Cristiano Giaretta - Director Of Football

Incorrect - Leonardo Gabbanini managed our team of scouts in UK + Europe. Rafa Monfort manages our team of scouts in South America.

We also have a separate head of talent identification, Miguel Rios, who joined us from Opta in August 2020.

https://theathletic.com/2288048/2020/12/29/watford-january-transfer-window/

 

Rios is very well respected and I would be happy to see him replace Giaretta. If memory serves he was quite instrumental in the setup of Brentfords scouting approach being data led about 8 or 9 years ago

 

Certainly hope so!

 

I saw he posted on Instagram and got excited, but it was just this generic bullsh!t.

 

Childish and petty is what I’m about to suggest and as a grown man and father of 3 I’m ashamed for this post. However I want it to happen.

Please can we absolutely spam the hell out of Giaretta’s Instagram account with messages of players we want. I would love for him to wake up to 1000’s of private messages that simply say;

RWB: Bowler, Ebosele, Drameh, Thomas
CB: Fry, Cabango, ****ie, Ekpiteta, Moore
CM/CAM: O’Hare, Grimes, Evans, Piroe
ST: ARCHER!!!!!!!

We have done your job for you now sign one of these players from each category. We don’t want Mogi crap!!

 

Moore is Elliott Moore at Oxford? Who is Evans?

I think McNair is more likely to be available than Fry and would also be a good fit.

 

Do you really think he's going to read messages from fans when his inbox is full of t!t pics?

 

He will if we put butterfly emoji’s first.

 

Yes

Antony Evans at Bristol Rovers.

 

This sounds like a second-hand car dealership.

 

GONE

https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/sport/21696739.sporting-director-giaretta-left-watford/

 

#keepfighting #nevergiveup #oh #I'llgetmycoat

 

Great news! Absolutely useless. Good riddance.

 

Can only be good news - but that said, he literally only worked to the orders of Gino and not much else. Seems odd to sack someone who didn’t really do much off their own back. And it still leaves the giant Mogi-shaped question….

I think Giaretta was very poor at his job. And if replaced, it must be someone who is good at the job and not just because they are mates with the family.

Andrew French suggesting it could be in order to give Rob Edwards more power. Which I wouldn’t be totally against - but it does seem rather out of step with the way football is going in general. I’d expect them to change his role to ‘Manager’ if it’s the case though.

 

Brilliant news. What a shocking time he’s had recently, first being heavily involved in a dreadful relegation, followed by posting those photos of his wife, and then being sacked. Absolutely fantastic .

 

Great news.

 

Good news. Whatever he's supposedly been doing hasn't been working.

Also, wasn't he someone who had a long-term chummy relationship with the Bayats pre-dating coming to us through the whole Aspire/Eupen/CSKA Sofia thing? Would suggest the club are not pleased with the likes of Kayembe.

Although:

"I believe Watford will be looking to hand more influence over wider football aspects of the club to head coach Rob Edwards. "



I wasn't expecting to see that.

So who knows, maybe behind the scenes it was that Edwards wanted Laird, but Giaretta foisted the dud Gaspar on to him?

 

Giaretta leaving is meaningless unless the club appoint a sporting director who actually works with Rob, knows what Rob needs and has the balls to stand up to Gino.

So we'll be getting another yes-man from Italy.

 

Remember when Mogi was seen wearing Watford branded attire in the directors box?

I really hope that isn’t the next chapter in this story.

 

By far the best bit of his tenure, if we're being honest.

 

Christ he was even worse than Giraldi

 

Actually Mogi is basically Sporting Director, is he about to get his first official role at the club?

 

The latest sacrificial lamb, nothing to celebrate here, he’ll just be replaced by another meat shield for Pozzo like Giraldi, Roy and Nani before him

Wouldn’t be surprised if they just went full mask off and gave the role to Bayat

 

Pretty sure I read something recently where he said he’s happy as an agent and despite accusations he’s the defacto sporting director at Nantes he has no interest in the role. So can’t see anything official happening here either.

 

Certainly didn't see that coming this evening. Only time will tell whether it's a sign of recognition and a first step on an actual path to a new way of doing things, or a meaningless rolled head to placate the masses.

 

I’ve asked the question to someone tonight who would know bits and pieces - and the crux of the reply is that Giaretta doesn’t really do a great deal in terms of recruitment and certainly was shown to have a lack of knowledge of English football.

Club are looking at replacing him with a Sporting Director more in tune with the English game - and are also making a few more changes behind the scenes to support Edwards and also give him more control (wasn’t told more about this).

 

Wait - you believe what he’s saying? Mogi Bayat? The man up on fraud charges?

Nantes fans have always seen him as their unofficial Sporting Director given his movements for them.

 

bat

 

Hopefully Liam Sweeting. Wouldn’t mind Leigh Bromby though. Has done a fairly good job at Huddersfield and knows the EFL well. Can you think of any other good option?

Bayat would likely have to take a big pay cut to be the formal sporting director here. He gets paid millions in commissions, can’t see the club paying 3-4x Duxbury’s salary to the sporting director and don’t think he’d be able to pay himself a commission. If we are going to have Bayat control our recruitment I’d rather it be done with him in a formal capacity for that reason, as much as I think he is bad news, but can’t see how he’d agree to this.

 

I really doubt we’d be getting a Bromby, Sweeting etc unless they get prior guarantees that Bayat is out of the picture. No one worth their salt would be taking the job whilst he still has his claws in the recruitment.

Good sporting directors need a full remit - not just bits and pieces that the owner is prepared to offer up. The owner/chairman need to hand the reins over to an extent and put faith in the SD/TD and manager to run the football side of things.

Unless Gino is willing to shove Mogi out and do the above, I really think sacking Giaretta means very little at all.

Only other name I can come up with off top of my head is Mike Rigg who left Burnley this summer.

 

Agreed all round. What’s the point in bringing in a new sporting director at all then if Bayat is still in control? Club should just announce their empowering Edwards or whatever and give the reins to Bayat if that’s what they really want.

If your source is correct and we’re after a sporting director with EFL knowhow, Sweeting is clearly the best candidate.

 

Mike Rigg is another name maybe. (Not one I’ve heard though)

I wasn’t told they’d have ‘EFL know-how’ - just that they would be more knowledgeable about the English game as a whole. Think it’s widely known that Giaretta knew very, very little about the mechanisms of the game over here, the media etc. He really was a just a Gino errand-boy, pen-pusher and someone who did paperwork on deals.

He was weak on talent identification, and it appears that it’s been deemed obvious pretty early-on that Edwards didn’t like his presence or value his input around the team or training ground.