COMMENT: Gino Pozzo won't waste promotion to the Premier League...Watford will never be the same again

The hard work of Golden Boys legend Graham Taylor in the late 1990s was undone by grotesque wages and the collapse of ITV Digital.

Aidy Boothroyd then contributed to his own downfall following his miraculous achievement in 2006, as former chairman Graham Simpson and chief executive Mark Ashton oversaw excessive spending that put the club in huge trouble upon returning to the second tier.

The fact the likes of Brendan Rodgers, Malky Mackay and Sean Dyche had to combat one of the worst pitches in the league and play at a ground with only three stands, considering the vast riches that had been obtained just a few years before, is an absolute disgrace. Simpson and Ashton should be ashamed.

In effect, there was nothing to show for the 2006/07 campaign in the Premier League. If anything, the club was worse off than before.

But I’m confident – I would go as far as to say I’m certain – the Pozzos will not follow a similar path. I believe the Hornets will be significantly improved this time around – both on the pitch and off it.

When one of the two most important people in Watford’s history – Sir Elton John – claimed last week that the club were “in the best shape ever” this was not just the view of a fan who’d had too much celebratory champagne. Considering his own achievements during two spells at the club, that is some statement.

In many respects Watford are already a Premier League club. The Pozzos have spent millions on improving Vicarage Road Stadium, the already impressive London Colney training ground and a squad which is arguably one of the best in the club’s history. The foundation blocks are there.

And in owner Gino Pozzo – and the whole Pozzo family – there is a track record spanning several years to provide fans with confidence.

Udinese have historically been one of the best-run clubs in Italian football. Their other team Granada have also been punching above their weight in a cost-effective manner in La Liga. The Pozzos have a business model that does not put their clubs’ futures in jeopardy.

Watford are in safe hands. But as Burnley have shown this season, attempting to live within your means in the top flight, even with an excellent manager and impressive Championship squad, makes it hard to stay out of the dreaded bottom three in the Premier League.

So why will Watford be any different? After all it took less than 90 minutes for Sky Bet to send out an email in which they made the Hornets odds-on to suffer relegation next season.

The reason why I’m extremely confident the Golden Boys will avoid relegation is the same as one of the primary factors they secured promotion in the first place; the Pozzos’ scouting network.

Udinese and Granada may have struggled of late but their prolonged success has been built on their player recruitment model; scour the world, and in particular the lesser-known places the top clubs do not look. Sign young, extremely talented players, give them the platform to succeed and then sell on for vast profit. Then use that money to balance the books and reinvest.

Two of the ten most expensive Premier League signings this season were brought to Europe by the Pozzos, in Chile and Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez and Columbia and Chelsea winger Juan Cuadrado.

The duo are just two of many that have been brought to the continent by the Italian family, impressed for Udinese and then sold for millions. In Sanchez’s case, Barcelona paid £37.5 million for the star.

Now it is fair to assume that with the vast sums at stake in the Premier League – the world’s richest league and a division that dwarfs the money available in Serie A – that the next Alexis Sanchez, Sulley Muntari, Asamoah Gyan or Samir Handanovic will end up at Vicarage Road rather than Stadio Friuli.

Promotion will also see the Pozzos reach a level not possible before. For all of Udinese’s success, the attraction of playing for the Italian club is unlikely to match that of a Premier League team which is just outside London.

Almost every foreign import that has arrived at the Hertfordshire side in recent years has mentioned the attraction of playing in England’s top league and living near its capital city.

Players who were previously out of their reach for whatever reason may now consider joining the Pozzos due to the undeniable lure of the Premier League. Wilfried Bony, who joined Manchester City in January in a deal which could reach £28 million, is a prime example of what can happen if you impress for just 18 months at a top flight team in England.

There are enough examples of foreign imports not cutting it in English football though, even when you spend big. The list is a long one. So the Pozzos will need to be smart. There is a lot more to succeeding in English football than having extraordinary talent.

But Gino Pozzo and his staff will be aware of that thanks to the three years they have already had in England. Missing out on promotion in 2013 was a blessing in disguise in my opinion. Lessons have been learned. Watford are in a much stronger position both on the pitch and off it in 2015.

The message has not yet reached everyone but ‘little old Watford’ is no more.

Sky Bet were offering 6/5 on the Hornets surviving relegation in the Premier League. I’m certain I won’t be the only one taking advantage of those odds.

But even if next season does end in disappointment and the Golden Boys are relegated, the club will continue to grow. Whatever happens, Watford will never be the same again.

- The most controversial decision of the Pozzo reign was to remove Billy McKinlay from his position as head coach after only eight days in charge.

It was a move which did not sit well with me – and still doesn’t in many respects – but Gino Pozzo did what he thought was right for the club.

It is a decision which continues to be brought up by those away from Vicarage Road and contributed to the incorrect assessment that it has been a season full of upheaval.

There was a lot of it, of course, even early into Slavisa Jokanovic’s time in charge, but since the turn of the year, the Serbian, and his senior players, have ensured everyone was pulling in the same direction.

Removing McKinlay from his position after just over a week is something that will be associated with Pozzo for years to come, rightly or wrongly. But in the end his bold and hugely controversial move was vindicated.

- And speaking of making brave decisions early, Jokanovic deserves huge credit for the final two victories which saw his side secure promotion.

He substituted Ikechi Anya and changed the formation after only 26 minutes at Brighton. And a week before waited only nine minutes into the second half to make a double change and alter the system. Both resulted in goals minutes later which ultimately decided the contests and earned six points.

You live and die by the decisions you make. Watford are now reaping the rewards of Jokanovic’s.

- There will be further comment on Watford’s promotion and those who have contributed to it in the coming weeks.