Watford FC - The Pozzo Family

In depth article, interesting that Udinese's president seems to think he will get Ighalo back, seems kinda unlikely to me

 

If Ighalo has two good seasons in the premiership there will be huge offers for him, but if Udinese get into a European competition he may go back. I hope it all goes to plan. If the operation requires the premiership money we should expect regular reinforcements to maintain our status.

 

I think this is the best article about us that I've read for a long time. Excellent.

 

Yet the Guardian will still also inevitably predict us finishing bottom...

 

The most informed piece of journalism - outside the local papers/media sources - that i've read on us for a good year or two.

 

The journo's a Watford fan and a well grounded thinker from what I've read of his.

 

Unusually well researched and accurate piece of journalism with something new or not well known (like the fact that Leandro was ours "before" he became top-scorer at the U17 Sudamericano and coveted by all the other scouts http://www.conmebol.com/en/04022015-2133/leandro-new-name-brazilian-goals ).
Congratulations to the Guardian.

 

As the poster before mentions, it's written by the Guardian's Simon Burnton who is a big Watford fan. He even wrote a chapter in tales from the vicarage. He's often on the Guardian's football pod and talking about Watford.

 

Good article and some interesting new insight. Refuels my already high level of confidence in the Pozzo plan.

 

If Udinese got back into the Champions League it wouldn't be unreasonable for Iggy to go back to Udinese. It'd be fair considering they've given us a ton of players for free

 

They haven't, we've paid for them.

 

Excellent article, at last someone who gets what "The Pozzo's" and WFC are about :sign15:

 

So long as we're in the Prem, we'll be the piggy bank for the group, I'd guess. Quite how it'll work, I don't know. I guess pay over the odds now & again to fund players going to Grenada & Udine?

 

Given that 17th is probably the most profitable long term position, I reckon we will get a squad capable of about 15th, with about four in and four out each year. A couple to udine and one for big money. Academy kids from the commonwealth here and maybe the more Scandinavian prospects.

 

One option might be to move the scouting network costs over to Watford. 20 mill euro pa I might have read somewhere?

Udinese are immediately 20 mill pa better off, meanwhile Sky TV money is used to take the network to yet another level and compete financially for youngsters against anyone

That would match with Soldati's words 'Watford will be the engine room...'


Might we even see a Harefield academy type set up in South America? Africa? Eastern Europe?

 

*Article positive about us*

"Brilliant article! Finally a journo who gets it!!"

 

How is 17th the most profitable position? At current prize money it's £1.2m for each higher place. In 16/17 it'll be even more. 11th place is worth £7.5m more than 17th.

Do Udinese 'own' it outright then or are the costs actually already spread across the three clubs?

Ha. Not sure it's quite that simple. I'd have no problem if a journo took us to task using the same set of facts. Problem is though articles like that, which actually have a basis in factual reality rather than urban myth, are few and far between. Too many places just regurgitate they old junk about 5 managers in 5 minutes, reliance on loans and how we've signed loads of nobodies.

 

I seem to recall it was sunk in Udinese financial statement a season or so back. Sherlock could help with that one.

 

Send the article to every other idiot newspaper out there. Good stuff.

It seems to be Ighalo, over Deeney, that everyone seems to be tipping as our major star.

 

I'll be glad when the season starts, i'm bored of the same two articles that are being spun by most media outlets at the moment, either we're shyte and we're going down or the Pozzo's are amazing and we'll be the surprise package.

 

Sorry, typical leftish Guardian bias. Doesn't even consider how Watford would benefit from leaving the EU. Likely the writer is in their pay IMO.

 

Well it's gotta be one of the 2 so they're not wrong.

 

On the basis that for us to finish eleventh *consistently* we would probably have to spend more than £7.5m a year than we currently are.

For reference, Swansea and Southampton had a wage bill of £63m for the 13/14 season, from £47m and £49m in the previous year. Southampton went from 14th to 8th, Swansea from 9th to 11th. And these are probably the two best run clubs from that period.

Obviously you can look at other income like full capacities, shirt sales and even higher player exposure and therefore fees (Luke Shaw anyone?) due to a better team... But I would hazard a guess that the investment required to move up a spot is not worth the prize money.

 

The way it works and will work as I see it.

Gino has been busy buying undervalued talent in a market he knows very well and of a calibre edging on the hard to attract .. hard because expectations for us are not great but fortunately much of our business was done before the press turned against us (which was always inevitable anyway).

Now I think we all believe we have bought better than our lower PL peers so it's just a question of whether our coach (NOT manager) can get them prepared enough to commence battle and succeed enough to propel us up the league. As with the players, our coach (NOT manager) is of a surprisingly high calibre for minnows like us.

Now imagine the quality we can attract following a top half finish because to my reckoning we would have a big advantage over the likes of Swansea or Southampton and a smaller advantage over the likes of West Ham, Everton and possibly even Spurs (certainly better scouting).

That how it should work but I'm not a fool, I expect at least one season inbetween where we don't move mountains but IMO this is the direction we are heading. Worse still is that we won't actually be on the limit as far as our owners ambitions are concerned .... not even close.

 

Who was Simpson!? Whoever he was, it's completely slipped my mind

 

surprised JCP has only made 56 appearances. I seem to recall reading last season that he'd played more minutes than any other player?

 

The media would have a field day if they saw that stat - makes our player recruitment look even more revolving door than our manager hiring policy!

(Not that I give a **** of course, given that it has got us to where we are now)

 

Winner of this one will be a superhero.

Great work by the way.

 

number of goals from 15/16 signings....?