Hahaha ... well that went well then didn't it! I've given half a dozen more examples in the Joka's thread - go have a look.
This needs to be cleared up at some point so why not sooner rather than later. Either the clubs press office or the player should come out to say he is a Watford player. If the quote is definitely from the player then he won't be starting his career with us in a good light in my opinion.
I'm sure you're right and maybe it is just his way of doing things. But next season we'll be in the deep end media wise and it looks like it'll be left to QSF to represent the club during mandatory press conferences. At the hands of the unforgiving press I feel for him already.
But good PR is as much about creating positive messages as it is about selling tickets. Look at the ill will at places like Blackpool, Cardiff and Blackburn, where the owners have royally messed up and have had the world looking more at what they do off the pitch than on it. Is that the sort of publicity we want at Watford?
I'm pleased that the club have messed up and I delight in the possibility that they may have made a pig's ear of this.
I'm sorry but the Oyston's have raped that club completely and comparing their PR to ours is ridiculous. I feel a parody of a classic scene here. So apart from saving the club from Bas, relaying the pitch, giving us a talented squad, appointing Zola, playing the best football ever seen, taking us to Wembley, building a new stand, making the balsy decision to remove an inept head coach after 2 games, appointing a manager who got us promoted, strengthening the infrastructure, increasing the capacity of the stadium, recognising the traditions of Watford with stand naming, bring pride and belief back to (most) fans, attempting to bolster the squad with quality...apart from all that...what have the Pozzo's ever done for us?
Well it's fairly standard for the head coach to field press conferences and QSF will have done his fair share already. How hard a time he gets will depend on how well we're doing and very little else. This little local difficulty will have been long forgotten by then anyway As you know, I was less than happy with the way the Joka saga was handled too. But this is something different. Either Holebas has made some fairly innocuous comment about the formalities yet to be completed which has then been twisted and blown out of all proportion or he's been genuinely put out by things being done behind his back as he sees it. If the latter, then I'd be p.ssed off too in his position and that could compromise his coming to the Vic. However, I suspect the former. The journalist has deliberately misinterpreted Holebas's comments for his own nefarious ends. Whichever, Gino's right not to comment. If the former is true then there's no story and Gino remains dignified by his silence. The journalists and 'twitter mob' and anyone who listened to them will look stupid on Monday. If the latter, and we have c.cked-up and jumped the gun (which would be a first), then that can be resolved on Monday too although it may require a bit of damage limitation. Whichever, Gino's quite right not to respond in a kneejerk fashion to braying gossips. Monday's soon enough for resolving this one way or the other. Enjoy your weekend Gino and everyone else too.
No. And it isn't the sort of publicity we're getting either because the Pozzos are as far removed from those obnoxious characters as it's possible to be.
Ok one last time ... I'm not saying the Pozzo's aren't good for the club, it's patently obvious that they are and their objectives are not what I have an issue with. My concern (it's no more than that) is that their public image seems aloof to the point of arrogance, and that as we progress under the spotlight of the PL media (who already treat us with distaste), our apparent lack of media saviness will be exposed and exploited. The Pozzo's are of course well within their rights to ignore it all, but someone in the club is required to sit in front of the worlds media after every game to answer questions about the club's position on and off the pitch. I see no one else apart from QSF in line to fill that role and do the Pozzo's really expect him to deal with what could well be hostile questions about, using a few obvious examples the media are bound to pick up on, the 'unfairness' of the tripartite's inter-club transfer methods, the Holebas transfer saga, or the Joka's contractual fiasco question? I question whether the 'dignified silence' approach is either a sensible or practical way to run a multi million pound business and would encourage them to consider the merits of a more open, engaging dialogue with the media. FFS even the Wobby seem to be out of touch these days.
Don't worry I get what you're saying...however whatever's happened here is either an oversight or a misunderstanding so we can't be sure as we know the club don't operate their business in the open. However, if you step back and look at it without emotion, it's Roma who will get the bad PR...they are the antagonists, they announced the sale was a done deal...but will they care? Not a chance, they've got what they wanted. They either forced him to agree to the sale or sold him without his knowledge...we are the unwitting good guys here...Roma don't want you, well we do so come and play in the Premier League.
Greek journalist on Twitter... @YanniRamone: Jose #Holebas will sign his new contract with @WatfordFC on Monday. @OfficialASRoma #Roma His previous tweet a few hours ago was... Fabio Parisi (agent José #Holebas ): we'll talk with #Roma. But if the signature of the player there is, the contract loses effectiveness #Watford
Is it a good omen that when I mis-googled Holesba I was taken to the Warpigs Brewpub stout offering 'Warpigs Smoldering Holes BA Rum'?
It's a privately held multi-million pound business, so actually, they have no-one to answer to if that's the way they want to run it. The people they are most likely to answer is the fans, and from what I've seen over the last 3 years, they do that more with their actions than soundbites for the media room.
The PL media make a drama out of everything, mountains out of mole hills everywhere, its the nature of the beast.
Travis I get that but we're now PL and what you once got away with is now no more. The club simply can't get away with sticking their head in the sand and hoping all the nasty press will go away, or we'll spend a season being an easy target for lazy journalists. Personally I want to enjoy the season by concentrating on on-the-pitch stuff, not spending time & energy having to defend our corner from off-the-pitch sniping. The Pozzo's could easily deal with it by spending half the money they got for Bondy on a professional press officer/agency.
How do you know they haven't and that the advice is not to get mixed up in a lot of unsubstantiated gossip? In fact it would seem that Gino's 'concentrating on on-the-pitch stuff and not spending time and energy bothering to defend our corner from off-the-pitch sniping'.
And why should anyone, from Gino Pozzo, to a season ticket holder in the Rookery, give a flying **** what a journo has to say about us?
What? You say you want to enjoy the season on the pitch right? So here's an idea, do it! Seriously, journalists are condescending ***** to anyone outside of the top 4 and especially promoted sides so who really gives a **** what they say? Gino doesn't and why should he? He doesn't have to answer to them, he's doing his talking by improving the stadium, training ground and squad and I'm very impressed with how they've gone about their business in the last three years.
What press agencies/officers like to do is set the agenda. That can be done with the announcement of a new signing. However, when the validity of that signing's called into question then control of the agenda is lost. All that's left then is either to be reactive (and run the risk of adding fuel to a fire) or to hit the ignore button. Both options are valid. Gino and his staff have chosen the latter on this occasion. I agree with them.
Personally, I just blame Roma for this. They announced it on their website first, and then one of the overly-enthusiastic website editors (or "Club Journalist", as the official site names them) probably thought "I'd best update the website, then".
I very much doubt that was the chain of events. There have been occasions in the recent-ish past where the official website has held off reporting anything despite the other club confirming it. Plus why keep it up if that was the case?
Sounds like he'll actually be signing his contract tomorrow. I'm assuming the club won't announce anything though.
i won't be happy until he sends a photo of his breakfast at the Rising Sun to his Twitter followers. (Although if he was a true Greek, breakfast would consist of sixteen cigarettes and maybe a coffee)
I won't believe the transfer is complete until there's a photo of his new Harry the Hornet tattoo posted on Twitter, the AS Roma & the WFC official websites.
I find the 'is it Harry Hornet or Harry the Hornet?' debate almost as confusing as 'Holebas-will he won't he' and the Grexit debate!:dismay:
