Watford chairman Graham Taylor extremely disappointed owner failed to attend fans forum

11:32pm Tuesday 8th November 2011 in Watford FC News Photograph of the Author By Frank Smith, Deputy Group Sports Editor

Laurence Bassini. Picture: Watford FC/Alan Cozzi Laurence Bassini. Picture: Watford FC/Alan Cozzi

Watford chairman and Hornets legend Graham Taylor stated he was “extremely disappointed” the club's owner Laurence Bassini decided not to attend tonight's fans' forum due to 'illness'.

Bassini had not originally been scheduled to attend tonight's event at Vicarage Road but – along with Taylor – last month announced he would be the top table.

This was scheduled to be the first time Bassini addressed his club's supporters since he completed his takeover earlier this year.

But the Stanmore businessman's absence was not confirmed until minutes before the event at 7.30pm – although rumours had started an hour before.

Watford fan Stuart Staines kicked off the forum by stating that “as a fan who has travelled two hours to get here tonight, I am disgusted that our owner could not make it himself.”

Taylor then replied: “Speaking as the non-executive chairman, I am also extremely disappointed the owner has missed an occasion which I think would have been of great benefit both to him and the fans.

“Having said that, if someone tells you they are ill, what can you say to that?

“It is up to all of us then to decide how ill he is - and we will never be able to do that - or whether he should have been able to come even if he is ill.

“I think you can see where I am coming from. I think unfortunately I am going to make the assumption at the present time that he is ill and I am going to say how unfortunate that is because this was a great opportunity for you, Laurence, to sit and answer questions which obviously Watford supporters are keen for you to answer.

“I think that is as far as I ought to go at the moment but I think you can see where I am coming from.

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“I am not at all surprised you decided not to ask me a question but to make that statement. I understand totally.”

There will be more from tonight's fans' forum posted on the website tomorrow.

Comments(50)

Beds Horn says...
12:12am Wed 9 Nov 11

Sir Graham is as honest as ever; somehow though i think this signals the end of his current involvement with the club! Mr Bassini seems to have no appreciation of what a Football club is all about. I'm with Sean Dyche when he talks about having a 'one club' mentality - shame the club owner isn't!

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SAHornet says...
5:30am Wed 9 Nov 11

Beds Horn wrote:
Sir Graham is as honest as ever; somehow though i think this signals the end of his current involvement with the club! Mr Bassini seems to have no appreciation of what a Football club is all about. I'm with Sean Dyche when he talks about having a 'one club' mentality - shame the club owner isn't!
Agree with you entirely Beds Horn, this spells the beginning of the end of GT's role as chairman which I'm sure will please bankrupt baz. In case all you bb lovers out there forget (and you know who you are aidy/i love baz till i die etc), a large number of us had no faith in him from the outset and you hardly need look much further than this debacle to understand why.

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AlbansWoodBear says...
5:42am Wed 9 Nov 11

Yes - very much agree with the above comments - Graham Taylor trying to measure his comments in diplomatic tones regarding Laurence Bassini's "non-show" at the fans forum, but yes clearly highlighting his frustrations and disappointment, and by doing so it probably signals a deeper breakdown between owner and nominated chairman, and this will no doubt mean changes at the top will occur.

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lutondown says...
5:42am Wed 9 Nov 11

So come on Bassini fans defend this,
I think we are just about to lose GT and now his absences make sense
This is dire

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garston edl says...
6:50am Wed 9 Nov 11

The 'negative', 'non supporter', 'tossers' have been proved correct on baz, didn't take long! We will also be proved right about dyche's lack of ability in due course. GT was rightly disgusted at baz no show and i thought he spoke well throughout the evening. The only thing he said that I disagreed with was that a manager needs to be given 3 years. We'll be joining Luton in the blue square if dyche us given that long!

