Where would we like to see the Club in (say) 5 and 10 year's time?.......

Oh well If I win the Euromillions I will come in as a not so silent partner

 

With regards to alternative income steams, I believe they were looking at meeting/conference rooms as part of the East Stand... Or I certainly hope so. I know a lot of football grounds who have this facility so the stadium can be open 6/7 days a week.

The major drawbacks for the Vic are the location and lack of parking. I suppose if we were to relocate, they would want to be nearer the M1 or M25, and build a stadium that could offer all these facilites, not just to local businesses but many out of town ones as well. Just look at how succesful the Grove is, having such a good location with great facilities!!

 

Long term I am not really too worried about the limit on our income. As Frenchie said - we only had crowds of !4,500 back in the old First Division in the 80's but we did OK against the bigger boys. Our average for the last 8 years has been above 15,000. Couple that with some TV money and who knows a foray into the Prem for a year and there is more than just attendance income.

People have compared us with City clubs but Leicester, Southampton , Coventry etc have normally played above our level. Their ambitions can easily cause them to over extend and like Portsmouth get into severe problems. Well over half the clubs outside the Prem do not have income or budgets better than ours yet they survive - they do so as they look after their costs - something we did not do when we went up to the Prem - had we done so we would not be in today's mess.

If your costs roughly match your income and you have an Academy producing more talent than you buy in then you have long term sustainability - let's face it we are not and need not be in the league to buy your million pound plus Elliingtons - less of him and more of Danny Graham is good - there are plenty of players who can be bought for a few hundred thousand who are more than half decent players.

Like others I do not want to see Watford ever like the big 6 or whatever - that is not our kind of club - I enjoyed watching Watford as much under Mike Keen in Division Four as in the Premiership.

 

"...I enjoyed watching Watford as much under Mike Keen in Division Four as in the Premiership. ..."

Which game was that then Leo? Most of his games were purgatory to watch. I don't associate enjoyment with getting beaten 3-0 at Northampton, 1-0 at Darlington, 2-1 at Hartlepool, 2-1 at Rochdale, 5-1 at Lincoln City...........

".....we only had crowds of 14,500 back in the old First Division in the 80's but we did OK against the bigger boys...."

Football has changed enormously since then, Leo....(and we had GT, Barnes, Blissett in their prime).

 

In 10 years time I'll just be happy to still be here to see them

 

Good point, well made. Me too.

 

H I totally agree with this, and an odd cup run here and there wouldn't go a miss

 

Please cheer up guys, I am working on a immortality idea that will keep me at my current age.

 

I went to all the home games as a season ticket holder and don't ever remember coming away feeling as I did under Aidy's hoofball - we were not a good side but we tried to play entertaining football and I enjoyed the atmosphere.

Not sure of your second point - I was referring to the figure of 14,500 mentioned by OFH for 1986/7 I think and then saying we still get the same level of crowd now - prices are higher even by inflationary standards so my point was that in financial terms if we could survive then why not now? (not sure that who was playing is relevant to this but if it is you would have thought tthat with Barnes Blisset etc our crowds would have been higher)

 

Does it involve imbibing lots of wine ?

 

Euromillions is £136 million this Friday! That will do very nicely!!

Personally, if I won, I wouldn't buy the club but I would finance the development of the ground so we had 4 sides and a decent playing surface! But in return I would want to be given a place on the board and also be in charge of naming the new east stand!

Right, must stop day dreaming!!!

 

How about the Bassini Stand in honour of his soon to be greatness

 

I regularly have discussions like this with a guy at work - he is a Man City fan so says he doesn't need to give them any money...

I've always said I wouldn't buy the club, but would just donate them mney to build the East Stand, sort the pitch out and a bit extra for players, in the same model we use now. In return, I would put to a vote what the East Stand would be called (a sensible one so outsiders couldn't interfere), plus I would have an Exec Box & Season Ticket for life!

Now just to enter the Euromillions.....

 

Leo: "I went to all the home games as a season ticket holder and don't ever remember coming away feeling as I did under Aidy's hoofball"

Yes I agree with you about Aidy's football - especially the last season and a bit!!!

The home games under Keen weren't too bad, but the away games were simply dreadful - especially in the first season in the Fourth under Keen when the likes of Horthur Arsfield were up front for us and we always had a brittle & porous defence.

The point I was trying to make about the first stint in the top division was that although there was a income gap between the top clubs and Watford then, it was much smaller than today. Could we envisage Barnes for example staying for 6 (yes six) seasons at Watford today, playing for England most of that time? He would have been with us 2 years maximum before being tempted away by the much higher wages other clubs can pay. Other players would have followed, GT would have become frustrated sooner than he did. A six season stay in the top division is an impossibility for us now.

No, most clubs in the League in the 80's existed (I use the term advisedly) for the most part on gate receipts and the odd wealthy local owner - even some of the top clubs. TV money counted for relatively little then. Wages had not yet entered the ludicrous spiral that that did in the 90s. So Watford could exist on 14,800 average gates then, but I suggest not now or least not for too much longer......

 

You can't win the Euromillions coz i will be

 

When you do all that Bucks, i want to do it with you! lol Can we split it?

 

um....

 

Funnily enough, i'd still want to sit in the Rookery, especially now that the yellow order are moving to where i sit lol...i couldn't take the peace in an Executive box!

 

Never mind the Euromillions, just give me a 'Rollover' any day........please!

 

Oh well PM your numbers and then we can both own the 'Orns