I made a comment on the BSaD site that I thought the maximum number of players we are allowed on loan in a season is 8 (which we already have) with 5 on the team-sheet for any given match (which we had on Saturday.) So I thought that the profile of loan players we have now will pretty much be the lot for the season. But I was told that no, if the loan players are "foreigners" we can have as many as we like, and no restriction on the number who play in any game. So how many more do you want? And is it fair that being co-owned with well resourced Italian and Spanish teams gives us an advantage in this way? How long before other clubs in the Championship start to complain? I must say it seems a bit odd that the football authorities allow this, when they have limits on "domestic " loanees and the PL has a "home grown" quota to fulfill. Is this position sustainable? Is it good for the development of local players?
Looks like as many as possible at the moment. I don't want any more for now, we need to let our squad settle down and work together. I think it is an advantage but a legal one, so what if other teams complain, so long as it is done by the book. Is it ok for our younger players? They will have there 1st team chances limited but on the other hand, the training ground will be more skillful.
I'm not exactly sure that 'fairness' comes into it. After all, we are not the richest club in the Championship and never have been - and no-one (excepting perhaps ourselves) has questioned how fair it is that some clubs have access to more resources than others - it's just the way it is. What has worried me is whether or not the authorities are now viewing our situation as an unforeseen loophole that they have to plug - if so, where will that leave us? If the Pozzo masterplan is for us to achieve EPL status next season - and with all the players that are coming our way, that certainly seems to be their likely intention - then the changing of the goalposts will almost certainly see us crashing out after one season again, ending up in the financial mire as before. As for developing local talent, I'd say that is going out the window for now - I really don't think that the Pozzos rate our youth players anyway.
If they change the rules they'll sign them across no doubt. As for how many more I'd say until the squad is as GZ wants it and thatrs probably another couple before the weekend. Will it stifle home grown growth, long term no, as I believe we're in transition, the ultimate goal is for us to be self sustaining which means signing an excess of players and selling a small percentage of these who make it to make a profit to fund the running of the club. That financial model doesn't work if we're stuffed full of loanees.
Such a huge squad as we have now may work in some other countries where it is normal for clubs to have a 'B' team operating in a lower league but it won't work here. How do you keep 36 or 37 players match fit without regular reserve team football at a relatively high level ? I don't know the answer to this one, but I do know that if we ended up with a team mostly made up of loanees with no local talent whatsoever, then this would reflect back in loss of fans in the stadium, the thread between club, history, community and fanbase would be lost and I trust that no club owner wants to see empty stadiums. They may have bought the club, but they haven`t bought us and they need the support of the town as much as we need them.
We are in danger of becoming a hollow ship with all the players owned by Udinese - this would mean that the good players they blood here in the UK when they are sold no money will be due to Watford. Fastforward a few years and we may be just a shell. Should this not work we may have had the whole infrastructure destroyed. Certainly, while I will enjoy watching the new Watford I'm struggling to feel linked to it - tied to it - community & club together - I just see that dissapearing..........Fast.
I definitely would have been happy with 4/5 loans just to strengthen the team we had. GZ seems to have a pretty strong picture on what he wants though so I'm quite happy for him to get it as he likes it. I suppose being 'little old Watford' comes in handy here as no one is going to pay attention to our squad until we start pulling out those wins. I think if we make promotion this season, it'll get a fair few people complaining about the number of loans we had.
i can't see most of these 'loanees' getting much of a shot at anything tbh. I think a lot of them are here to get fit, train hard, and maybe get a game or two before going somewhere else...and some will stay, and some will go in the shop window...but however many we have, i still see our youth getting a go, as they did tonight. Maybe that's a naive view...i'd like to think it isn't.
Well, the situation as it has developed at Watford does make a nonsense of the rule that a club can only take 8 players on loan in a season, and no more than 4 from one club. The rule must be there for a reason---I always assumed it was to prevent the likes of Chelsea /Man U placing lots of loanees into one lower division side, and so distorting competition in that division. The Pozzo's are exploiting a loophole in this rule, which was probably never foreseen. Will they be allowed to continue with this arrangement? Will other clubs complain--or start to make "commercial arrangements" with foreign clubs (short of co-ownership) in an attempt to imitate it? Are unlimited loans from abroad a "good thing" for the national game? I think there will be a reaction from the football authorities.
I am finding it quite difficult to work out exactly what the plan is when I read things like this from the official site. The Hornets’ Technical Director Gian Luca Nani said: “The club is proud to start the new project with a five-year deal for a home-grown player from the Academy. “We hope Sean will become the symbol of a very successful era under the new ownership.”
Take your pick: Option A - We recognise top talent when we see it, that within three years he may be an extremely marketable talent who could realise us £30M+ if treated properly and will be sold for that within those three years - and we have no intention of letting that sort of money slip through our hands. Option B - Our intention is to see Watford become one of Europe's top teams, regularly and successfully competing in the Champion's League. Sean is destined to become the new Messi around whom we intend building a team of similarly talented individuals. Am going for B myself.
Argentinian midfielder Cristian Battocchio tweeted earlier that he has arrived at #Watford from Udinese.
I'm beginning to think that the master plan is to set up an independent Watford FC league. We will soon have enough players for four teams. The winning team then ges into Europe to play against the winners of the Granada and Udinese leagues ......hang on, that can't be right. We have most of their players.
Do the loan rules apply to footballers on the field when a match is in progress? So we could only play four at any time but have more on the substitutes bench to be swapped. Instead of how many there are at a club. For example the club has 10 loaned players. 4 play and one is a substitute to replace one of the four.
This is getting a bit ridiculous. And is it the case that the "work permit" rule does not apply either, if non-EU players are already signed to an EU team (like udineses) and then loaned out to us? So is another regulation being sidestepped.? Though as Mexican Hornet says, the Pozzo's must have calculated the risk of a reaction from the football authorities, (and there was no reaction when they did this in Granada,) may they be pushing their luck here?. The football authorities do act slowly on these things---an investigation, a report, a debate, new regulations to come in at some future date-- perhaps thePozzo's figure on a couple of years operating in this way. By which time they may expect Watford be in the Premiership...
Battocchio has played for Italy at U20 level, so perhaps he holds an Italian passport meaning no need for a work permit? I have to admit that I'm not sure what to make of all this yet - and things do appear to be getting a trifle out of hand.
