Although our stadium looks terrible with 3 stands, do we honestly need a 4th right now, given we struggle to fill 3 currently.
OK gdb - you've made your point and for what it is worth a number of people have graciously admitted they got angry last night over a number of things and you just happened to have your thread in the wrong place at the wrong time. You do make some good points and they are worth considering and getting responses and you would be surprised by the fact that you are by no means alone on here in some of your views. However - have you though about sometimes trying to put your point over in a slightly different way so that it encourages genuine feedback and views - when you tend to be fairly blunt and state what others see as negative points all the time they switch off. This is only my opinion so ignore it all you like but if you want your views to be taken more seriously it is up to you to change your style - if you don't care then fair enough
You asked us to re-read what you said and i have done with an open mind, however i have to ask a few questions to you first. 1) do you know the owners name (was it a blank moment)? 2) are you aware that you arent allowed players other than the keeper in the box at a penalty? Also we have every right to question people and call them wum's, especially when they ignore multiple previous posts to start an identicle one. Having re read this i still maintain that there are few points here of use, you mention the pitch, but if you had paid attention to previous posts on here and comments made by the club, you would know that the pitch was going to be renewed this or next season, but due to Sarries coming back they have put it off to save wasting money. They have also mentioned that people have been approached about developing the stand. The sarcasm in the opening line does not help matters when we think you are a wum, we all think something is fishy, but we cant prove it. Your points about the players and Winter have nothing to back up you opinions, and if you actually looked at the facts, he did all he could to keep DG but we all knew he was leaving if a premiership club came in with an offer of 3million+, and Swansea fit that bill for us and for DG, dont forget we turned down several offers before getting the 3.5mill offer. Buckley was apparently out of favour with MM (and at the time there was no approach) so 1mill cash there and then for a young and sometimes tempremental player is great for us! You can not side with MM over him leaving cos he requested permission from the board after being denied. The board had no chance from then on, and did the right thing to get the maximim money in compensation. The back room staff nearly always leave with the manager and that was the case this time. There was nothing we could do there, and we did better than others by appointing our replacement quickly and smoothly, he has in turn has appointed his staff. Any questions about the above???
I'd say that's being a bit simplistic. Clubs, especially clubs like ours, don't 'get in new owners' as though they are freely available on the supermarket shelf. However he funded it, and for whatever underlying reason, he bought the club by becoming the major shareholder at a time when no-one else was interested - he certainly wasn't invited in as a rich investor with money to burn as you seem to believe. As to whether or not he is beneficial to Watford, only time will tell - anything else is pure speculation and probably irrelevant. He bought the club, he owns the club, he can do what he likes with the club - that's the bottom line. So far, he has had the misfortune of losing staff - mostly inevitable and beyond his control IMO, but he hasn't asset-stripped the club as many expected. We are still here, still in the Championship and we still have some excellent players and those are all positives as far as I'm concerned.
fair enough, hence the chance to correct it rather than just jump down your throat. any comments other than that?
One thing is for sure, the mods cannot delete threads which do not overtly break rules, so any thread as long as its not offensive should be posted. gdb is right, most new owners breeze into a club on a wave of optimism. Baz is different he has slunk in the back door and has brought bad news in waves. I'm not actually sure how he can survive in the long term? Baz has set the new "austerity policy", and then said "the playing budget is set to increase by 25%". I cannot see how this is going to happen if we cannot sign the likes of Wiggins after the protracted chase. Time will tell on Baz, but he has such a long way to go to prove that the playing budget has increased from last year. I actually think it would take the signing of 4 or 5 established Championship players to realise that prediction.
