No . Rather depressing and sad because because now we are going have a constant stream of negativity and bad feelings at games with fans picking on each other as they do on X etc .
Social Media is awash with nastiness as expected. I rather like one meme which said In the Pozzos we rust. Seriously though..Any thoughts..I wonder if they will find an out of contract player to bring in.
Yes feel it might get a bit toxic and hostile (by Watford standards !) With our recent record there is no guarantee any new players would have been a success have to say. Got a pretty average record on that front recently.
This sort of comment really does seem OTT and widely inflammatory. https://x.com/hornetmusings/status/1886651052004462861 I mean if people feel that fed up at only making two signings suppose they could and support another team who made loads. Ok we probably needed a striker but be far worse if he’d spent loads and none of the players worked leaving us with a wage bill and unwanted players . I don’t know about other clubs but we did make 6/7 or so in the summer which is a lot - unfortunately haven’t worked out but a club like us are never going to keep repeating that level of recruiting.
35 yrs, thats only taking an interest, some of us on here have been supporting Watford for 60 plus years
Think the most annoying thing was what various people had said and promised / strongly suggested. Then the eventual drifting away from the aforementioned comments of new blood coming in. Resulting with a bare bones squad for the second half of the season.
I suppose so but they were never going to say sorry guys we're skint and not going to get what you want. Tom was maybe badly advised to say he wanted x players without checking if that was possible. I mean wonder how many of the players linked we were in for in reality.
Tom said, or was reported as saying, that there would definitely be two more players after the goalkeeper. He got one, and he won't be fit till March. I think that is the expectations that upset people.
Yes agreed...people could go with what TC said and he has been quite badly let down..I wonder if he can sustain staying...
To be fair though, you should never announce transfers before they are done deals. Always under promise and over deliver not the other way round. A small lesson for Tom to learn.
Yes exactly . We never really have done much in January and if the owners are wanting out they won’t spend much .
I think that the club made 7 permanent signings in the summer, although Tikvić's signing was not announced at the time. Jebbison, Ebosele and Larouci also arrived on loan. Doumbia signed for Watford in February 2024, although he joined on 1st July. The only four players for whom they paid money are young prospects, who were signed not necessarily to meet the immediate needs of the team, but for possible future profit as part of the Pozzo player trading model. Almeida played only for the U-21 team and never settled in the U.K. Cleverley did not want Keben because he was injured and failed the medical, but the owner sought a second medical opinion which contradicted the second medical opinion and believed that he would be fit in a matter of weeks rather than months. Keben came on in the 89th minute at Sheffield Wednesday and has played only ten minutes for Watford. Dwomoh has played very little for Watford because he does not yet appear to be fully prepared for Championship football and is now out injured for two months. Vata has been gradually introduced into the team and shows great promise so he is the one real success. Tikvić was signed from Udinese (apparently against Cleverley's wishes) as a free transfer, but there are some reports that there was a fee involved. He has never played in the Championship because he is prone to errors (such as the penalty at Fulham when Watford were level), but only in cup competitions and is now out on loan to Graz AK (who are second from bottom of the Austrian Bundesliga). Sissoko is 35 years old. He was a free agent and is a Mogi Bayat client. Cleverley publicly supported his return, but the principal reason appears to be that he wanted to return to the U.K. because his children are studying here. He was a good player, but his best days have passed and his legs seem to have gone. Sissoko has played frequently this season, but has often struggled to make an impact and sometimes has been anonymous on the pitch. Ogbonna was also a free agent and was an excellent player, who played thirteen times for Italy. Unfortunately, his age appears to have caught up with him: he lacks pace and has become injury prone (as often happens at that age). Ogbonna has appeared in 6 Championship matches (a total of 399 minutes) and a couple of cup games, but has been injured for a large part of the season. Most Championship clubs have spent some money in the January window (unlike Watford) and have done more business than Watford. The Sky Sports website shows that Sheffield Wednesday made no signings in the January window, but a friend - who supports Wednesday - tells me that they have actually signed two players. It is possible to make smart signings without spending much money. You have mentioned elsewhere that Ray Lewington was able to sign players even in 2003 when Watford were under threat of administration. There are clearly major gaps in the Watford squad (such as a defensive midfielder and another striker). Watford already had one of the smallest squads in the Championship and they have three long-term injuries. Six players (including Alemeida who played only for the U-21 team but was included in the first team squad list) have left and only three have been brought in. One of those three players is still injured (dislocated shoulder) and will not be fit to start training until March. I have read that Gino Pozzo did not want to sign another striker because he wants Doumbia to play more, but his motive seems to be to increase the value of the player rather than to address the needs of Watford.
Yes definitely was a poor window and not the first time in a while . There seemed to be no clear planning particularly and buying injured players doesn’t help . Doumbia might be a good prospect but too much to expect him to lead the line on his own surely ? And anyway presumably if Bayo wins his appeal he will come back in .
It always amuses (& saddens) me that people feel able to confidently assert how bad things ar e.g. this transfer window , when they have absolutely no knowledge of the available finance, actual attempts that didn't succeed in negotiatiolns, players changing their minds, getting better offers... , or realistic discussions that meant some prospect or other was unsuitable. It also seems to me toatally unreasonable for people to slag off the owner(s) for some perceived failure , either failing to buy, or buying failures, again with no knowledge whatsoever of the actual circumstances. It could be argued that owners should be more forthcoming with the supporters. Why ? It might be good PR but it doesn't win matches. Neither does constant carping, criticisning and moaning. Supporters pay to watch their team, but success, good football and so on isn't guaranteed. By and large we are entertaining , trying hard, and in the words of GT - a top 30 club. It's not glorious, but it will do for me. ( It helps if you have experiences like Mike Keen, the dog track, Bassini , the salad mafia , remember them , amongst other horror shows to fall back on). I think anyone who moans a lot has 3 options. 1) go support some other team. It isn't difficult - there's no law against it. 2) Put in an offfer to buy the club- see if you can do any better 3) Shut up. I do accept that we can moan about referees who appear to have come on the opposition bus, players who should be better disciplined, even if conned, players who don't seem to try - a bit subjective that one - even poor performances , as long as they aren't a continuing theme and management teams (or owners) who seem out of touch with reality. I do accept that the owners penchant for changing head coaches ( and entourage) quite frequently is both exasperating and annoying, having other teams supporters - and the know-all meejah - making fun. It hurts. But maybe, just maybe , that will change. Let's hope so.. Unfortunately, as has been said too often, it's the hope that kills you ! COYH
Yes so many social media warriors have such a simplistic approach...and it does at times rile me as they can make dispropportionate 'noise' due to the nature of social media.. The Pozzos have done great things for us...and that can be so easily forgotten........ If Pozzo had more communictive and created a relationship with the fan base that would have made a difference...now he is just a target of abuse from a minority...... most of whom have expectations raised ironically by the club's success ... under the Pozzos.
Andrew French has given his opinion about the situation in a well-written piece: https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/sport/24911348.wont-sign-watford-owner-pozzo-look-sale/
