Watford FC - The Pozzo Family

A Donny fan comparing their situation last season to ours. Not even close.

 

At risk of being on the end of a flaming.....

whilst agreeing that all the misty eyed recollections are heartwarming stuff (I can't really remember my first game, seem to recall 4-2 Crewe Alexandra) I have no particular gratitude to the Pozzos; they are in it for the Pozzos, not for us, not even for Watford FC except insofar as they will profit financially from any success. I will wait to see what transpires. With the departure of Tiny, I really think that we have become something else - not to offer a stalwart like him, who has been playing well, fitting in, another year on his contract is madness. Eustace next? Cassetti captain I suppose?

Bloody stupid.

So please unsticky this thread or at least change the sycophantic title.

 

'Super_horns' - christ, is that guy still around?

 

Sneeeeeeeeeeeeaky.

 

since having a true fan as owner we've had a tory lord in it for money (didn't work but the intent was there), joint with another so called fan (a travel agent with big ideas and small pockets), a couple of vegetable farming chelsea supporters and a errrrrrrrrrr well we don't really know apart from ex bankrupt recently discharged changed name who couldn't find the safe keys. Now we've got footballing nouse in the form of an Italian family with proven track record of applying a business model to bring football success. They build big squads and sell bits of those squads to make profit. Being Italian they have a particular culture of "family" which fits. They completed purchase of our beloved club 9 weeks ago and have in that time applied the first aid required to get the club competing across the season at the top end of the championship. Their stated intent is to reach the prem and by their actions I'd say they intend to do it fast. They have shown in their other clubs a lack of patience when waiting for success and changed structures fast to get the required results. That's the way its going to be, I hope Zola gets it right and pulls it all together, not an easy task but should be a rewarding one. Like GT GZ is one of the nice guys in football. Glad to get behind this plan and our identity as a family club hasn't changed, our place as a finishing school for coaches / transition club to management probably has. Our academy will evolve stronger than it was, people need to stop getting hung up on this category 1,2,3 status, its an FA fabrication and not in the interest of developing quality talent. Rather than having a full U21 team competing we'll do it our way and spend the money on developing the right talent and sign only who we want to sign. As to Harefield and local talent I'm not sure that this is as important as having a good academy developing talent from youth to senior level irrespective of catchment area. Our scouts should be looking far and wide and picking the best to bring through. Under the old Watford academy from bitter family experience early developers were favored over skilled players ie big bruising players were retained rather than more skillful players, hopefully this will change...

 

This may have been covered before, but why Watford? There were other clubs with better stadiums/fan base etc that were for sale at the time

As for thanks to Pozzos....yes as we have greater security under them but not getting carried away until we see the quality of the loanees

 

Well said that man :sign15:

I see you are a relatively new and infrequent poster; I wish you a slightly belated welcome to the board, and I hope we hear a lot more from you from now on :sign15:

 

Not a total waste - but for £9 Billion, they are the most expensive medals ever.

Even a billion is a huge amount - to put it in perspective a billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the stone age (and many Lootown fans still are).
A billion seconds ago it was 1959 - so multiply that by nine!

The plan for the so called `legacy` is also flawed, as they will shortly start destroying many of the facilities.

This from a country where old people die from the cold (especially in July) and many children go hungry.

Doh!

 

Did you vote at the last election?

 

Vote? `I stood`.

 

The biggest conversations at the moment as a Watford fan is, are you happy with what The Pozzo family in charge, or against it.

I am quite aware that people will not be sold on the Pozzo family, they will hate the fact that so many 'Loaness' have been sent, we dont know who the players are, they wont know us or us know them, that the east stand hasnt been started yet, that harefield isnt going to be applying for category one status, that Martin TAYLOR was sold to Sheff Wednesday we are losing our identity, this isnt the Watford way and then snowballing from there will be any excuse possible to dislike the regime.

