AIDY BOOTHROYD is hoping some Samba magic might be able to save his side after the Watford boss took three Brazilians on trial today. Vocfmir, Rinaldi and Sala arrived in London from Sao Paulo this morning and are set to spend at least the next week on trial at the club's training ground in London Colney. The move to bring the trio to Watford could well have been brokered by Ricky Villa, the former Tottenham star who has great knowledge of the South American scene and who is still in regular contact with Keith Burkinshaw.
Good stuff, sounds promising! No doubt we need some flair for the remainder of the season! Can't see these lads enjoying playing clogger football next season in the fizzy pop league though!
Of 25-30 trialists, we have heard of maybe 8-10. I wonder how the coaching team is getting about evaluating 25-30 trialists - it seems they're going for quantity rather than quality - out of need I expect. Now one trialist we won't see back I presume is Bogdanovic as he's said the trial went well but he won't leave his current club this season. http://www.timesofmalta.com/core/article.php?id=249918 I have not heard about any other trialists so I guess none have done well enough. I would love if we were linked to established players in stead of scraping the barrell.
This is what I cant understand.... there are so many players out there we could go for. It looks like we're just not prepared to spend the money Dont get me wrong, I love the idea of us unearthing some gems but surely this should have been going on all year rather than suddenly bringing in 25 players all at the last minute Smacks of desparation to me....
Ive got images of Aidy standing in the middle of sainsburies car park with a bunch of bemused foreigners attempting to kick balls around cones. Quality ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
I think you're being a tad naive here KJ. What players do you have in mind and why on earth would they join us? I saw you mention Nugent in another thread but at 7 mio that's just not realistic for us. Furthermore - there's no way he'd want to join us. What players would you like to see us try and sign?
Approaching 30, its quite touching when someone calls you naive Ok i will put it another way. Everyone I speak to whether it be at football on a sunday or tuesday, or various mates and work colleagues (who all know who i follow) ask the same thing. "Why havent you lot strengthened when you came up or even now during the window" Good bloody question. I WILL NOT SUBSCRIBE TO THE THEORY THAT THERES NO ONE AVAILABLE AND THEY WONT COME. We've seen an awful lot of players mentioned on here but we're yet to see anyone sign. Carlos Edwards was very interested, Sunderland (big club, bigger than us in fact) got him. Jobi McAnuff? Koumas? Paul Robinson? Lee Hendrie? Huckerby? Earnshaw (prior to injury?) Kilgallon? Ben Thatcher? Heidar Helguson? Rowan Vine? Why arent we breaking the bank for Chopra?? I could go on................................
Considering Aidy can convince US that he has a vision for 2010, surely he can convince a bunch of footballers
Well, some I agree we should go for and maybe we even have. Others I disagree with but that's football. It's fine you don't subscribe to the latter - but I think that is indeed the case. Of course players are available but you have to be realistic. We're not going to pay huge amounts for mediocre players. We tried that before and thank Jebus we're is not going down that road again. Also, when targeting 7 figure players - we have to keep our current wage structure ion mind. Whilst I see the need to pay someone what they're worth for sure, we need to maintain a gap in wages between the regular starter down to a reasonable one. It makes no sense that the likes of Mahon, Shittu etc. is paid far less than new signings. Also we have the issue of Marlon and Mahon having clauses that noone can be paid more than they are - i.e. anyone with a wage over 17k will cost the club 3 times as much for each k over 17. I.e. CJs 20 - that would have cost the club 26k pr. week and Mahon and Marlon would go up to 20k also. It is as much a mystery how we can come out of this transfer window weaker than we went in, but I am sure it is not for a lack of trying. I guess that's the thing here - do you believe Aidy and the club are trying as hard as they can? Taking 25+ trialists on says to me they are. But that's just my opinion. I'm going on 35 so you can see I am vastly more experienced than you ;o) (just kidding). I think it ios scientifically proven that footballers are dumb, greedy and egotistical - I doubt that they are so easy to convince. Fans however - especially Watford fans - are very intelligent and therefore can easily see the vision.
