Parlaci Gino

Anyone can edit Hornets Player.

 

He was playing for someone else .

 

It's been dubbed into English.

 

Quite softly spoken, not a particularly strong accent and less of an American twang than the old Hornets Player video that people have posted in the thread.

He's not a very good public speaker at all, there's no warmth, humour or empathy. Came across as quite introverted but with a steely/arrogant streak.

Was interesting watching Duxbury whilst Pozzo was speaking, body language suggested he was thinking 'what are you on about?' at various points.

Duxbury also couldn't help but laugh when the host asked if Kalu was being transferred to Last of the Summer Wine FC but quickly got the serious face back on.

 

A true slap in the face for fans coming from a club owned by Italians...

 

What a disappointment - I hoped it would be more Joe Pasquale on helium...

 

Was it free?

 

Of course not. How do you think Scott closed that £90m hole in the accounts so quickly?

 

In the same way that Rey Manaj was.

 

Agreed.

Someone else made this same point earlier in the thread but got critised for it.

 

That's me holding my knee on the right.

 

I’m the blonde next to you.

 

Keep your hands to yourself next time please.

 

Hi Mr. Duxbury.

Debt free in 12 months, now it makes complete sense why you are clueless about finances.

 

Ha ha. I don't even know what my mortgage is - call me Scott.

 

A mixed bag. On the plus side, they turned up and answered questions for a long time, and stated extremely clearly that the financial situation is good. This process has also shown that plenty of fans really care about our club, it's philosophy and continued good health.

On the minus side though, so much waffle and gaslighting. Several things they refuse to/pretend not to understand:

The model stopped working years ago. What is this crap about all these coaches being a bad fit. Difficult even to imagine a bigger karma moment than the RE disaster. He is obviously a brilliant coach. 'Orns will never live this down. Long after Pozzo has gone I will feel sick thinking about our sacked coach leading L*t*n to promotion.

Fanbase crying out for better communication. "This is the second time I have actually had the opportunity to talk to you." Opportunity? What on earth are you saying? Take responsibility for your decision to be as open as Pyongyang, and spare us this ********.

Yes, it's been an exciting decade but football-wise we are back where we were when you took over. Better infrastructure but financially possibly worse off. Not as glitteringly successful as you think you are.

We don't want a betting company on the shirt.

Fans really need to get organised and hold this elusive leadership to account.

 

And looked like clowns.

 

He needs a break. That much we know for sure.

 

Agreed. His eyebrows look ridiculous however.

 

Yet Toney gets banned for betting. Doesn’t seem right to be honest

 

In the final comments made by Duxbury, he was very keen to emphasise WFC is and always will be an EFL club, a community based club.

“We’ll always be an EFL club, that’s who we are. We’re a community-based club. And this constant aspiration, we must be a Premier League club . . . I love the EFL. I love the fact it allows us to develop young players. The Academy has never been stronger.

“Of course I want to win the league and the prize for that is we’ll be in the Premier League. For how long I don’t know. We will always be an EFL club. That’s what I fundamentally believe in.

“And that’s why our expectations, it’s not resetting, it’s not re-evaluating, that’s who are we are. We should be proud of it. We’re one of the best EFL clubs, and it allows us to develop the Academy, it allows us for the players to come through, and it allows us to be always competitive. And maybe we’ll win the prize and get to the Premier League, and maybe we'll stay there for a few years. Maybe we’ll stay there forever.

“But we will always be an EFL club because that’s who we are. We’re a community-based club and we should never forget it and we should always be proud of it. That’s my view.”

This is in stark contrast to the Pozzo family statement upon buying the club back in 2012.

"Our aim is clear: we wish to establish Watford as a Premier League club, which has revenue to help it become self-sufficient over time.

"There are no promises of timescale; only that is our stated ambition to be in the Premier League so that everyone connected with Watford, all of us, can enjoy a successful and sustainable future."

Quote taken from a retrospective WO piece by Anthony Matthews on June 29, 2022, looking back at 10 years of Pozzo ownership.
https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/s...-pozzos-first-words-watford-owners-ten-years/

So sorry Duxbury, you're either bullshitting your way through another supporters Q&A or have the hierarchy indeed re-evaluated their expectations?

The idea back then was to be a self-sustaining EPL club, however long it took. Now WFC will forever be an EFL club with the aim of reaching the Premiership but, "For how long I don't know. We will always be an EFL club. That’s what I fundamentally believe in."

I'll be kind. Maybe being at the top table for a few years opened the eyes of those running the club and they've now realised WFC cannot compete financially season in, season out without putting its very existence in to doubt. But if that's the case, bloody say so!

There was said to be a need for context several times in the meeting so put your ideology, or philosophy as it's usually called, into context when it changes.

Either way, it appears to be a more realistic way of running the club (business) if, and it's a big if, he's telling the truth this time. Sadly it's difficult to tell to be honest.

 

I've heard this said by others. He didn't get banned for betting though. He can bet on the horses, the tennis, the F1, virtual football, draughts, the next President of the US or who will win Love Island. He simply can't bet on the sport in which he actively participates and there's a particular no no for games involving his own team or even himself. Given the potential for corruption I think that's perfectly fair.

 

What’s up with your arms? And where’s your neck?

 

Your first point is all ifs, buts and maybe's Skyla. I don't necessarily disagree with you but every club who is relegated will have similar arguments. I expect many Leicester supporters are wondering how they went from having a half decent team to being Champions & FA Cup winners only to be relegated in 6 years. For a club (business) our size, it's nigh on impossible to become a self sustaining EPL entity, as was initially stated when the club was first bought. Even if we were to suddenly have uber rich owners come in who spend billions, unless we were to compete well in European competitions then the type of players and squad needed to remain out of relegations grasp would be out of our reach year after year. We will never have that kind of draw in the long term.

Your second set of points I pretty much posted myself. We are small fry relative to the top half of the EPL. And by that I mean we just cannot hope to compete on a level footing with the top half sides without crippling ourselves with debt. At the moment Brentford and Brighton are doing really well, seemingly both on and off the field. But they will falter and at some point will probably get relegated. Just two or three poor transfer windows and they'll struggle. I can't remember which ex-player I heard say it, but the point made was it is relatively easy to break into the top 10 of the EPL. Good decisions made with a bit of luck and suddenly a club gains momentum and is competing. But the money spent over, say, 5 seasons will almost have to be spent again in 1 to attract players to stay and compete against the best. But that squad built over 5 seasons had camaraderie, club spirit and trust in the process. Now you're buying in players who are basically for hire. No real connection to their new surroundings but players who are perceived to be at a particular level. That club spirit and momentum can and will (eventually) disappear.

I'm happy being an EFL club, a yo-yo club even. I think that's what Duxbury may even have been eluding to. Self-sustaining, community based, a working academy and occasional periods of EPL 'success'. The odd Cup run and all is well. The point of my original post though was not to disagree with Duxbury, more point out his 'we've not changed philosophy' type statement when it's a matter of record that that is exactly what has happened if he's to be believed this time round.

 

I'm carrying a little holiday weight

 

I was more optimistic about our finances until I saw this. Poor Gino has even got the cash to get a hair cut.