If There Was A Protest Against The Owner….

Ding ding ding!

 

Just because it's a cliché doesn't mean it's not valid. Look at Leeds a few years back. Look at the mess Forest were in.

 

And the opposite is also valid - that there are likely better owners out there too. Why can’t there be another Pozzo family out there who can take over and run with it in the way that the actual Pozzo family no longer seemingly can?

It’s also valid that some people are looking at the debt leveraged against us and the direction of travel with the squad, coaches etc…and saying we may well be in the shoes of the Forest’s and Derby’s you speak of under this owner. ‘Careful what you wish for’ can just as easily apply to Gino Pozzo.

I will add for clarity - I am yet to fully be behind calls for the owner to sell up. I think his tenure is salvageable and he has the ability to right the ship. But it won’t happen under the current working practices and structures. I’m very never been more certain of that. And I don’t think sitting on our hands and hoping he suddenly changes upon waking up one day will happen. I think fans need to demand the changes in some way or another.

 

I think you've mentioned a couple of fundamental problems without adequately linking them. Maybe Pozzo no longer seems able to run things as successfully as before is because the model that was based upon per se is no longer viable, whilst he continues with the current working practices & structures because he can't identify a viable alternative in the short term. I highlight that comment because I believe any alternative methodology would necessitate 2/3 years to bear fruit & we can tell from the way he acts he doesn't feel he can risk such a timescale. I accept that such a situation is in full accord with Jumbolina's Cassandra-esque predictions about our finances, but it does seem the most logical explanation of the recent actions of a clearly capable & intelligent operator.
Another alternative would be to sell up, partially or wholly, but I think it's obvious that would be an absolute final recourse for him.

Ideal outcome? We somehow avoid relegation, Pozzo attracts new (deep-pocketed) investment, either by full or partial sell-off, and that new investment is provided by someone whose wealth has come from a palatable source. If that does not happen, I'm struggling to see how anyone, Pozzo or otherwise, can deliver anything better than 2/3 seasons of Championship football.

 

Since the Pozzos came in the club has been improved demonstrably…whether that’s measured as infrastructure or time in premiership. For me that’s come at too big a cost with a large debt and lost all identity

it’s got to a stage now where I’m missing more games than I actually go to. For no other reason than watching football on a Saturday at the vic bores me

is that worth protesting…no. But their actions mean a lot of fans will just find something else to do at weekends

 

I'd quite like to know who Damiano Jarmorini and Marco Juri are. They're the other two directors of the parent company, Hornets Investment Limited alongside Duxbury.

From some Googling, they both seem to work for a company founded by Raffaele Riva, our ex chairman who was banned from English football indefinitely for the fake HSBC letter. This poses a couple of questions for me:

1. Is Riva actually still involved in the club?
2. The company they work for (Aurea Consulting) seems to focus on asset and wealth management. What's their brief? Presumably it's to maximise Gino's wealth rather than the club's (albeit the two will be somewhat interlinked). Who are these two random Swiss blokes who have such control over the strategic direction of the club yet no-one has ever heard of?

 

Damiano Jarmorini sounds like the fakest name I’ve heard since Danilo Bachmani was mentioned as a keeper replacement.

 

I take issue with the 'best interests of Watford FC.'

My view, and the reason why I'm anti Pozzo is that Watford serves as a base and show ground for their players. They want that to be in the Premier League, but that doesn't mean Gino's interests and mine as a fan are aligned.

 

The thing is it’s hard to player trade with any real meaningful profitability without being in the Premier League. Our Premier League status should come first, but it’s secondary to the player trading model which leads to the whole thing unravelling and we end up going backwards in both departments. Sarr is a great example, we’ll lose money on him and it’s because liberties were taken with the rest of the squad.

This strongly suggests Gino no longer knows what he’s doing, it’s like a builder building a house and not bothering with a roof so he can fit a hot tub instead.

 

And the hot tub doesn’t work…

 

They want to be in the Premier League. Whatever the motive for that, our interests are aligned in that respect at least.

 

So did Bassini. That's a pointless metric. The fact is if Pozzo has an option of buying a CB who will improve the first XI but who he thinks he can't make money on (stupid view in my opinion), or a winger that isn't really needed that he thinks he can turn a dime on, he'll pick the winger every time, even if that puts us at greater risk of relegation. Even if the winger needs to be loaned out, sent to Udinese to thrive, he'll pick that option. His player trading is not aligned to the requirements of our team and he will take risks with premier league survival, because he's an idiot rich kid playing with his daddy's assets.

This comment is more aimed at 2 or 3 years ago. This season he's just pumped the squad full of journeymen rubbish because he's thrashing around, doesn't know what to do, and has burnt bridges to the extent he has to deal with Mogi Bayet 75% of the time. Gino Pozzo is an absolute shambles.

 

Protests against ownership are among the most pointless activities there are. It's not like they are elected. If they want to sell up they will, if they don't, they won't. Every owner out there want to make money and win games. Every owner out there thinks they know more about how to go about it than the fans.

 

Of course, the reverse is also true.

 

Being wealthy doesn't correlate with higher intelligence.

 

And a man who goes through an airport turnstile sideways is going to Bangkok.

 

No .

 

An extremely persuasive and well thought-out point.

 

FWIW, there's an Athletic article recently in which Brentford staff stated that the majority of their recent signings wouldn't qualify for work permits under the new system, including the likes of Benrahma. There's likely a solid case for what you're saying.

 

Thank you .

 

Can we close this thread now? We are effectively safe following today's result and we should now enjoy the rest of the season and give our owner, Gino Pozzo, the respect and praise he deserves. Another successful season punching WAY WAY WAY above our weight. No other owner has ever achieved the success that Gino has. You only have to look at the stats.