Elixir, without wanting to pull you up again, where has it been stated that the club is operating under a new 'austerity policy' implemented by Bassini?? Secondly, he said the budget was increasing by 30%. Thirdly, have you ever just thought that Wiggins just preferred the offer by Charlton, how does that show bassini isn't increasing the budget by the said amount? (Also the protracted chase was due to the fee which I would suggest is different to whether the playing budget was increased although I may be wrong.) Lastly, what 'bad news in waves' has he brought? Any chance you can substantiate on e of your moans (and that does not include made-up facts such as he he the CEO on on 150K unless you can actually prove that now, in which case I stand corrected)
OK, here goes : Bad news in waves - 1) the week where Graham and Buckley were sold and Julian Winter was dismissed with immediate effect, because Baz was going to do the job himself. 2) the week just gone - the backroom staff leaving, Wiggins rejection and Cowie leaving on a free transfer. You have picked me up on Baz promising to "increase the playing budget" by a percentage. I don't really care if it's 25% or 30%, it is based on approx £10m. Let me tell you Sean Dyche is going to have to sign a raft of expensive players to increase the now (vastly reduced, Ellington etc. included) salary figure up by any %. Have you seen that we only have 11 players left who have started more than 5 league games for the club?????? The calendar says we are now in July and pre season training has commenced and we have many, many gaps in the playing squad. Rhoys Wiggins - Watford FC made 4 written offers to Bournemouth between January and last week, and then the player turns us down for 3rd level CHARLTON, OMG. Without a doubt Sean Dyche has a transfer budget (approx £1.5m) and a salary budget (quite a bit + 30% in your opinion), yet the squad have only added Craig Forsyth ........ I know someone who has had previous business dealings with Bazini, and does not have a good word to say about him. And then Bazini turns up at an official function looking a "scruff and a mess". I know there are supporters out there who want to remain positive, but I am just reporting a raft of bad news. This stuff isn't made up, this news is fact. You may wish to "swear allegiance" to Mr Bazini, but I wont be joining you. If I have the misfortune to meet him, I will tell him what I think he represents. I wont be rude, but I will be critical, because that is how I feel. Don't forget I have paid my money (3 season tickets) and some would say I'm entitled to an opinion.
This one is my test for him. Either he was lying or Wilson is earning his money and we'll see some interesting developments in the next month.
Strange logic there - if SD does sign 'a raft of expensive players' we'll be in a worse situation, as none of them will have started more than 5 league games for the club either. As to your waves of bad news: 1) DG was leaving regardless, he had earned, and was entitled to, his shot. Nothing at all to do with LB; 2) WB leaving was, IMO, no bad thing - he had a mediocre season yet LB managed to get £1M for him - not a bad bit of business really; 3) JW leaving - even without knowing the full facts (facts, not speculation), I'll agree that that was bad news; 4) Backroom staff leaving - bad, but not LB's fault as that is par for the course in football. Outside of our very own Pat Malloy, can you name anyone at all in football who has spent his entire working life with one club? 5) DC leaving - he was out of contract and was entitled to. Like every other club, we are not entitled to hold a gun to his head and say sign here. He probably went for more money - who really knows? Just as possible, he may not have wanted to play under SD - again, who really knows? Money isn't the be all and end all for everyone, but we are now running a tight ship as far as cash for wages goes, and quite rightly so IMO. 6) Wiggins - he didn't want to sign for us - end of. If we couldn't meet his wage demands because of our wage structure then so be it. You cant attribute that to LB as that structure was in place before he took over. Yes, we have only signed Craig Forsyth so far, but do you really believe that we run around like headless chickens in the transfer market? Do you really believe that the club will only look at the transfer rumours site and act from there? We have a well-documented system in place that doesn't require input from fans - especially those who think they can demand intimate knowledge of every possible deal for every step of the way. They will get who they can get on the quiet which is the way it should be - how many more deals do we want to fall through because of 'mass publicity'? I don't particularly wish to 'swear allegiance' to LB, but I certainly wont let hearsay cloud my attitude towards him. I don't know him, have never met him and have never had any dealings with him, but because we actually have no other option, I'm simply prepared to let him put his money where his mouth is and run his own ship. At least it is still afloat.
Good post BB - have to agree with it all - my only complaint is will people please yuse Baz or something because my tiny brain reads LB as Left Back
To be picky the Mods can delete any thread but of course would not unless they broke the rules. On some sites I see the Mods delete threads they don't like which in my view is a recipe for disaster. The day when someone cannot post their opinion because someone else does not like it or the way they say it is a very sorry day indeed. It will not happen here
Elixir, I was going to deal with all of your points but BB has beaten me to it. As others have said, a very good post. One thing I will add, where has it been said that Winter was 'dismissed'? You talk about things being facts but, with respect, your interpretation of facts is somewhat Walter Mitty-esque.
One thing i find odd is that we kept pursuing Wiggins. Who is it that actually wanted him? The original people at the club when we starting pursuing him have all left, manager, ceo, head of recruitment, owner, etc.
I think we all suspect he left on a falling out and disagreement with Baz but if I have interpreted others reading of the takeover contract then if Winter were actually "dismissed" (the same goes for GT) then it would trigger some sanction against Baz so I am sure whatever the truth it will always be left unreported in detail I have to say that I enjoy Elixir's postings - they are so definite - almost as if they were not an opinion but fact - and if he can tell us what he knows of Baz's "Agenda" I would be interested as so far his agenda seems to me to have been "buy the club and then go into hiding"