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QUINNPT says...
6:59am Wed 9 Nov 11

While i am disappointed him not being there, why did it take him so long to anounce he was not coming. However, I wouldn't want to be in a room with someone who has a stinking cold or a stomach upset, no matter who he is.
The truth is if he makes an anouncement that there will be another forum before the end of the year or will undertake an interview to answer all the questions that GT and ST tried to answer that may go someway but I doubt it.
Baz seems to lack PR skills and seems to be true to GT's word of doing things on a 'wim'. Prove us all wrong Baz.

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watters84 says...
7:18am Wed 9 Nov 11

To my way of thinking 3 takes on why the man failed to be present.. he was ill,
he couldn't come up with the mental strength to face a testing Q and A session, he intends to replace the manager imminently and would have found it uncomfortable to be seen to be backing him if he has other plans close at hand.

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corbindallas says...
7:33am Wed 9 Nov 11

I agree with watters84 there seems to be another reason underlining the non appearance and I guess we will find out sooner rather than later, but it does beg one question, why not just postphone it instead in the first instance?

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a1derek says...
7:50am Wed 9 Nov 11

Think Watters may have hit the nail on the head. Say for example, LB is about to pull the trigger on SD that is clearly at odds with GT who wants to give him time. LB would probably realise he would be left in a no win situation in front of "the public" and decided to back out.
These comments from GT (IMHO) do more than hint at a rift between owner and chairman and it would be very sad to see GT depart the chair. He is and always will be a legend at WFC, the new East Stand should be the Graham Taylor!
As I said the other day, I have heard "good reports" on what is happening behind the scenes, so from that perspective LB would appear to have missed a PR opp last night...so Watters summing up must surely be somewhere near the truth.
Although, if good things are happening why would GT not be happy and have been so quiet?

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BigDaveH says...
8:15am Wed 9 Nov 11

As others have mentioned above, the very simple answer to part way restore faith in the owner is to arrange another forum in the very near future, as soon as he is fit to attend. It does not take a lot of arranging!

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Rookery-WFC says...
8:17am Wed 9 Nov 11

Hi, I'm new on here. Like many of you, I was there last night, and it seemed to me that GT began the evening angry at LB, and judging by the other panelists faces, I would say that we're really holding back.

GT also asked for more support for our manager and players and showed his disappointment at the booing that went on when forsythe was substituted a couple of weeks ago. I managed to video, although quality is not great, but it's worth listening to man. I am not sure if links are allowed here, so if it doesn't come out, I am sorry. http://m.youtube.com
/#/watch?v=WHgX7QGi6
xk

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llloydwithathirdl says...
8:36am Wed 9 Nov 11

I would say that if Baz comes out and sincerely apologizes, then arranges a new fans forum asap (perhaps in Jan) we have nowt to worry about - he was ill, these things happen.

I however very much doubt this will happen. The man is a clown, he will destroy our football club.

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buckler says...
8:39am Wed 9 Nov 11

I do hope little Laurence can produce a note from his Mummy backing up his sudden Illness claims! As for GT saying give a manager 3 years, sorry them days long gone. Does he want us in the same league as Luton?

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lutondown says...
8:40am Wed 9 Nov 11

Rookery-WFC wrote:
Hi, I'm new on here. Like many of you, I was there last night, and it seemed to me that GT began the evening angry at LB, and judging by the other panelists faces, I would say that we're really holding back.

GT also asked for more support for our manager and players and showed his disappointment at the booing that went on when forsythe was substituted a couple of weeks ago. I managed to video, although quality is not great, but it's worth listening to man. I am not sure if links are allowed here, so if it doesn't come out, I am sorry. http://m.youtube.com

/#/watch?v=WHgX7QGi6

xk
Hey mate I will try and view this later
But whatever thanks for trying!

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stuperman says...
8:59am Wed 9 Nov 11

As I have been posting on this site since Mr Mussolini bought the club, he is NOT a football fan, has no allegiance to WFC and within 10 years there will be a Tesco on the ground.
He made an amazing investment (what was it - 400k?) and he's already got that back tenfold thru the summer sales.
He may have failed in his previous business ventures - but he's found a winner in this one!