Since taking over, the family have steadied a sinking ship, financially clearing debts, the exact amount and to what extent who knows, but i think we can safely say that it was a few quid. They have sent over to Watford a huge amount of players that appear on the face of it to be very classy footballers.
What sticks out is this, they have owned udinese for 25 years, of that time Udinese have managed top flight football for 18 years of that, and the last few years have Qualified to be part of the Champions League, they have managed to get Granada promoted to la Liga and keep them there. That says to me that they are successful, i cannot for one minute think that they would want to buy an english football club and not want success with them, it makes no logical sense at all. They are business people and lets face it football is a business now, what with the money offered in the premier league and at the higher end, the money in the champions league is huge. Can you imagine a day when Udinese, Granada and Watford all qualify for the Champions league, i bet the Pozzo family can.Me personally I like the thought of that Watford competing against Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, whilst Udinese and Granada are also doing the same. Maybe our identity will change but surely it has to be better. Certainly under other regimes they would never have dreamed so high.

I guess what im saying in this:

Watford is our club and we dont have to agree with everything that goes on, but surely so long as its not damaging for the club (which i cant see that anything that they have done so far is), then we should support wholeheartedly.

The Watford Way surely is limited to what has gone thus far.. maybe these guys want to burst through the barriers of where we have been before. To bring the same level of success to our football club that has been bought to Udinese.

East Stand whilst looking gross at the moment would be a huge waste of money to be re built, especially while we are still only bringing in 11k for a league game.

Do some research into the new players, for the record David PUDIL is on twitter and appears to really care about Watford and has been seen alot around and appears to be enjoying the life here. The quicker we work out who the players are, the quicker they will become our heroes and we will sing their name and they will feel part of it.

Come on Watford fans two weeks to get to know the new team.

1. almunia
2. Cassetti 5. Ekstrand 6. Hall 3. Neuton

4. eustace 8. Battochoi

7. Vydra 10. Abdi 11. Murray

9. Geijo


Come on Watford fans the season starts now.

 

You have a knack for creating good topics mate. :sign15:

 

When all is said and done, neither you nor I can change who runs our football club. There is no referendum on whether we want the Pozzos or somebody else. It's a fait accompli.

Personally, I back them despite having a few concerns. But if I were to spend the whole season worrying about them and the big changes that are happening, it'd mean not enjoying my football...and I don't know about you guys but football and Saturday afternoons and WFC are one of the things I most enjoy in life.

 

Well at least with Pozzo's we have financial security. Something we have not had for a long time. One thing I do have a big problem with is having Nani & Duxbury anywhere near this football club.

It makes me feel very uneasy knowing that these sly self-serving men are at Vicarage Road.

 

I was majorly gutted and a touch worried about Saturday but then when you sit back and take a look at the team that played Saturday and our best XI, you realise this is only the very beginning of he journey, and that there is an incalculable amount of room for improvement left to come. Top notch post mate, couldn't agree more, really things into perspective.

 

Well said. We should never forget that without the Pozzos we would at least be in Administration or even liquidation.The old "watford Way" had disappeared as an option even if we preferred it.

 

Great post. I imagine you can't go outside unless your a strong swimmer!
I welcome anybody after the last few years of struggling to stay afloat. Who knows what would have happened this season without the takeover but I fear we may have been in for a relegation fight. As it is we have a family with a proven track record at making football clubs a success on the playing side as well as financially. What is happening at the moment is exactly the same as they did in Granada so as that worked then you can see why they are trying again. It may or may not work but lets at least give it a try.
I for one havent been this excited about a season in a long time and really looking forward to seeing these players in a couple of weeks time. It may take a few weeks or months to gel as a side but for the first time in ages we are not on the verge of administration and that is the first very good reason for the Pozzo's. Whatever comes next I'm sure it won't be dull as it never is:biggrin:

 

I will never forget that without the Pozzo's, we would be in administration. Who knows what would have happened after that? A downward spiral perhaps? Fortunately we will never have to find out as Baz is gone, but unfortunately so is Dyche.

Anyways, the squad will need many months to work with each other so we start putting in performances on the pitch. This will definitely take time, and consistency will probably be our biggest problem this season. Saying that though, anything can happen. Any successful team in the championship has momentum, and if we use this international break wisely and storm the 4 weeks after, who knows where we may end up come the end of the season?

