My understanding is that there is an investigation- which is fairly routine, and nothing has been proven? I would agree that our agent fees are too high, but that doesn’t mean that anything illegal has happened?
There is a pending court case. Nothing has been proven yet that’s true and the investigations have nothing to do with Watford activities. I would certainly not agree being involved in a an investigation around money laundering/fraud/embezzlement is “routine”!
I’m prepared to cut Pozzo perhaps more slack than some. But the Bayat relationship, the strangely excessive agents fees paid, and the mixed (at best) record of our Bayat signings is for me the biggest stick to beat Gino with. The moment Bayat was charged, any relationship with him should’ve been put on hold. It doesn’t matter that Watford aren’t seemingly involved in the court case dealings - we should do the correct thing, and equally importantly, be seen to be doing the correct thing in not dealing with Bayat until such time as he is cleared. Now, I’m sure the club will argue there are mitigating factors. Agents are powerful, and it’s impossible to sign the players you want if you aren’t in favour. And Bayat is the most powerful agent in Belgium. Moreover, Bayat is hardly an isolated example of this kind of behaviour - the world of agents is a cesspit, with gaping holes in the regulations and unethical behaviour rife. But it’s not like we couldn’t have gone shopping in other markets. I sincerely hope that at some point soon we get a proper explanation from the boardroom, because it’s very easy to put two and two together with this saga, and at best it’s indicative of a culture of turning a blind eye.
Yes certainly if Bayat is proven guilty we should cut all ties, no question. I guess the dilemma for Gino is do you cut ties now until the result is known, or do you assume innocent until proven guilty. I can see the argument both ways.
Either way, there is probably an argument for not having him in the executive box for games wearing a jacket with the club badge on.
What’s the argument ‘for’? If the allegations against him were for speeding tickets, then I’d understand more. But given the nature of the charges/allegations, it doesn’t feel wise to await the outcome because it still affects the clubs reputation etc.
Personally I like the "Gino is just as bent as Mogi and is keeping him onboard so he doesnt get dropped in the sh1t" theory.
I wonder how long it will take for the chat around Bayo to stop being centred around Mogi Bayat? Will it ever?
I would tend to agree, but maybe Gino thinks Bayat delivers good players and he is innocent of wrong doing.
I tend to think you’re right with the ‘delivering players’ thing. But I would question why Gino thinks he knows better than Belgian Authorities regarding the charges. Duxbury sidestepping the question and claiming to know nothing about the allegations didn’t fill me with any confidence at all. I’m not going to make any allegations - but I worry that we have got so mixed up with Bayat over the last few years and he perhaps could drag us into something nasty should we jettison him. So that’s why he’s got his mitts all over everything.
And I also got the impression from the way Duxbury glossed over the issue of Bayat's seeming omnipresence, saying that was 'up to Gino', that even he may not be overly comfortable with the situation.
Could RE use Bayo in a similar way to the way the RFU and Eddie Jones has "finishers in Rugby" especially with the 5 sub option ?
I’d say 99% of Watford fans who know about this agent and how many players we get through him are anywhere between feeling a little uneasy up to full blown disgusted and close to giving up on the club. If he does get done in court and if we suffer as a consequence as well, I don’t think anyone needs to do the “I told you so”. I ‘think’ we all get it but not much we can do about it and hopefully it doesn’t end badly for us. But, regardless of how you feel, no individual player should feel the wrath of fans because of it. £5m is a lot of money for us, but again not the players fault. Let’s give him time and backing and hope he comes good.
You’re more than likely correct - but it’s worth noting that Mogi isn’t alone on the charge sheet. Other agents, owners, and players are charged too. So not totally inconceivable that his clients are mixed up in this too.
LouOrns, who correctly predicted/reported the xi on Friday morning has Bayo starting this evening. Would be nice to have a good look at him. Showed some flashes against Burnley.
I don't think LouOrns is ITK when it comes to squad selection, just takes educated guesses based on press conferences and who we have available
Personally get the feeling he was told the lineup but framed it as a prediction. Tonight will be a good indicator as I don't think many see Sema playing LB, or Bayo starting, but that's what he has gone with.
Thought he did OK first half ,yet am I the only one who thought he should of put the defender under much more pressure with the goal line clearance rather than just watching him clear it
I may be going mad, but I'm sure the camera cut to RE straight after and seemed to be thinking/shouting the same thing
Before we consign him to the scrap heap lets not forget how many (myself included) had written off Louza after 3 or 4 games.
Agreed old school forwards would had the ball,defender and themselves in the net. His first header wide was appalling, the second off the post unlucky. He needs to leave more on defenders though but there were definitely signs of encouragement.
If he wants to be a success here he needs to be more aggressive. For his size he was pushed around far too much by Sanderson
Possibly. Bayo has a much stronger build so has less excuse. It's like I said on the Asprilla thread, you get plenty of players that are built like Bayo who simply aren't aggressive enough to make it count. Manaj looks to me like he won't have any issues with the physicality
Also looks like he diverted (accidentally?) that Cathcart header which hit the post from going in ! Not his night I guess .
Looks like Burnley are signing a young lad from Charleroi Anass Zaroury for around £4m (slightly less than we paid for Bayo). He is three and a half years younger than and much more raw than Bayo and has 7 goals and 1 assist in 44 appearances for Charleroi. But I think it’s an interesting comparable with the slightly higher fee we paid for Bayo, who had 11 goals and 2 assists in 16 appearances for Charleroi. Zaroury is a little more versatile than the Bayo but has been playing primarily as a CF this season.