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dmiller says...
8:59am Wed 9 Nov 11

If LB was ill fair enough but what has angered me the most is that in this world of modern technology he couldn't even send a message through to apologise for not being there...nor was there any reassurances of him holding a separate forum in the future.

This is a very bad sign and the fact that GT was at times a little too honest surly means that he's not far from walking...and who could blame him!

GT over the years has been a very good judge of character and for him to say he didn't was LB to take over speaks volumes!

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Chris the Vic says...
9:06am Wed 9 Nov 11

Shame Bassini didnt make the forum, Shame the board did not find a better buyer, Shame we have not signed a good keeper, Shame taylor preferred dancing to Watford etc but we carry on.

Greater shame the WO back off investigative journalism.

Time for questions. WO printed a story that LB had put in/committed £10m...new tannoy system...Cannot hear a thing in the rookery. Two new scoreboards err where are they....October 2011 would see start of work to finish new dressing rooms....doesnt appear to have started.

If I was LB I would continue to stay low along with remainder of board led by the great graham who appear to accept anything. As for WO and their level of journalism where should I begin?

Lets have some answers from the owner, the board and our esteemed newspaper.

Am i being fair, do you agree???

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tonupchris says...
9:11am Wed 9 Nov 11

llloydwithathirdl wrote:
I would say that if Baz comes out and sincerely apologizes, then arranges a new fans forum asap (perhaps in Jan) we have nowt to worry about - he was ill, these things happen. I however very much doubt this will happen. The man is a clown, he will destroy our football club.
I have always been someone who is prepared to give people a chance and am the same with Bassini and Dyche. If Bassini was properly ill then he's ill but surely he was ill before 7.30pm and could have made an announcement a lot earlier, even postponing for a week. It does seem that this was not something that was important to him. Regards to Dyche, if you look at teams who stick by their manager then it does seem to work. Those that chop and change all the time struggle. Nobody has ever built a succesful team overnight especially without money. We know it's not been great this year but the last two home games have seen an improvement. Never quite sure where some fans expect us to be. We only get 12000 a week and even in the premiership we only averaged 15 or 16000 and the away end was full for most games. Without somebody coming in with a lot of money we will struggle to compete with teams averaging 20000 plus. Everybody has their own thoughts on who should be manager but not everybody will agree with the choices made and if we did replace Dyche and the new bloke wins 2 of the first 10 then the same thing starts again. I've gone off on a bit of tangent here but one thing comes out of last night. GT as I've always said and always will is a complete legend and would have turned up even if he was on his death bed. To those that bad mouth him for doing other things he has always said he would be doing this and if he was to leave then we really will be in trouble.
Come on Bassini, a statement at the very least is required today.

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Alex Hillcroft says...
9:16am Wed 9 Nov 11

A massive own goal by Bassini. To cry off at one hour's notice with such a limp excuse shows an appalling disregard for the fans and his chairman.

Pathetic.

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a1derek says...
9:24am Wed 9 Nov 11

Rookery, can you check the link please...that one isn't working. Thanks

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Dickums says...
9:36am Wed 9 Nov 11

As usual there seems to be a great many comments about last nights failure of LB to show without anyone being totally aware of all the facts. That isn`t to say that the way Mr Bassini handled the situation was good and I hope that we will have a statement from him today about his reasons for not attending and agreeing to a new date for another forum.
Sorry pig just flew past the window.
At least we could judge on facts whether they are justified or not but so far his record is more of promises than action.
Always been a fan of GT but his glory days are long gone and maybe , and it is just a maybe, it would be better for the club if he did walk away.

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Colin West's mullet says...
9:38am Wed 9 Nov 11

hmm, of all WFC's problems right now, I think Bas is the very, very least of them.

Having said that, last minute cry-offs are, except in the most serious circumstances, extremely damaging to credibilty.

They are an excellent indicator of weak personalities and lack of character.