I have faith in Zola and will never boo him, but to be honest, Saturday's performance worried me. It suggested to me that Zola had not done his homework and quite frankly, might not just have been underestimating Derby, but the Championship as a whole. Saying that though, the game must have been a wake up call to him and I'm sure he realised that apart from the fact that one should never play ****inson at CB, he needs to put the work in and accept that this is a brutal and tough division. If he wants any sort of success here, then he has to go back to the basics, which are:

- making sure that the squad is a well-oiled, disciplined, focused, physically fit and fighting machine, ready to take on anything the championship has to throw at them
- not strolling into any games thinking it will be a walk in the park. That's never the case, and we as supporters will be punished every weekend until Zola accepts this.

All in all, I like Zola and think he could be a success here. There have been many changes here over the summer, but I mainly want to see the Pozzos invest in the academy over the coming years. That is Watford to me, and it they do this, I'm happy.

For anyone who is so utterly against the new regime - ok. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. If those people are so desperately unhappy with the new ownership, why don't they set up a breakaway club like FC United or AFC Wimbledon? If the morons on twitter did so, maybe (MAYBE) I'd have a little more respect for them.

 

At last a normal person has spoken but I dont think it will turn the heads of the hermits on here attempting to soil our new adventure.
If we won the league they'd complain they suffered from vertigo and demand that Nani and Duxbury pay immediately for sufficient treatment until we are back in Their comfort zone..........fourth from bottom - ahhhh that's better, back where we belong!

 

am thinking i would rather be where we are then where we was before we now have financial security and yes it will take a few weeks for the new players to settle in but when thay do am hopeing the slick passing football will be played ..the influx of players has been never seen like this before at the club ..in the years gone buy ..3/4 and the odd 5 are get in after 1/2 are sold i dont care where thay have come from all be it our brother clubs bar the odd 2/3 i am enjoying the ride so far ok the weekends score was a bit of a kick in the balls but it happens ,,dust ya self down and get on to the next game ..so yes am happy to be part of the Pozzo's. family ...onwards and upwards

 

I'm very HAPPY, b*lls to those who arent,

Why dont they watch the next game facing the stand, they wont have anything to moan about then apart from the price of a steak and onion pie, and the odd bloke dashing into the ladies when the queue's too long...steward steward!!

 

Just a small correction to the original post..its Daniel Pudil, not David!

 

I'm quite surprised by this thread. It's like asking "what have the Roman's ever done for us?".

Forget the Pozzo's for a moment. We had a joke owner running us into the ground. What would every fan wish for from that moment onwards. I would say we would like to sell to someone that has money, a business brain and knows football. Someone that can run a football club and meet all its debts but to provide us with quality players. Someone that will take the club forward and develop the stadium.

I would say that wish has now been granted. We are not in administration, our debts are being managed, we have 16 (sixteen) new players of undoubted quality (and at no cost to the club) and there are plans in place to develop the stadium.

I don't know what more any fan would want from an owner. You may not agree with their decision over the academy or the management team they have appointed, but they have a 100% track record of success at two clubs and I do not see why Watford would be a failure. They don't invest in lost causes. By hook or by crook (no pun intended towards Bassini), we will be successful. It's just a bit of patience that is required and eventually I totally believe their "project" will be good for Watford football club.

 

Romans at Chelsea mate! You got the wrong club

 

Yes....Yes...........YES :sign15: :notworthy:

 

Hornetboy1 you are agreeing with me. I'm over the moon also.

 

I am definitely in tune with the sentiments expressed in this thread.

In the months and years to come we may look back on Saturday's defeat as a turning point. I think it will be a long time before we see another Watford starting eleven with only three Pozzo loanees. There was a small but noticeable improvement in the midfield/frontline after the substitutions and I am looking forward to seeing what the new players are capable of once they have settled in.

 

Excellent post. I seem to find myself agreeing with you a lot these days hornetboy

 

Can't really understand why anyone would be against the Pozzos.

We need to stop referring to the Udinese registered players as loanees. We are all under the same owner and the players are paid from the same pot of money. I have no doubt that these and other players would be registered at Watford if it made financial sense to the Pozzos.

These players are as much Watford players as any others.

 

The Pozzo's are the best thing to happen to this club in a long while, simple as that. We'll be an established Premiership team in the next decade, something I never thought I'd see in my lifetime and I'm only in my early 20's. Perhaps we had to sell our soul for this to happen but you have to evolve and adapt to what's happening around you. We've been punching well above our weight for a number of seasons now, it was only a matter of time before financial problems would come back and haunt our club.

Long live the Pozzo's!