are actions.

 

This

 

I don't really know what more people want him to say.

 

*That the east stand is to be demolished and turned into a hand car wash for just £5
*That he got his money from a bloke that sent him an e-mail from Nigiria and he is working off the interest.
*That as an employer and a boss he has found it easy to please all his staff all the time
*That leveling the pitch, restructuring the front of the rous and overcoming the enforced 7ft drop at the front of the Vic road stand is a simple project that can be solved with lego.
*That he feels that if an employee wants more money we should just give it to him regardless
*That Mike Flowers was way better than Oasis
*That a ramshackled ground looks good, is good for his investment and a great way forward
*That as a businessman it is his objective to lose as much money as possible in as short a term as possible.

This sort of approach may upset the majority but would please the mindless

 

Ha - very true! His communication has been poor but over time he seems to be getting the message that keeping fans generally informed is a good thing. There is an art to keeping people in the loop and without divulging info that shouldn't go public and he is learning that.

Unfortunately a lot of people jumped on his back from day one and don't seem to be prepared to get off.

What he has done so far has been fine, apart from missing the forum, and his actions over the next year or two will hopefully continue to be done with the best interests of the club at heart.

 

i have supported what he has done from day one, yes he has made some silly little mistakes like not attend the forum, but im sure he has learnt from that at will attend the next one, i happy with him being involved in this club, i like his vision for what this club can be and i really hope that the few mindless idiots that want him out all because they dont know where the money is coming from and believe he is assit stripping soon start beliving that something good can come out off this ere!

 

This is not an attack on Bassini, but more questioning the way he goes about things.

The combination of club generated funds and his own money have gone towards less pressing projects IMO, such as two giant screens, one of which we are not using yet costing £300k, PA system £450k, Red Lion pub renovation £500/600k. You can see it’s probably the best part of £1.5 million that has not been best prioritised. This could have gone towards a good winger or striker. When money is very tight, it is vital it is spent in the correct order of priority.

I would say forget the Red Lion for now, don’t worry about the giant screens, as we already had a perfectly good one, and the PA system should be done after the East Stand has been rebuilt. The East Stand will need a PA system, so this work will have to be repeated anyway.

I agree with the order of things with regards SW corner then the East Stand, but the pitch will have to be levelled in order for all seats to be utilised in the stadium. I'm not sure this will be done. Let’s face it, once the pitch is re-laid it will be at least 10 years before it is touched again. In 10 years, it has to be the ambition for the club to be an established Premiership club, however unlikely that seems today, the infrastructure has to be in place in the event that actually happens.

 

There is money available for new signings though, so we have the best of both worlds.

 

My flaky memory seems to recall that the pitch IS level, it was levelled when the DESSO pitch was first put in.

The problem was that the old pitch was not level and the Rous stand was built alongside the pitch so the Rous is on a slope. This sadly validated Venables claims that our pitch used to have a slope. So if we align the pitch to the Rous stand we will be re-introducing a slope on the pitch.

Can anyone else remember that being the case?

 

No, I think the Rous is true to the ground and it's the pitch that's wonky. If the stories are correct we were given the option when the Rous was built to have it true or following the line of the pitch. It was much cheaper to build it true so that's what happened and is why hundreds of lower Rous seats at the VR end are staring at a brick wall.

 

No, this is not correct. The Rous is level and was built with levelling the pitch in mind at a later date. When the Desso pitch was first laid, they decided not to level the pitch because of costs involved. The same thing will happen when they build the East Stand on the opposite side, part of it will be lower than pitch level, so some seats could not be used. The pitch is flat but slopes down from Vicarage Road to the Rookery by some 6 to 7 feet. This is quite an undertaking to remove so much soil and will of course be expensive. Watford would have to start work straight after the final home match on the 28th April, in order to level the pitch and relay the surface. The turf will need a couple of months for the grass to strengthen and bond with the artificial fibres, so it will be a close run thing. Hopefully our first match next season will be away giving an extra week or so.

 

The other problem is the drop at the front of the Vic rd stand. The second or third row will be sitting at cross bar hieght so there is a safety issue of people going over the wall and splat. The structure below the current front row and the new pitch level would also need to be shored up.

 

Why would anyone put seats in if you can't see. Leave that area without seats.

 

I would anticipate the VR end would have 3 or 4 rows added in order to avoid that problem.

 

Message to Bassini

 

There's no rush. I presume Bas needs to speak to the other 3 billionaires interested.

 

Pozos gon 2 Cardiff :doom:

 

Seriously Baz,

If you really love the club as you have said in the past, step aside and let these guys takeover and just settle for break even on what you have spent or maybe a VERY SMALL profit!!!

 

'VERY SMALL profit"

:biggrin:

 

Why would he do that?

 

If the deal goes through and is as good as it looks can anyone say Bas has been bad for the club?

To be honest apart from the odd media & PR gaffe he's got was needed to be sorted, sorted. If he leaves us in a better state than we were when he joined, so what if he makes money, he's a businessman after all.