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buckler says...
9:52am Wed 9 Nov 11

As for a statement Watford's useless website still has a bit about Mariappa joining the rest of them last night! Bearing in mind what a shambles it ended up, you think an apology might have been on there! Jokers.

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Wimbledonhorn says...
9:56am Wed 9 Nov 11

Absolutely pathetic. Does he take us for a bunch of clowns? Shows a total lack of respect and judgement.

Very very disappointed and disillusioned.

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Dr,Oftaw says...
10:00am Wed 9 Nov 11

Dickums wrote:
As usual there seems to be a great many comments about last nights failure of LB to show without anyone being totally aware of all the facts. That isn`t to say that the way Mr Bassini handled the situation was good and I hope that we will have a statement from him today about his reasons for not attending and agreeing to a new date for another forum. Sorry pig just flew past the window. At least we could judge on facts whether they are justified or not but so far his record is more of promises than action. Always been a fan of GT but his glory days are long gone and maybe , and it is just a maybe, it would be better for the club if he did walk away.
think you`ll find things will be far worse if GT walks away, he is there for the love of the club not the money.baz is there for the love of money not the club.

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Berks Horn says...
10:01am Wed 9 Nov 11

Whatever Bankrupt Baz says or does next I will no longer believe a word that comes out of his mouth. Not to attend last night and with no word of an explanation other than that he was "ill" is no less than an insult to all Watford supporters. His promises, on which we were to judge him, remain unfulfilled. The sooner he does one the better as far as I am concerned.

Thank god the rest of the team sound like sensible people - was impressed with Wilson and Timperley last night -and thank god for GT.

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Colin West's mullet says...
10:05am Wed 9 Nov 11

also - very surprised at the strength of GT's words. No doubt left that there are other (god knows what) issues.

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palmeris60 says...
10:16am Wed 9 Nov 11

Before i met LB for the first time i was a little unsure as to what to expect from the man. Laurence is no one's fool and i'm sure at some stage today we will find out exactly why he didnt attend. Let's hold fire and see what happens.............
.

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Casterbridge says...
10:18am Wed 9 Nov 11

I don't know any more than the rest of you, but given the hostility of some of these posts, I suggest that Mr B may have suffered a panic attack at the last moment. Like shell-shock, that is a real illness, not cowardice.

However, I was surprised to learn from GT that he was against the deal. I had always assumed that his acceptance of a non-executive directorship indicated at least his tacit approval.

So let's wait for the dust to settle, everyone calm down, and not force LB to take his profit and run, when that was not his intention.

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Dr Johnny Fever says...
10:20am Wed 9 Nov 11

I just can't believe LB has done this, unless as someone else has said, maybe he's looking at a new manager? is this why GT is a bit p*ssed off with him, doing things on a whim, (didn't GT say that?) from what I am reading there seems to be no love lossed between GT and LB, maybe this is why GT isn't at the games and was at that dancing show the other night.

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WFC4ever says...
10:22am Wed 9 Nov 11

The timing was rather unfortunate more than anything..

Had there been a statement made on Monday or even Tuesday afternoon saying Bassini was ikll and unable to attend people might have thought in a more positive manner..

Clearly GT and co weren't happy and not able to give the detailed answers people were hoping for.

On a more positive note I though Dyche did come across well and at least gave people time to air their view and accepeted not everything was well.

You cannot expect a manager to come out in public and not defend his way of working though.

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tommy gunn says...
10:24am Wed 9 Nov 11

Like many others very disappointed the Owners ' no show' nevertheless I thought the manager's performance was very good far better than the team actually.He talked a great deal of sense and very open about the problems facing the club.Pity John Eustace was not available though.

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Colin West's mullet says...
11:04am Wed 9 Nov 11

on a slight tangent, has any one else notuced how much Bas looks like Mr Tumble?