Nice reply Krisvad!!! I didnt know the deal with Mahon and King..... that is a tad surprising!!! That said, if we're going to be this Top 10 club, things need to change! I do actually agree with every thing youve said to an extent... doesnt stop me from being acutely dissappointed with just about every single aspect of the season so far Aidy Boothroyd bangs on about the positives..... Negatives outweigh the positives right now.... so easy to gloss over but the fact remains Our best player and highest goalscorer last year is "mysteriously injured" about about to get banged up Our second best player, second highest goalscorer last year has been flogged just when we need someone of his quality Darius Henderson.... say no more The signing of Tommy Smith All other tansfer signings last summer (with the exception of Shittu) have flopped What happened to the coaches? Sacked or not? Considerable lack of communication from the board The closure of the WFC message boards (pathetic!) The damp squib that was the "big announcement" The vast sums of money being "borrowed" for a couple of extra seats Housing being built around the ground (like something out of a comic strip) The Russo's dissappearance into thin air The desparate lack of investment into the team Bottom of the league (very deservedly) Impending relelgation The loss of Foster in the summer The potential loss of anyone half decent in the summer (Shittu, Bouazza) The loss of Aidy Boothroyd?? As you lot can see.... im not hopeful!
I think you are being naive KJ. Watford is not an attractive proposition for anyone currently with a Premiership club or even a top half championship club and it wouldn't have been last summer either. Aidy is doing absolutley the right thing by looking in lower divisions and abroad. Great footballers aren't born fully formed, they have to come from somewhere and develop. This is what we have to do. We don't have any other options. What is clear is that Aidy isn't panicking and signing just anyone for the sake of it. Good luck to him.
Well to someone at a PrL club it's obvious. We're probably going down - and taking a drop to a lower league is not an attractive prospect. For someone at a CCC top club there's a fight for promotion to contend with - that - as we all know - is far more interesting than fighting relegation. Especially if the battle is already lost - which ours is, at least in most peoples minds. As I mentioned earlier, footballers are short sighted. They don't care if Aidy has a 3 year plan as they may be at their 3rd new club by then. To a player like CJ we ought to be an attractive alternative. He'll get 1st team football every week and could have had fans that adore him. But he decided to hold out for a better offer (i.e. from a team not destined for the drop). I can understand players' reluctance to join us - despite the plans currently in place. They're plans - they're not reality yet. Finally there probably are things we do not know about. Things that make us less desirable to players and their agents.
To be fair, afanof needs to reply to this Saying we're dropping into the CCC isnt that unnattractive... if we really are going to be this big top 10 club as we're led to believe then surely we'll be one of the favourites to go straight back up next season... Surely that makes us an attractive proposition???
well, why drop down if you can stay up? That'll be the mindset of players for sure. Just saw this: Hornets look at Lopes The Jupiler League is League 1 level at best. So it's another Hoskins/Sharp/Easter. Not what I'd go for but hey - I'm not the manager... thankfully.
hold on a minute.................. £50000 HOW CAN WE JUSTIFY SUCH A VAST SUM OF MONEY FOR JUST ONE PLAYER Seriously, are we planning for a Top 10 Premier League place in three years time or DIV TWO????
What Aidy can sell to devoted fans and what he can sell to greedy footballers are two different things. Actually krisvad made a good reply. We are at the bottom of the league. The teams at the top of the Championship are playing better football than we are lately and there will be a battle for promotion. It is very unlikely that we go straight back up. We are a small club. We aren't going to be a big top ten club unless Abramovich has got lots of mates and I wouldn't want that. There is too much local opposition for us to grow much more as a club and that is why the plans for the stadium capacity are realistic. I just don't think we're the same club you seem to think we are kj
How desparately sad afanof... i knew you'd come out with something like that. Im guessing you're the type to always settle for second best right? Its the likes of you thats kept us pegged back all these years (that and money of course!) Is that your answer to my question "Why are we unnattractive?"? Im very dissappointed afanof, you keep "fighting relegation in the CCC every year" I want Premiership football at this club and theres no reason why we cant have it! (Wigan, Bolton, Reading, Charlton...........................)
Completely agree with you, there is so much doom and gloom around. Take a leaf out of Adie's book and look on the bright side
How desparately sad afanof... i knew you'd come out with something like that. Im guessing you're the type to always settle for second best right? Its the likes of you thats kept us pegged back all these years (that and money of course!) Is that your answer to my question "Why are we unnattractive?"? Im very dissappointed afanof, you keep "fighting relegation in the CCC every year" I want Premiership football at this club and theres no reason why we cant have it! (Wigan, Bolton, Reading, Charlton...........................)' - king james wigan and charlton are not exactly guaranteed premiership football every season. Reading have only just been promoted on the back of successive seasons of team building, where as we haven't.
LMAO 1. Do you know tonight's score or tomorrow's lottery numbers too? 2. Wrong 3. Don't make me your 'escaped goat' . 4. Yes, I thought it a fairly comprehensive answer. 5. Where did that quote come from? 6. There is a reson why we can't have Premiership football right now - WE'RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH AND PLAYERS WHO ARE GOOD ENOUGH DON'T WANT TO JOIN US. They have seen Aidy talking positive all season and yet we're at the bottom of the league. You can't blame them for being sceptical.
1) Yes I do... 5 16 27 31 33 45 (and I'll share the proceeds with you if i must!) 2) Ok fair enough 3) Isnt it "Scapegoat"?? Are you essentially calling yourself a goat? 4) Wouldnt call it comprehensive! 5) There are too many Horns fans happy to reminisce about how terrible things used to be and how lucky we are nowadays. Thats no excuse for not wanting more! I was merely suggesting you may be one of them 5) If no players who are better than what we already have will come (as you suggest) then we're doomed! My point is our dealings in the transfer market have been very VERY poor and that MUST change.
As have Blunts. Their planning is similar to what we've just recently started. Did Reading find it easy to attract established players when they set out on this journey - certainly not. Did they have masses of fans - NO. They planned for this for ages - we just started. We'll get there I have no doubt because our manager and our board are fans as well as shrewd business people. KJ - you question the housing project part of the Vic development. That actually makes the project qualify for EU support which makes the project possible in the first place. We're on the first step of a long journey - maybe we took this step a season too early and we'll have to take a step down to start going up again - but we'll get there I have no doubt. This is an exciting time to be a Watford fan - regardless of the results on the pitch!
QUOTE=krisvad;55662] KJ - you question the housing project part of the Vic development. That actually makes the project qualify for EU support which makes the project possible in the first place. We're on the first step of a long journey - maybe we took this step a season too early and we'll have to take a step down to start going up again - but we'll get there I have no doubt. This is an exciting time to be a Watford fan - regardless of the results on the pitch![/QUOTE] Whats all this about EU support? What sort of support? Does this mean a bunch of Bulgarians will be forced by Uefa to walk round their village wearing Watford shirts at all times?
The EU support - or subsidy is basically cash in hand to projects that develops areas in cities to improve facilities in general and that ensures housing for nurses, police etc. Basically it mean we're only paying for part of the project. Te EU pays the rest.
I'd say it's a good thing that Aidy insists of having the players on trial before considering signing them. We don't want just a bunch of random new faces signed - that's not going to help us. 20-30 players on trial and none signed (yet), shows how desperate we're NOT if you ask me.
We're paying for none of the project - Origin are. In fact they're paying us to build on our land. It'll be Origin who recieve any subsidies. Which is probably another motivation for them doing the project if it unlock a nice EU pot o' gold.
Well I have enjoyed this silly banter between you guys. I think that essentially a lot of the points KJ makes I agree with and to those doom mongers who call us a small club I can only feel sorry for you. We're not a big club but by no means are we a small club and if that's how you view us then maybe you should go support the scummers cos we don't want ya. All this top 10 talk is pointless at the moment - we have an awful lot of work to do before we get there. I firmly believe that we will be comfortably in contention for promotion next season and I am happy to bounce up and down between the leagues for a couple of seasons while we build on the foundations that have been recently laid. I too am disappointed in our lack of transfer activity but I think Aidy doesn't want to make the mistakes he made at the beginning of the season signing players that he wants rid of after 2 weeks. I am disappointed at our tactics this season - I know we don't have the quality but we are playing a very different style of football to that which got us promoted which disappoints a little. However, I completely agree with Krisvad that getting the quality of player to our club at this time of year is an exercise in futility. Champ clubs looking at promo won't come to a club almost resigned to the drop and neither will prem players (Collins John for example although I am glad he didn't come!). However, next season we will likely be pushing for promo when we are potentially an attractive proposition again - especially for those players that are fighting for promo now but do not achieve it. Let's wait and see what happens - at the moment my biggest fear is losing Aidy in the summer.
I would be happy to get us out of the nightmare left behind by that bald Italian tw4t, and like you said, bounce between leagues until we can start solidly to become an established top flight side