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Toshhorn says...
11:07am Wed 9 Nov 11

Surely the Chairman should appoint any new manager, not the owner.
If it comes down to GT or LB, it's goodbye LB, GT is the main man at our footy club, not you.GT if you read any of these posts PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE NEVER LEAVE OUR CLUB AGAIN, IN GT WE TRUST and trust takes a long time to develop

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Feff says...
11:26am Wed 9 Nov 11

Was Bassini being treated by the doctor who fronted his bid for WFC? I wondered whatever happened to him. Bassini is the worst thing that has happened to the club - worse than Dyche. He appointed Dyche after all. Incidentally, where is that idiot welovebas? Why hasn't he posted anything? GT is wrong about Dyche but GT has been wrong about lots of things. Remember Plumley in goal and Price at left back? Remember the way he treated Lineker? He was a great Manager for us and Aston Villa but the great man has made mistakes. I agree, however, that the East Stand, if it is ever built, should be named The Graham Taylor stand or, even better, The Sir Elton John stand. Come back, Elton, please!

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Berks Horn says...
11:42am Wed 9 Nov 11

I wonder if welovebas is "ill"? That would be a coincidence.

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bob bell says...
12:03pm Wed 9 Nov 11

Sadly the club we love is in the wrong hands.There's nothing we can do!
GT is on his way out and judging by his frustration last night that will happen quite soon.
Seems odd that Baz wants to be the captain of a shipwreck but one thing is certain...he is the captain.
We need Fletcher Christian to set him adrift.
Yet another anemic love-in last night just gets me in such a rage and at my age I should switch off.Dyche prattling on about good recent performances got away unchallenged.We lost for gods sake !

I have seen Bonser,Petchey and now Baz.
Would love to make light of this but just can't.

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bigthunder says...
12:50pm Wed 9 Nov 11

bob bell wrote:
Sadly the club we love is in the wrong hands.There's nothing we can do! GT is on his way out and judging by his frustration last night that will happen quite soon. Seems odd that Baz wants to be the captain of a shipwreck but one thing is certain...he is the captain. We need Fletcher Christian to set him adrift. Yet another anemic love-in last night just gets me in such a rage and at my age I should switch off.Dyche prattling on about good recent performances got away unchallenged.We lost for gods sake ! I have seen Bonser,Petchey and now Baz. Would love to make light of this but just can't.
Yet another anemic love-in last night just gets me in such a rage and at my age I should switch off.

Well maybe you should get off your backside and go to these forums and actually say something yourself then rather than critize those who do and have the metal to actually front people out and ask questions turn off your radio and grow a pair !!!!!!

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mooneysmagic says...
1:18pm Wed 9 Nov 11

What seems strange to me is that nobody has disclosed what illness Bazza has i.e. flu, stress, ingrowing toe nail etc

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LE PARK says...
1:40pm Wed 9 Nov 11

Maybe ilovebas's love for bas is more serious than we all first thought and there has been some sort of illness connected to this great love affair

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Oracledave says...
1:59pm Wed 9 Nov 11

Agree with much of what has been said about the Baz 'no show'. There does now need to be at least an attempt at 'PR recovery' from the man.

Regarding SD, was impressed by the nature of his replies to a couple of 'imbecile' questions - particularly the one about the alleged lack of effort put in by the team. The facts give a clear lie to that suggestion.

Also thought his statements about the difficulties he inherited are legitimate and supported by the facts; loss of DG and Cowie, range of player available given limits on budgets including salaries. And as I posted elsewhere there are some much bigger clubs ( Ipswich, Notts Forest, Burnley) just a couple of points better off.

However, one of the main SD defences was the need to integrate the 7 recruits (+ loans) into the team pattern. That defence is also legitimate but cannot last forever and we should see an upturn in results over the next maybe 10 games if the players and the system are as good as is claimed.

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bensbunions says...
2:07pm Wed 9 Nov 11

having attended last night it is very clear that the only reason GT is still at his non exec role within the club is purely down to the fact that he does not trust bassini/current regime. Someone will be able to quote him but he said that it is better to be within the club and know a little bit about whats going on then be outside the club and not have a clue. there is no doubt he wishes to give up his post but i dont think he will. as he also 'said' some of them feel to blame for the takeover going ahead as they were unable to do anything about it!

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lutondown says...
3:00pm Wed 9 Nov 11

I cannot believe there are still people on this board who want to defend him.
GTs words are scary if you read between the lines and I fully understand why he would Rather watch strictly! However his statement we should give Dyche three years is nonsense, how long is it apparent that a manager is no good? He quoted his own poor start at Lincoln but failed to mention that he was in the process of turning the club inside out as he did when he took over Watford.
This is dire and we are doomed

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rogeruk says...
5:23pm Wed 9 Nov 11

Now is not the time for Watford fans to turn on each other.

Whatever a fan's view (and that is football) if they support Watford fc they are part of a familiy.

Let's start a 'love in'

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Johnny Ryden says...
5:36pm Wed 9 Nov 11

Bassini out! It was quite clear last night that GT and ST have no idea what is actually going on and have little confidence that Bassini's promises of investment will be kept. GT, ST and we the fans do not believe in a man who obviously doesn't want to engage with the fans or enjoy being a part of this club. His motives are clear so Mr. Bassini if you've still got those bids for the club which you turned down (what a joke, who believes that one?) I suggest you take them fast because a crowd baying for you to go for the rest of the season won't be much of a picnic!

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Jimhornet says...
6:50pm Wed 9 Nov 11

Ok, That's it. I've now had enough. I am a Watford fan born and bred. My great Grandad was major of Watford and president of the football club, I was taken to games as a child travelling 6 hours from Pembrokeshire, I've been a season ticket holder whenever I can and generally have never thought I'd write this post but you - yes you - my fellow 'fans' have driven me to actually decide that is it. I don't want to be affiliated with you anymore. I've been to see dozens of other teams - not one is as negative, moaning, quiet, lacking spirit, fickle and generally terrible as 'we' are.

When I first started going to games the intense optimism despite the facts (lower divisions etc) was what really struck me, that belief that anything could happen. The discussions when looking at the table that it was still mathematically possible to get promoted this season with an 8 point gap and 3 games to go, the singing (yes, singing - that's not booing or groaning before we even kick off), the laughing (yes, laughing, that thing that happens when you're enjoying yourself - which is what you pay your entry fee for), the banter, the excitement and undying commitment to be ‘Watford til I die’.

Well, it’s all gone now. We are the worst supporters in any league and you (yep, not me anymore) can go to hell and moan and groan from there.

So there you go. You’ve managed to drive out a real supporter, a die-hard fan who once quit his job to go to a play-off final, whos uncle once travelled from Australia to see a cup semi-final, whos grandfather actually helped to run the club. Well done. I hope you’re happy. In-fact, no, I don’t. I hope you’re utterly miserable for the rest of your lives.

You know who you are. There are obviously people who are still desperately fighting to get you all back on side and I commend them and wish them the best of luck but it’s futile. We’ll go bust in a few years and well and truly deserve to do so.

Absolute disgrace. What young fan is going to want to come and sit with you lot on a Saturday and listen to the drivel spouted before a ball has even been kicked?

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Jimhornet says...
7:46pm Wed 9 Nov 11

Apologies to anyone who takes offence at the post above. It was not meant to read quite like that. My anger is clear though- it's very depressing. It was aimed at some not all of our fans. It's just a shame there are so many of the others.

Apologies to anyone who takes/took offence though.

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bensbunions says...
8:03pm Wed 9 Nov 11

well off you go then jim!!??
i hear what you are saying but if you are leaving due to message boards then im not sure who is better off!

i hope youre not leaving due to the stick we are giving bassini????!!!

dont hit your bum on the way out!!

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bensbunions says...
8:08pm Wed 9 Nov 11

im sorry, and i dont mean to be rude, but i just find that post/comment utterly bizarre.

keep the faith

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lutondown says...
9:50pm Wed 9 Nov 11

Jeez did that guy go to drama school?
Most people just go quietly when they've had enough
So less politely than benbunions...jog on!

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